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THE 
 
 GEORGICKS OF VIRGIL. 
 
p. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 GEORGICORUM 
 
 LIBRI QUATUOR. 
 
 GEORGICKS OF VIRGIL, 
 
 AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION 
 
 - NOTES 
 
 BY JOHN MARTYN, F. R. S 
 
 ItH'ESSOR OF 
 
 IN THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE. 
 
 OXFORD, , 
 
 PRINTED BY TV. BAXTER, 
 
 FOR C. AND J. RIVINGTON; LONGMAN, REES, AND CO.; J. BOOKEIl 
 
 GEO. B. MIIITTAKER; SIMPKIN and MARSHALL; AND J. COLLING- 
 
 AVOOD, LONDON ; AND J. PARKER, OXFORD. 
 
 1827. _: 
 

G E O R G It^ u jx u M 
 
 LIBRI QUATUOR. 
 
 THE 
 
 / 
 GEORGICKS OF VIRGIL, 
 
 WITH 
 
 AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 BY JOHNjMARTYN, F.R.S. 
 
 PROFESSOR OF BOTANY' IN THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE. 
 
 THE FIFTH EDITION. 
 
 OXFORD, 
 
 PRINTED BY W. BAXTER, 
 
 FOR C. AND J. RIVINGTON; LONGMAN, REES, AND CO.; J. BOOKER; 
 
 GEO. B. WHITTAKER; SIMPKIN and MARSHALL; AND J. COLLING- 
 
 WOOD, LONDON; AND J. PARKER, OXFORD. 
 
 1827. 
 
 1 
 

 27043 
 
^ 
 
 TO 
 
 RICHARD MEAD, M. D. 
 
 PHYSICIAN TO HIS MAJESTY KING GEORGE II. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 I DESIRE leave to present to you the follow- 
 Dg Work, which was begun with your approbation 
 ind encouragement. You will find in almost 
 ivery page what use has been made of those 
 valuable Manuscripts of Virgil, which make a 
 part of your noble library ; and which you was 
 pleased to lend me with that readiness, which you 
 always shew in the encouragement of learning. 
 
 Your exact acquaintance with all the fine 
 authors of antiquity, makes you a proper patron 
 of an edition of any of their compositions. But 
 Virgil seems in a particular manner to claimyour 
 patronage. He, if we may credit the writers 
 of his life, had made no small proficiency in 
 that divine art, in the profession of which you 
 have for so many years held the first place, and 
 acquired a reputation equal to the great know- 
 
ii DEDICATION. 
 
 ledge and humanity, with which you have exer- 
 cised it. 
 
 As the Georgicks were, in the opinion of their 
 great author himself, the most valuable part of his 
 Works, you will not be displeased with the pains 
 that I have taken to illustrate the most difficult 
 passages therein. And if I shall be so happy as 
 to have your approbation of these fruits of my 
 labours, I shall have no reason to fear the censure 
 of others. But if they had not been composed 
 with as much exactness and care as I am master 
 of, I should not have ventured to desire your 
 acceptance of them, from. 
 
 Sir, 
 Your most obliged 
 
 humble Servant, 
 
 JOHN MARTYN. 
 
 Chelsea, 
 March 16, 1740-1. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Husbandry is not only the most ancient, but also 
 the most useful of all arts. This alone is absolutely 
 necessary for the support of human life; and without it 
 other pursuits would be in vain. The exercise therefore 
 of this art was justly accounted most honourable by the 
 ancients. Thus in the earliest ages of the world we find 
 the greatest heroes wielding the share as well as the 
 sword, and the fairest hands no more disdaining to hold 
 a crook than a sceptre. The ancient Romans owed 
 their glory and power to Husbandry : and that famous 
 Republic never flourished so much, as when their great- 
 est men ploughed with their own hands. Lucius Quin- 
 tius Cincinnatus was found naked at the plough-tail, 
 when he was summoned to take upon him the Dictator- 
 ship. And when he had settled the Commonwealth, 
 the glorious old man returned to the tillage of his small 
 farm, laden with the praises of the Roman people. C. 
 Fabricius and Curius Dentatus, those glorious patterns 
 of temperance, who drove Pyrrhus out of Italy, and 
 vanquished the Samnites and Sabines, were as diligent 
 in cultivating their fields, as^ they were valiant and 
 successful in war. But when the virtuous industry of 
 this great people gave way to luxury and effeminacy, 
 the loss of their glory attended on their neglect of 
 Husbandry, and by degrees they fell a prey to bar- 
 barous nations. 
 
 a2 
 
iv PREFACE. 
 
 This art has not only exercised the bodies of the 
 greatest heroes, but the pens also of the most 
 celebrated writers of antiquity, Hesiod, who lived in 
 the generation immediately succeeding the Trojan war, 
 wrote a Greek poem on Husbandry. And though 
 Homer did not write expressly on this subject, yet he 
 has represented Laertes, the father of his favourite hero, 
 as a wise prince, retiring from public business, and de- 
 voting his latter years to the tillage of his land. Demo- 
 critus, Xenophon, Aristotle, Theophrastus, and several 
 other Grecian philosophers, have treated of Agriculture 
 in prose. Among the Romans, Cato the famous censor 
 has written a treatise of rural affairs, in which he was 
 imitated by the learned Varro. Cato writes like an 
 ancient country gentleman, of much experience ; he 
 abounds in short pithy sentences, intersperses his book 
 with moral precepts, and was esteemed as a sort of rural 
 oracle. Varro writes more like a scholar than a man of 
 much practice : he is fond of researches into antiquity, 
 enquires into the etymology of the names of persons and 
 things ; and we are obliged to him for a catalogue of 
 those who had written on this subject before him. 
 
 But Virgil shines in a sphere far superior to the rest. 
 His natural abilities, his education, his experience in 
 Husbandry, conspired to render him the finest writer on 
 this subject. No man was ever endowed with a more 
 noble genius, which he took care to improve by the 
 study of Greek literature, mathematics, astronomy, me- 
 dicine, and philosophy. He cultivated his own lands 
 near Mantua, till he was about thirty years of age, when 
 he appeared at Rome, and was soon received into the 
 favour of Augustus Caesar. Virgil wanted nothing but 
 the air of a court, to add a polish to his uncommon 
 
PREFACE. V 
 
 share of parts and learning. And here he had the hap- 
 piness to live under the protection of the most powerful 
 prince in the world, and to converse familiarly with the 
 greatest men that any age or nation ever produced. 
 The Pastorals of Theocritus were much admired, and 
 not undeservedly ; but the Romans had never seen any 
 thing of that kind in their own language. Virgil at- 
 tempted it, and with such success, that he has at least 
 made the victory doubtful. The Latin Eclogues dis- 
 covered such a delicacy in their compsoition, that the 
 author was immediately judged capable of arriving at 
 the nobler sorts of poetry. The long duration of the civil 
 wars had almost depopulated the country, and laid it 
 waste ; there had been such a scarcity in Rome, that 
 Augustus had almost lost his life by an insurrection of 
 the populace. A great part of the lands in Italy had been 
 divided among the soldiers, who had been too long en- 
 gaged in the wars, to have a just knowledge of Agricul- 
 ture. Hence it became necessary that the ancient spirit 
 of husbandry should be revived among the Romans, 
 And Maecenas, who wisely pursued every thing that 
 might be of service to his master, engaged the favourite 
 poet in this undertaking. 
 
 Virgil, who had already succeeded so well in the 
 contention with one Greek poet, now boldly entered 
 the lists with another. And if it may be questioned 
 whether he exceeded Theocritus, there can be no doubt 
 of his having gone far beyond Hesiod. He was now in 
 the thirty-fifth year of his age, his imagination in full 
 vigour, and his judgment mature. He employed seven 
 years in the composition of this noble poem, which he 
 called Georgicks; and when it was finished, it did not 
 fall short of the expectations of his patron. 
 
vi PREFACE. 
 
 Those who have been accustomed to see the noble 
 art of Husbandry committed to the management of the 
 meanest people, may think the majestic style which Vir- 
 gil has used not well adapted to the subject. But the 
 poet wrote for the delight and instruction of a people, 
 whose dictators and consuls had been husbandmen. 
 His expressions accordingly are every where so solemn, 
 and every precept is delivered with such dignity, that 
 we seem to be instructed by one of those ancient 
 farmers, who had just enjoyed the honours of a triumph. 
 Never was any poem finished with such exactness : 
 there being hardly a sentence that we could wish omit- 
 ted, or a word that could be changed, without injuring 
 the propriety or delicacy of the expression. He never 
 sinks into any thing low and mean ; but by a just distri- 
 bution of Grecisms, antique phrases, figurative expres- 
 sions, and noble allusions, keeps up a true poetical spirit 
 through the whole composition. But we cannot be sur- 
 prised at this extraordinary exactness, if we consider, 
 that every line of this charming poem cost more than an 
 entire day to the most judicious of all poets, in the most 
 vigorous part of his life. Besides, it appears that he 
 was continually revising it to the very day of his death. 
 
 It would be an endless labour to point out all the 
 several beauties in this poem : but it would be an 
 unpardonable omission in an editor, to pass them 
 wholly over in silence. The reader will easily observe 
 the variety which Virgil uses in delivering his precepts. 
 A writer less animated with a spirit of poetry, would 
 have contented himself with dryly telling us, that it is 
 proper to break the clods with harrows, and by drawing 
 hurdles over them ; and to plough the furrows across ; 
 that moist summers and fair winters are to be desired ; 
 
PREFACE. vii 
 
 and that it is good to float the field after it is sown. 
 These precepts are just ; but it is the part of a poet to 
 make them beautiful also, by a variety of expression. 
 Virgil therefore begins these precepts by saying, the 
 husbandman, who breaks the clods with harrows 
 and hurdles, greatly helps the field ; and then he 
 introduces Ceres looking down from heaven with a 
 favourable aspect upon him, and on those also, who 
 plough the field across, which he beautifully calls exer- 
 cising the earth, and commanding the fields*. He 
 expresses the advantage of moist summers and dry 
 winters, by advising the farmers to pray for such 
 seasons ; and then immediately leaves the didactic 
 style, and represents the fields as rejoicing in winter 
 dust, and introduces the mention of a country famous 
 for corn, owing its fertility to nothing so much as to 
 this weather, and, by a bold metaphor, makes the fields 
 astonished at the plenty of their harvest'*. The poet 
 now changes his style to the form of a question, and 
 asks why he needs to mention him that floats the 
 ground : he then describes the field gasping with thirst, 
 and the grass withering, and places before our eyes the 
 labourer inviting the rill to descend from a neighbouring 
 rock ; we hear the stream bubble over the stones, and 
 
 ^ Multum adeo, rastris glebas qui frangit inertes, 
 
 Vimineasque trahit crates, juvat arva : neque ilium 
 
 Flava Ceres alto nequicquam speetat Olympo : 
 
 Et qui, proscisso quae suscitat aequore terga, 
 
 Rursus in obliquum verso perrumpit aratro, 
 
 Exercetque frequens tellurem, atque imperat arvis. 
 ^ Humida solstitia, atque hyemes orate serenas, 
 
 Agricolae : hyberno laetissima pulvere farra, 
 
 Laetus ager : nuUo tantum se Mysia cultu 
 
 Jactat, et ipsa suas mirantur Gargara messes. 
 
viii PREFACE. 
 
 are delighted with the refreshment that is given to the 
 fields*'. To mention every instance of this variety of 
 expression, would be almost the same thing with 
 reciting the whole poem. 
 
 Virgil has exceeded all other poets in the justness 
 and beauty of his descriptions. The summer storm in 
 the first book is, I believe, not to be equalled. We see 
 the adverse winds engaging, the heavy corn torn up by 
 the roots, and whirled aloft, the clouds thickening, the 
 rain pouring, the rivers overflowing, and the sea 
 swelling, and to conclude the horror of the description, 
 Jupiter is introduced darting thunder with his fiery 
 right hand, and overturning the mountains; earth 
 trembles, the beasts are fled, and men are struck with 
 horror; the south wind redoubles, the shower increases, 
 and the woods and shores rebellow. The description 
 of the spring, in the second book, is no less pleasing, 
 than that of the storm is terrible. We there are enter- 
 tained with the melody of birds, the loves of the cattle, 
 the earth opening her bosom to the warm zephyrs, 
 and the trees and herbs unfolding their tender buds. 
 I need not mention the fine descriptions of the cescultis, 
 the citron, the amellus, or the several sorts of serpents, 
 which are all excellent. The descriptions of the horse, 
 the chariot - race, the fighting of the bulls, the violent 
 effects of lust, and the Scythian winter, can never be too 
 much admired . 
 
 •= Quid dicam, jacto qui semine cominus arva 
 lusequitur, cumulosque ruit male pinguis arenae? 
 Deinde satis fluvium inducit^ rivosque sequentes? 
 Et cum exustus ager morientibus aestuat herbis, 
 Ecce supercilio clivosi tramitis undam 
 Elicit : ilia cadeiis raucum per laevia murmur 
 Saxa ciet, scatebrisque arentia temperat arva. 
 
PREFACE. ix 
 
 The use of well adapted similes is in a manner essen- 
 tial to a poem. None can be more just, than the com- 
 parison of a well ordered vineyard to the Roman army 
 drawn out in rank and file ; nor could any have been 
 more happily imagined, than that of a bull rushing on 
 his adversary, to a great wave rolling to the shore, and 
 dashing over the rocks. But above all, that celebrated 
 simile of the nightingale, in the fourth book, has been 
 no less justly than universally applauded. 
 
 But nothing is more generally admired in poetry, 
 than that curious art of making the numbers of the 
 verses expressive of the sense that is contained in it. 
 When the giants strive to heap one huge mountain 
 upon another, the very line pants and heaves'*; ^^^ 
 when the earth is to be broken up with heavy drags, 
 the verse labours as much as the husbandman*. We 
 hear the prancing steps of the war horsed the swelling 
 of the sea, the crashing of the mountains, the resounding 
 of the shores, and the murmuring of the woods ^, in the 
 poet's numbers. The swift rushing of the north 
 wind^, and the haste required to catch up a stone to 
 destroy a serpents are described in words as quick as 
 the subject. 
 
 ^ Ter sunt conati imponere Pelio Ossam. 
 
 ^---- Omne quotannis 
 
 Terque quaterque solum scindendum^ glebaque versis 
 JEternum frangenda bidentibus. 
 
 ^ Insultare solo, et gressus glomerare superbos. 
 
 s---------- Freta ponti 
 
 Incipiunt agitata tumescere, et aridus altis 
 Montibus audiri fragor : aut resonantia longe 
 Littora misceri, et nemorum increbrescere murmur. 
 
 ^ lUe volat, simul arva fuga, simul aequora verrens. 
 
 * - - - Cape saxa manu, cape robora pastor. 
 b 
 
X PREFACE. 
 
 Digressions are not only permitted, but are thought 
 ornamental in a poem ; provided they do not seem to 
 be stuck on unartfully, or to ramble too far from the 
 subject. Virgirs are entertaining and pertinent ; and 
 he never suffers them to lose sight ^of the business in 
 hand. The most liable to objection seems to be the 
 conclusion of the first Georgick, where he entertains 
 the reader with a long account of the prodigies that at- 
 tended Caesar^s death, and of the miseries occasioned 
 by the civil wars among the Romans. But here it may 
 be observed what care the poet takes not to forget his 
 subject. He introduces a husbandman in future ages 
 turning up rusty spears with the civil plough-share, 
 striking harrows against empty helmets, and astonished 
 at the gigantic size of the bones. And when he would 
 describe the whole world in arms, he expresses it by 
 saying the plough does not receive its due honour, the 
 fields lie uncultivated by the absence of the husband- 
 men, and the sickles are beaten into swords. The 
 praises of Italy, and the charms of a country life, in the 
 second Georgick, seem naturally to flow from the 
 subject. The violent effects of lust, in the third book, 
 are described with a delicacy not to be paralleled. 
 This was a dangerous undertaking; it was venturing to 
 steer between Scylla and Charybdis. We need but 
 consult the translations to be convinced of this. 
 Dryden, endeavouring to keep up the spirit of the 
 original, could not avoid being obscene and lascivious 
 in his expressions ; and Dr. Tmpp, whose character 
 laid him under a necessity of avoiding that rock, has 
 sunk into an insipid flatness, unworthy of the poet 
 whom he has translated. But in the original, the senti- 
 ments are warm and lively, and the expressions strong 
 
PREFACE. xi 
 
 and masculine. And yet he does not make use of a 
 word unbecoming the gravity of a philosopher, or the 
 modesty of a virgin. The pestilence that reigned 
 among the Alpine cattle is confessedly a master-piece ; 
 and not inferior to the admired description which 
 Lucretius has given of the plague at Athens. The 
 story of Orpheus and Eurydice is told in so dehghtful 
 a manner, that, had it been less of a piece with the main 
 poem, we could not but have thanked the author for 
 inserting it. 
 
 These, and innumerable other beauties, which cannot 
 easily escape the observationof a judicious reader, are 
 sufficient to make the Georgicks esteemed as the finest 
 poem that ever appeared. But the work is not only 
 beautiful, but useful too. The precepts contained in it 
 are so just, that the gravest prose writers among the 
 Romans have appealed to Virgil, as to an oracle, in 
 affairs of Husbandry. And though the soil and climate 
 of Italy are different from those of England ; yet it has 
 been found by experience, that most of his rules may be 
 put in practice, even here, to advantage. 
 
 This was the poem on which Virgil depended for 
 his reputation with posterity. He desired on his 
 death-bed that his iEneis might be burnt; but was 
 willing to trust the Georgicks to future ages. The 
 reason of this conduct seems to be obvious. The 
 jiEneis was unfinished, and had not received the last 
 hand of the author. And though it has justly been the 
 admiration of all succeeding times, yet this great 
 master thought it unworthy of his pen. He was con- 
 scious, that it fell short of the lUad, which he had 
 hoped to exceed ; and, like a true Roman, could not 
 brook a superior. But in the Georgicks, he knew that 
 
 b2 
 
xii . PREFACE. 
 
 he had triumphed over the Greek poet. This poem 
 had received the finishing stroke, and was therefore 
 the fittest to give posterity an idea of the genius of its 
 author. Nor was the poet disappointed in his expec- 
 tations : for the Georgicks have been universally 
 admired, even by those who are unacquainted with the 
 subject. The descriptions, the similes, the digressions, 
 the purity and majesty of the style, have afforded a 
 great share of delight to many whom I have heard 
 lament, that they were not able to enjoy the principal 
 beauties of this poem. I had the good fortune to give 
 some of my friends the satisfaction they desired in this 
 point : and they were pleased to think, that my obser- 
 vations on this poem would be as acceptable to the 
 public, as they had been to themselves. I was without 
 much difficulty persuaded to undertake a new edition 
 of a work, which I had always admired, and endea- 
 voured to understand, to which the general bent of my 
 studies had in some measure contributed. I was 
 desirous in the first place, that the text of ray author 
 might be as exact as possible. To this end, I compared 
 a considerable number of printed editions, valuable 
 either for their age, their correctness, or the skill of the 
 editor. I thought it necessary also to enquire after the 
 manuscripts that were to be found in England ; that 
 by a collection of all the various readings, I might be 
 able to lay before the reader the true and genuine ex- 
 pression of my author. The manuscripts, which I col- 
 lated, being all that I had any information of, are seven 
 in number : one of them is in the King^s Library ; one 
 in the Royal Library at Cambridge; one in the 
 Bodleian Library at Oxford ; two in the Arundelian 
 Library, belonging to the Royal Society ; and two in 
 
PREFACE. xiii 
 
 Dr. Mead^s Library. I have collated all these myself, 
 and the reader will find the various readings inserted 
 in the following annotations. I have generally followed 
 the edition of Heinsius, seldom departing from it, unless 
 compelled by some strong reason ; and I have never 
 ventured to alter the text by any conjectural 
 emendation, or on the authority of a single manu- 
 script. 
 
 In composing the annotations, I have carefully 
 perused the grammatical comments of Servius, the 
 learned paraphrase of Grimoaldus, the valuable collec- 
 tions of observations, various readings, and compari- 
 sons with the Greek poets, made by Fulvius Ursinus 
 and Pierius ; the learned and judicious criticisms of 
 La Cerda and Ruaeus, and the curious remarks of 
 Father Catrou, whose French edition of Virgil did not 
 fall into my hands, till the greatest part of the first 
 Georgick was printed, which is the reason that I have 
 not quoted him sooner. But I did not depend entirely 
 on these learned commentators ; and have often ven- 
 tured to differ from them, for which 1 have assigned 
 such reasons, as I believe will be found satisfactory. 
 They were all unacquainted with the subject, and 
 therefore could not avoid falling into considerable and 
 frequent errors. When the sense of any word or ex- 
 pression has been doubtful, or variously interpreted, I 
 have endeavoured to find how it has been used by the 
 poet himself in other parts of his works, and by this 
 means have sometimes removed the ambiguity. If this 
 has failed, I have consulted the other authors, who 
 wrote about the same time ; and after them, the earliest 
 critics, who are most likely to have retained the true 
 meaning. With regard to the precepts themselves, I 
 
xiv PREFACE. 
 
 have compared them with what is to be found in 
 Aristotle, Cato, and Varro, whom our author himself 
 evidently consulted ; and with those of Columella, 
 Pliny, and Palladius, who wrote before the memory of 
 Virgil's rules was lost in the barbarous ages. I have 
 generally given the very words of the author, whom I 
 find occasion to cite, not taking them at second hand, 
 as is too frequent, but having recourse to the originals 
 themselves. 
 
 I am not conscious of having assumed any observa- 
 tion, for which I am indebted to any other. The 
 reader will find many, which I am persuaded are not 
 to be met with in any of the commentators. I have 
 been very particular in my criticisms on the plants 
 mentioned by Virgil : that being the part, in which I 
 am best able to inform him, and which, I believe, has 
 been chiefly expected from me. The astronomical part 
 has given me most trouble, being that with which I am 
 the least acquainted. But yet I may venture to lay the 
 annotations on this subject before the reader with some 
 confidence, as they have had the good fortune to be 
 perused by the greatest astronomer of this, or perhaps 
 of any Sige ; the enjoyment of whose acquaintance and 
 friendship I shall always esteem as one of the happiest 
 circumstances of my life. 
 
 I know not whether I need make any apology for 
 publishing my notes in English. Had they been in 
 Latin as I at first intended, they might have been of 
 more use to foreigners : but as they are, I hope they 
 will be of service to my own country, which is what I 
 most desire. The prose translation will, I know, be 
 thought to debase Virgil. But it was never intended 
 to give any idea of the poet^s style ; the whole design 
 
PREFACE. XV 
 
 of it being to help the less learned reader to understand 
 the subject. Translations of the ancient poets into 
 prose have been long used with success by the French : 
 and I do not see why they should be rejected by the 
 English. But those who choose to read the Georgicks 
 in English verse, may find several translations by emi- 
 nent men of our own country, to whom we are greatly 
 obliged for their laudable endeavours, though they 
 have sometimes deviated from the sense and spirit of 
 the author. I have therefore pointed out most of their 
 errors, that have occurred to me; which I thought 
 myself the more obliged to do, because I have found 
 Virgil himself accused of some mistakes, which are 
 wholly to be ascribed to a translator. I say not this to 
 detract from the merit of any of those learned and 
 ingenious gentlemen. I am no poet myself, and there- 
 fore cannot be moved by any envy to their superior 
 abilities. But as 1 have endeavoured to rectify the 
 errors of others, so I shall be heartily glad to have my 
 own corrected. I hope they are not very numerous, 
 since I have spared no labour to do all the justice to 
 my author that was in my power ; and have bestowed 
 as much time in attempting to explain this incomparable 
 work, as Virgil did in composing it. 
 
As nothing is more necessary for scholars^ than the 
 right understanding of the authors which are put into 
 their hands ; and as among the poets VIRGIL is the 
 chief; so the accurate English translation^ and learned 
 notes which Dr, Martyn has made, with much pains 
 and labour, upon the GEORGICKS, the most complete 
 and exactly finished work of that poet, deserve to he 
 recommended for the use of public and private schools of 
 this kingdom. The author^ s preface to this his per- 
 formance is very well worth the reader^ s careful perusal 
 and particular attention, 
 
 M, MAITTAIRE, 
 
 Southampion'Row, 
 July 1, 1746. 
 

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p. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 GEORGICO RUM 
 
 LIBER PRIMUS. 
 
 Quid fadat lastas segetes, quo sidere terram 
 Vertere, Maecenas, ulmisque adjungere vites 
 Conveniat: quae cura bourn, qui cultus habendo 
 Sit pecori: apibus quanta experientia parcis : 
 
 What may make the fields 
 rejoice, under what signs it 
 may be proper to turn the 
 earth, and join tlie vines to 
 elms: what care is to be hart 
 of oxen, and how other cattle 
 may be managed: what ex- 
 perience is required to treat 
 the frugal bees : 
 
 1. Quid facial d^c] Virgil begins 
 this poem with a brief account of 
 the subjects of his four books : corn 
 and ploughing being the subject of 
 the first, vines and other trees of 
 the second, cattle of the third, and 
 bees of the fourth. 
 
 Lcetas segeles] Seges is common- 
 ly used by Virgil to signify the 
 field. Joyful is a noble epithet: 
 we have the same metaphor used in 
 some passages of the Bible. Thus 
 it is in the 65th Psalm, ver. 14. 
 " The valleys shall stand so thick 
 •' with corn, that they shall laugh 
 " and sing.'' 
 
 Quo sidere.'\ This expression is 
 very poetical. Dryden has debased 
 it by translating it. 
 
 •wJien to turn 
 
 The fruitful soil, and when to sow the 
 corn : 
 
 «**»*♦«**** 
 
 And ivhen to raise on elms the teeming 
 vine. 
 
 And yet in the essay on the Geor- 
 gicks, prefixed to Dryden's transla- 
 
 tion, Addison observes that ''Virgil, 
 " to deviate from the common form 
 " of words, would not make use of 
 " tempore, but sidere in his first 
 "' verse." 
 
 3. Qui cultus.'] Pierius tells us, 
 that in the Roman, the Lombard, 
 the Medicean, and some ancient 
 manuscripts, it is qui. The same 
 reading is in all the manuscripts I 
 have collated, except that of the 
 King's library, and one of Dr. 
 Mead's, where it is quis. La Cerda, 
 and some other printed editions, 
 have quis : but Heinsius and most 
 of the best editors read qui. 
 
 4. Pecori : apibus.] Some editions 
 have atque, between pecori and apt' 
 bus, to avoid the synaloepha. But 
 Pierius assures us, that in all the 
 most ancient manuscripts he had 
 seen, atque is left out. It is wanting 
 in the King's, the Cambridge, the 
 Bodleian, and in one of Dr. Mead's 
 manuscripts. In another of Dr. 
 Mead's, there is only que, which 
 Pierius observes to have been gene- 
 rally inserted in the Lombard manu- 
 
2 p. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 fosT^VYl^os^shiu^l;'gffi Hinccanereincipiam. Vos, 6 clarissima mundi 5 
 
 of the world, who lead the -r • i i i i • • 
 
 year siidiog through the sky: Lumina, labeiilem caelo quae ducitis annum : 
 
 script, where there would be a syna- 
 Icepha. This figure however is fre- 
 quent in Virgil : Pierius quotes many 
 instances. I shall mention only one, 
 which is in the third Georgick : 
 
 Arcebis gravido pecori ; armentaque 
 pasces. 
 
 Heinsius and Masvicius leave out 
 atque: but La Cerda, Ruaeus, and 
 most of the common editions keep 
 it in. 
 
 Experieniia.'] This is generally 
 understood to mean the experience 
 which is required in us to manage 
 bees. Ruaeus interprets it in this 
 sense, " quanta industria, ut alan- 
 " tur apes frugales." But in his 
 notes he proposes another sense, 
 making experientia to signify the 
 experience, prudence, or ingenuity 
 of the bees. " Praeter interpretatio- 
 '* nem jam traditam afferri potest 
 '" haec altera : Dicam quae sit apum 
 '" experientia, prudentia, ingenium, 
 '' ars quaedam ; non usu quidem 
 '' comparata, sed ingenita." Dry- 
 den translates opihus quanta experi- 
 entia j 
 
 The UrtJi and genius of the frugal bee. 
 Mr. B — translates it. 
 
 What mighty arts to thrifty bees belong. 
 Dr. Trapp has it. 
 
 The experience of the parsimonious bee. 
 
 He is very fond of this new inter- 
 pretation of Rus&us : " To me (says 
 " he) it is much the best sense ; be- 
 " cause it is literal, and yet most 
 '' poetical. According to the other 
 " construction, the expression is ve- 
 *' ry harsh; and not to be support- 
 " ed by any parallel place that I 
 
 " know of." This learned gentle- 
 man is mistaken, when he thinks 
 that only Ruceus mentions this sense; 
 for Grimoaldus had interpreted this 
 passage the same way long before : 
 '* postremo quam frugalem solertiam 
 " ipsis apibus, in congregando, et 
 '' custodiendo melle, divina provi- 
 *' dentia concesserit, explicabo." 
 But, for my part, I do not see any 
 reason to reject the common inter- 
 pretation ; nor do I perceive why we 
 may not interpret this passage, qui 
 cultus sit habendo pecori ; quanta ex- 
 perientia sit habendis apibus. Be- 
 sides it rather seems harsh to ascribe 
 experience to bees, whose prudence, 
 as Ruaeus himself confesses, is 7wn 
 usu comparata sed ingenila. 
 
 Parcis.~\ This epithet is frequent- 
 ly applied to bees : thus Aristotle, 
 g|eX««vveuc-<, oi xcci toss a^ycig ai f^tAnixij 
 Kxi rag fx.h (pu^ofiivxi i and Pliny, 
 Coeterum prceparcce, et qua alioquin 
 prodigas atque edaces, non secus ac 
 pigras, et ignavas proturbent ; and 
 Martial, parca lahorat apis. 
 
 One of Dr. Mead's manuscripts, 
 instead of parcis, has paucis, which 
 would make this passage be read 
 thus; 
 
 apibus quanta experientia, paucis 
 
 Hinc canere incipiam. 
 
 But I think the common reading is 
 better. 
 
 5. Vos, ^c] The Poet having 
 proposed the subject of his work, 
 proceeds to the invocation of those 
 deities, who preside over rural af- 
 fairs. 
 
 Clarissima mundi Lumina.'\ Some 
 are of opinion, that in these words 
 Virgil does not invoke the sun and 
 moon, but only Bacchus and Ceres. 
 Ruaeus assents to this interpretation, 
 and gives his reasons why those dei- 
 
GEORG. LIB. I. 
 
 Liber et alma Ceres, vestro si miinere tellus 
 Chaoniam pingui glandem mutavit arista. 
 
 O Bacchus ami nourishing 
 Ceres, if by your bounty 
 the earth changed Chaonian 
 acorns for fruitful corn. 
 
 ties may deserve such an appella- 
 tion; 1. Because they are thought to 
 have discovered, and to preside over 
 the harvest and vintage : 2. Because 
 by them may be understood the sun 
 and moon ; for it is proved in Ma- 
 crobius, that the sun is not only 
 Liber and Dionysius, but also Jupi- 
 ter, Mars, Mercury, and Hercules,- 
 and that the moon is Ceres, La 
 Cerda contends with better reason, 
 that the sun and moon are here in- 
 voked distinctly from Bacchus and 
 Ceres : 1 . Because these words de- 
 note only the sun and moon ; 2. Be- 
 cause leading the year is more pro- 
 perly understood of those which 
 lead the whole year, than of those 
 which lead only two parts of it : 3. Be- 
 cause Virgil seems to imitate Varro 
 in this passage, who invokes the sun 
 and moon distinctly from Bacchus 
 and Ceres : 4. Because Virgil is un- 
 derstood in this sense by Apuleius. 
 As it is generally thought that 
 Virgil had Varro's invocation in his 
 mind ; it may not be amiss to place 
 it here before the reader. " Et 
 '^ quoniam (ut aiunt) Dei facientes 
 '' adjuvant, prius invocabo eos, neCj 
 '' ut Homerus, et Ennius, Musas, 
 '^ sed XII. deos, consenteis neque 
 " tamen eos urbanos, quorum ima- 
 '' gines, ad forum auratae stant, 
 '^ sex mares, et foeminae totidem, 
 " sed illos XII. deos, qui maxime 
 " agricolarum duces sunt. Primum, 
 *' qui omnes fructus agriculturae 
 '^ caelo, et terra continent, Jovem, 
 " et Tellurem. Itaque quod ii pa- 
 " rentes, magni dicuntur, Juppiter 
 " pater appellatur, Tellus terra ma- 
 '^ ter. Secundo Solem et Lunam, 
 " quorum tempera observantur, cum 
 " quaedam seruntur et conduntur. 
 " Tertio Cererem et Liberum, 
 " quod horum fructus maxime ne- 
 
 ^' cessarii ad victum : ab his enim 
 •' cibus et potio venit e fundo. 
 *' Quarto Robigum ac Floram, qui- 
 " bus propitiis, neque rubigo fru- 
 '' menta, atque arbores corrumpit, 
 " neque non tempestive florent. Ita- 
 '' que publicse Robigo feriae robiga- 
 *' lia, Floree ludi floralia instituti. 
 " Item adveneror Minervam et Ve- 
 *' nerem, quarum unius procuratio 
 " oliveti, alterius hortorum, quo 
 '^ nomine rustica vinalia instituta. 
 " Nee non etiam precor Lympham, 
 (' ac Bonum Eventum, quoniam 
 "■' sine aqua omnis arida ac misera 
 " agricultura, sine successu ac bono 
 " eventu, frustratio est, non cul- 
 " tura." 
 
 7. Liber et alma Ceres.'] These 
 two deities are properly invoked to- 
 gether, because temples were erected 
 jointly to them, and they were fre- 
 quently united in the same myste- 
 ries. Lucretius has brought them to- 
 gether much after the same manner: 
 
 Namque Ceres fertur fruges, Liberque 
 
 liquoris 
 Vitigeni laticem mortalibus instituisse. 
 
 Si.] Servius thinks si is used in 
 this place for siquidem. 
 
 Munere.] Fulvius Ursinus says, 
 that, in an ancient manuscript of A. 
 Colotius, it is numine. The same 
 reading is in one of the Arundelian 
 manuscripts. 
 
 8. Chaonimn glandem.] Epirus is 
 often called Chaonia, because the 
 Chaones, a people of Epirus, for- 
 merly ruled over the whole country. 
 Dodona was a city of Epirus, near 
 which was the famous grove of 
 oracular oaks. Thus Virgil poeti- 
 cally mentions C/zffo??ian or I)orfowe«« 
 acorns, for acorns in general i those 
 of Dodona being the most cele- 
 brated. 
 
 B 2 
 
p. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 and mixed tlie draughts of 
 Acheloian water with the 
 juice of the newly discovered 
 grapes. And ye Fauns, the 
 deities who assist husband men, 
 comehilher,0 Faun=,togethtr 
 with the Dryads, the nymphs 
 who preside over trees: I sing 
 your gitts. And ihoo, O Nep- 
 tune, 
 
 Poculaque inventis Acheloia miscuit uvis ; 
 
 Et vos agrestum praesentia numina Fauni, 10 
 
 Ferte simul Faunique pedem, Dryadesque pu- 
 
 ellae : 
 Munera vestra cano. Tuque 6, cui prima fre- 
 
 mentem 
 
 9. Pocula Acheloia.'] The river 
 Acheloiis is said to be the first that 
 brake out of the earth : whence the 
 name of that river was frequently 
 put for water by the ancients. Thus 
 Eustathius observes^that, as all high 
 mountains were called Ida, so all 
 water was called Acheloiis. This 
 expression might still be more pro- 
 per in the invocation of deities^, as 
 being more solemn ; for we find in 
 Macrobius, that water was called 
 Acheloiis, chiefly in oaths, prayers, 
 and sacrifices: Meixifot y«g to v'^a^ 
 u^sXmv ■zs'^oa-etyo^ivofiiv h to<V o^KofSf 
 xetf h reiTs iv^oiTg, tcett h louq ^va-icciq. 
 Fulvius Ursinus quotes many pas- 
 sages out of ancient authors, to the 
 same purpose. Dryden has quite 
 lost the solemnity of the expression, 
 by translating it. 
 
 Who gave us corn for mast, for water 
 wine. 
 
 Vida alludes to this passage, when 
 he tells us that the poets sometimes 
 put Acheloiis for water in general : 
 
 Nee deerit tibi, pro fluviis, proque om- 
 nibus undis, 
 Pocula qui pressis Acheloia misceat uvis. 
 
 10. Jgrestum prcBsentia numina 
 Fauni, ^c] The Fauns and Dryads 
 were usually invoked together, as 
 deities who presided over rural af- 
 fairs. " Quin et Sylvanos," says 
 Pliny, " Faunosque et Dearum ge- 
 " nera sylvis, ac sua numina, tan- 
 " quam et caelo, attributa credi- 
 *' mus." The original of these 
 Fauns is thought to be Faunus, who 
 taught the ancient Italians their re- 
 
 ligion, and was worshipped by 
 them. He was the father of Lati- 
 nus, and delivered his oracles in a 
 grove, not by signs, but by voice. 
 We have an account of this in the 
 seventh iEneid: 
 
 At Rex sollicitus monstris, oracula Fauni 
 Fatidici genitoris adit, lucosque sub alta 
 Consulit Albunea, nemorum quae max- 
 ima sacro 
 Fonte sonat. — — 
 — Subita ex alto vox reddita luco est. 
 
 The Fauns are so called afando, be- 
 cause they speak personally to men. 
 They are generally thought to be 
 the same with the satyrs. Horace 
 seems to make Faunus the same 
 with Pan: 
 
 Velox amcenum saepe Lucretilem 
 Mutat Lycaeo Faunus ; 
 
 for Lycaeus was one of the habita- 
 tions of Pan, as we find in this in- 
 vocation : 
 
 Ipse nemus linquens patrium, saltusque 
 
 Lycffii, 
 Pan ovium custos. 
 
 The Dryads had their name from 
 Sgv?, an oak. 
 
 12. Prima.'] Various are the opi- 
 nions of commentators concerning 
 the meaning of this epithet. Many, 
 says Servius, take it to mean olim. 
 In this sense Grimoaldus has inter- 
 preted it. La Cerda leaves his 
 reader to choose which he pleases 
 of four interpretations. 1. The earth 
 may be called prima, because it ex- 
 isted before the other elements. 
 ^. Because the earth, together with 
 
GEOBG. LIB. I. 5 
 
 Fudit equum magno tellus percussa tridenti, 13 £liS*^s?ruTS?hym?ght^^ 
 
 . . . ^ trident, first brought forth the 
 
 Neptune: et cultor nemorum, cui pmgma Less |;^i,fi^|;f„';*|[,^e%roves!''''" "" 
 
 heaven, was said to be the parent 
 of the gods. In this sense Dr. 
 Trapp has translated it : 
 
 Thou, at whose command 
 
 The parent earth a sprightly steed dis- 
 clos'd. 
 
 3. Tellus prima may signify the sea- 
 shore, where the horse was pro- 
 duced by Neptune; for Virgil in 
 another place uses prima terra in 
 this sense : 
 
 — Primaque vetant consistere terra. 
 
 4. The poet may allude to Attica, 
 the seat of this fable, for the Athe- 
 nians pretended to be the most an- 
 cient people in the world. I have 
 ventured to take it in what seems 
 to me the most obvious sense. I 
 imagine that the adjective is put 
 here only for the adve^-b, of which 
 many examples may be produced 
 from our Poet: as "pede terram 
 " crebra ferit." Nay, he has used 
 prima in the same manner in this 
 very Georgick : 
 
 Prima Ceres ferro mortales vertere 
 
 terram 
 Instituit. 
 
 Mr. B — translates it in this sense, 
 
 Thou, whose trident's force 
 
 First clave the earth and rais'd the 
 neighing horse. 
 
 13. Fudit equum, Sfcl This al- 
 ludes to the story of Neptune's pro- 
 ducing a horse at Athens. La 
 Cerda offers some strong reasons 
 for reading aquam instead of equum, 
 which emendation is mentioned also 
 by Servius, who says the most an- 
 cient manuscripts have aquam. La 
 Cerda's reasons are; 1. Herodotus 
 says, that in the temple of Erec- 
 
 theus, there was an olive-tree and 
 the sea, in memory of the contention 
 between Neptune and Minerva. 
 2. Varro, when he relates this fable, 
 mentions water, not a horse, to be 
 produced by Neptune. 3. In the 
 best and purest manuscripts of 
 Ovid, he finds f return, where the 
 common editions have/erww .- 
 
 Stare Deum pelagi, longoque ferire tri- 
 
 dente 
 Aspera saxa facit, medioque e vulnere 
 
 saxi 
 Exsiluisse//-e/ii»?. 
 
 I have adhered to the common 
 reading, for the three following 
 reasons: 1. Because I do not re- 
 member to have seen aquam in any 
 manuscript, or printed edition. 
 
 2. Because it seems proper for Vir- 
 gil to invoke Neptune, on account 
 of his bestowing the horse on man- 
 kind, that animal being celebrated 
 in the third Georgick -, whereas the 
 sea has nothing to do in this poem. 
 
 3. Because in the third Georgick, 
 when he is speaking of the cha- 
 racters of a fine stallion, he men- 
 tions as the most excellent, that he 
 should be descended from the horse 
 of Neptune : 
 
 Et patriam Epirum referat, fortesque 
 
 Mycenas ; 
 Neptunique ipsa deducat origine gentem. 
 
 14. Cultor nemorum, ^c] He 
 means Aristaeus, the son of Apollo 
 and Cyrene. This Aristaeus was 
 educated by the nymphs, who taught 
 him the arts of curdling milk, mak- 
 ing bee-hives, and cultivating olive- 
 trees. He communicated these be- 
 nefits to mankind, on which account 
 he had the same divine honours paid 
 to him as to Bacchus. 
 
 Cece.'] A very fruitful island in 
 
p. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 whose three hundred milk 
 white steers browse on the 
 fruitful bushes of Caea: and 
 thou, O Tegeaean Pan, the 
 
 Erotector of sheep, if thy own 
 laenalus be thy care, leave 
 the groves of tliy own country, 
 and the forests of Lycaeus,and 
 come hither propitious: and 
 thou, o Minerva, who dis- 
 coveredst the olive : and thou, 
 o youth, who didst teach the 
 use of the crooked plough : 
 and thou, O Sylvanus, who 
 bearest a young cypress-tree, 
 plucked up by the roots: 
 
 Ter centum nivei tondent dumeta juvenci: 15 
 Ipse nemus linquens patrium, saltusque Lycaei, 
 Pan ovium custos, tua si tibi Maenala curae, 
 Adsis 6 Tegeaee favens: oleaeque Minerva 
 Inventrix : uncique puer monstrator aratri : 
 Et teneram ab radice ferens, Sylvane, cupres- 
 sum : 20 
 
 the Archipelago, to which Aristaeus 
 retired after the unfortunate death 
 of his son Actaeon. He was there 
 first worshipped as a deity. 
 
 l6. Ipse nemus linquens patrium, 
 S^cJ] Pan's country is Arcadia, in 
 which were the mountains Lycseus 
 and Maenalus and the city Tegea. 
 
 17. -Si.] Grimoaldus, interprets *i 
 by quantumvis, and gives this pas- 
 sage the following sense : " And 
 *' thee, O Arcadian Pan, the illus- 
 '^ trious feeder of sheep, I most ear- 
 " nestly entreat ; that though thy 
 " mountain Maenalus, famous for 
 " the pastoral pipe, affords thee 
 *^ great pleasure ; yet leave thy na- 
 '' tive soil a little while, and engage 
 " entirely in overseeing our affairs." 
 Ruaeus gives it this sense: " If thou 
 " hast any regard for Maenalus, Ly- 
 " casus, and the other mountains 
 " and woods of thy own Arcadia, 
 " leave now those places, and assist 
 " me whilst I speak of pastoral af- 
 " fairs and trees : for my discourse 
 " will do honour to these places, 
 " and be of use to them." I have 
 followed this sense, as the most ge- 
 nerally received. 
 
 18. Tege(Be.~\ Servius and Hein- 
 sius read Tegcee; one of the Arun- 
 delian manuscripts has Tegehe ; in 
 the Cambridge, the Bodleian, and 
 one of Dr. Mead's manuscripts it is 
 Tegee; in the King's manuscript, 
 and in some of the old printed edi- 
 tions, it is TegecB ; La Cerda and 
 Ruaeus read Tegecee, which seems 
 to be right, for the two first sylla- 
 
 bles are always short; the Greek 
 name of the city being Tsy&K. 
 
 Oleceque Minerva Inventrix.] This 
 alludes to the story of the conten- 
 tion between Neptune and Minerva, 
 about naming Athens. Pliny says 
 the olive-tree produced on that oc- 
 casion by Minerva was to be seen 
 in his time at Athens. 
 
 19' Uncique puer monstrator ara- 
 tri.^ Some will have this to be 
 Osiris, the Egyptian deity ; but 
 others, with better reason, think 
 that Triptolemus the son of Celeus 
 is meant, who was taught the art 
 of husbandry by Ceres. La Cerda 
 gives the following reasons : 1. It 
 is not probable that Virgil would 
 invoke the gods of the Egyptians, 
 which he reproaches in the eighth 
 ^neid. 2. Servius observes that 
 the Romans had not yet admitted 
 the Egyptian worship under Au- 
 gustus. 3. As he invokes Minerva 
 and other Grecian Gods, why not a 
 Grecian inventor of the plough.? 
 4. It was a generally received opi- 
 nion, that the discovery of com was 
 made in Attica. 5. Pausanias says, 
 that the Athenians and their neigh- 
 bours relate that Triptolemus was 
 the inventor of sowing. 6. As Ce- 
 leus is mentioned in this very book, 
 it is not probable that he would 
 omit the mention of his son. 
 
 20. Et teneram ab radice ferens, 
 Sylvane, cupressum.'] Sylvanus is 
 the god of the woods. Achilles 
 Statius, in his commentary on Ca- 
 tullus, tells us, that on ancient coins 
 
GEORG. LIB. I. 
 
 Dique Deaeque omnes, studium quibus arva 
 
 tueri, 
 Quique novas alitis non ullo semine fruges, 
 Quique satis largum caelo demittitis imbrem. 
 Tuque adeo, quern mox quae sint habit ura 
 
 deorum 24 
 
 and all ye Godsand Goddesses, 
 whose employment it is to pro- 
 tect the fields, nnd ye who lake 
 care of the new fruits, that are 
 produced without culture, and 
 ye who send down the plen- 
 teous showers on those which 
 are cultivated. And chiefly 
 thou, o Caesar, whose future 
 seat amongst the gods 
 
 and marbles, Sylvanus is represent- 
 ed bearing a cypress-tree plucked 
 up by the roots, which fully ex- 
 plains this passage ; Mr. B — seems 
 not to have been aware of this, 
 when he translated it. 
 
 And you, Sylvanus, with your cypress 
 lough. 
 
 Sylvanu? is described in a diiferent 
 manner by our Poet, in his tenth 
 Eclogue : 
 
 Venit et agresti capitis Sylvanus honore, 
 Florentes ferulas et grandia lilia quas- 
 sans. 
 
 But in the Georgicks, where the 
 Poet speaks of trees, and designedly 
 omits flowers, it was more proper to 
 distinguish Sylvanus by his cypress. 
 
 21. Dique Deceque omnes.'] Hav- 
 ing invoked the particular Deities, 
 he concludes with an invocation of 
 all the rest. This is according to 
 the custom of the priests, who used, 
 after the particular invocation, to 
 invoke all the gods in general. Ful- 
 vius Ursinus says he saw a marble 
 at Rome with this inscription : 
 
 NOMIOIC 0EOIC 
 
 lOYAIOC 
 
 MAIOP 
 
 ANTONINOC 
 
 La Cerda mentions several inscrip- 
 tions to all the gods and goddesses 
 in general. 
 
 22. Non ullo.] So I find it in the 
 Cambridge, and in one of Dr. Mead's 
 manuscripts. Heinsius, Masvicius, 
 
 and several good editors have the 
 same reading. Servius, Grimoal- 
 dus. La Cerda, Ruaeus, and many 
 others, read nonnullo. Servius gives 
 it this sense : you who nourish the 
 seeds sown by us, with your own 
 seed; that is, with rain and warmth. 
 La Cerda interprets it; you who 
 produce new fruits, with some 
 newly discovered seed. I am loth 
 to depart from that excellent ma- 
 nuscript of Heinsius, without very 
 good reason. And here I think non 
 ullo the best reading, notwithstand- 
 ing the great authorities I have 
 quoted against it. To produce new 
 fruit with some seed seems to be a 
 very poor expression, and by no 
 means worthy of Virgil. But to 
 produce new fruits without any seed, 
 that is, without being sown by men, 
 is a very proper expression. The 
 Poet, in these two lines, invokes, 
 first, those deities who take care of 
 spontaneous plants, and then those 
 who shed their influence on those 
 which are sown. Thus, at the be- 
 ginning of the second Georgick, he 
 tells us, that some trees come up of 
 their own accord, without culture, 
 and that others are sown ; 
 
 Principio arboribus varia est natura cre- 
 
 andis : 
 Namque aliae, nullis horuinum eogenti- 
 
 bus, ipsae 
 
 Sponte sua veniunt. 
 
 Pars autem posito surgunt de semine. 
 
 24. Tuque adeo, <^r.] After the 
 invocation of these deities, he takes 
 an opportunity of making his court 
 to Augustus Caesar, by adding him 
 
^.. 
 
 p. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 is at present uncertain: wiie- Concilia mcertum est, urbesne inviscre, Cassar, 
 
 ther thou wilt accept of the ' ' ' 
 
 faTe'orc5i/;,.°rLs"To'thaut TeiTarunique velis curam, et te iiiaximus orbls 
 
 whole world shall acknow- 
 
 Slfrui'r'oTst'r&^l^^^^^^^ Auctoreiii fruguHi, tempestatumque potenteni 
 
 thy temples with th\' mother's a ■ • . • i , . r%i^ 
 
 myrtle : Accipiat, ciiigcns matema tempora myrto : 28 
 
 to the number, and giving him his 
 choice, whether he will be a god of 
 earth, sea, or heaven. 
 
 Adeo.] Some think adeo to be only 
 an expletive here, others interpret 
 it also. Servius, and after him 
 most of the commentators, take it 
 to signify chiefly. 
 
 Mox.] It is generally agreed that 
 mox in this place signifies hereafter ; 
 as in Horace : 
 
 JEtas parentum, pejor avis, tulit 
 
 Nos nequiores, mar daturos 
 
 Progeniem vitiosiorem. 
 
 It is usual with the poets to pray 
 that it may be long before their 
 monarchs are received into heaven; 
 thus Horace : 
 
 Serus in caelum redeas, diuque 
 Laetus intersis populo Quirini ; 
 Neve te nostris vitiis iniquum 
 
 Ocyor aura 
 Tollat. 
 
 25. Urbes.'] Almost all the edi- 
 tions have iirbis ; some read urheis. 
 It is certainly the accusative case 
 plural, for the construction will not 
 admit of its being the genitive sin- 
 gular; wherefore, to avoid confu- 
 sion, I have put mhes. Dryden 
 imagined urhis to be the genitive 
 case singular; and that Virgil meant 
 particularly the city of Rome : 
 
 Whether in after times to be declar'd. 
 The patron of the world, and Rome's 
 peculiar guard. 
 
 Invisere.] La Cerda observes that 
 this word is expressive of divinity, 
 and quotes several passages from 
 the poets in confirmation of his opi- 
 
 27- Tempestatumque potentem.~\ 
 These words are generally under- 
 stood to mean, that Augustus should 
 be the ruler of the seasons. But I 
 think Virgil has seldom, if ever, 
 used tempestates to signify the sea- 
 sons. Sure I am that many pas- 
 sages may be produced where he 
 has expressed storms by that word. 
 I shall content myself with one in 
 the first ^neid, where ^olus speaks 
 in the following manner to Juno : 
 
 Tu mihi qr.jdcunque hoc regni, tu scep- 
 tra, Jovemque 
 
 Concilias : tu das epulis accumbere 
 divum, 
 
 Nimborumque facis, tempestatumque pe- 
 te ntem. 
 
 Pliny explains tempestates, hail, 
 storms, and such like : '' Ante ora- 
 " nia autem duo genera esse cae- 
 '' lestis injuriae meminisse debemus. 
 '' Unum quod tempestates voca- 
 " mus, in quibus grandines, pro- 
 '' cellae, caeteraque similia intelli- 
 •' guntur." 
 Mr. B — translates it in this sense; 
 
 Parent of fruits, and powerful of the 
 storm. 
 
 The Poet means, no doubt, that 
 Augustus shall govern the storms 
 in such a manner, that they shall 
 not injure the fruits of the earth. 
 
 28. Ciugens matema tempora myr- 
 to.'] The myrtle was sacred to 
 Venus, as Virgil tells us himself in 
 the seventh Eclogue : 
 
 Populus Alcidae gratissima, viiis laccho, 
 Formosa myrtu? Veneri. 
 
 He pays a fine compliment to Au- 
 gustus in this passage, making him, 
 
 I 
 
GEORG. LIB. I 
 
 An deus immensi venias maris, ac tua nautae 
 Numina sola colant ; tibi serviat ultima Thule, 
 Teque sibi generum Tetliys emat omnibus 
 undis : 31 
 
 Anne novum tardis sidus te mensibus addas, 
 Qua locus Erigonen inter, Chelasque sequentes 
 
 or vvhelher Ihou wilt be a god 
 or ihe vast ocean, and be the 
 only one invoked by mariners, 
 the tartliest parts oV the earth 
 shall worship thee, and Tethys 
 shall give thee all her waters 
 to be her son-in-law: or whe- 
 ther thou wilt put thyself, as 
 a new sign, among those that 
 rise slowly, in the space be- 
 tween Virgo and Scorpio; 
 
 as he was very desirous to have it 
 thought, to be descended from ^- 
 neas, who was the son of Venus. 
 The same expression is used with 
 regard to ^neas himself, in the 
 fifth Mneid : 
 
 Sic fatus, velat materna tempora myrto. 
 
 30. Ultima Thule.'] The King's 
 manuscript and one of Dr. Mead's 
 have it Thile ; in another of Dr. 
 Mead's, and in the Cambridge ma- 
 nuscript, it is Tyle ; in the Bod- 
 leian manuscript it is Thyle. Thule 
 was thought by the ancients to be 
 the farthest part of the earth to- 
 wards the northj and inaccessible : 
 thus Claudian ; 
 
 Ratibusque impervia Thule. 
 
 The place which the Romans meant 
 by Thule seems to be Schetland; 
 for Tacitus tells us, it was in sight 
 of the Roman fleet, when Agricola 
 sailed round Britain, and conquered 
 the Orkney islands. " Hanc oram 
 ^^ novissimi maris tunc primum Ro- 
 " mana classis circumvecta, insulam 
 " esse Britanniam affirmavit, ac si- 
 " mul incognitas ad id tempus in- 
 *' sulas, quas Orcadas vocant, inve- 
 '^ nit, domuitque. Dispecta est et 
 " Thule, quam hactenus nix, et 
 " hyems abdebat." 
 
 31. Teque sibi generum Tethys, 
 SfC.~\ One of the Arundelian manu- 
 scripts, and one of Dr. Mead's, have 
 Thetis, which is certainly a mistake; 
 
 for the first syllable of Thetis is 
 short : 
 
 Dilectaj Thetidi halcyones. 
 
 Tethys is the wife of Oceanus, and 
 mother of the nymphs. 
 
 32. Tardis mensibus.'] By the 
 slow months he is generally under- 
 stood to mean the summer months, 
 because the days are then longest ; 
 or perhaps, because the summer 
 signs rise backwards, he might poe- 
 tically feign them to move slower 
 than the rest ; thus Manilius : 
 
 Quod tria signa novem signis conjuncta 
 
 repugnant, 
 Et quasi seditio caelum tenet. Aspice 
 
 Tauruin 
 Clunibus, et Geminos pedibus, testudine 
 
 Cancrum, 
 Surgere; cum rectis oriantur caetera 
 
 membris. 
 Ne mirere moras, cum Sol ad versa per 
 
 astra 
 JEstivum tardis attollit mensibus annum. 
 
 But Dr. Halley has favoured me 
 with the true meaning of these 
 words, which have given so much 
 trouble to the commentators. Leo, 
 Virgo, Libra, and Scorpio, are 
 really of much slower ascension than 
 the other eight signs of the Zodiac; 
 to which Virgil no doubt alluded. 
 
 33. Qua locus Erigonen inter, Sfc.] 
 Erigone is Virgo. Servius tells us, 
 that the Egyptians reckoned twelve 
 signs of the Zodiac, and the Chal- 
 deans but eleven : that the Chal- 
 deans allotted twenty degrees of the 
 
 c 
 
10 
 
 p. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 SeaS'?.ii?baShis''cK Pandltur; ipse tibi jam brachia contrahit ardens 
 
 to leave for thee a more than _, . . 
 
 tq.ial share of the heavens: ScOrpiUS, Ct 03611 justa pluS parte rellliqUlt. 35 
 
 ecliptic to some signs, and forty to 
 others ; whereas the Egyptians al- 
 lotted just thirty to each: and that 
 the Chaldeans make the Scorpion to 
 extend his claws into the place of 
 Libra. Thus Ovid : 
 
 Est locus, in geminos ubi brachia con- 
 
 cavat arcus 
 Scorpius; et cauda flexisque utrinque 
 
 lacertis, 
 Porrigit in spatium signorum membra 
 
 duorum. 
 
 It is certain that Libra was not uni- 
 versally received as a sign amongst 
 the ancients; and that the Chelce, 
 or claws of the Scorpion, were reck- 
 oned instead of it. Virgil was by 
 no means ignorant of Libra, for he 
 mentions it in another place : 
 
 Libra dies somnique pares ubi fecerit 
 horas. 
 
 He takes advantage of this differ- 
 ence amongst the ancient astrono- 
 mers, and accommodates it poeti- 
 cally, by placing Augustus, instead 
 of Libra, the emblem of Justice, be- 
 tween Virgo and Scorpio ; and de- 
 scribes the Scorpion as already pull- 
 ing back his claws to make room 
 for him. He might also in this 
 place have a view to the birth of 
 Augustus, which was under Libra. 
 
 34. Pandltur ; ipse tibr\ Servius 
 made the point after tibi : but I 
 think it is better after Panditur. 
 The sense is better if ipse be joined 
 with Scorpius, than if it be made to 
 agree with locus. 
 
 Ardens Scorpius.'} This epithet 
 is thought to belong to Scorpio, be- 
 cause it is the house of Mars ; thus 
 Manilius : 
 
 Piignax Mavorli Scorpius haeret. 
 
 Those, who are born under this sign, 
 are supposed by astrologers to be of 
 a fiery and turbulent disposition. 
 Thus we find in Manilius : 
 
 Scorpius armata violenta cuspide cauda. 
 Qua sua cum Phoebi currum per sidera 
 
 ducit, 
 Rimatur terras, et sulcis semina miscet. 
 In bellum ardcntes animos, et martia 
 
 castra 
 Efficit, et luulto gaudentem sanguine 
 
 civera, 
 Nee praeda quam caede magis. Cumque 
 
 ipsa sub armis 
 Pax agitur, capiunt saltus, sylvasque f)er- 
 
 errant. 
 Nunc hominutn, nunc bella gerunt vio- 
 lenta ferarum : 
 Nunc caput in mortem vendunt, et fu- 
 
 mus arcnse : 
 Atque hostero sibi quisque parat, cum 
 
 bella quiescunt : 
 Sunt quibus et simulachra placent, et 
 
 ludus in armis. 
 Tantus amor pugnae est, discuntque per 
 
 otia bellum, 
 Et quodcunque pari studium producitur 
 
 arte. 
 
 Servius hints at another interpreta- 
 tion ; that by ardens the Poet may 
 mean that the Scorpion is ardent to 
 embrace Augustus. 
 
 35. Et cceli justa plus parte relin- 
 quit.'] Some manuscripts and print- 
 ed editions have reliquit; but the 
 best authority seems to be for the 
 present tense. One of the Arun- 
 delian manuscripts has ut cceli Justa 
 plus parte relinquat, which is a good 
 reading. But as I find only the 
 authority of this single manuscript 
 for it, I choose to preserve relinquit. 
 
 Justa plus parte may admit of 
 two interpretations : either that the 
 Scorpion, by drawing in his claws, 
 will relinquish to Augustus tlie un- 
 equal share of the heavens, which 
 he now possesses: or that by so 
 
GEORG. LIB. I. 
 
 11 
 
 Quicquid eris, nam te iiec sperent Tartara re- 
 gem, 
 Nee tibi regnandi veniat tarn dira cupido, 
 Quamvis Elysios miretur Graecia campos, 
 Nee repetita sequi curet Proserpina matrem, 
 Da facilem cursum, atque audacibus annue 
 coeptis, 40 
 
 Ignarosque viae mecum miseratus agrestes, 
 Ingredere, et votis jam nunc assuesce vocari. 
 
 whatsoever tlioii will be, loi 
 let not hell hope lor thee to be 
 her king, nor let so dire a thirst 
 of reigning enter thy breast, 
 (hough Greece admires the 
 Elysian fields, and Proserpine 
 does not care to tullow her 
 mother to the upper regions, 
 flo thou direct my cour.>-e. and 
 favour my bold undertalcing, 
 and with me taking pity on 
 the husbandmen who are ig- 
 norant of the way, begin thj' 
 reign, and accustom thyself 
 even now to be invoked. 
 
 doing he will leave him a greater 
 share than belongs to one sign. 
 Dryden follows the former inter- 
 pretation : 
 
 The Scorpion ready to receive thy laws, 
 Yields half his region, and contracts his 
 claws. 
 
 And Mr. B — 
 
 For thee his arms the Scorpion now 
 
 confines. 
 And his unequal share of heaven resigns. 
 
 Dr. Trapp understands it in the 
 latter sense: 
 
 — see the burning Scorpion now, 
 Ev'n now contracts his claws, and leaves 
 
 for thee 
 A more than just proportion of the sky. 
 
 36. Sperent.'] It is spernent in 
 one of Dr. Mead's manuscripts, 
 and in an old edition printed at 
 Nurenberg, in 1492 : but I look 
 upon it to be an error of the tran- 
 scribers. 
 
 41. Ignarosque vice mecum misera- 
 tus agrestes.~\ Servius mentions two 
 ways of interpreting this verse. 
 One is agrestes mecum ignaros ; in 
 which sense Dryden has translated 
 it: 
 
 Pity the poet's and the ^ploughman's 
 cares. 
 
 The other is rusticis ignarisfave me- 
 
 cum; which seems to be much the 
 best sense; for Virgil would hardly 
 have declared himself ignorant of 
 the subject on which he had under- 
 taken to write. This interpretation 
 is generally received by the com- 
 mentators ; and thus Mr. B — has 
 translated it : 
 
 Pity with me th' unskilful peasant's 
 cares. 
 
 And Dr. Trapp : 
 
 And pitying, with me, the simple swains 
 
 TT„i ; _/? ii._? 
 
 JnilU J'll^lllg, WILD lilC, II 
 
 Unknowing of their way 
 
 42. Ingredere, el votis Jam nui^c 
 assuesce vocari.'^ Ruaeus interprets 
 this ingredere viam, which is very 
 low. Ingredior signifies to enter 
 upon an office. Virgil therefore 
 calls upon Augustus to begin now 
 to take the divine power upon him. 
 Dr. Trapp has very well translated 
 this lin,e ; 
 
 Practise the god, and learn to hear our 
 pray'rs. 
 
 The poet is justified in this compli- 
 ment, by the divine honours which 
 began to be paid to Augustus about 
 the time that Virgil began his Geor- 
 gicks. Thus Horace : 
 
 Praesenti tibi maturos largimur honores, 
 Jurandasque tuum per nomen ponimtis^ 
 
 aras. 
 C 2 
 
12 
 
 p. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 In the very beginning of the 
 spring, as soon as the snow is 
 melted from tlie hoarj- monn- 
 lains, ;ui(l the crumbling earth 
 is unbound by the zephyrs; 
 tiien let my bullock begin to 
 groan with, ploughing 'deep, 
 and let the share be worn 
 bright with the furrow. That 
 land fulfils the wishes of the 
 most covetous farmer, which 
 has twice felt the cold, and 
 twice the heat. That man's 
 crops have been so large, that 
 they have even burst his barns. 
 But before wc plough an un- 
 known plain, we must care- 
 fully obtain a knowledge of 
 the winds, 
 
 Vere novo, gelidus canis cum montibus humor 
 Liquitur, et zephyro putris se gleba resolvit ; 
 Depresso incipiat jam turn mihi taurus aratro 45 
 Ingemere, et sulco attritus splendescere vomer. 
 Ilia seges demum votis respondet avari 
 Agricolae, bis quae solem, bis frigora sensit ; 
 Illius immense ruperunt horrea messes. 
 At prius ignotum ferro quam scindimus aequor, 
 
 43. Vere novo, Src] The invo- 
 cation being finished, he begins his 
 work with directions about plough- 
 ing, which is to be performed in the 
 very beginning of the spring. 
 
 The beginning of the spring was 
 in the month oi March ; but Virgil 
 did not mean this by his Vere novo. 
 The writers of agriculture did not 
 confine themselves to the computa- 
 tions of astrologers, but dated their 
 spring from the ending of the frosty 
 weather. Thus Columella has ex- 
 plained this very passage : " Ne 
 " discedamus ab optimo vate qui 
 " ait, ille vere novo terram proscin- 
 *' dere incipiat. Novi autem veris 
 *' principium non sic observare rus- 
 " ticus debet, quemadmodum astro- 
 " logus, utexpectet certum diem il- 
 *' lum, qui veris initium facere di- 
 *' citur. Sed aliquid etiam sumat 
 " de parte hyemis, quoniam con- 
 " sumptabruma, jam intepescit an- 
 " nus, permittitque clementior dies 
 '•' opera raoliri. Possunt igitur ab 
 " idibus Januariis, ut principem 
 ** mensem Romani anni observet, 
 " auspicari culturarum officia." 
 
 48. Bis quce solem, bis frigora 
 sensii.] The King's, the Cambridge, 
 the Bodleian, and some of the old 
 printed editions, have sentif. The 
 commentators have found great dif- 
 ficulty in explaining this passage. 
 Servius takes it to mean that land, 
 which has twice felt the heat of 
 the days and cold of the nights ; by 
 
 which he supposes Virgil intends to 
 express the two times of ploughing, 
 in spring and autumn. Others sup- 
 pose that he means the ground should 
 lie fallow every other year, and 
 thus explain its feeling both heat 
 and cold twice: they say it is 
 ploughed about the end of winter, it 
 rests the next summer, is sown about 
 the beginning of winter, and yields 
 its crop the following summer. 
 They support their interpretation 
 by several quotations : but these 
 prove only that it was a common 
 practice amongst the ancients, to 
 cultivate their fields after this man- 
 ner. The poet is here advising the 
 farmer to be very diligent in plough- 
 ing, not to spare the labour of his 
 oxen, and to polish his share with 
 frequent use; and to encourage 
 hhn, he adds, that if he would ex- 
 ceed the common rule, by letting his 
 land lie fallow two years, and con- 
 sequently ploughing it four times, 
 his crop would be so large, that his 
 barns would scarce contain it. We 
 have Pliny's authority, that this is 
 thought to be the sense of V^irgil : 
 '' quarto seri sulco Virgilius existi- 
 " raatur voluisse, cum dixit opti- 
 " mam esse segetem, quae bis solem, 
 " bis frigora sensisset." Dryden 
 erroneously translates ilia seges, that 
 crop : it is plain that seges can mean 
 nothing but the la?id in this passage. 
 oO. Jt prius SiC.'] In these lines 
 the poet advises us to consider well 
 
 1 
 
GEORG. LIB. I. 
 
 13 
 
 Ventos, et varium caeli prsediscere morem 
 Ciira sit, ac patrios cultusque habitusque lo- 
 
 corum, 
 Et quid quaeqiie ferat regio, et quid quaeque 
 
 recuset. 
 Hie segetesj illic veniunt felicius uvae : 
 Arborei foetus alibi, atque injussa virescunt 55 
 Gramina. Nonne vides croceos ut Tmolus 
 
 odores, 
 
 the various dispositions of the 
 weather, the peculiar culturi; 
 and nature of the place, and 
 what each country will pro- 
 duce, and what not. In one 
 place corn succeeds, in another 
 vines: another abounds with 
 fruit-trees, and spontaneous 
 lierbs. Do you not see that 
 Tmolus yields the odorous 
 saftVon, 
 
 the nature of the place, before we 
 begin to plough. 
 
 At.'] The King's, the Cambridge, 
 the Bodleian, and both Dr. Mead's 
 manuscripts, have ac: it is the same 
 also in Servius, Paul Stephens, La 
 Cerda, and some other printed edi- 
 tions. The two Arundelian manu- 
 scripts, Heinsius, Ruaeus, Masvi- 
 cius, and most of the editors, read 
 at. 
 
 51. Cceli morem.'] I take ccelum 
 in this place to signify the weather, 
 or temperature of the air.' Thus 
 Servius interprets it; call, id est 
 aeris; and strengthens his opinion 
 with these words of Lucretius. 
 
 In hoc cwlo qui dicitur acr. 
 
 La Cerda quotes the authority of 
 Pliny for rendering ccBlum the con- 
 stellations; but he is mistaken. 
 Pliny's words are, " Et confitendum 
 " est, cselo maxime constare ea : 
 " quippe Virgilio jubente praedisci 
 '* ventos ante omnia, ac siderum 
 '' mores, nequealiterquam navigan- 
 *' tibus servari." In these last words 
 it is plain that Pliny alludes to an- 
 other passage in this Georgick : 
 
 Praeterea tam sunt Arcturi sidera nobis 
 Hoedorumque dies servandi, et lucidus 
 
 anguis ; 
 Quam quibus in patriam ventosa per 
 
 aequora vectis 
 Pontus et ostriferi fauces tentantur 
 
 Abydi. 
 
 53. Et quid qucEque ferat regio, et 
 quid quaque reciiset.~\ Pliny alludes 
 to this line, when he says, lib. xviii. 
 cap. \ 8. *' In omni quidera parte 
 " culturae, sed in hac quidem max- 
 '' ime valet oraculum illud. Quid 
 " quceqiie regio patiaiur." Colu- 
 mella also seems, in his preface, to 
 have had it in his view : " Nam 
 '^ qui se in hac scientia perfectum 
 " volet profiteri, sit oportet rerum 
 ^' naturae sagacissimus, declinatio- 
 *^ num mundi non ignarus, ut explo- 
 "■ ratum habeat quid cuique plagce 
 " conveniat,quidrepugnat." In lib. v. 
 cap. 5. he quotes the very words of 
 our poet : " Notandum itaque et di- 
 *' ligenter explorandum esse, et quid 
 " quceque ferat vegio, et quid J'erre 
 " recuset." 
 
 56. Croceos ut Tmolus odores.] 
 One of the Arundelian manuscripts 
 has croceos Timolus odores. The 
 name of this mountain is sometimes 
 indeed spelt Timolus or Tymolus ; 
 but then the first syllable is short, 
 as in the sixth book of Ovid's Me- 
 tamorphosis. 
 
 De.seruere sui nymphse vineta Timoli. 
 
 One of Dr. Mead's manuscripts has 
 croceos ut Timolus, which cannot be 
 right: the other hsisutmolus. Tmo- 
 lus is a mountain of Lydia famous 
 for the best saffron. Some of the 
 commentators would fain understand 
 
14 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 India ivory, the soft Sabeans India iTiittit cbur, moUes siia thura Saba?i ? 
 
 frankincense, the naked Cha- 
 
 fuuaitr;^°"''''''''^°"''" At Chalybes nudi ferrum, virosaque Pontus 
 
 the poet to allude to the odorous 
 wines which are made in that coun- 
 try; but the other interpretation 
 seems to be the best, as well as the 
 most obvious. 
 
 57. India mittkebur.] All authors 
 agVee in preferring the elephants of 
 India to those of all other countries. 
 Ivory is the tusk of that animal, 
 not the tooth, as is commonly ima- 
 gined. 
 
 MoUes sua thura Sabcei.'^ The 
 Sabeans are a people of Arabia 
 Felix, in whose country only the 
 frankincense-tree is said to grow : 
 thus we find in the second Geor- 
 gick; 
 
 — Solis est thurea virga Sabaeis. 
 
 Theophrastus also and Pliny both 
 affirm that it is found only in Ara- 
 bia. Dioscorides mentions an In- 
 dian as well as an Arabian frankin- 
 cense» Garcias affirms that it does 
 not grow in any part of India, and 
 that the Indians have all their frank- 
 incense from Arabia. Bodaeus a 
 Staple, in his notes on Theophrastus, 
 observes that the Greek writers 
 called that sort of frankincense In- 
 dian, which grew in the Islands 
 near Arabia, because those Islands 
 were formerly under the govern- 
 ment of the Indians. Virgil gives 
 them the epithet of molles because 
 of their effeminacy : thus Manilius; 
 
 Nee procul in violks Arales, terramque 
 
 ferentem 
 Delicias. 
 
 And again, 
 
 Et moUes Arales, sylvarum ditia regna. 
 
 58. Chalybes nudi ferrum. 'I There 
 is some doubt who these Chalybes 
 are. Strabo says the Chaldeans were 
 anciently so called, and that their 
 
 chief support is from iron and other 
 metals : T?? ^\ T^XTn^ovvlai VTri^KUvixi, 
 KXi T»g ^u^vxictctg , Tt'ox^rtvoi ti x.oii XuX~ 
 
 dxToi. O; ^2 vvv XuX2ct7oi, XciAvbgj 
 
 TO ■STX^.xtov avofiu^ovro, x.xB^ ovg (Auhifce. r. 
 ^x^vxKiu Y^^vTxi, KecTci B-oihXTJxv ftlv 
 i)C^v<rx iv^vixv T^y Ik t^'j Zj7i\xit.v2ix(;. 
 ■sr^ari^x yx^ xXIo-kitxi hrxv^x to o-^ov 
 rovTo l« oi T^j yYig rx fi-TxXXx, vvv ^h 
 a-i^^fiov, ZT^ori^at ^l x.xt xpyv^ov. ''OXa<; 
 ^l x,XTX revg roTTovg rovTovg ij zaX^xXix 
 
 Tivh TiXicOg ifiV VTfI^KUTXI yx^ ivB^V? TX 
 
 fig»j fASrxXXav ■Z3-Aij|}j kxI o^vfjcm, yiu^^yii 
 21 6v -sroXhx. MiTTiTXi dh ToTg ftgy furxX- 
 XtvTxTg ex rZv jUiTxhXuv o fit'og. He 
 
 thinks also that they are the Hali- 
 zones of Homer ^ and that Alyba 
 in that poet is the same with Cha- 
 lyba: 
 
 Justin makes them a people of 
 Spain, and says they take their name 
 from the river Chalybs, near which 
 they dwell. Both Dryden and IsIy. 
 B — have followed Justin, translat- 
 ing Chalybes Spaniards. They are 
 called naked, because the excessive 
 heat of their forges made them 
 work naked. Thus we find one of 
 the Cyclops described, when at 
 work : 
 
 Ferrum exercebant vasto Cyclopes in 
 
 antro, 
 Brontesque Steropesque et nudits membra 
 
 Pyracmon. 
 
 Virosaque Pontus Cast or ea.] Pon- 
 tus is a part of Asia Minor, famous 
 for drugs of extraordinary^ efficacy, 
 and such as were said to be used in 
 enchantments. Virgil mentions 
 them in his eighth Eclogue : 
 
 Has herbas, atque base Ponto mihi lecta 
 venena 
 
GEORG. LIB. I. 
 
 Castorea, Eliadum palmas Epiros equarum ? 
 
 15 
 
 and Epirus the best of mares, 
 which win the prize in llie 
 Olympic games? 
 
 Ipse dedit Moeris : nascuntur plurima 
 
 Ponto. 
 His ego saepe lupum fieri et se condere 
 
 sylvis 
 Mcerii), saepe aniraas imis excire sepul- 
 
 chris, 
 Atque satas alio vidi traducere messes. 
 
 Castor is an animal substance taken 
 from a quadruped, which in Latin 
 is called Castor and Fiber , in Eng- 
 lish the Beaver. It has been ge- 
 nerally imagined, that this drug is 
 the testicle of that animal, and that, 
 when it is close pursued, it bites off 
 its testicles, leaves them for the 
 hunters, and so escapes. To this 
 story we find frequent allusions 
 amongst the ancients: thus Juvenal; 
 
 Imitatus castora, qui se 
 
 Eunuchura ipse facit, cupiens evadere 
 
 dam no 
 Testiculorum. 
 
 Pliny takes the castor to be the tes- 
 ticles of the animal ; but quotes the 
 authority of Sextius, against the 
 story of its biting them off. " Spec- 
 " tabills naturae potentia in his 
 " quoque, quibus et in terris et in 
 " aqua victus est, sicut et fibris quos 
 " castores vocant, et castorea testes 
 " eorum. Amputari hos ab ipsis 
 " cum capiantur negat Sextius di- 
 " ligentissiraus medicinae. Quinimo 
 " parvos esse substrictosque, et ad- 
 " haerentes spinae, nee adimi sine 
 " vita animalis posse." Modern 
 authors have discovered that the 
 bags which contain the castor are 
 not the testicles of the beaver, and 
 that they have no communication 
 with the penis, and are found in 
 both sexes. They are odoriferous 
 glands placed in the groin of the 
 beaver, as we find in some other 
 quadrupeds. The best castor is 
 now brought to us from Russia. 
 Virosa does not mean in this place 
 poisonous, but efficacious or powerful. 
 
 Virus, from which it seems to be 
 derived, is sometimes used in a good 
 sense, as we find it in Statins : 
 
 — Jungam ipse manus, atque omne 
 
 henigne 
 ViriiSy odoriferis Arabum quod doctus 
 
 in arvis, 
 Aut Amphrysiaco pastor de gramine 
 
 carpsi. 
 
 In the passage just now quoted from 
 the eighth Eclogue we find the ve- 
 nena of Pontus not to signify any 
 thing destructive to life; but drugs 
 of such extraordinary power, that 
 by their means Moeris could turn 
 himself into a wolf, raise spirits, 
 and remove a crop of corn from one 
 field to another. 
 
 Dryden has followed the ancient 
 tradition of the testicles : 
 
 Thus Pontus sends her beaver stones 
 from far. 
 
 Mr. B — translates virosa, heady. 
 Dr. Trapp observes that virus and 
 venenum sometimes carry the sense 
 o£ (puQfixKoy, and so translates it, 
 
 Pontus, its castor's drug, 
 
 which is very low. 
 
 50. Eliadum palmas Epiros equa^ , 
 rum.'] Elis is a country of Pelopon- 
 nesus, in which was the city of 
 Olympia, famous for the temple of 
 Jupiter Olyrapius, and the Olympic 
 games. Epirus was formerly a 
 kingdom of Greece, famous for 
 horses. In the third Georgick we 
 find Epirus recommended as breed- 
 ing good horses : 
 
 Et patriam Epirum referat. 
 
 The Phoenicians are thought to have 
 given this country its name, from 
 *1*3K abir, which signifies strong; 
 whence bulls and horses are called 
 tun^lK abirim, being the strongest 
 of beasts. Thus Epirus will signify 
 
16 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 These laws and eternal cove- 
 nants were laid by nature on 
 certain places, ever since the 
 time that Deucalion threw the 
 stones into the uninhabited 
 world: whence a laborious 
 race of men were produced. 
 Come on then, immediately 
 from the very first months of 
 the year. 
 
 Continuo has leges, aeternaque foedera certis 60 
 Imposuit natura locis, quo tempore primum 
 Deucalion vacuum lapides jactavit in orbem : 
 Unde homines nati durum genus. Ergo age, 
 
 terrae 
 Pingue solum primis extemplo a mensibus anni 
 
 the courdry of hulls and horses. It 
 wa^ certainly famous for both these 
 animals. 
 
 60. Continuo has leges, c^c] Af- 
 ter having observed that nature has 
 subjected the world to these laws, 
 that different places should produce 
 different things, ever since the time 
 of Deucalion, he resumes his sub- 
 ject, and gives directions when a 
 rich soil should be ploughed, and 
 when a poor one. 
 
 62. Deucalion vacuum lapides, t^c] 
 The story of Deucalion is in the 
 first book of Ovid's Metamorphosis. 
 We are there told that, when the 
 world was destroyed by a deluge, 
 Deucalion only, with his wife 
 Pyrrha, survived. They consulted 
 the oracle of Themis, in what man- 
 ner mankind was to be restored. 
 The oracle commanded them to 
 throw the bones of their great mo- 
 ther behind their backs. By their 
 great mother they understood the 
 earth to be meant, and her bones 
 they apprehended to mean the 
 stones. They obeyed this command, 
 and the stones which Deucalion 
 threw became men, and those which 
 Pyrrha threw became women. Ovid 
 concludes the fable with a remark, 
 almost in Virgil's words ; 
 
 Inde genus durum sumus, experiensque 
 
 laborum, 
 Et documenta damus, qua simus origine 
 
 nati. 
 
 64. Primis a mensibtis ajini.'] The 
 preposition a is wanting in the Cam- 
 bridge manuscript. By these words 
 
 he means the same that he did by 
 vere novo in the forty-third verse in 
 this Georgick. He there mentions 
 the beginning of the spring, as the 
 season to begin ploughing. Here he 
 is more particular, and informs us, 
 that a rich soil only is to be ploughed 
 so early, and gives his reason for it. 
 Pliny has quoted this passage of our 
 poet, in lib. xviii. c 26". He is there 
 speaking of what work the hus- 
 bandman is to do when Favonius 
 begins to blow, which he makes to 
 be about the eighth of February, 
 sooner ov later. " Interim," says he, 
 " ab eo die, quisquis ille fuerit, quo 
 " flare coeperit, non utique vi. Idus 
 " Febr. sed sive ante, quando prae- 
 " vernat, sive post, quando hyemat: 
 " post eam diem, inquara, innu- 
 " raera rusticos cura distringat, et 
 '' prima quaeque peragantur quae 
 " differri nequeunt. — Terrain futu- 
 '' rum proscinditur, Virgilio maxi- 
 " me autore, ut glebas sol coquat. 
 " Utilior sententia, quae non nisi 
 " temperatum solum in medio vere 
 '* arari jubet: quoniam in pingui 
 "^ statim sulcos occupant herbae, 
 " gracili insecuti aestus exiccant : 
 '' tum namque succura Venturis se- 
 '^ minibus auferunt. Taliaauturano 
 " melius arari certum est." Colu- 
 mella tells us, that a fat soil should 
 be ploughed in February, if the wea- 
 ther be warm enough to admit of 
 it. " Colles pinguis soli, peracta 
 " satione trimestri, mense Martio, si 
 " vero tepor caeli, siccitasque regio- 
 " nis suadebit, Februario slatira 
 " proscindendi sunt." 
 
GEORG. LIB. I. 
 
 17 
 
 Fortes invertant tauri, glebasque jacentes 65 
 Pulverulenta coquat maturis solibus aestas. 
 At si non fuerit tellus foecunda, sub ipsum 
 Arcturum tenui sat erit suspendere sulco : 
 Illic, officiant laetis ne frugibus herbae, 
 Hie, sterilem exiguus ne deserat humor arenam. 
 Alternis idem tonsas cessare novales, 71 
 
 let llie strong bullocks turn up 
 the ricli soil, and let the clods 
 lie to be baked by (he dusty 
 snnfimer with the hot beams 
 of the sun. But if the soil be 
 poor, it will be sufficient to 
 turn it up lightly with a small 
 furrow, about the rising of 
 Arcturus: the design of the 
 first of these precepts is to hin- 
 der the weeds from hurting 
 the joyful corn; that of the 
 second is to prevent the small 
 quantity of moisture from for- 
 saking the barren sand. Suffer 
 also your arable land to lie 
 tallow every other year. 
 
 65. Fortes invertant ianri.'\ This 
 agrees with what he said before, 
 
 Depresso incipiat jam turn mihi tauvus 
 
 aratro 
 Ingemere. 
 
 He advises the husbandman to make 
 deep furrows in the rich ground, 
 which he expresses poetically by re- 
 quiring the bullocks to be strong. 
 
 66. Maturis solibus.] Pierius tells 
 us that in the Roman manuscript it 
 is maturis frugibus. 
 
 67. Sub ipsum Arcturum.'] Arctu- 
 rus rises, according to Columella, 
 on the fifth of September : " Nonis 
 " Septembris Arcturus exoritur." 
 According to Pliny, it rises eleven 
 days before the autumnal equinox, 
 that is, a week later than Colu- 
 mella s account: " Post eos, rursus 
 " Austri frequentes, usque ad sidus 
 " Arcturi, quod exoritur undecim 
 " diebus ante aequinoctium autum- 
 " ni." In another place he tells 
 us, that, according to the Athenians, 
 Arcturus rises on the fifth of Sep- 
 tember, but, according to Caesar, 
 on the twelfth : " Vindemiator M- 
 " gypto nonis exoritur. Atticae 
 " Arcturus matutino, et sagitta oc- 
 " cidit mane. Quinto Idus Septem- 
 " bris Csesari capella oritur vesperi. 
 *' Arcturus vero medius pridie Idus, 
 " vehementissimo significatu terra 
 " marique per dies quinqhe." Co- 
 lumella no doubt followed the Greek 
 calculation. This author gives the 
 same advice about ploughing a poor 
 
 soil; and for the same reason: 
 *' Graciles clivi non sunt sestate 
 *' arandi, sed circa Septembres ca- 
 " lendas; quoniam si ante hoc tem- 
 '^ pus proscinditur, effoeta et sine 
 ^' succo humus aestivo sole peruri- 
 '' tur, nullasque virium reliquias ha- 
 " bet. Itaque optime inter Calen- 
 '' das, et Idus Septembris aratur, 
 " ac subinde iteratur, ut primis plu- 
 '' viis sequinoctialibus conseri pos- 
 " sit : neque in lira, sed sub sulco 
 " talis ager seminandus est." 
 
 " Arcturus, in the time of Colu- 
 " mella and Pliny, rose with the 
 " sun at Athens, when the sun was 
 "in 12 J of Virgo; but at Rome 
 " three days sooner, the sun being 
 '' in Q\ of Virgo : the autumnal 
 " equinox then falling on the 24th 
 " or 25th of September." Dr. 
 Halley. 
 
 71. Alternis idem, S^c] In this 
 passage the poet advises us to let the 
 ground lie fallow every other year, 
 or else to change the grain. 
 
 Tonsas novales.] Novalis signi- 
 fies, according to Pliny, a ground 
 that is sown every other year: 
 *' Novale est, quod alternis annis 
 «' seritur." Varro says, it is one 
 that has been sown before it is re- 
 newed by a second ploughing : " Se- 
 " ges dicitur quod aratum satum 
 " est i arvum quod aratum nee dum 
 '' satum est : novalis ubi satum fuit 
 " ante, quam secunda aratione re- 
 *' novetur." It is sometimes also 
 used to expi'ess a land that is new 
 
 D 
 
18 
 
 P. VIRC^ILII MARONIS 
 
 hard with lyings'tiif'oS Et segnem patiere situ durescere campum. 
 
 changing the season, sow the ... _ • t n 
 
 golden corn, Aut iDi iiava scres mutato sidere larra, 
 
 broken up. The epithet tonsas be- 
 ing added to novales, seems to bring 
 it to Varro's sense ; if we must un- 
 derstand it to mean the same with 
 ^demess.as, as it is generally inter- 
 preted. But perhaps the poet may 
 mean by tonsas novales, new broken 
 up fields that had lately been grazed 
 by cattle. Our author uses tondeo 
 in this sense, at the beginning of 
 this Georgick; 
 
 Tondent dumeta juvenci. 
 
 And in the third ^neid : 
 
 Equos in gramine vidi 
 
 Tondentes campum late. 
 
 73. Mutato sidere.l Pierius says 
 it is mutato semine in the Roman 
 manuscript, which seems a plainer 
 and more intelligible reading than 
 mutato sidere : but as we have only 
 the authority of a single manuscript 
 for it, I have preserved the common 
 reading. By mutato sidere, the poet 
 must mean that pulse are sown in 
 one season, and corn in another. 
 
 Farra'] Far seems to be put here 
 for corn in general. It may not 
 however be improper to say some- 
 thing in this place concerning that 
 grain; which was so famous amongst 
 the ancient Romans. It seems to 
 me pretty plain, that it is the tjux 
 or ^gfls of the Greeks, and what we 
 call in English spelt. It is a sort of 
 corn, very like wheat j but the chaff 
 adheres so strongly to the grain, 
 that it requires a mill to separate 
 them, like barley. Dionysius of 
 Halicarnassus says expressly, that 
 the Greeks call that ^e/*, which the 
 Romans call far. The principal 
 objection to this seems to be, that 
 Pliny treats of zea and far, as two 
 different sorts of grain. But this is 
 
 of no weight with me, for it is plain 
 that Pliny borrows what he says of 
 zea from the Greek writers. In 
 lib. xviii. cap. 8. he says it is peculiar 
 to Egypt, Syria, Cilicia, Asia, and 
 Greece : " Frumenti genera non 
 " eadem ubique : neque ubi eadem 
 " sunt, iisdem nominibus. Vulga- 
 " tissima far, quod adoreum veteres 
 " appellavere, siligo, triticum. Haec 
 " plurimis terris communia. Arinca 
 " Galliarum propria, copiosa et Ita- 
 ' Mi 86 est. ^gypto autem ac Syriae, 
 " Ciliciaeque et Asiae, ac Graeciae 
 " peculiares zea, olyra, tiphe." In 
 cap. 10, he says, " Apud Graecos 
 '' est zea." Thus we may reason- 
 ably suppose that what Pliny says 
 of zea is taken from the Greek au- 
 thors; and that they are the same 
 grain, notwithstanding his having 
 distinguished them. Besides it may 
 not be amiss to observe, that our 
 poet has given, in the 219th verse 
 of this Georgick, the epithet robusta 
 to farra; which is the very same 
 that Theophrastus has given to zea : 
 Tav ol oiJCoio'Trv^ui, Kxt ofcciox^iB^eJi, clot 
 L^itel^, 71(^7}?, oXv^xg, /S^dfiov, xiytXuTFeg, 
 ta-^v^en^tv xcti (auKitx Kx^Tri^ofCsvor , i 
 ^iU. I shall add only one obser- 
 vation more; that/ar was the corn 
 of the ancient Italians, and was fre- 
 quently used in their sacrifices and 
 ceremonies, whence it is no wonder 
 that this word was often used for 
 com in general. Thus in several 
 counties of England, we find the 
 several sorts of grain called by their 
 proper names, and that which is 
 the chief produce of the country 
 dignified with the name of corn. 
 That far was the food of the ancient 
 Italians, we have Pliny's authority : 
 " Primus antiquis Latio cibus." 
 That it was used in sacrifices, I shall 
 
GEORG. LIB. I. 
 
 19 
 
 Unde prius l^tum siliqua quassante legumen, SSrurp^^rJ?tllih1t'ter^Sl 
 
 quote only the authority of Virgil 
 himself, in the fifth ^neid : 
 
 Haec memorans cinerem et sopitos sus- 
 citat ignes : 
 
 Pergameumque Larem, et canae pene- 
 tralia Vestae 
 
 Farre pio et plena supplex veneratur 
 acerra. 
 
 74. Lcetam siliqua quassante legu- 
 men»] Pierius seems to approve of 
 ledum instead of Icetum ; as it is in 
 the Roman manuscript ; but I take 
 Icetum to be the true reading. By 
 Icetum legumen Virgil intends to ex- 
 press beans; which were esteemed 
 as the principal sort of pulse. Thus 
 Pliny; " Sequitur natura legumi- 
 " num, inter quae maximus honos 
 " fabis." The same author, quot- 
 ing this passage of Virgil, substi- 
 tutes faba for legumen : " Virgilius 
 " alternis cessare arva suadet, et 
 " hoc, si patiantur ruris spatia, uti- 
 *' lissimum procul dubio est. Quod 
 " si neget conditio, far serendum 
 " unde lupinum, aut vicia, ant faba 
 " sublata sint, et quae terrara faciant 
 " laetiorem." He mentions beans 
 also in another place, as fattening 
 the soil, instead of dung : " Solum 
 " in quo sata est laetificat stercoris 
 " vice." Cato also, where he is 
 speaking of what enrich the earth, 
 begins with lupinum, faba, vicia. 
 Legumen is derived h legendo, be- 
 cause pulse are gathered by hand, 
 and not reaped according to Varro : 
 *' Alii legumina, alii, ut Gallicani 
 " quidam, legaria appellant, utraque 
 " dicta a legendo, quod ea non se- 
 " cantur, sed vellendo leguntur." 
 Pliny has almost the same words, 
 speaking of the legumina : " Quae 
 ** velluntur e terra, non subsecan- 
 '' tur : unde et legumina appellata, 
 " quia ita leguntur." The epithet 
 quassante seems not to have been 
 
 well understood by the commenta- 
 tors. They generally indeed agree 
 with Servius, in telling us that quas- 
 sante is used for quassata ; but 
 then they proceed no farther than 
 to tell us, that they suppose the 
 poet alludes to the shaking of the 
 pods with the wind. I have never 
 observed any remarkable shaking in 
 bean pods, nor does their firm ad- 
 herence to the stalk seem to admit 
 of it. I rather believe the poet al- 
 ludes to the method used by the 
 Romans, of shaking the beans out 
 of the pods. Pliny just mentions it 
 in his eighteenth book, where he 
 says faba metitur, deinde concutitur. 
 Columella has given us a particular 
 account of it. He says they untie 
 a few bundles at a time, at the far- 
 ther end of the floor, and then three 
 or four men kick them forward, 
 and strike them with sticks or pitch- 
 forks, and when they are come the 
 whole length of the floor, they ga- 
 ther the stalks into a heap, and so 
 the beans are shaken out. " Max- 
 '^ ime ex leguminibus ea, et sine ju- 
 ** mentis teri, et sine vento purgari 
 " expeditissime sic poterit. Modi- 
 *' cus fasciculorum numerus reso- 
 '^ lutus in extrema parte areae col- 
 " locetur, quem per longissimum 
 *' ejus, mediumque spatium tres vel 
 " quatuor homines promoveant pe- 
 " dibus, et baculis furcillisve con- 
 *' tundant : deinde cum ad alteram 
 " partem areae pervenerint, in acer- 
 *' vum culmos regerant. Nam se- 
 " mina excussa in area jacebunt, su- 
 " perque ea paulatim eodem modo 
 " reliqui fasciculi excutientur. Ac 
 *' durissiraae quidem acus resectae, 
 *' separataeque erunt a cudentibus : 
 " rainutae vero, quae de siliquis cum 
 "faba resederunt, aliter secernen- 
 " tur. Nam cum acervus paleis, 
 d2 
 
p. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 or the small seeds of vetches , 
 or the brittle stalks, and rat- 
 tling haiira of the bitter lupine. 
 For a crop of flax, or oats, 
 or drowsy poppies, burns the 
 land. 
 
 Aut tenues foetus viciae, tristisque lupini 75 
 Sustuleris fragiles calamos, sylvamque sonantem. 
 Urit enim lini campum seges, urit avenae, 
 Urunt lethaeo perfusa papavera somno. 
 
 " granisque mistus in unum fuerit 
 " conjectus, paulatim ex eo ventila- 
 '* bris per longius spatium jactetur, 
 " quo facto, palea, quae levior est, 
 *' citra decidet : faba, qu£e longius 
 " emittetur, pura eo perveniet, quo 
 " ventilator earn jaculabitur." I 
 have rendered quassante, shattered, 
 which I take to be the true mean- 
 ing of the word : for it appears by 
 Columella's account, that the pods 
 are broken and shattered to let the 
 beans come out. Quasso is fre- 
 quently used in this sense ; and our 
 English word to quash is derived 
 from it. 
 
 75. Tenues foetus vicice.'] The 
 seeds of vetches, or tares, are very 
 small in proportion to beans and lu- 
 pines; and therefore the poet has 
 distinguished them by the epithet 
 of tenues. They are also reckoned 
 to fertilize the fields : Et vicia pin- 
 guescunt arva, says Pliny. 
 
 Tristis lupini] This epithet is 
 well chosen, for lupinus is derived 
 from Av^jj, irislitia. The ancient 
 writers of agriculture agree that lu- 
 pines being sown in a field are as 
 good as dung to it. Columella says 
 they will make the husbandman 
 amends, if he has no other dung: 
 *' Jam vero ut ego reor, si deficia- 
 *' tur omnibus rebus agricola, lupini 
 " certe expeditissimum praesidium 
 " non deesse, quod cum exili loco 
 *' circa Idus Septembris sparserit, et 
 " inaraverit, idque tempestive vo- 
 '' mere vel ligone succiderit, vim 
 " optimae stercorationis exhibebit." 
 Pliny also mentions lupine as an ex- 
 cellent manure : ' ' Inter omnes au-. 
 " tem constat nihil esse utilius lupini 
 
 " segete, priusquam siliquetur, ara- 
 *' tro vel bidentibus versa, mani- 
 *' pulisve desectae circa radices ar- 
 *' borum ac vitium obrutis. * * * Se- 
 " getem stercorant fruges, lupinum, 
 " faba, vicia." And in the eigh- 
 teenth book, speaking of lupine, he 
 says; *' Pinguescere hoc satu arva 
 " vineasque diximus. Itaque adeo 
 " non egit fimo, ut optimi vicem re- 
 " praesentet." 
 
 77. Urit enim lini camputn seges. ~\ 
 Most authors agree with V'irgi], that 
 flax bums or impoverishes the soil. 
 Columella says it is so exceedingly 
 noxious, that it is not safe to sow it, 
 unless you have a prospect of great 
 advantage from it. " Lini semen, 
 *' nisi magnus est ejus in ea regione 
 *' quam colis proventus, et pretium 
 " proritat, serendum non est; agris 
 " enim praecipue noxium est." Pal- 
 ladius observes also that it exhausts 
 the ground: " Hoc mense lini se- 
 *' men seremus, si placet, quod pro 
 " malitia sui serendum non est, 
 ** nam terrae uber exhaurit." Pliny 
 quotes Virgil, for this observation : 
 " Virgilius et lino segetem exuri, 
 "et avena, et papavere arbitratur." 
 
 78. Urunt lethcto perfusa papave- 
 ra somno.'] Poppies were commonly 
 sown by the ancients : not that with 
 the scarlet flowers, which is com- 
 mon in our com fields, but those 
 sorts which we cultivate in our gar- 
 dens. That they were cultivated by 
 the ancient Romans, is plain from 
 the directions, which all their writers 
 give about sowing them. That it 
 was not our corn poppy, but that of 
 the gardens, appears from the figure 
 of its head in the hand of manv 
 
GEORG. LIB. I. 
 
 21 
 
 Sed tamen alternis facilis labor : arida tantum 
 Ne saturare fimo pingui pudeat sola ; neve 80 
 EiFcetos cinerem immundum jactare per agros. 
 Sic quoque mutatis requiescunt fcetibus arva : 
 
 But to sow every other year 
 is an easy labour, only be not 
 ashamed to enrich the dry 
 soil with fat dung; nor to 
 spread unclean ashes over the 
 exhausted fields. Thus also 
 the fields rest with changing 
 the grain ; 
 
 Statues of Ceres. The head of the 
 garden poppy is round, but that of 
 9ie red poppy is long and slender, 
 as Pliny has justly observed, lib. xx. 
 cap. 18. "Sativum omne magis ro- 
 " tundat capita; at sylvestri longum 
 " ac pusillum." This author there- 
 fore seems to contradict himself, 
 when he reckons this red ' sort, lib. 
 xix. cap. 9' amongst the cultivated 
 poppies. He there mentions three 
 sorts ; the white one, of which the 
 ancients used to eat the seeds : the 
 black one, from which opium is ob- 
 tained : and the rhoeaSj or erraticum, 
 which frequently grows amongst 
 barley, resembling rocket, a cubit 
 in height, with a red flower which 
 soon falls off, whence it is called in 
 Greek rhoeas. This is a plain de- 
 scription of our red poppy or corn- 
 rose. I shall set down the author's 
 own words : " Papaveris sativi tria 
 " genera : candidum, cujus semen 
 •* tostum in secunda mensa, cum 
 *' melleapudantiquosdabatur. Hoc 
 " et panis rustici crustae inspergitur 
 " affuso ovo inhaerens, ubi inferio- 
 " rem crustam apium githque cere- 
 ** ali sapore condiunt. Alterum ge- 
 *' nus est papaveris nigrum, cujus 
 ** scapo inciso lacteus succus exci- 
 " pitur. Tertium genus rhoeam vo- 
 " cant Graeci, id nostri erraticum. 
 ** Sponte quidem, sed in arvis, cum 
 '* hordeo maxime nascitur, erucae 
 " simile, cubitali altitudine, flore 
 " ruffo et protinus deciduo, unde et 
 " nomen a Graecis accepit." The 
 white poppy is cultivated in our 
 physic gardens; the heads being 
 much in use : for of them is made 
 the syrup, which is generally known 
 by the name of Diacodiim. The 
 
 black poppy is not only sown in 
 our gardens, but grows wild also in 
 several places. I have found it in 
 great plenty on banks, between 
 Cambridge and Ely. The seeds of 
 it are«old for birds, under the name 
 of maw seed. The beautiful double 
 poppies, so frequent in gardens, are 
 the same species, the fulness of the 
 flowers being only an accidental va- 
 riet)^ That poppies, especially the 
 juice flowing from their wounded 
 heads, which is well known under 
 the name of opium, procure sleep, 
 hardly requires to be mentioned. 
 On this account Virgil says they 
 are lethoeo perfusa somno: and in the 
 fourth Georgick he calls them lethcea 
 papavera : and in the fourth ^neid 
 he has soporifei'um papaver. Lethe 
 is the name of a river in the infernal 
 regions, which causes those who 
 drink of it entirely to forget every 
 thing : whence our poet gives the 
 epithet leihean to sleep. 
 
 79- Sed tamen alternisfacilis labor.] 
 He returns to his first precept, about 
 ploughing every other year, and ob- 
 serves that this makes the labour 
 easy ; and adds that dunging must 
 not be omitted, if the soil be poor or 
 worn out. This is the generally re- 
 ceived interpretation: but Grimo- 
 aldus gives another sense to this 
 passage. He takes it to mean that, 
 though you should sow flax, oats, or 
 poppies, which greatly exhaust the 
 ground; yet you may easily remedy 
 this inconvenience, by letting the 
 ground lie fallow one year, if you do 
 but take care to dung it diligently. 
 82. Mutatis requiescunt fcetibus 
 arva.~\ The sense of this passage is, 
 that the change of grain is of service 
 
p. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 "^Xl^!'^?„®ri«^?„'l^n!^® Nee nulla interea est inaratae ffratia terrae. 
 
 any grace wanting in an on- o 
 
 ' 'hed field. It is " 
 
 ploaghed field. 
 
 also beneficial to set fire to 
 
 the barren fields. 
 
 Saepe etiam steriles incendere profuit agros, 
 
 to the ground, and in some measure 
 answers the same end as letting it 
 lie fallow. 
 
 83. Nee nulla interea est inaratas 
 gratia terrce.] By inaratce is meant 
 uncultivated. He here again encou- 
 rages the husbandman to let his 
 ground lie fallow a year or two, if 
 he can afford to wait so long : and 
 assures him that his forbearance will 
 be well rewarded. Thus at the be- 
 ginning of this Georgick, he tells 
 us, that a husbandman, who lets his 
 ground lie fallow two years, will 
 reap such an abundant crop, that 
 his barns will scarce contain it : 
 
 Illius immensse ruperunt horrea messes. 
 
 84>. Scepe etiam, 4*^.] In this pa- 
 ragraph he relates the method of 
 burning a barren soil ; and assigns 
 four reasons, why it may be of ser- 
 vice. 
 
 Grimoaldus does not understand 
 this passage as it is commonly un- 
 derstood ; that the poet proposes so 
 many different, and even contrary 
 conjectures, concerning the benefit 
 accruing from burning a barren 
 field. He rather thinks that Virgil 
 intends to describe these four cures 
 for so many causes of barrenness. 
 If the soil be poor, burning will 
 make it fat and full of juice : if it 
 be watery, the heat will make the 
 superfluous moisture transpire: if 
 it be a stiff clay, the warmth wiU 
 open the pores, and relax the stiff- 
 ness : if it be a spongy and thirsty 
 soil, the fire will bind and condense 
 it. La Cerda quotes Bersmanus for 
 the same interpretation: and ap- 
 proves of it. 
 
 Virgil is generally thought not to 
 have intended to speak of burning 
 the ground itself, but only of burning 
 
 the stubble. Pliny seems to under- 
 stand him in this sense: " Sunt qui 
 " accendunt in arvo et stipulas, 
 " magno Virgilii prseconio." Ser- 
 vius, in his comment on these words, 
 incendere profuit agros, says, '* Non 
 " agros, sed ea quae in agris sunt, id 
 " est stipulas vel quisquilias : hoc 
 " est purgamenta terrarum, et alia 
 " inutilia concremare." Grimoaldus 
 also interprets this passage ; * * SaB- 
 " penuraero etiam herbas, frutices, 
 *' et stipulam igne absumpsisse, ad 
 '' reparandam steriliura agrorum 
 " foecunditatem nonnihil confert." 
 Dryden also translates it in this 
 sense : 
 
 Long practice has a sure improvement 
 
 found. 
 With kindled fires to burn the barren 
 
 ground ; 
 When the light stubble to the flames 
 
 resign'd 
 Is driv'n along, and crackles in the wind. 
 
 And Dr. Trapp : 
 
 Oft too it has been gainful found to burn 
 The barren fields with stubble's crackling 
 
 flame. 
 
 He says, '* agros atque stipulam 
 '* flammis : i. e. agros flammis stipu- 
 ** lae." Mr. B— differs from them 
 all, and says, '* Virgil speaks of two 
 '' different things, of burning the 
 " soil itself before the ground is 
 " ploughed, and of burning the 
 " stubble after the com is taken off 
 *' from arable land." This seems 
 to be the most natural interpreta- 
 tion. 
 
 Scepe."] Servius tells us that some 
 join scepe to incendere. If this in- 
 terpretation be admitted, we must 
 render this passage, "It is bene- 
 " ficial also to set fire often to the 
 " barren fields." 
 
GEORG. LIB. I. 
 
 23 
 
 Atque levem stipulam crepitantibus urere flam- 
 mis : 85 
 Sive inde occultas vires, et pabula terrae 
 Pinguia concipiunt : sive illis omne per ignem 
 Excoquitur vitium, atque exudat inutilis humor: 
 Seu plures calor ille vias, et caeca relaxat 
 Spiramenta, novas veniat qua succus in herbas. 
 Seu durat magis, et venas adstringit hiantes; 91 
 Ne tenues pluviae, rapidive potentia solis 
 Acrior, aut Boreae penetrabile frigus adurat. 
 
 and to burn the ii^ht stubbie 
 with crackling flames: whe- 
 ther by this means the lands 
 receive some hidden powers, 
 and rich nourishment : or whe- 
 ther every vicious disposition 
 is removed by the heat, and 
 the superfluous moisture made 
 to transpire: or whether the 
 warmth opens more passages, 
 and relaxes the bidden pores, 
 through which the juice is de- 
 rived to the new herbs: or 
 whether it hardens and con- 
 tracts the gaping veins, and 
 so hinders the small showers, 
 or parching heat of the sun, 
 or the piercing cold of Boreas 
 from scorching it. 
 
 85. Atque levem stipulam crepitaU' 
 tibus urere flammis.] It is scarce 
 possible to avoid observing how 
 beautifully the rapidity of this verse, 
 consisting entirely of Dactyls, ex- 
 presses the swiftness of the flame 
 spreading over a stubble field. Vida 
 quotes this passage, amongst the 
 many beautiful examples of making 
 the sound an echo to the sense : 
 
 Hinc etiam solers mirabere saepe legendo 
 Sicubi Vulcanus sylvis incendia misit, 
 Aut agro stipulas flamma crepitante cre- 
 mari. 
 
 86. Pabula.] The commentators 
 generally suppose, that when the 
 poet speaks of this nourishment to 
 be derived from the fire, he alludes 
 to the philosophy of Heraclitus; 
 that all things are created out of 
 fire. La Cerda, with better rea- 
 son, thinks, that he means the 
 nourishment proceeding from the 
 ashes. 
 
 92. Ne tenues pluvice, rapidive po- 
 tentia solis acrior.'] This passage 
 has very much perplexed some of 
 the commentators. They think it 
 strange that rain should be said to 
 scorch the ground. La Cerda in- 
 terprets it " ne pluviae, quae tenuitate 
 " sua penetrant, herbas perdani" 
 Dryden translates it. 
 
 Lest soaking show'rs should pierce her 
 secret seat. 
 
 And Dr. Trapp, 
 
 Lest drisling show'rs 
 
 Should soak too deep. 
 
 This seems to be taking too great a 
 liberty with Virgil ; to suppose an 
 ellipsis, and then to fill it up with 
 what we please. I would rather 
 suppose that by tenues, he does not 
 mean quce tenuitate sua penetrant/ 
 but, as Servius tells us, some inter- 
 pret it, inutileSf Jejunce, macrce, in 
 opposition to pingues, as te?iuis uhi 
 argilla. If we understand it in this 
 sense, why might not the poet say 
 that the fire, by contracting the 
 gaping veins of the earth, hinders 
 the small showers from scorching 
 the earth : that is, hinders the earth 
 from being scorched or dried, by 
 the smallness of the showers, which 
 are not sufficient to moisten it, but 
 soakthrough its gaping chinks. This 
 interpretation will be still clearer if 
 with Schrevelius we read rapidique, 
 instead of rapidive: for then the 
 sense will be that the small showers 
 joined with a very parching heat 
 will dry up the spongy, thirsty soil. 
 They may poetically be said to parch 
 the earth, because they are not suf- 
 ficient to hinder it from being 
 parched. 
 
 93. Penetrabile frigus.] Thus Lu- 
 cretius ; 
 
 Permanat calor argentum, penetraleque 
 frigus. 
 
24 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 lie also greatly helps the fields, 
 who breaks the sluggish clods 
 with harrows, and draws the 
 osier hurdles: nor does yellow 
 Ceres look down upon him in 
 vain from high Olympus: 
 and he too, who turns the 
 plough, 
 
 Multum adeo, rastris glebas qui fraiigit inertes, 
 Vimineasquetrahit crates, juvat arva: iieque ilium 
 Flava Ceres alto nequicquam spectat Olympo: 
 Et qui, proscisso quae suscitat aequore terga, 97 
 
 Adurat.'] Burning applied to cold 
 is not merely a poetical expression; 
 but we find it made use of also by 
 the philosophers. Aristotle says that 
 cold is accidentally an active body, 
 and is sometimes said to burn and 
 warm, not in the same manner as 
 heat, but because it condenses or 
 constrains the heat by surrounding 
 
 it. UoiviTiKOV dl TO ''^v^^h, aq ^B-et^Titioy , 
 
 if Uq KOCTO. a-Vf>(Jol^VlX.OV, KxBctTTi^ l^gfiTHl 
 
 ar^OTggoV hion yet^ Kott kxiuv Agysrow Koti 
 
 B-i^fialvSlV TO "^V^^OV, y^ uq TO ^i^f4,h , 
 
 »XX» TO <rvyayui, li a»T<7reg»V«»a« to 
 ^igfAQi. Pliny also applies aduror to 
 cold: " Aduri quoque fervore, aut 
 *' fiatu frigidiore:" and again; 
 " Olei libra, vinique sextario illini- 
 " tur cum oleo coctis foliis partibus 
 ^' qvLSiS frigus adusserit :'' and in 
 another place ; '' Leonis adipes cum 
 '' rosaceo cutem in facie custodiunt 
 " a vitiis, candoremque servant, et 
 '^ sanant adust a nivibus .-" and in 
 another place he says, " Si vero 
 " adusti frigore." 
 
 94. Multum adeo, 5fc.] In this 
 passage he recommends the break- 
 ing of the clods small, which the 
 writers of agriculture call occatio. 
 " Occare, id est comminuere, ne sit 
 '' gleba," says Varro. *' Pulvera- 
 " tionem faciunt, quam vocant rus- 
 '^ tici occationera, cum omnis gleba 
 " in vineis refringitur, et resolvitur 
 " in pulverem," says Columella. 
 
 95. Vimineas cratesJ] Dr. Trapp 
 translates rastris rakes, and crates 
 harrows : 
 
 Much too he helps his tilth, who with 
 
 the rake 
 Breaks the hard lumpish clods, and o'er 
 
 them draws 
 The osier harrow. 
 
 Rastrum, I think, always signifies a 
 harrow, in Virgil ; who describes it 
 as something very heavy, which by 
 no means agrees with a rake. In 
 this very Georgick we find iniquo 
 pondere rastri, and gravibus rastris. 
 Crates cannot be harrows, which 
 are too solid to be made of osiers or 
 twigs of trees, as the hurdles are. 
 Thus we have arbutece crates, in this 
 Georgick; and crates salignas, in 
 the seventh ^neidj and in the 
 eleventh. 
 
 ( 
 
 Crates et molle feretrum 
 
 Arbuteis texunt virgis, et vimine querno. 
 
 The word is used for any kind of 
 basket work ; whence Virgil, in the 
 fourth Georgick, applies it to the 
 structure of a honey-comb ; crates 
 solvere favorum ; and the crates sa- 
 lignce, just quoted, are the basket 
 work of a shield ; whence the poet 
 figuratively uses it to express the 
 bones of the breast : 
 
 I 
 
 crudum 
 
 Transadigit costas et crates pectoris 
 ensem. 
 
 96. Flava Ceres.'] Ceres is called 
 yellow, from the colour of ripe 
 corn : thus we have in Homer %xi% 
 
 AlJ^jjTDg. 
 
 97. Et qui, ^c] " Ruaeus," says 
 Mr. B — , "^ and after him Mr. Dry- 
 " den, apply this passage to what 
 " goes before ; but Virgil means it 
 *' only of what follows, namely, 
 " cross ploughing. What the poet 
 '' speaks of here retains the Roman 
 •' name to this day in many parts 
 " of England, and is called sowing 
 *' upon the back, that is, sowing stiff 
 " ground after once ploughing. 
 
GEORG. LIB. I. 
 
 25 
 
 Rursus in obliquum verso perrumpit aratro, 
 Exercetque frequens tellurem, atque imperat 
 arvis. 99 
 
 Humida solstitia, atque hyemes orate serenas, 
 
 and breaks the riilges oblique- 
 ly, which he has already turn- 
 ed up, and frequently exercises 
 the earth, and commands the 
 fields. Pray, ye farmers, for 
 moist summers and fair win- 
 ters; 
 
 " Now, says Virgil, he that draws 
 " a harrow, or a hurdle, over his 
 " ground, before he sows it, multum 
 *' juvat arva ; for this fills up the 
 " chinks, which otherwise would 
 *' bury all the corn : but then, says 
 *' he, Ceres always looks Hndly upon 
 *' him who ploughs his ground cross 
 *' again, and then exercises it fre- 
 *' quently ; that is, often repeats the 
 " labour of ploughing. What made 
 " Ruaeus and others mistake this 
 *' place is, that they did not observe 
 " that Et qui, proscisso, S^c, must 
 " be construed qui et permmpit, et 
 " exercety et imperat" This obser- 
 vation is very ingenious ; but I am 
 afraid we shall find it difficult to 
 produce an authority for making et 
 qui to be the same with qui et. Gri- 
 moaldus interprets this passage thus: 
 " Neque vero illi minus propitia 
 *' futura ilia est, qui, &c." In this 
 sense Dryden translates it : 
 
 Nor Ceres from on high 
 
 Regards his labours with a grudging 
 
 eye; 
 Nor his, who ploughs across the furrow'd 
 
 grounds, 
 And on the back of earth inflicts new 
 
 wounds. 
 
 This way too there seems to be a 
 difficulty in the grammatical con- 
 struction; for we must place the 
 words thus: " Neque flava Ceres 
 " spectat ilium ; et ilium qui, &c." 
 La Cerda's interpretation seems to 
 be most natural: he couples qui 
 with the other qui in ver. 94. Thus 
 the sense will be: " Ille juvat arva, 
 " qui frangit glebas, et ille juvat 
 " arva, qui perrumpit, &c." Ru- 
 aeus follows La Cerdaj for he in- 
 terprets et qui thus: " Valde etiam 
 
 '' prodest ille, qui." Dr. Trapp in- 
 terprets it to the same purpose: 
 " Et ille etiam juvat arva, qui." 
 Neque ilium flava Ceres alto nequic- 
 quam spectat Olympo must there- 
 fore be understood to be in a paren- 
 thesis. 
 
 Proscisso.'] Beroaldus, in his notes 
 upon Columella, tells us that pro- 
 scindere means the first ploughing of 
 the land : " Quod vere semel ara- 
 " tum est, a temporis argumento 
 " vervactum vocatur, dicitur et pro- 
 " scissum, et proscindere appellant, 
 " cum primum arant terram." Ser- 
 vius gives us the same interpreta- 
 tion : " Propria voce usus est, cum 
 " enim primo agri arantur, quando 
 " duri sunt, proscindi dicuntur; 
 " cum iterantur, obfringi ; cum ter- 
 " tiantur, litari." 
 
 98. Perrumpit.'] The King's, one 
 of the Arundelian, both Dr. Mead's 
 manuscripts, Servius, La Cerda, 
 and several of the old printed copies, 
 have prorumpit. Pierius owns that 
 many of the ancient manuscripts 
 have perrumpit; but admits pro- 
 rumpit, on the authority of the Me- 
 dicean manuscript, in which pro- 
 rumpit is altered to perrumpit with 
 a different ink. The Cambridge ma- 
 nuscript has perrumpat ; and in the 
 Bodleian manuscript it is perrupit. 
 
 99. Exercet tellurem.'] Thus Ho- 
 race; " Paterna rura bobus exercet 
 " suis:" and Pliny; "alii tellurem 
 " exercent:" and Columella; "fre- 
 " quenter solum exercendum est." 
 
 Arvis.] The Bodleian manuscript 
 has armis, which no doubt is an 
 error of the transcriber. 
 
 100. Humida solstitia, ^-c] Hav- 
 ing spoken sufficiently of preparing 
 
26 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 frr'!^frn%:£rS: Agricola?; hyberno laetissiraa pulvere farra, 
 
 the tield so fruitful, 
 
 the ground, he now begins to speak 
 of sowing it ; and advises the 
 farmers, in the first place, to pray 
 for moist summers and fair winters. 
 La Cerda has proved by a great 
 number of instances, that the purest 
 Latin writers meant only the sum- 
 mer solstice by solsiitium, and that 
 they called the winter solstice hruma. 
 Columella indeed calls the winter 
 so\&t\ce'hrumale solstitium: hut solsti- 
 tium alone, I believe, was never used, 
 but to express the summer solstice. 
 We have the word solstitium no 
 where else in Virgil, except in the 
 seventh Eclogue ; 
 
 Muscosi fontes, et somno mollior herba, 
 Et quae vos rara viridis tegit arbutus 
 
 umbra ; 
 Solstitium pecori defendite : jam venit 
 
 asstas 
 Torrida : jam Ijeto turgent in palmite 
 
 gemmae. 
 
 This is apparently meant of the 
 summer solstice. It will not perhaps 
 be displeasing to the learned reader, 
 if I quote some passages of Pliny, 
 which confirm La Cerda's observa- 
 tion. In lib. ii. cap. IQ* he says; 
 " Sol autem ipse quatuor differen- 
 " tias habet, bis eequata nocte diei, 
 " vere et auturano, et in centrum 
 " incidens terras octavis in partibus 
 " arietis ac libra: bis permutatis 
 " spatiis, in auctura diei, hruma oc- 
 " tava in parte capricorni : noctis 
 " vero, solstitio totidem in partibus 
 " cancri." In lib. xviii. cap. 25. he 
 says; " Cardo temporum quadri- 
 ** partita anni distinctione constat, 
 " per incrementa lucis. Augetur 
 '' haec a hruma, et a?quatur noctibus 
 " verno sequinoctio diebus xc. horis 
 '* tribus. Deinde superat noctes ad 
 " solstitium diebus xciii. horis xii. 
 " usque ad aequinoctium autumni. 
 '^ Et turn aequata die procedit ex eo 
 
 " ad brumam diebus lxxxix. horis 
 *' III. Horse nunc in omni accessione 
 " aequinoctiales, non cujuscunque 
 '' diei significantur: omnesque eae 
 " differentiae fiunt in octavis parti- 
 '^ bussignorum. Bruma capricorni, 
 " ab VIII. calend. Januarii fere: £e- 
 " quinoctium vernum, arietis : sol- 
 " stitiiim,cancvi: alteruraque sequi- 
 " noctium, libra% qui et ipsi dies 
 "^ raronon aliquos tempestatum sig- 
 '" nificatus habent. Rursus hi car- 
 '* dines singulis etiamnum articulis 
 " temporum dividuntur, per media 
 " omnes dierum spatia. Quoniam 
 " inter solstitium et aequinoctium 
 " autumni fidiculse occasus autum- 
 " num inchoat die xlv. At ab ae- 
 " quinoctio eo ad hrumam, vergili- 
 " arum matutinus occasus hyemem 
 '' die XLiii. Inter hrumam et sequi- 
 " noctium die xlv. flatus favonii 
 '^ vernum tempus." In cap. 28. of 
 the same book he says ; " Solstitium 
 " peragi in viii. parte cancri, et 
 '' VIII. calendas Julii diximus. Mag- 
 '' nus hie anni cardo, magna res 
 " mundi. In hoc usque a hruma 
 " dies creverunt sex mensibus." 
 Servius therefore must be mistaken, 
 who takes humida solstitia to mean 
 the winter solstice, and imagines 
 that the epithet humida is added as 
 a distinction from the summer sol- 
 stice, and therefore interprets this 
 passage thus : " Solstitia ilia quae 
 " humida sunt naturaliter, id est hy- 
 " berna, O Agricolae, et hyemes se- 
 '^ renas orate." 
 
 Pliny accuses our poet of a mis- 
 take in this advice, and says it was 
 only a luxuriance of his wit : *' Qui 
 *^ dixit hyemes serenas optandas, 
 '*' non pro arboribus vota fecit. 
 '^ Nee per solstitia irabres vitibus 
 " conducunt. Hyberno quidem 
 " pulvere Isetiores fieri messes, lux- 
 
GEORG. LIB. I. 
 
 , ^n 
 
 T.aetus ager : nullo tantum se Mysia cultu 
 
 Jactat, et ipsa suas mirantur Gargara messes. 
 
 Quid dicam, jacto qui semine cominus arva 
 
 Insequitur, cumulosque ruit male pinguis arenas ? iiie ridges oTthe barren 
 
 as winfer dust : M vsi:* does not 
 boast or an.v lill^Kt' tliat is so 
 beneficial, and in such seasons 
 even Garganisarimifps its own 
 harvests. Why should I speak 
 of him, who, as soon as he has 
 sown the seed, immediately 
 falls upon the field, and levels 
 ridges of the barren sand ? 
 
 " uriantis ingenii fertilitate dictum 
 *' est." But Virgil is sufficiently 
 justified by its being an universally 
 received opinion amongst the an- 
 cient Roman husbandmen. We are 
 told by Macrobius, that in a very 
 old book of verses, which is said to 
 be the most ancient of all the Latin 
 books, the following words are to 
 be met with : " Hyberno pulvere, 
 '' verno luto, grandia farra Camille 
 " metes." From this old saying 
 Virgil no doubt derived his advice 
 to the farmers, to pray for moist 
 summers and fair winters. 
 
 Orater\ It is opiate in one of the 
 Arundelian manuscripts, and in La 
 Cerda. Pliny seems also to have 
 read opiate; for in the passage, 
 which I just now quoted, he says, 
 " Qui dixit hy ernes serenas optan- 
 " das." 
 
 102. Nullo tantiim se Mysia, Sfc.~\ 
 It is Moesia in the Bodleian manu- 
 script, in Servius, and in several 
 old editions; some of the old edi- 
 tions have Mesia. The Cambridge 
 manuscript has Messia. Fulvius 
 Ursinus tells us that the old Colo- 
 tian manuscript has Mysia, which 
 reading is admitted also by Macro- 
 bius. Pierius says it is Mysia in 
 the Roman manuscript, and in an- 
 other very ancient one. Heinsius and 
 several of the best editors have My- 
 sia. According to Pliny, Moesia is 
 the name of a province joining to 
 Pannonia, and running down with 
 the Danube to the Euxine sea. But 
 Mysia is a part of Asia minor join- 
 ing to the Hellespont. In this pro- 
 vince were both a mountain and a 
 town called Gargarus, famous for 
 
 great plenty of corn. Thus we find 
 in Ovid : 
 
 Gargara quot segetes, quot habet Me- 
 
 thymna racemos : 
 JEquora quot pisces, fronde teguntur 
 
 aves ; 
 Quot caelum Stellas, tot habet tua Roma 
 
 puellas. 
 
 104. Q.uid dicam, <^c.] In this 
 beautiful passage, the poet advises 
 to break the barren clods immedi- 
 ately after the seed is sown ; and 
 then to overflow the ground. He 
 recommends also the feeding down 
 of the young corn, to prevent its 
 too great luxuriance : and men- 
 tions the draining of a marshy 
 soil. 
 
 105. Male pinguis arcnae.] Ruaeus 
 says, that male pinguis is not put 
 for sierilis in this place, but that it 
 signifies male, intempestive, et frus- 
 ira compacla et conglobata. He ob- 
 serves that arena is often put for 
 any sort of earth, as in the fourth 
 Georgick it is used for the mud of 
 the Nile, which is fat : 
 
 Et viridem ^gyptuni nigra foecuudat 
 arena. 
 
 But however it is certain that male 
 joined with an adjective has the 
 same signification with non. Thus 
 in the second j^neid, statio male 
 jida carinis is the same as non Jida; 
 and in the fourth -^neid, alloquiiur 
 male sana sororem is the same as in- 
 Sana or 72on sana : therefore male 
 pinguis in this passage may well be 
 interpreted non pinguis, notwith- 
 standing what Ruaeus has said to 
 the contrary. 
 
 E 'i 
 
aiul (hen brings down rills of 
 water over it? And when the 
 parched field lies gasping with 
 dying herbs, behold he draws 
 down the water from the brow 
 of a hill by descending chan- 
 nels: the water, as it falls, 
 makes a hoarse murmur along 
 the smooth stones, and re- 
 freshes the thirsty fields with 
 its bubbling streams. Why 
 should I speak of him, who. 
 lest the heavy ears should 
 weigh down tne stem, feeds 
 down the luxuriant corn in 
 the tender blade, as soon as it 
 is even with the furrow? or of 
 him who drains the collected 
 moisture of the marsh from 
 the soaking sand? especially 
 in doubtful months, when the 
 river has overflowed its banks, 
 and covered all the country 
 roimd with mad, 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 Deinde satis fluvium iriducit, rivosque sequen- 
 tes ? 106 
 
 Et cum exustus ager morientibus aestuat herbis, 
 Ecce supercilio clivosi tramitis undam 
 Elicit : ilia cadens raucum per laevia murmur 
 Saxa ciet, scatebrisque arentia temperat arva. 
 Quid, qui, ne gravidis procumbat culmus aristis, 
 Luxuriem segetura tenera depascit in herba ; 
 Cum primum sulcos sequant sata.^ quiqufe paludis 
 Collectura humorem bibula deducit arena.^ 114 
 Praesertim incertis si mensibus amiiis abundans 
 Exit, et obducto late tenet omnia limo, 
 
 106. Deinde satis jiuvium, SfcJ^ 
 Virgil is thought in these lines to 
 have imitated the following passage 
 of Homer, in the 21st Iliad: 
 
 'sit 5* Of' ivvtg o;^iTti>^s a^o K^vvfis fit>.a- 
 'Aft^vrei xai xyivm vha,r$s poov fiyi/aonun, 
 
 'O^ktvurai, Tfl ^i T uxei xecruSo'fitvo* xt- 
 
 Xei^tjt Ivi zir^oaXUf <p6avu Vi rt xeii rov 
 elyevrec. 
 
 So when a peasant to his garden brings 
 Soft rills'of water from the bubbling 
 
 springs, 
 And calls the floods from high, to bless 
 
 his bow'rs. 
 And feed with pregnant streams the 
 
 plants and flow'rs ; 
 Soon as he clears whate'er their passage 
 
 stay'd, 
 And marks their future current with his 
 
 spade, 
 Swift o'er the rolling pebbles, down the 
 
 hills 
 Louder and louder purl the falling rills. 
 Before him scatt'ring, they prevent his 
 
 pains. 
 And shine in mazy wand'rings o'er the 
 
 plains. 
 
 Mr. Pope. 
 
 Rivosque sequentes.'] It is nvosque 
 
 Jluenies in the Roman manuscript, 
 according to Pierius. 
 
 109. Elicit.'] Pierius says it is di- 
 git in the Roman manuscript. 
 
 112. Luxuriem segetum tenera de- 
 pascit in herha.~\ The former pre- 
 cept, of breaking the clods, and wa- 
 tering them, related to a barren soil. 
 Here he speaks of an inconvenience 
 attending a rich soil, the too great 
 luxuriance of the corn ; and advises 
 to feed it down, while it is young. 
 He seems to have taken this from 
 Theophrastus, who says, that in a 
 rich soil the husbandmen both mow 
 the young corn, and feed it down, 
 to keep it from running too much 
 to leaf. 'E» ^e Totlq uyat^xig x^^em 
 ^goff TO flit (pvXMftotnlv y iTniifiaa-i xxl 
 heiKilg^o-i To» criroi. Pliny says the 
 same thing: '' Luxuria segetura 
 " castigatur dente pecoris in herba 
 *' duntaxat." 
 
 113. Quique paludis, Sj-c-l He 
 now speaks of draining a marshy 
 land. 
 
 115. Si.] In the King's manu- 
 script it is cum. 
 
 Incertis mensibus.'] Months where- 
 in the weather is uncertain ; as in 
 spring and autumn. 
 
GEORG. LIB. I. 
 
 29 
 
 Unde cavae tepido sudant humore lacunae. 
 Nee tamen, haec cum sint hominumque boumque 
 
 labores 
 Versando terram experti, nihil improbus anser, 
 Strymoniaeque grues, et amaris intuba fibris 120 
 Officiunt, aut umbra nocet. Pater ipse colendi 
 
 whence the hollow ditches 
 sweat with warm inoiatiire. 
 Though ail these constant la- 
 bours of men and oxen attend 
 the culture of the earth, yet 
 these are not all, for the 
 wicked goose, and Stry monian 
 cranes, and succory with bit- 
 ter roots, are injurious, and 
 shade is hurtful to the corn. 
 Jupiter himself 
 
 118. Nec tarn en f ^c] Having 
 spoken of these labours which at- 
 tend the culture of the earth, the 
 poet adds that these are not all; 
 for birds that infest the corn are to 
 be scared away, weeds are to be 
 rooted up, and trees to be lopped, 
 that overshade the field. Hence he 
 takes occasion to make a beautiful 
 digression concerning the golden 
 and silver ages. 
 
 Bourn.'] One of Dr. Mead's ma- 
 nuscripts has bovum throughout the 
 book. 
 
 119. Anser.l The goose is inju- 
 rious wheresoever it comes by pluck- 
 ing every thing up by the roots. 
 Columella quotes the following 
 words to this purpose from Celsus : 
 *' Anser neque sine aqua, nec sine 
 *' multa herba facile sustinetur, 
 " neque utilis est locis consitis, quia 
 " quicquid tenerum contingere pot- 
 *' est carpit." Palladius has al- 
 most the same words, and adds that 
 the dung of geese is hurtful : " An- 
 " ser sane nec sine herba, nec sine 
 " aqua facile sustinetur : locis con- 
 " sitis inimicus est, quia sata et 
 " morsu laedit et stercore." This 
 notion, of the dung of geese burning 
 up the grass where they feed, still 
 prevails amongstour country people. 
 But I have observed that grass will 
 grow as well under their dung, as 
 under that of other animals. The 
 many bare places, which are found 
 where geese frequent, are occasioned 
 by their drawing up the grass by 
 the roots. 
 
 120. Stry monice grues. "l The cranes 
 are said to come from Strymon, a 
 river of Macedon, on the borders of 
 Thrace. 
 
 Amaris intuba Jibrls.'] Intybum, 
 or Iniybus, is commonly translated 
 Endive : but the plant which Virgil 
 means is Succory. Columella, when 
 he recommends intubum to be sown 
 for geese, tells us, it must be that 
 sort which the Greeks call o-gg/j : 
 " Sed praecipue genus intubi, quod 
 *' <ri^iv Graeci appellant." Diosco- 
 rides tells us there are two sorts of 
 (rgg<?, one wild, and the other culti- 
 vated ; the wild sort is called a-;xg<? 
 and succory : Sgg<j uygicc kxi ^f>ii^cs' 
 d>v vi ftiv ecypici -zsrU^igy ti xec) zi^apiov 
 
 KecXHfAm. It is called ar/Ǥ<$ no doubt 
 from its bitterness : whence Virgil 
 describes it to be amaris fibris. It 
 is a very common weed about the 
 borders of our corn fields ; and may 
 be two ways injurious. The spread- 
 ing of its roots may destroy the 
 corn ; and, as it is a proper food for 
 geese, it may invite those destruc- 
 tive animals into the fields where it 
 grows. La Cerda, in his note on 
 this passage, takes occasion to cor- 
 rect an error which has crept into 
 the editions of Pliny. In lib. viii. 
 cap. 27. he says, " Fastidium pur- 
 
 *' gant anates, anseres, caete- 
 
 " raeque aquaticae herba siderite,'* 
 That judicious commentator ob- 
 serves that we ought to read seride 
 instead of siderite. 
 
 121. Umbra nocet.'] That trees 
 overshading the corn are injurious 
 
30 
 
 p. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 woitld have the method of 
 tillage not to be easy, and 
 first of all commanded the 
 fields to be cultivated with 
 art, to whet the minds of mor- 
 tals with care : and would not 
 suffer his reign to rust in sloth. 
 Before the reign of Jupiter, 
 no husbandmen subdued the 
 tielrls: nor was it lawful to 
 mark out lands, or distinguish 
 them with bounds: all things 
 were in common : and the 
 earth of her own accord pro- 
 duced every thin^ more freely, 
 without compulsion. He gave 
 a noxious power to horrid 
 serpents. 
 
 Haud facilem esse viam voliiit, priniiisque per 
 
 artem 
 Movit agros, curis acuens mortalia corda : 
 Nee torpere gravi passus sua regna veterno. 
 Ante Jovem nulli subigebant arva coloni : 125 
 Nee signare quidem, aiit partiri limite campum 
 Fas erat. In medium quaerebant; ipsaque tellus 
 Omnia liberius nullo poscente ferebat. 
 Ille malum virus serpentibus addidit atris, 
 
 to it, is known to every body. The 
 poet has said the same thing in his 
 tenth Eclogue : 
 
 Nocent el frugibiis umbrae. 
 
 Pater ipse colcndi haud facilem esse 
 viam voluit.~\ That the husbandman 
 may not repine at so many obsta- 
 cles thrown in his way, after all his 
 labour, the poet in a beautiful man- 
 ner informs him, that Jupiter him- 
 self, when he took the government 
 of the world upon him, was pleased 
 to ordain, that men should meet 
 with many difficulties, to excite 
 their industry, and prevent their 
 minds from rusting v^ith indolence 
 and sloth. 
 
 122. Primus per artem movit 
 agros. '] Mr. B — has justly ob- 
 served, that this does not mean that 
 Jupiter invented tillage, but that 
 '' he made it necessary to stir the 
 " ground, because he filled it with 
 '• weeds, and obliged men to find 
 " out ways to destroy them." Ser- 
 vius seems to think that movit may 
 be interpreted y?<s.s /if coli. The poet 
 tells us presently afterwards, that 
 Ceres was the inventor of husbandry . 
 Dryden was not aware of this when 
 he wrote, 
 
 Himself invented first the shining share, 
 And whetted human industry by care : 
 Him?eif did handicrafts and arts or- 
 dain. 
 
 Ovid also ascribes the invention of 
 agriculture to Ceres, in the fifth 
 book of his Metamorphosis: 
 
 Prima Ceres uncoglebam diraovit aratro : 
 Prima dedit fruges, aliraentaque raitia 
 
 terris : 
 Prima dedit leges : Cereris sumus omnia 
 
 munus. 
 
 125. Ante Jovem nulli subigebant 
 arva coloni.'] Thus Ovid : 
 
 Ipsa quoque immunis rastroque intacta,. 
 
 nee ullis 
 Saucia vomeribus, per se dabat omnia 
 
 tellus. 
 
 126. Nec.~\ It is ne in the Roman 
 manuscript, according to Pierius, 
 which is no unelegant reading. 
 
 127. hi medium qucerebant.'] In 
 7nediuin signifies in common. Thus 
 Seneca, speaking of the golden age, 
 says, " Cum in medio jacerent be- 
 "neficia naturae promiscue utenda:" 
 and after having quoted this pas- 
 sage from Virgil, he adds : " Quid 
 '"^ hominum illo genere felicius.? In 
 " commune rerum natura frueban- 
 " tur : sufficiebat ilia, ut parens, in 
 ^' tutelam omnium." 
 
 Ipsaque tellus omnia liberius nullo 
 posceiite ferebat '] Thus Hesiod: 
 
 AvvoftKTyi, zfoXXov ri xai cl^B-atoi. 
 
 129. Mcdumvirii^.'] Malum is not 
 a superfluous epithet; for virus is 
 
GEORG. LIB. I. 
 
 31 
 
 Prsedarique luposjussit,pontumquemoveri: 130 
 Mellaque decussit foliis, ianemque removit, 
 Et passim rivis currentia vina repressit : 
 Ut varias usus meditando extunderet artes 
 Paulatim, et sulcis frumenti quaereret herbani : 
 Ut silicis venis abstrusum excuderet ignem. 135 
 'J'unc alnos primum fluvii sensere cavatas : 
 Navita turn stellis numeros et nomina fecit, 
 Pleiadas, Hyadas, claramque Lyeaonis Arcton. 
 
 and commanded the wolves, 
 to prowl, and the sea to swell : 
 and shook the honey irom ihe 
 leaves of trees, and concealed 
 the Are, and withheld the 
 wine, which ran commonly 
 before in rivulets : that exi)e- 
 rience might gradually strike 
 out various arts by frequent 
 thinking, and seek the blades 
 of corn in furrows: that it 
 might strike the hidden fire 
 out of the veins of flints. 
 Then did the rivers first feel 
 the hollowed alders: then did 
 the sailor first give numbers 
 and names to the stars, the 
 Pleiades, the Hyades, and the 
 bright bear of Lycaon. 
 
 used in a good as well as a bad 
 sense. The Greeks used (pei^^uxov in 
 the same manner : thus we find in 
 Homer. 
 
 zfoXXa Tf kvy^d. 
 
 See the note on virosa Castorea, 
 ver. 58. 
 
 131. Mellaque decussit [01118.1 The 
 poets feign, that, in the golden age, 
 the honey dropped from leaves of 
 trees. Thus Ovid : 
 
 Flavaque de viridi stillabant ilice mella. 
 
 Our poet, speaking, in the fifth 
 Eclogue, of the restoration of the 
 golden age, says that the oaks shall 
 sweat honey : 
 
 Et durae quercus sudabunt roscida ineila. 
 
 It is no uncommon thing to find 
 a sweet, glutinous liquor on oak 
 leaves, which might give the poets 
 room to imagine, that, in the golden 
 age, the leaves abounded with honey. 
 Ignemqice removit.~\ He did not 
 totally take the fire away, but only 
 concealed it in the veins of flints. 
 Thus Hesiod : K§y%|/g ^g zrv^, 
 
 132. Et passim rivis currentia 
 vina repressit.'] It is feigned that 
 there were rivers of milk and wine 
 in the golden age. Thus Ovid : 
 
 Flumina jam lactis jam fluniina nectaris 
 ibant. 
 
 133. Ut.']^ It is et in the Bod- 
 leian, and in one of Dr. Mead's 
 manuscripts. Ut is certainly 
 right. 
 
 Extunderet.'] Pierius says it is eX' 
 cuderet in several ancient manu- 
 scripts : but in the Roman, the Me- 
 dicean, and other good copies, it is 
 extunderet. The King's, one of the 
 Arundelian, and one of Dr. Mead's 
 manuscripts have excuderet : in the 
 Bodleian it is exfoderet. Extun- 
 deret is admitted by most of the 
 editors. 
 
 135. C//.] So I find it in the Cam- 
 bridge, and one of Dr. Mead's ma- 
 nuscripts. Pierius says it is ut in 
 all the ancient copies he had seen. 
 Servius, Heinsius, some of the old 
 printed editions, and Masvicius read 
 ut. In most of the modern editions 
 it is et. 
 
 136. Almos.'] The alder-tree de- 
 lights in moist places, and on the 
 banks of rivers. One of these trees 
 that was grown hollow with age, 
 falh'ng into a river, may be imagined 
 to have given the first hint towards 
 navigation. 
 
 137. Turn.] In the old Nurenberg 
 edition it is dum. 
 
 138. Pleiadas, Hyadas, claramque 
 Lycao7iis Arcton.'] This line seems 
 to be an imitation of Hesiod : 
 
 nXn'ta^iS S-', 'Txhi rt, ro, re tr^mg 
 
3^ 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 'llieu was (betaking of wild 
 beasts in toils, and the deceiv- 
 ing with bird-lime, and the 
 encompassing: of great forests 
 with dogs discovered. And 
 now one seeking the deep 
 places lashes the broad river 
 with a casting net, and another 
 drags his wet lines in the sea. 
 
 Turn laqueis captare feras, et fallere visco 
 Inventum, et magnos canibus circumdare sal- 
 tus. 140 
 
 Atque alius latum funda jam verberat amnem, 
 Alta petens ; pelagoque alius trahit humida lina. 
 
 Or of Homer J 
 
 The Pleiades are seven stars in the 
 neck of the bull, not in the tail, as 
 we find in Pliny, lib. ii. cap. 41. 
 " In Cauda tauri septem, quas ap- 
 " pellavere vergilias/' They are fa- 
 bled to have been the seven daugh- 
 ters of Atlas, king of Mauritania, 
 whence they are called also by Vir- 
 gil Atlantides. The Latin writers 
 generally call them Vergiliae, from 
 their rising about the vernal equinox. 
 Pleiades is generally thought to be 
 derived from xAew, to sail, because 
 their rising pointed out the time in 
 those days proper to adventure to 
 sea. Others derive this name from 
 ^Mtong, many, because they appear 
 in a cluster ,• thus we find Manilius 
 call them ddus glomerabile. The 
 Hyades are seven stars in the head 
 of the bull. This name is derived 
 from va, to rain, because they are 
 thought to bring rain at their rising 
 and setting. The old Romans, 
 thinking hyades to be derived from 
 «?, a sow, called these stars svcidoB^ 
 as we are informed by Cicero : 
 " Ejus (Tauri) caput stellis consper- 
 " sum est frequentibus : 
 
 " Haec Graeci Stellas: Hyadas vocitare 
 ** suerunt : 
 
 " A pluendo : vuy enim est pluere. 
 " Nostri imperite suculasj quasi a 
 " suibus essent, non ab imbribus no- 
 " minatae." Pliny makes the same 
 observation : " Quod nostri a simili- 
 
 " tudine cognominis Graeci propter 
 *' sues impositum arbitrantes, impe- 
 " ritia appellavere suculas." Servius 
 mentions another etymology, that 
 these stars represent the form of the 
 Greek letter, T, and are therefore 
 called 'TaJgj. It is certain that the 
 five principal stand in the shape of 
 that letter. Callisto, the daughter 
 of Lycaon, was violated by Jupiter, 
 and turned into a bear by Juno. 
 Jupiter afterwards translated her 
 into the constellation called by the 
 Greeks "Agjtres, by the Romans Ursa 
 major, and by us the Great Bear. 
 See the whole fable in the second 
 book of Ovid's Metamorphosis. 
 
 139. Laqueis.'] It is laqueo in one 
 of Dr. Mead's manuscripts. 
 
 140. Inventum, et magnos,"] In one 
 of the Arundelian manuscripts it is 
 inventum : magnos. In one of Dr. 
 Mead's it is inventum est : magnos. 
 
 Canibus circumdare saltus.'] Thus 
 we have in the tenth Eclogue : 
 
 Non me ulla vetabunt 
 
 Frigora Parthenios canibus circumdare 
 saltus. 
 
 141. Verberat ajnnetn.] This lash- 
 ing the river is a beautiful descrip- 
 tion of the manner of throwing the 
 casting net 
 
 142. Alta petens.] Servius tells us 
 that some make the point after am- 
 nem ; and make alta petens to belong 
 to the sea-fishing. But in this case, 
 I believe Virgil would hardly have 
 put the que after pelago : I believe 
 the line would rather have run 
 thus : 
 
 Altapdens alius pclago trahit humida Una, 
 
GEORG. LIB. I. 
 
 33 
 
 Tuni ferri rigor, atque argutae lamina serrae ; 
 Nam primi cuneis scindebant fissile lignum. 
 Tum variae venere artes: labor omnia vicit 145 
 Improbus, et duHs urgens in rebus egestas. 
 Prima Ceres ferro mortales vertere terram 
 Instituit : cum jam glandes atque arbuta sacrae 
 
 Then llie tempering of steel 
 was invented, and the bla<le of 
 the grating saw; for in the 
 first age they clave the split- 
 ting wood with wedges. Then 
 various arts were discovered. 
 Incessant labour and necessity 
 pressing in difficidt affairs 
 overcame all things. Ceres 
 first taught mankind to plough 
 the ground, when mast and 
 arbutes began to fail in the sa- 
 cred wood. 
 
 Httmida Una.'] La Cerda observes 
 that linum is often used for a net. 
 Mr. B — says, " The sea-fishing is 
 " finely painted; for in this business 
 •* the lines are so long, by reason 
 " of the depth of the water, that the 
 " fisherman's employment seems to 
 *' be nothing else but trahit humida 
 " lina.'^ Whether Virgil intends, 
 by these words, to express the drag- 
 net, or fisiiing with the hook, I shall 
 not venture to determine. 
 
 144. Primi.'] The King's, the 
 Cambridge, and one of the Arun- 
 delian manuscripts, have primum: 
 hut primi seems more poetical. Thus, 
 
 Tuque O cui privia fremenlem 
 
 Fiidit equum tellus. 
 
 And, 
 
 Prima Ceres ferro mortales vertere 
 
 terram 
 Instituit. 
 
 Scindebant.] It is Jindebant in the 
 Cambridge manuscript: but this 
 must be a mistake ; for Jindebant 
 fissile lignum js by no means worthy 
 of Virgil. 
 
 145. Vicit.] In most of the manu- 
 scripts and printed editions it is 
 vincit. Pierius says it is vicit in the 
 Roman manuscript ; and adds, that 
 it is vincit in the Medicean copy -, 
 but that there is a mark under the 
 11, which shews it is to be expunged. 
 It is vicit in one of the Arundelian 
 manuscripts: all the rest which I 
 have collated have vincit. Heinsius, 
 who made use of one of the best 
 copies, reads vicit, 
 
 148. Arbuta.] Virgil uses arbii- 
 
 tum for the fruit in this place. In 
 the second Georgick he uses arbutus 
 for the tree; and in the third, he 
 makes arbutum to signify the tree. 
 .The Greek writers call the tree K0fz.ec' 
 g«5 and the fruit ^vif^xUvMv. Pliny 
 calls the fruit unedo. The commen- 
 tators observe that Horace uses arbu- 
 tus for the fruit. 
 
 Impune tutum per nemus arhntos 
 Quaerunt latentes, et thyma. 
 
 But as Horace joins arbutos with thy- 
 ma, which cannot mean fruit, I ra- 
 ther believe we are to understand 
 that he meant the trees themselves. 
 Lucretius uses arbuta for the fruit 
 in two places ; in one of which we 
 find glandes atque arbuta, as in this 
 passage of Virgil. The arbute or 
 strawberry-tree is common enough 
 in our gardens. The fruit has very 
 much the appearance of our straw- 
 berry, but is larger, and has not the 
 seeds on the outside of the pulp, 
 like that fruit. It grows plentifully 
 in Italy, where the meaner sort of 
 people frequently eat the fruit, 
 which is but a very sorry diet. 
 Hence the poets have supposed the 
 people of the first age to have lived 
 on acorns and arbutes in the woods, 
 before the discovery of corn. Thus 
 Lucretius : 
 
 Quod sol, atque imbres dederant, quod 
 terra crearat 
 
 Sponte sua, satis id placabat pectora 
 donum, 
 
 Glandiferas inter curabant pectora quer- 
 cus 
 
 Plerumque, et quae nunc hyberno tem- 
 pore cernis 
 
 Arbuta phoeniceo fieri malura colore. 
 
34 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 anti Dodoiin dcitied (hem sus- 
 tenance. Soon was labour 
 added lo the com : that nox- 
 ious blights should eat the 
 stalks, and that the lazy thistle 
 should bedreadlul in the corn 
 fields: 
 
 Deficerent sylvae, et victuni Dodona negaret. 
 Mox et frumentis labor additus : iit mala cul- 
 mos 150 
 
 Esset robigo, segnisque horreret in arvis 
 
 And Ovid : 
 
 Arbuteos fcEtus montanaque fraga lege- 
 bant. 
 
 149. Deficerent.'] Pierius says, 
 that in several very ancient manu- 
 scripts it is def Iterant ; but he thinks, 
 not without reason, that deficerent 
 is better. 
 
 Dodona.] See the note on Chao- 
 niam glandem, ver. 8. 
 
 151. Robigo.'] The blight is a 
 disease, to which corn is very sub- 
 ject: Theophrastus calls it l^vo-iQn. 
 Many modern writers take robigo 
 to signify smidy which is a putre- 
 faction of the ear, and converts it 
 into a black powder. But VMrgil 
 mentions it as a disease of the stalk : 
 nt mala culmos esset robigo ; and 
 Pliny tells us it is a disease, not only 
 of corn, but of vines: '' Caeleste 
 '' frCigum vinearumque raalum,nullo 
 " minus noxium est robigo :" and 
 the title of a chapter in Columella 
 is, Ne robigo vineam vexet. Varro 
 also invokes the god Robigus, to 
 keep the robigo from corrupting the 
 corn and trees : '' Robigum ac Flo- 
 '^ ram, quibus propitiis, neque ro- 
 '' higo frumenta, atque arbores cor- 
 " rumpit, neque non tempestive flo- 
 " rent." But smut is a disease to 
 which vines are not subject. Pliny 
 informs us farther that robigo and 
 carbunculus are the same : and his 
 description of the carbunculus seems 
 plainly enough. to belong to blights. 
 He says the vines are burnt thereby 
 to a coal; no storm does so much 
 damage, for that affects only some 
 particular spots ; but they lay waste 
 whole countries : " In hoc temporis 
 " intervalloressumma vitium agitur^ 
 
 " decretorio uvis sidere illo, quod 
 '' caniculum appellavimus. Unde 
 " carbunculare dicuntur, ut quodam 
 '•' uredinis carbone exustae. Non 
 " comparantur huic malo,grandines, 
 " procellae, quaeque nunquam an- 
 " non 33 intulere caritatera. Agro- 
 " rum quippe mala sunt ilia : car- 
 '' bunculus autem regionum late pa- 
 " tentium." 
 
 SegJiisqiie horreret in arvis car- 
 duus.] Thistles are well known to 
 be very injurious to the corn. Our 
 common thistle not only sends forth 
 creeping roots^, which spread every 
 way, and sends up suckers on all 
 sides : but is propagated also by a 
 vast number of seeds, which, by 
 means of their winged down, are 
 carried to a considerable distance. 
 Dr. Woodward has calculated, that 
 one thistle seed will produce at the 
 first crop twenty-four thousand, and 
 consequently five hundred and se- 
 venty-six millions of seeds at the 
 second crop. What particular spe- 
 cies of thistle Virgil meant is not 
 certain : perhaps it was the Carduus 
 solstitialis, or Saint Barnaby's thistle, 
 which, according to Ray, is very fre- 
 quent and troublesome in the com 
 fields in Italy. " Monspelii in satis 
 " nihil abundantius, nee minus fre- 
 " quens in Italia, unde increment© 
 '^ segetum aliquando officit, et mes- 
 " sorum manus pedesque vulnerat." 
 The epithet segnis is generally inter- 
 preted inutilis, infcecwidus : I have 
 ventured to translate it lazy, with 
 Mr. B — . I believe Virgil called 
 the thistle lazy, because none but a 
 lazy husbandman would suffer so 
 pernicious a weed to infest his corn. 
 Servius interprets horreret, abunda' 
 
GEORG. LIB. I. 
 
 J35 
 
 Cardiius: intereunt segetes: subit aspera sylva, liiscsTpickiy'v 
 Lappaeque tribulique: interque nitentia culta 15 J the shining com 
 
 us room 
 wood of burrs 
 (nil amongst 
 
 rety ut totum agrum impleret : I take 
 it in this place to signify to appear 
 terrible or horrid. Virgil uses it, in 
 the eleventh ^neid, to express a 
 serpent's erecting his scales : 
 
 Saucius at serpens sinuosa volumina 
 
 versat, 
 Arrectisque liorret squamis, et sibilat 
 
 ore 
 Arduus insurgens. 
 
 In the same book he applies it to 
 the scales of a breast-plate : 
 
 Jamque adeo Rutulum thoraca indutus 
 
 ahenis 
 Horrchat squamis. 
 
 In the seventh ^neid he applies it 
 to rocks : 
 
 Tetricae liorrentcs rupes. 
 
 In the ninth, to the spoils of a lion : 
 
 Horrentisquc leonis 
 
 Exuvias. 
 
 In many places, he uses it to ex- 
 press the terrible appearance of the 
 spears of an army. In the seventh 
 iEneid we find, 
 
 Atraque late 
 
 Horrescit strictis seges ensibus. 
 
 In the tenth, 
 
 Mille rapit densos acie atque Jiorrentibus 
 hastis. 
 
 And 
 
 Horrentes Matte Latinos. 
 
 And in the twelfth, 
 
 ■ Strictisque seges mucronibus horrct 
 Ferrea. 
 
 Thus it may be used with great 
 propriety to express a thistle, which 
 is so horribly armed all over with 
 strong prickles. 
 
 152. Intereunt segetes.] This tran- 
 sition to the present tense is very 
 beautiful. 
 
 153. LappceJ] Lappa seems to 
 have been a general word, to ex- 
 press such things as stick to the 
 garments of those that pass by. 
 We use the word hurr in the same 
 manner: though what is properly 
 so called is the head of the Bardafia 
 major, or burdock. The Lappa of 
 Pliny is certainly the of^oce^ivn of 
 Theophrastus ; for he has translated 
 the very words of this author. The 
 passage of Theophrastus is at the 
 beginning of the fourteenth chapter 
 of the seventh book of his History 
 of Plants : "l^iav Ti koci to Tn^l t'kv kytcc^ 
 
 iuru ya^ lyyinteti ra 'V^oe.-^ to osi'S'OS 
 » zrgoVai', liHi Ix^cehov, uXX' h zxvtS zjet- 
 rof^ivov Koit c-xs^fioyav^r aft ttoc^c^oiov 
 iivxt to G-vf>cZx7vov' ctXTTTig Itti tZv yoi.'him 
 Kctt pi'vofv. The words of Pliny are, 
 '' Notabile et in Lappa quce adhae- 
 '^ rescit, quoniam in ipsa flos nas- 
 " citur, non evidens, sed intus oc- 
 " cultus, et intra se germinat, velut 
 " animalia quae in se pariunt." The 
 uirec^ivvi of the Greeks is not our 
 burdock, but a little herb, with a 
 burry seed, which is very common 
 in our hedges, and is called cleavers, 
 clivers, or goose grass. Theophras- 
 tus, in the eighth chapter of the 
 same book, mentions etTret^ivvi amongst 
 those herbs, which lie on the ground 
 unless they are supported ; which 
 agrees with the cleavers, but not 
 with the burdock: "Evix 21 zin^ioiTi- 
 XoKxvXec, Kx^XTTi^ ii -zriTvivYi, xsci j5 xttoc- 
 ^ivn, x.cii UTjrXag uv o KccvXog XSTrrog, y.ctl 
 
 ra.vTec co(; Irri to srav h uXMk;. Dios- 
 corides is so particular in his de- 
 
 F 2 ^ 
 
36 
 
 R VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 ;jfid"oatfp'fevar'feuuu,kst Infelix loliuiii, ct steriles dominantur avense. 
 
 you pursue the ground dili- r^ -, • . • i • 
 
 gently with harrows, QuoQ nisi et assiQuis terrain insectabere rastris. 
 
 scription of the arret^m, that he leaves 
 no room to doubt of its being the 
 cleavers. He says it has many 
 small, square, rough branches, and 
 leaves placed in whorls at the joints, 
 as in madder. The flowers are 
 white: the seeds hard, white, round, 
 hollow in the middle, like a navel. 
 The herb sticks to one's clothes, 
 and the shepherds make use of it 
 to get hairs out of their milk: 
 
 ATTX^lVy), 01 2s UfiTTiXoXXpTrOV, CI 21 OfA- 
 
 (petXoxxpTtov, 01 ^£ (ptXciv^paxov Keih.S(riv, 
 
 01 Oi tZ,OV. KXcOVii KTOAAo/, fAlX^Ot, TSTgCf" 
 
 ymoi, r^x^iTg. (pixXa dl Ix. dioi?-^f,cecTeg 
 
 XVKXoTi^Zg ■zn^lXilfiSVOt, COTTTig TO, T8 
 
 i^vS'^oooiva. av3-jj Mvxd. cr'^s^f^ec cxXvi^ov, 
 Agyxov, <^^oyyvXov, vttokoiXov, Ik fAStra cog 
 of^CpccKog. •zsr^oT-z^xirxi 21 Kxi ifAecrioig vi 
 •srooi. ^QavToii di uvr^ xeti ol -sroi^mg 
 avTt yiB-fiS Itt] rS yoiXxxTog, TF^og exXn-^iy 
 rm Iv uvTM r^ix,av. Pliny says al- 
 most the same words concerning 
 the aparine : " x^parinen aliqui om- 
 *^ phalocarpon, alii philanthropon 
 " vocant, ramosam, hirsutam, qui- 
 " nis senisve in orbem circa ramos 
 *' foliis per intervalla ; semen rotun- 
 " dum, durum, concavum,subdulce. 
 ^' Nascitur in frumentario agro, aut 
 ** hortis pratisve, asperitate etiam 
 '^ vestium tenaci." Hence it ap- 
 pears, either that Pliny has treated 
 of the same plant, under the different 
 names of Lappa and Aparine; or 
 else that he misunderstood Theo- 
 phrastus, and applied what he had 
 said of the aparine to the lappa. 
 We find in the last quotation from 
 Pliny, that the Aparine was a weed 
 amongst their corn, so that perhaps 
 the Lappa of Virgil was our 
 cleavers. 
 
 Tribuli.'] The trihulus or land 
 caltrop is an herb with a prickly 
 fruit, which grows commonly in 
 Italy, and other warm countries. It 
 
 is the name also of an instrument 
 used in war, to annoy the horse. 
 This instrument has rgzig (ioXcig, three 
 spikes, whence the Greek name 
 r^iQoXog is derived. 
 
 This fiction of the poets, that Ju- 
 piter caused the earth to produce 
 these prickly weeds, seems to have 
 been borrowed from Moses. We are 
 told in the third chapter of Genesis, 
 that when God cursed the earth, he 
 said it should bring forth thorns and 
 thistles, as it is in our translation. 
 The LXX have uxcivBxg kcci rpiQoXag. 
 The Hebrew words seem to signify 
 any prickly, troublesome weeds: 
 for ^Ip, which is rendered a thorn, 
 is derived from the verb ^lp, which 
 signifies to viake uneasy; and 'I'm, 
 which is rendered a thistle, or rg/- 
 ZoXog, is derived from 1^1, freedom, 
 because it grows freely in unculti- 
 vated places. 
 
 1 54. Infelix lolium, et steriles do- 
 minantur aven£E.'] Virgil has this 
 very line in his fifth Eclogue : 
 
 Grandia saepe quibus mandavimus hordea 
 
 sulcis 
 Infelix lolium, et steriles dominantur 
 
 avenae. 
 
 Lolium or Darnel is a common weed 
 in our corn fields. The wild oats are 
 no less frequent in many places. 
 They are not the common oats de- 
 generated by growing wild, but a 
 quite different species : the chaff of 
 them is hairy, and the seed is small, 
 like that of grass. It was the ge- 
 neral opinion of the ancients that 
 wheat and barley degenerated into 
 these weeds : but they are specifi- 
 cally different, and rise from their 
 own seeds. The word dominantur is 
 very proper; for these weeds grow 
 so tall, that they overtop the corn. 
 
 155. Quod nisi et assiduis, Sfc.~\ 
 Here the poet concludes with a par- 
 
GEORG. LIB. I. 
 
 37 
 
 Et sonitu terrebis aves, et ruris opaci 156 
 
 Falce premes umbras, votisque vocaveris im- 
 
 brem: 
 Heu magnum alterius frustra spectabis acervum; 
 Concussaque famem in sylvis solabere quercu. 
 Dicendum et quae sint duris agrestibus arma: 160 
 Queis sine nee potuere seri nee surgere messes. 
 Vomis, et inflexi priraum grave robur aratri^ 
 Tardaque Eleusinae matris volventia plaustra, 
 Tribulaque, traheaeque, et iniquo pondere rastri : 
 
 and make a noise to scare the 
 birds, and restrain the over- 
 shading boughs with your 
 sickle, and call down the 
 showers with prayer: alas, 
 you shall behold another's 
 large heap in vain, and relieve 
 your hunger in the woods 
 with shaking an oak. 1 must 
 also mention the arms which 
 belong to the laborious hus- 
 bandmen : without which the 
 corn can neither be sown, nor 
 spring up. In the ftrst place 
 the snare, and the heavy tim- 
 ber of the crooked plough, 
 and the slow rolling carts of 
 Eleusinian Ceres, and thresh- 
 ing instruments, and sleds and 
 harrows of unwieldy weight : 
 
 ticular injunction to avoid the 
 plagues which he mentioned about 
 the beginning of this article. He 
 mentions the diligent harrowing, to 
 destroy the weeds, because succory 
 is injurious, amaris intuba fihris offi' 
 ciunt. Pierius says, that in the Me- 
 dicean manuscript, instead of terram 
 inseclahere raslris, it is herham in- 
 sectabere rasiris : the same reading 
 is in the Bodleian manuscript. He 
 says the birds are to be scared away, 
 because geese and cranes are trou- 
 blesome : improbus anser Strymoni- 
 ceque grues officiunt. He advises to 
 restrain the overshading boughs, 
 because shade is hurtful to the corn, 
 umbra nocet. He puts the husband- 
 man in mind of praying for showers, 
 because they depend on the will of 
 the gods. He had spoken before of 
 praying for seasonable weather. 
 
 Humida solstitia 
 
 Serenas 
 Agricolse. 
 
 atque hyemes orate 
 
 158. Spectabis.] It is exspectabis 
 in the Medicean manuscript, accord- 
 ing to Pierius. It is the same in 
 the Bodleian manuscript. 
 
 159. Concussa.'] It is excussa in 
 one of Dr. Mead's manuscripts. 
 
 160. Dicendum, c^c] Here the 
 poet begins to describe the various 
 instruments, with which a husband- 
 man ought to be provided. 
 
 162. Robur.'\ Robur is the name 
 of a particular sort of oak : but it is 
 used also for any solid timber. Thus 
 we find it, in the twelfth jEneid, 
 applied to the wood of a wild olive- 
 tree: 
 
 Forte sacer Fauni foliis oleaster amaris 
 
 Hie steterat 
 
 Viribus baud ullis valuit discludere 
 
 morsus 
 Roloris JEneas. 
 
 In this place I take it to mean the 
 beam, or solid body of the plough. 
 
 163. Tardaqiie Eleusince matris 
 volventia plaustra."^ This line beau- 
 tifully describes the slow motion of 
 the cart. Ceres is called Eleusina 
 mater J from Eleusis, an Athenian 
 town, where Ceres was hospitably 
 received by Celeus, and in return, 
 taught his people the art of hus- 
 bandry. The Eleusinians, in ho- 
 nour of this goddess, instituted the 
 Eleusinian feasts, which were very 
 famous. It was death to disclose 
 any of their mysteries. In the 
 feasts of Ceres at Rome, her statue 
 was carried about in a cart or 
 waggon. 
 
 164. Tribula.] The tribulum or 
 tribula was an instrument used by 
 the ancients to thresh their corn. 
 It was a plank set with stones, or 
 pieces of iron, with a weight laid 
 upon it, and so was drawn over the 
 
38 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 •idd to these the mean osier 
 turniture of Celeus, arbute 
 hurdles, and the mystic fan of 
 Bacchus : all which you must 
 carefully provide long before- 
 hand, if you have a due regard 
 for divine husbandry, in the 
 first place the elm is forcibly 
 bent in the woods into a 
 plough-tail, and receives the 
 form of the crooked plough. 
 To the end of this are joined 
 a beam eight feet in length, 
 two earth boards, and share- 
 beams, with a doable back. 
 
 Virgea praeterea Celei, vilisque supellex, 165. 
 Arbutese crates, et mystica vannus lacchi : 
 Omnia quae multo ante memor provisa repones, 
 Si te digna manet divini gloria ruris. 
 Continuo in sylvis magna vi flexa domatur 
 In burim, et curvi formam accipit ulmus aratri. 
 Huic a stirpe pedes temo protentus in octo, 171 
 Binas aures, duplici aptantur dentalia dorso. 
 
 corn by oxen. Varro has given us 
 the description of it : "Id fit e ta- 
 " bula lapidibus, aut ferro asperata, 
 " quo imposito auriga, aut pondere 
 " grandi, trahitur jumentis junctis, 
 " ut discutiat e spica grana." Tri- 
 huhim is derived from r^iQa, to thresh. 
 Hence we may see why the first 
 syllable of tribulum is long; but 
 that of tribulus short. I mentioned, 
 in the note on trihulU ver. 153, that 
 tribulus, the name of a plant, and of 
 an instrument used in war, is so 
 called from its having rge?? fioXug, 
 three spikes. Now the compounds 
 of r^ug have the first syllable short ; 
 as rgiTFovq, of which we have frequent 
 instances in Homer. I shall men- 
 tion only one, in the twenty-third 
 Iliad : 
 
 But the first syllable of rg/S** is long; 
 of which we have an instance a few 
 lines after, in the same Iliad : 
 
 Trahece.] The irahea or traha is 
 a carriage without wheels. It was 
 used to beat out the corn, as well as 
 the tribulum. This appears from Co- 
 lumella: '^ At si corapetit, ut in area 
 '^ teratur frumentum, nihil dubium 
 " est, quin equis melius, quam bubus 
 '•' ea res conficiatur, et si pauca juga 
 " sunt, adjicere tribulam et traham 
 '' possis, quae res utraque culmos fa- 
 " cillihie comminuit." 
 
 Iniquo pondere rastri.'] See the 
 note on ver. gs. 
 
 165. Celei.] Celeus was the fa- 
 ther of Trjptolemus, whom Ceres 
 instructed in husbandry. 
 
 166. Arbutece crates.'] See the 
 notes on ver. ^5 and 148. 
 
 Mystica vannus lacchi.'] The fan 
 is an instrument used to cleanse the 
 corn: thus Columella; " Ipsae au- 
 "tem spicaB melius fustibus tunduii- 
 " tur, vannisque expurgantur.'' It is 
 called mystica, because it Was used 
 in the mysteries of Bacchus. lac- 
 chus was a name of Bacchus seldom 
 made use of, but on solemn and 
 sacred occasions. 
 
 169. Continuo in sylvis, S^c] Here 
 the poet gives us a description of the 
 plough, in which we find that the 
 custom was to bend an elm, as it 
 grew, into the crooked form of the 
 buris, or plough-tail, to which the 
 beam, the earth-boards, and the 
 share-beam were fastened. 
 
 171. Temo.] This is the beam, or 
 pole, which goes between the oxen, 
 and to which they are yoked. He- 
 siod calls it WoZoivi, which is derived 
 from <Vo?, a mast, and /3ov$, an ox. 
 He says it is made either of bay or 
 elm : 
 
 Aa(p»}is y vt ifliXiVis ocKiuTccloi ircSaTiti. 
 
 172. Aures.] These must be the 
 earth-boards, which being placed on 
 each side of the share-beam, serve 
 to make the furrows wider, and the 
 
GEORG. LIB. I. 
 
 39 
 
 CseditLir et tilia ante jugo levis, altaque fagus, itnge^ol^lJ^n'^nn^tyoK 
 
 , . and the tall beech, and the 
 
 Stivaque, quas currus a tergo torqueat imos : l^^\^^- ^'"^'l f^ ^ouom of 
 
 ridjres higher. Palladius tells us 
 that some ploughs had earth-boards, 
 and others not. " Aratra siiuplicia, 
 " vel si plana regiopermittitj aurita, 
 '' quibus possint contra stationes hu- 
 ' ' moris hyberni, sata celsiore sulco 
 " attolli." 
 
 Duplici dentalia dorso.'] Dentale 
 is the share-beam, a piece of wood 
 to which the share is fixed. But why 
 they are said to have a double back 
 seems not to be very clear. The com - 
 mentators generally agree that by 
 double is meant hroad, and quote 
 some authorities for this interpreta- 
 tion. Servius indeed tells us, that 
 most of the plough-shares in Italy 
 have a wing on each side; " cujus 
 " utrumque eminet latus : nam fere 
 " hujusmodi sunt omnes vomeres in 
 '• Italia." On this account Virgil 
 might have called the share double, 
 but why the board should be said to 
 have a double back, I do not readily 
 comprehend. A passage in Hesiod 
 seems to be of some use in removing 
 this difficulty. It is agreed on all 
 hands, that Virgil had Hesiod's 
 plough before him when he made 
 this description. The Greek poet 
 speaking of the yyn?, which all in- 
 terpret dentale J says it is fastened 
 to the plough-tail, and at the same 
 time nailed to the pole : 
 
 E<V o'iKov, :ia.T o'os; ^i^'^f^ivc; »j axr cc^a^ccv, 
 Tofiifoiiriv TZiy^dffoc? -zs-^offa^ri^i-Tat Wo^oni. 
 
 Now if we suppose the dentale or 
 share-beam to have been made with 
 two legs, one of which was fastened 
 to the bottom of the tail, and the 
 other nailed to the beam, which 
 would make all three hold faster to- 
 gether; it will easily appear, that 
 
 Virgil means these two legs by his 
 duplex dorsum. Hesiod speaks of 
 two sorts of ploughs, one with the 
 plough-tail and share-beam of one 
 piece, and another, where they are 
 joined. He advises to have both 
 these in readiness, that if one should 
 break, the other may be at hand. 
 
 Aoik Ti B-iffS-ai a^or^a, ^evfitrd/itvos xetra 
 
 OIKOV, 
 
 Avroyvov, xut ■zs'tixtov. l-rt) ziroXo Xu/ov 
 
 Urus. 
 Ei ^ 'ire^ov y a^aigp 'irt^ev y Wt finffi 
 
 (hcLXeio. 
 
 173. Altaque fagiis, siivaquer] 
 Sliva is the plough- staff, which with 
 us is generally fixed to the share- 
 beam, in the same manner as the 
 buj'is, or tail, so that we have two 
 tails or handles to our ploughs : but 
 sometimes it is a loose staff, with a 
 hook at the end, with which the 
 ploughman takes hold of the back 
 part of the plough, to turn it. 
 
 The grammatical construction of 
 this passage does not seem very 
 clear. Cceditur is made to agree 
 with tiliay fagus, and stiva. We 
 may say tilia cceditur, and fagus 
 cceditur ; but to say at the same time 
 stiva cceditur seems to be absurd: 
 for this makes the staff a tree, by 
 coupling it with lime and beech. 
 Besides que and quce coming close 
 together offend the ear, and I be- 
 lieve there is not another instance of 
 their coming thus together any 
 where in Virgil. I believe instead 
 of siivaque we ought to read stivoe ; 
 which will make the sense clearer, 
 and the verse better : 
 
 Caedilur et tilia ante jugo levis, altaque 
 
 fagus 
 Stivae, quae currus a tergo torqueat imos. 
 
 " The light lime-tree also is cut 
 '^ down beforehand for the yoke. 
 
40 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 and the wood 
 chimneys, to 
 the smoke. 
 
 bi'seaso^ned'by ^t suspensa focis explorat robora fumus. 175 
 
 " and the tall beech for the staff, to 
 " tuFn the bottom of the carriage 
 " behind/' The Bodleian manu- 
 script has stiva que currus. 
 
 CurrusJ] " I do not know whe- 
 " ther any edition justifies the alter- 
 *' ation I have made in this line, of 
 '^ currus to cursus. The reason of 
 *' my doing it is because cursus is in- 
 *' telligible, and explains the use of 
 '^ the handle, or plough staflP; cursus 
 '' torqueat imos^ the handle serves to 
 ^' keep the plough up, which other- 
 " wise would run down too deep in 
 " the ground. Mr. Dryden finding 
 "this passage difficult to explain, 
 " has left it quite out of his transla- 
 " tion. All that the commentators 
 " have said concerning currus in 
 " this place is very perplext." Mr. 
 B— . 
 
 The poet is thought by some to 
 mean a wheel-plough, by the word 
 currus which is derived from curro, 
 to run; and Servius informs us, that 
 in Virgil's country, the ploughs run 
 upon wheels : we have wheel-ploughs 
 in many parts of England. 
 
 175. Explorat.'] The King's, the 
 Bodleian, and one of the Arunde- 
 lian manuscripts, have exploret. 
 Servius, La Cerda, Schrevelius, and 
 several printed editions, have the 
 same reading. Pierius seems willing 
 to admit exploret: though at the 
 same time he says it is explorat in 
 the Roman manuscript, and in the 
 very ancient oblong one. Heinsius 
 and Ruaeus read explorat. It is the 
 same in the other Arundelian, the 
 Cambridge, and both Dr. Mead's 
 manuscripts. 
 
 I have here inserted the figure of 
 a modern Italian plough, which 
 seems to differ but little from that 
 which Virgil has described. It seems 
 to have no sliva, distinct from the 
 buris ; and it has a coulter, which 
 
 Virgil does not mention. And in- 
 deed Pliny, who describes the coul- 
 ter, seems to speak as if it was not 
 in all ploughs. " Vomerum plura 
 " genera. Culter vocatur, praeden- 
 *^ sam, prius quam proscindatur, 
 " terram secans, futurisque sulcis 
 " vestigiapraescribensincisuris,quas 
 " resupinus in arando mordeat vo- 
 « mer." 
 
 After my notes on this passage 
 were printed, I had the favour of a 
 letter from Sir Daniel Molyneux, 
 Bart, dated from Rome, July 27, 
 1737, with a drawing and descrip- 
 tion of the plough which is now 
 used about Mantua and Venice. 
 There is a plough used in many 
 parts of England, which differs very 
 little from this ; but yet, I believe, 
 it will be no small satisfaction to my 
 readers, to find an exact account of 
 the very plough, now employed in 
 cultivating the lands in Virgil's own 
 country. 
 
 The two timbers marked A are 
 each made of one piece of wood, 
 and are fastened together with three 
 wooden pins at B. 
 
 C, C, are two transverse pieces of 
 wood, which serve to hold the han- 
 dles together at the back. 
 
 D is a piece of wood fastened to 
 the left handle, or Si?iistrella, at E, 
 and to the beam F. 
 
 F is the beam, or Pertica, which 
 is fastened to the left handle, at G. 
 
 H is the plough-share, into which 
 the Dentale, or share-beam, seems 
 to be inserted. 
 
 I is the coulter, being a piece of 
 iron, square in the body, which is 
 fixed in the beam, and bending in 
 the lower part, and having an edge, 
 to cut the weeds. 
 
 L is an iron chain, fastened at one 
 end to the plough-pillow, or Mesolo 
 N; and, at the other, to the beam 
 
GEORG. LIB. I 
 
 41 
 
 Possum niulta tibi vcterum praecepta referrc 
 Ni refugis, tenuesque piget cognoscere curas. 
 Area cum primis ingenti aequanda cylindro, 
 
 I can rocilc to you many pre- 
 cepts of the ancients, nnless 
 you decline tlien», and are 
 loth to be informed of small 
 things. In tiie first place, the 
 floor is to be smoothed with a 
 huge rolling stone, 
 
 by an iron hammer M ; the handle 
 of which serves for a pin, and the 
 more forward you place the ham- 
 mer, the deeper the share goes into 
 the ground. 
 
 O, are two pieces of wood fast- 
 ened to the pillow, which serve to 
 keep the beam in the middle. 
 
 P is the pole, or Timonzella, to 
 which the oxen are yoked, and is of 
 no certain length. 
 
 Q, R, with pricked lines is a strong 
 plank, which is fastened to D, and 
 to the left handle. This being placed 
 sloping serves to turn up the earth, 
 and make the furrow wider. This 
 part therefore is the earth-board, or 
 auris, of Virgil, of which he says 
 there should be two: but in this 
 plough there seems to be but one. 
 
 1 do not question, but that the 
 Mantuan plough was in Virgil's 
 time more simple than that here de- 
 scribed ; but let us compare a little 
 the poet's description with the figure 
 now before us. Let the left handle 
 A A, be supposed to be the Buris, 
 the right handle A A, to be the Sliva, 
 and A E, A B, to be the two Denta- 
 lia. Here then we see the crooked 
 Buris, to form which an elm was 
 bent as it grew. Near the bottom 
 of this, hide a siirpe, we see the pole 
 is inserted, which probably was con- 
 tinued to the length of eight feet, 
 and had the oxen yoked to it, with- 
 out the intervention of the Timon- 
 zella. Thus the plough wanted the 
 advantage of having the share go 
 lighter or deeper, which may be a 
 modern improvement. The two 
 handles may very well be supposed 
 to be meant by the double back, to 
 which the two share beams are join- 
 
 ed. Upon this supposition we must 
 make some alteration in interpreting 
 the two following verses : 
 
 Huic a stirpe pedes temo protentus in 
 
 octo: 
 Binae aures, duplici aptantur dentalia 
 
 dorso. 
 
 " From the bottom of this a beam 
 " is protended, eight feet in length : 
 " and two earth -boards, and share- 
 '^ beams are fitted to the double 
 " back." The wheels were probably 
 fixed immediately to the beam, and 
 shew the propriety of the word 
 currus, as is already observed in the 
 note on ver. 174. 
 
 1 76. Possum mulia tibi, ^c] After 
 the mention of the instruments of 
 agriculture, he gives instructions 
 concerning the making of the floor. 
 
 Veterum proeceptaf] He means 
 Cato and Varro, who wrote before 
 him ; and from whom he has taken 
 the directions relating to the floor. 
 
 178. Area.'^ Cato directs the floor 
 to be made in the following man- 
 ner: dig the earth small, and 
 sprinkle it well with lees of oil, that 
 it may be well soaked. Beat it to 
 powder, and smooth it with a roll- 
 ing stone or a rammer. When it is 
 smooth, the ants will not be trou- 
 blesome, and when it rains it will 
 not grow muddy : " Aream ubi fru- 
 ''mentum teratur sic facito: Con- 
 '' fodiatur minute terra, amurca 
 '' bene conspergatur, ut combibat 
 " quam plurimum. Comminuito 
 '' terram, et cylindro aut pavicula 
 *' coaequato. Ubi coaequata erit, 
 " neque formicae molestas erunt, et 
 " cum pluerit lutum non erit." 
 Varro is more large in his descrip- 
 tion of the floor j and mentions not 
 
 G 
 
42 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 and to be wrought with the 
 hand, and consolidated with 
 binding chalk : to keep weeds 
 from growing up, and to pre- 
 serve It from growing dusty 
 and chapping. Then various 
 pjagnesmock your hopes: the 
 little mouse often has built its 
 house under the ground, and 
 made its granaries: or the 
 blind moles have digged their 
 chambers : the toad also is 
 found in hollow places, and 
 other vermin, which the earth 
 produces in abundance: and 
 the weave! destroys the great 
 heap of corn, and the ant also, 
 which is afraid of a needj' old 
 age. 
 
 Et vertenda manu, et creta solidanda tenaci : 
 Ne subeant herbae, neu pulvere victa fatiscat. 180 
 Turn variae illudunt pestes : saepe exiguus mus 
 Sub terris posuitque domos, atque horrea fecit : 
 Aut oculis capti fodere cubilia talpae : 
 Inventusque cavis bufo, et quae plurima terrae 
 Monstra ferunt : populatque ingentem farris 
 acervum 185 
 
 Curculio, atque inopi metuens formica senectae. 
 
 only the ants, but mice and moles : 
 '' Aream esse oportet — solida terra 
 " pavitam, maxime si est argilla, ne 
 " aestu, paeminosa, in rimis ejus 
 '^ grana oblitescant, et recipiant 
 " aquam, et ostia aperiant muribus 
 " ac formicis. Itaque amurca solent 
 " perfundere : ea enim herbarum 
 " est iniraica et formicarum : et tal- 
 " parum venenum." 
 
 Cum primis ingenti cequanda.'] 
 Some copies have cum primum, others 
 tumprimum. Aulas Gellius observes 
 that cum primis is the same with in 
 primis. " Apprime crebrius est : cum 
 " prime rarius : traductumque ex 
 " eo est, quod cum primis dicebant, 
 " pro eo quod est in primis." Those 
 who read primum, insert est either 
 after primum or ingenti. Pierius 
 says that in the Medicean, and most 
 of the ancient copies, it is cum primis 
 ingenti cequanda without est. 
 
 Cylindro.'] The Cylinder seems to 
 have been a stone, not unlike that 
 with which we roll our gardens. 
 Palladius speaks of a fragment of a 
 pillar being used for a roller. '' Ju- 
 " nio mense area paranda est ad tri- 
 " turam, cujus primo terra radatur, 
 " delude effossa leviter mistis paleis, 
 '^ et amurca aequatur insulsa. Quae 
 " res a muribus et formicis frumenta 
 " defendit. Tunc premenda est ro- 
 " tundo lapide, vcl columnse quo- 
 
 '^ cunque fragmento, cujus volutatio 
 " possit ejus spatia solidare." 
 
 18]. Illudunt ~\ Pierius says it is 
 illudant in the Roman and several 
 other ancient manuscripts. One of 
 Dr. Mead's manuscripts has illudant: 
 it is the same in the editions of 
 Heinsius and Paul Stephens. Ser- 
 vius and most of the editors admit 
 illudunt. 
 
 Exiguus mus.] Quintilian justly ob- 
 serves, that not only the diminishing 
 epithet, but the ending of the verse 
 with one syllable, beautifully ex- 
 presses the littleness of the animal : 
 " Risiraus, et merito, nuper poetam 
 '^ qui dixerat, 
 
 " Proetextam in cista mures rosere Camilli. 
 
 '' At Virgilii miramur illud, 
 
 " Soepe exiguus mus. 
 
 " Nam epitheton exiguus, aptum 
 " proprium effecit ne plus expec- 
 " taremus, et casus singularis magis 
 '^ decuit, et clausula ipsa unius syl- 
 " labse non usitata, addit gratiara." 
 
 183. Oculis capti ialpcB.'] The 
 poet speaks according to the vulgar 
 opinion, when he says the moles are 
 blind: but it is certain that they 
 have eyes, though they are small 
 ones, 
 
 186. Curculio.] Some read Cur- 
 gulio: others Gurgulio. 
 
GEORG. LIB. I. 43 
 
 Contemplator item, cum se nux plurima sylvis observe aiso when the wainut- 
 
 187- Contemplator item, Sfc] In 
 this passage he shews the husband- 
 man how he may form a judgment 
 of his future harvest. 
 
 Nux.'] The commentators seem 
 to be unanimous in rendering mix 
 the almond-tree : but I cannot dis- 
 cover upon what grounds. I believe 
 ?iux has never been used, without 
 some epithet, to express an almond- 
 iree. That it is used for a walnut- 
 tree, is plain from Ovid's poem de 
 Nuce. Virgil says in the second 
 Georgick, that the nux is ingrafted 
 on the arbutus : 
 
 Inseritur vero ex fcetu nucis arbutus 
 horrida. 
 
 That this is to be understood of the 
 walnut, appears from Palladius : 
 
 Arbuteas frondes vastae nucis occupat 
 
 umbra 
 Pomaque sub duplici cortice tuta refert, 
 
 Palladius could not mean the al- 
 mond, when he spoke of a great 
 shade, which is very applicable to 
 the walnut. In another place he 
 has a chapter de Nuce Juglande, 
 where he says expressly, that the 
 walnut is ingrafted on the arbute : 
 '' Inseritur, ut plerique asserunt, 
 *^ menseFebruario,in Arbuto." We 
 have nux but once more in all Virgil : 
 it is in the eighth Eclogue : 
 
 Mopse novas incide faces: tibi ducitur 
 uxor. 
 
 Sparge marite nuces ; tibi deserit Hes- 
 perus OEtam. 
 
 -Prepare the lights. 
 
 O Mopsus, and perform the bridal rites. 
 
 Scatter thy nuts among the scrambling 
 boys: 
 
 Thine is the night : and thine the nup- 
 tial joys. 
 
 Dry den. 
 
 The ancient custom of throwing 
 nuts amongst the boys at weddings, 
 
 is well known. We learn from 
 Pliny that these nuts were walnuts ; 
 and that they were used in the nup- 
 tial ceremonies, because the fruit is 
 so well defended with a thick rind, 
 and a woody shell : " Ab his locum 
 " amplitudine vindicaverunt, quae 
 " cessere autoritati, nuces juglandes, 
 " quanquam et ipsae nuptialium 
 " Fescenniorum comites, multum 
 " pineis minores unlversitate, eae- 
 " demque portione ampliores nu- 
 " cleo. Necnon et honor his na- 
 '' turae peculiaris, gemino pro tectis 
 " operimento, pulvinati primum ca- 
 " lycis,, raox lignei putaminis. Quae 
 '' causa eas nuptiis fecit religiosas, 
 " tot modis fcetu munito, quod est 
 " verisimilius, quam quia cadendo 
 " tripudium sonumve faciant." 
 
 Plurima.] Servius interprets this 
 word longa, and thinks it is designed 
 to express the long shape of the al- 
 mond. Dr. Trapp understands it to 
 mean the tallness of the tree : 
 
 Observe too, when in woods the almond 
 
 tall 
 Blossoms with flow'rs and bends its 
 
 smelling boughs. 
 
 I take it to signify very much, or 
 plentifully: in which sense it is to 
 be understood in the following pas- 
 sage of the second Georgick ; 
 
 Haec eadem argenti rivos, aerisque me- 
 
 talla 
 Ostendit venis, atque aura plurbna fluxit. 
 
 Here Ruseus interprets the three 
 last words aura multum ahundavit : 
 and Dr. Trapp translates these 
 lines; 
 
 The same blest region veins of silver 
 
 shews. 
 Rivers of brass; and flows in copious gold. 
 
 A few lines after we find 
 
 Indicio est, tractu surgens oleaster codem 
 Plurimus. 
 g2 
 
44 
 
 r. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 shall put on its bloom plenti- 
 fully in the woods, and bend 
 (Josvn its strong smelling 
 branches: if it abounds in 
 tiuit, yon will have a like 
 quantity of corn, and a great 
 threshing with much heat. 
 But if it abounds with a lux- 
 iiriant shade of leaves, in vain 
 shall your fluor thresh ihe 
 corn, which abounds with no- 
 thing but chaff. 1 have seen 
 some medicate their seeds be- 
 fore they sow ; and steep them 
 in nitre and black lees of oil, 
 to cause a fuller produce in 
 the deceitful pods. And though 
 they have been moistened over 
 a gentle fire to quicken them, 
 and long tried, and examined 
 with much labour. 
 
 Induet in florem, et ramos curvabit olentes : 
 Si superant foetus, pariter frumenta sequentur, 
 Magnaque cum magno veniet tritura calore. 190 
 At si luxuria foliorum exuberat umbra, 
 Nequicquam pingues palea teret area culmos. 
 Semina vidi equidem multos medicare serentes, 
 Et nitro prius, et nigra perfundere amurca, 
 Grandior ut foetus siliquis fallacibus esset. 195 
 Et quamvis igni exiguo properata maderent, 
 Vidi lecta diu, et multo spectata labore 
 
 Dr. Trapp does not translate oleaster 
 •plurimus the wild olive tall, but 
 
 This the wild olives shew, when tMck 
 
 they rise 
 On the same mould. 
 
 I believe May is the only translator, 
 who has given plurima the true 
 sense, in the passage under our con- 
 sideration : 
 
 when nut-trees fully 
 
 Consider thou 
 bloom. 
 
 188. Ramos olentes.'] The strong 
 smell of the branches is more appli- 
 cable to the walnut than to the al- 
 mond. The very shade of the wal- 
 nut was thought by the ancients to 
 be injurious to the head. Pliny 
 says in lib. xvii. cap. 12. " Jam 
 " quaedam umbrarum proprietas, 
 ** Juglandium gravis et noxia, etiam 
 *' capiti humano, omnibusque juxta 
 '' satis." And in lib. xxiii. cap. 8. 
 he says, '' Arborum ipsarum folio- 
 " rumque vires in cerebrum pene- 
 '' trant." 
 
 191. Exuberat.'] In one of the 
 Arundeiian and one of Dr. Mead's 
 manuscripts, it is exsuperat. But 
 this must be an error of the tran- 
 scribers ; for the second syllable in 
 exuperat is short ; as in the second 
 ^Eneid : 
 
 Sanguineae exuperant undas. 
 
 192. Nequicquam.] Servius, and 
 after him La Cerda, interprets ne- 
 quicquam pingues to be the same as 
 non pingues : which I believe is not 
 the sense in this place. Nequicquam 
 frequently occurs in Virgil : but sel- 
 dom is used for tioI. See the note 
 on ver. 403. 
 
 Palea.] Some copies have palece : 
 but palea is generally received. 
 
 193. Semina vidi equidem, <^c.] In 
 this place he adds a precept relating 
 to beans : that they should be picked 
 every year, and only the largest 
 sown; without which care all the 
 artful preparations made by some 
 husbandmen is in vain. 
 
 I have interpreted this passage 
 to relate to beans, on the authority 
 of Pliny, who says, " Virgilius ni- 
 " tro et amurca perfundi jubet fa- 
 " bam : sic etiara grandescere pro- 
 " mittit." 
 
 194'. Perjundere.] Schrevelius reads 
 prqfundere. 
 
 195. Siliquis fallacibus.l The men- 
 tion of pods shews that the poet 
 speaks of pulse. The pods are called 
 deceitful, because they often grow 
 to a sufficient size, when upon ex- 
 amination they prove almost empty. 
 
 197- Vidi lecta diu.] Columella 
 reads vidi ego lecta diu. One of Dr. 
 Mead's manuscripts has vidi lecta 
 manu. 
 
GEORG. LIB. I. 
 
 45 
 
 Degenerare tamen ; ni vis humana quotannis 
 Maxima quaeque manu legeret. Sic omnia fatis 
 In pejus ruere, ac retro sublapsa referri : 200 
 Non aliter, quam qui adverso vix flumine lembum 
 Remigiis subigit ; si brachia forte remisit, 
 Atque ilium in praeceps prono rapit alveus amni. 
 Praeterea tarn sunt Arcturi sidera nobis, 
 Hoedorumque dies servandi, et lucidus anguis ; 
 Quam quibus in patriam ventosa per aequora 
 vectis / 206 
 
 Pontus, et ostriferi fauces tentantur Abydi. 
 
 yet have I seen Ihem degene- 
 rate, unless i man picked out 
 the largest of them one by one 
 every year. Thus every thing 
 by fate degenerates and runs 
 backwards: just as when any 
 one is rowing with difficulty 
 against a stream, if he happens 
 to slacken his arms, immedi* 
 ately the tide drives him head- 
 long down the river. Besides 
 we ought as much to observe 
 the stars of Arcturus, and the 
 days of the kids, and the shin- 
 ing dragon ; as those, who re- 
 turning homewards through 
 the stormy main, venture m 
 the Euxine sea, and the straits 
 of oyiiter-breeding Abydos. 
 
 200. Retro sublapsa referri.] Thus 
 in the second iEneid : 
 
 Ex illo fluere cc retro sullapsa referri 
 Spes Danaum. 
 
 203. Alquer\ Aulus Gellius ob- 
 serves that atque is to be rendered 
 statim in this passage: " Et prae- 
 ** terea pro alio quoque adverbio 
 " dicitur, id est statim, quod in his 
 " Virgilii versibus existimatur ob- 
 " scure et insequenter particula ista 
 " posita esse." 
 
 204. PrcBterea, c^c] In this pas- 
 sage the poet inculcates the necessity 
 of understanding Astronomy: which 
 he says is as useful to the farmer, as 
 to the sailor. 
 
 204. Arcturi.'] Arcturus is a star 
 of the first magnitude in the sign 
 Bootes, near the tail of the Great 
 Bear. Its name is derived from 
 et^KTog, a bear, and ov^x, a tail. The 
 weather is said to be tempestuous 
 about the time of its rising : '' vehe- 
 " mentissimosignificatu/'says Pliny, 
 *' terra marique per dies quinque :" 
 and in another place ; " Arcturi 
 *' vero sidus non ferme sine pro- 
 *' cellosa grandine emergit." 
 
 205. Hcedorum.'] The kids are 
 two stars on the arm of Auriga. 
 They also predict storms, according 
 to Aratus : 
 
 El Yi roi rivio'^cv Ti Koi ati^ecg vvio^eto 
 ^xi^TitrBai ^oxioi xetirei <paris i]Xu3-tv aiybf 
 AtfT^j 'h y l^i^uv, eiT iiv aXi zfo^(pvgiovtfif 
 Uokkcixts iffxi-^avro Kihatof^Uv? avS-^ca^ns. 
 
 And Pliny : ** Ante omnia autem 
 '* duo genera esse caelestis injuriae 
 * ' meminisse debemus. Unum quod 
 " tempestates vocamus, in quibus 
 '' grandines, procellae, caeteraque si- 
 " milia intelliguntur : quae cum ac- 
 '' ciderint vis major appellatur. Hrec 
 " ab horridis sideribus exeunt, ut 
 " saepius diximus, veluti Arcturo, 
 " Orione, Hoedis." 
 
 A7iguis.'] Thedragon is a northern 
 constellation. See the note on ver. 
 244. 
 
 207. Pontus,'] This is commonly 
 taken to mean the Hellespont : but 
 that is to be understood by the 
 straits of Abydos, fauces Ahydi. I 
 take it to mean the Black or Euxine 
 sea, which has the character of being 
 very tempestuous. 
 
 Ostriferi Ahydi.] Abydos is situ- 
 ated on the Asiatic side of the Helle- 
 spont. It was famous for oysters : 
 thus Ennius : 
 
 Mures sunt iEni, aspera ostrea plurima 
 Abydi. 
 
 And Catullus ; 
 
 Hunc lucum libi dedico, consecroque, 
 Priape, 
 
46 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 When Libra has made the 
 hours of the day and sleep 
 equal, and now divides the 
 world between light and dark- 
 ness, then work your bullocks, 
 ye ploughmen, and sow barley 
 in the fields, tdi about the last 
 shower of the impracticable 
 winter solstice. 
 
 Libra dies somnique pares ubi fecerit horas, 
 Et medium luci, atque umbris jam dividit orbem : 
 Exercete, viri, tauros; serite hordea campis, 210 
 Usque sub extremum brumae intractabilis im- 
 brem. 
 
 Qua domus tua Lampsaci est, quaque 
 
 sylva Priape. 
 Nam te praecipue in suis urbibus colit ora 
 Hellespontia, casteris ostreosior oris. 
 
 208. Libra dies, S^ci] Here Vir- 
 gil exemplifies his precept relating 
 to Astronomy. 
 
 The time, which he mentions for 
 sowing barley, is from the autumnal 
 equinox to the winter solstice. This 
 perhaps may seem strange to an 
 English reader; it being our cus- 
 tom to sow it in the spring. But it 
 is certain that in warmer climates 
 they sow it at the latter end of the 
 year : whence it happens that their 
 barley harvest is considerably sooner 
 than their wheat harvest. Thus we 
 find in the book of Exodus, that the 
 flax and the barley were destroyed 
 by the hail, because the barley was 
 in the ear, and the flax was in seed, 
 but the wheat and the rye escaped, 
 because they were not yet come up. 
 
 I>ies.~^ Amongst the ancient Ro- 
 mans the genitive case of the fifth 
 declension ended in es: thus dies 
 was the same with what we now 
 write diei. Sometimes it was written 
 die: which all the editors receive in 
 this place. I have restored dies, on 
 the authority of A. Gellius, who 
 says that those, who saw Virgil's 
 own manuscript, affirmed, that it 
 was written dies. " Q. Ennius in 
 " sexto decimo annali dies scripsit 
 " pro diei in hoc versu : 
 
 ** Postremu longingua dies confecerit cetas. 
 
 " Ciceronem quoque affirmat Caesel- 
 " lius in oratione, quam pro P. Sestio 
 " fecit, (f/e* scripsisse, pro diei, quod 
 
 " ego impensa opera conquisitis ve- 
 " teribus libris plusculis ita, ut Cae- 
 " sellius ait scriptum inveni. Verba 
 " sunt haec Marci TuUii : Equites 
 *' vero daturos illius dies poenas. Quo 
 '^ circa factum hercle est, ut facile 
 '' iis credam, qui scripserunt idio- 
 " graphum librum Virgilii se in- 
 " spexisse ; in quo ita scriptum est : 
 
 *' Libra dies somnique pares ubi fecerit 
 *« horas : 
 
 " id est. Libra diei somnique." 
 
 209. Dividit.'] So I find it in both 
 the Arundel ian manuscripts, and in 
 Heinsius, and several of the old edi- 
 tions. Servius, and after him most 
 of the editors read dividet. 
 
 210. Hordea.] Servius informs 
 us that Bavius and Maevius were 
 greatly offended at Virgil, for using 
 hordea in the plural number : and 
 expressed their resentment in the 
 following verse : 
 
 Hordea qui dixit, superest ut tritica dicat. 
 
 Hence it seems that the objections, 
 which those ancient critics made 
 to Virgil, were only grammatical 
 cavils. 
 
 211. Usque sub extremum brurnce 
 intractabilis imbrem.] Bruma cer- 
 tainly means the winter solstice : but 
 what Virgil means by the last 
 shower of it I must acknowledge 
 myself unable to explain. Pliny 
 understands our poet to mean that 
 barley is to be sown between the 
 autumnal equinox and the winter 
 solstice. " Virgilius triticum et far 
 *' a vergiliarum occasu seri jubet, 
 " hordeum inter scquinoctium au- 
 
GEORG. LIB. I. 
 
 Ncc non et lini segetem, et Cereale papaver 
 
 47 
 
 U is also lime to cover flax in 
 the ground, and the poppy of 
 Ceres, 
 
 *' tumni et brumam." The same 
 author tells us expressly that barley 
 is to be sown only in dry weather : 
 " Hordeum, nisi sit siccum, ne se- 
 ^' rito." Palladius speaks of sowing 
 barley in September, October, and 
 November; but says it is full late 
 to sow it in December : " Decerabri 
 " mense seruntur frumenta, triti- 
 " cum, far, hordeum, quamvis hor- 
 " dei satio jam sera sit." These 
 directions of Pliny and Palladius 
 seem by no means to agree with 
 Virgil's extending the sowing time 
 to the last shower of the solstice. 
 The autumnal equinox, in Virgil's 
 time, was about the twenty-fourth 
 of September ; and the winter sol- 
 stice about the twenty-fifth of De- 
 cember. Hipparchus, according to 
 Columella, places it on the seven- 
 teenth of December, and the Chal- 
 deans on the twenty-fourth. Ac- 
 cording to Pliny it was on the 
 twenty-fifth : '' Bruma Capricorni 
 " ab VIII. Calend. Januarii fere." 
 
 The poet calls the winter solstice 
 iniractabilis, because the cold, which 
 comes at that season, begins to put 
 a stop to the labours of the plough- 
 man. That the cold begins to be 
 severe at that time, even in Italy, 
 we have the testimony of Lucre- 
 tius: 
 
 Tandem bruma nives adfert, pigrumque 
 
 rigorem 
 Reddit, Hyems sequitur, crepitans ac 
 
 denlibus Algus. 
 
 212. Lini.'] Columella and Pal- 
 ladius agree with Virgil about the 
 time of sowing flax. Columella 
 says it is from the first of October 
 to the seventh of December : '' Se- 
 " ritur a Calendis Octobris in or- 
 "tum Aquilae, qui est vii. Idus 
 *' Decembris." Palladius says the 
 time for sowing of it is October : 
 
 " Hoc mense lini semen seremus." 
 And again, under December, he 
 says, " Hoc etiam mense adhuc 
 '^ lini semen spargi poterit, usque 
 " ad VII. Idus Decembris." Pliny 
 differs from all these writers, and 
 says it is sown in the spring : " \^ere 
 " linum, et avenam, et papaver;" 
 and in another place, '* Vere satum 
 " aestate vellitur." The time of 
 sowing flax with us is in March. 
 
 Cereale papaver.'] I have spoken 
 of poppies at large, in the note on 
 ver. 78. Pliny speaks of sowing 
 them in the spring, as we have 
 seen in the preceding note. Co- 
 lumella agrees with Virgil : " Chae- 
 '^ rephyllum, itemque olus atriplicis, 
 " quod Graeci vocant«Tgee<pfle|<i', circa 
 " Calendas Octobris obrui oportet 
 " non frigidissimo loco. Nam si 
 " regio saevas hyeraes habet, post 
 " Idus Februariassemine disserenda 
 " sunt, suaque de sede partienda. 
 '^ Papaver et anethum eandem ha- 
 " bent conditionem sationis, quam 
 '' chserephyllum et aiT^ci(pet^ti.'' Pal- 
 ladius says the time of sowing pop- 
 pies is in September : '^ Nunc pa- 
 " paver seritur locis siccis, et calidis: 
 " potest et cum aliis oleribus semi- 
 " nan." 
 
 Many are the reasons assigned by 
 the commentators for the epithet ce- 
 reale being added to Papaver. Ser- 
 vius assigns the following reasons : 
 either because it is eaten like com ; 
 or because Ceres made use of pop- 
 pies to forget her grief, and was 
 thrown thereby into a sleep, when 
 she had watched a long time on 
 account of the rape of Proserpine ; 
 or because Mycon the Athenian, 
 who was beloved by Ceres, was 
 transformed into a poppy j or be- 
 cause it was sprinkled upon bread. 
 La Cerda quotes the authority of 
 Eusebius, in his third book de Free- 
 
48 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 ToarhTrrowins? '" "'''" TciTipus huino tegere, et jamdudum incurabere 
 rastris, 213 
 
 paratione Evangelica, that Ceres was 
 accounted the inventress of poppies. 
 Ruaeus has the same quotation: but 
 I fear he took it implicitly from La 
 Cerda. I wish these commentators 
 had given us the words of Eusebius : 
 for I cannot find any passage in that 
 author, which agrees with what they 
 have said. I find, in the third book 
 of Eusebius, a quotation from Por- 
 phyry, where he says the statues of 
 Ceres are adorned with ears of corn, 
 and that poppies are added, as a sym- 
 bol of fruitfulness : A<o kcc] xccriTiTflxi 
 TO ^^zreiq ctVTiig ro7g Tct^vFt, /ziiKavig ts 
 TTi^i uvTijv rUg HFoXvyoiiocg criffeJooXof. La 
 Cerda gives another reason : that 
 Ceres relieved her hunger with pop- 
 pies, as appears from the fourth 
 book of Ovid's Fasti. We are there 
 told, that, when Celeus invited Ceres 
 to refresh herself in his cottage, his 
 little boy was sick, and could get 
 no rest ; upon which Ceres gathered 
 some poppies, to cure him, and tast- 
 ed them herself unawares. She de- 
 clined eating with Celeus, and gave 
 the poppies to the boy with warm 
 milk : 
 
 Dux comiti narrat, quam sit sibi filius 
 aeger; 
 Nee capiat somnos, invigiletque malis. 
 Ilia soporiferum, parvos initura penates, 
 
 Colligit agresti lene papaver humo. 
 Dum legit; oblito fertur gustasse palato, 
 Longamque imprudens exoluisse fa- 
 mem. 
 «*#»*• ****** 
 
 Mox. epulas ponunt, liquefacta coagula 
 lacte, 
 Pomaque, et in teneris aurea mella 
 favis. 
 Abstinet alma Ceres, somnique papavera 
 causas 
 Dat tibi cum tepido lacte bibenda puer. 
 
 La Cerda quotes Brodaeus for an- 
 other reason: that poppies were sown 
 amongst the corn, for the sacrifices 
 
 of Ceres. Again he quotes Brodaeus, 
 and also Turnebus, who observe that 
 the statues of that goddess are fre- 
 quently adorned with poppies. Last- 
 ly, he quotes a reason assigned by 
 Mancinellus, that there is a sort of 
 poppy called ^vXccyJing, of which a 
 wholesome sort of bread may be 
 made. The reason assigned by 
 Probus, because poppies are com- 
 mon amongst the corn which is 
 under the protection of Ceres, 
 cannot be right ; because the poppy 
 heads, which are so common on the 
 statues of Ceres, plainly belong to 
 the cultivated sort, not to that which 
 grows amongst the corn. Ruasus 
 thinks the best reason is because it 
 appears from Pliny, that the seeds 
 of white poppies were frequently 
 eaten by the ancients : " Vel potius, 
 " quia papaveriscandidi semen ioslum 
 " in secunda mensa cum melle apud 
 " antiquos dabatur. et panis rustici 
 *' crusia eo inspergebatur, ^uxta. Plin. 
 " lib. xix. 8. idque ad delicias et 
 " famem excitandara : unde vescmn 
 " papaver, id est, edide dicitur G. 
 " iv. 131." This indeed shews why 
 our poet called the poppy vescmn 
 papaver: but I think it does not 
 seem to explain the epithet Cereale. 
 This is certain, that poppies were 
 consecrated by the ancients to Ceres, 
 and that most of her statues are 
 adorned with them. 
 
 213. Rastris.'] So I find it in the 
 King's the Bodleian, and both the 
 Arundelian manuscripts. Pierius 
 found the same reading in the Me- 
 dicean, and several other ancient 
 copies. Servius, Heinsius, and most 
 of the editors, read aratris. Virgil 
 had already spoken of ploughing 
 the ground, and sowing barley, flax, 
 and poppies. It is not probable 
 therefore that he should conclude 
 
GEORG. LIB. I. 
 
 49 
 
 Dum sicca tellure licet, dum nubila pendent. S!,''fcalt S.CcSdf'm 
 
 XT /•!• i.* A. .. TliTJ' hangover. Spring i? the time 
 
 Vere labis satio: turn te quoque, Medica, pu- fv^smving beans: anfi ihee 
 
 tres 
 
 215 
 
 also, O Medick, the rotten 
 
 with a repetition of ploughing. But 
 the sense is very clear, if, according 
 to these ancient manuscripts, we 
 understand him to speak of harrow- 
 ing. Mr. B — has translated him 
 in this sense : 
 
 Nor should the harrcrjo's labour ever end, 
 Whilst dry the glebe, whilst clouds as 
 yet impend. 
 
 Dr. Trapp also in his note upon this 
 passage says roLstris is much better 
 than aratris. 
 
 214. Dum sicca tellure licet, dum 
 imhila pendent.'] Rujeus differs from 
 the rest of the commentators, in his 
 interpretation of this verse. He 
 thinks that the poet does not mean, 
 that this is to be done before the 
 rainy season begins, but that those 
 days are to be chosen, which prove 
 dry and fair. *' Plerique post Ser- 
 *' vium, interpretantur : antequam 
 *' pluat, dum imber imminet, nec- 
 " dum venit pluviosa tempestas. 
 " Ego sic : quoties, in ilia ipsa plu- 
 ^' viosa tempestate, terra erit paulo 
 *' siccior, et imber suspensus. Et 
 " vero poeta sationem illam assignat 
 " Autumno, cujus ultima pars plu- 
 " viosa est : eandemque sationem 
 " profert usque sub extremum hrumcB 
 " imbrcm : non igitur jubet prseve- 
 *' niri tempestatem imbriferam ; sed 
 " ilHus tempestatis eos eligi dies qui 
 *' sicci magis ac sereni erunt." 
 
 Several of the old printed editions 
 haiwejacet instead of licet. 
 
 215. Vere fahis satio ^ I do not 
 find any of the ancient writers of 
 agriculture to agree with Virgil 
 about the time of sowing beans. 
 Varro says they are sown about the 
 latter end of October : " Fabam op- 
 " time sen in vergiliarum occasu." 
 
 Columella says it is not right to 
 sow them after the winter solstice ; 
 but that the worst time of all is in 
 the spring : " Post brumam parum 
 " recte seritur, pessime vere, quam- 
 " vis sit etiam trimestris faba, quae 
 *' mense Februario seratur; quinta 
 " parte amplius, quam matura, sed 
 '' exiguas paleas, nee multam sili- 
 " quam facit." Palladius says beans 
 are sown at the beginning of No- 
 vember : " In hujus principio fabam 
 *' spargimus." Pliny mentions their 
 being sown in October: '^ Seritur 
 " ante vergiliarum occasum, legu- 
 " minum prima, ut antecedat hye- 
 '' mem." But Pliny's words, which 
 follow immediately, shew that, in 
 Virgil's own country, beans were 
 sown in the spring : " Virgilius eam 
 " per ver seri jubet, circumpadanae 
 " Italiae ritu.' ' We find by this pas- 
 sage, that those, who lived near the 
 Po, did not always sow at the same 
 time with the rest of Italy. Hence 
 it is no wonder, if we do not always 
 find an exact agreement between 
 our poet, and the other Latin 
 writers. 
 
 Medica.'] This plant has its name 
 from Media, because it was brought 
 from that country into Greece, at 
 the time of the Persian war, under 
 Darius, according to Pliny : " Me- 
 " dica externa, etiam Graecise, ut a 
 *•' Medis advecta per bella Persa- 
 *• rum, quae Darius intulit." It is of 
 late years brought to us from France 
 and Switzerland, and sown to good 
 advantage under the name of Lil- 
 cern. Ray affirms, that the Lucern 
 or Luzerne of the French is the 
 Onobrychis, known to us under the 
 name of Sa'int-Foin, or, as it is cor- 
 ruptly called, Cinquefoil: and that 
 
50 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 SSis aTinn'aaTcarT,"''' '' Accipiuot sulci ; ct iTiilio vciiit annua cura : 
 
 the Medica is called by the French 
 Saint-fom, Foin de Burgogne, and 
 grand Treffle. Hence, he observes, 
 appears the mistake of our seeds- 
 men and farmers, who sow the 
 Onobrychis, instead of the Medica, 
 under the name of Saint-fom. But 
 I suspect that learned author was 
 misinformed, because Toumefort 
 has given Luserne for the French 
 name of Medica, and Saint-Join for 
 that of Onohrychis. The names 
 by which our English botanists 
 have called the Medica, are Bur- 
 gundy Trefoil, and Medick fodder, 
 Pliny says it is sown in May; 
 but Palladius says the season is in 
 April: " Aprili mense in areis, quas 
 '^ ante, sicut diximus, praeparasti, 
 " Medica serenda est." The best 
 manner of cultivating this useful 
 plant in England is described at 
 large by Mr. Miller, in his Garden- 
 er's Dictionary, under the article of 
 Medica. 
 
 Putres sulci.'] Putris signifies rot- 
 ten or crumbling. Thus we find, 
 near the beginning of this Georgick, 
 putris used to express the melting 
 or crumbling of the earth upon a 
 thaw : 
 
 Vere novo, gelidus canis cum montibus 
 
 humor 
 Liquitur, et zephyro putris se gleba re- 
 
 solvit. 
 
 In the second Georgick, it is used to 
 express a loose crumbling soil, such 
 as we render the earth by ploughing : 
 
 Et cui putre solum, namque hoc imitamur 
 arando. 
 
 Perhaps Virgil may mean, in this 
 place, a soil that has been well 
 dunged. Columella says the ground 
 must first be ploughed in October, 
 and suffered to rot all the winter, and 
 dunged in the spring : " Locum in 
 '' quo Medicam proximo vere satu- 
 
 " rus es, proscindito circa calendas 
 " Octobris, et eum tota hyeme pu- 
 '' trescere sinito — Postea circa Mar- 
 " tiura mensem tertiato, et occato. — 
 " Deinde vetus stercus injicito." In 
 another place he says pinguis and pu- 
 tris are the same: '^Idem pinguis ac 
 " putris." And we find the ancients 
 to agree, that the ground was to be 
 dunged for sowing Medick. Pliny 
 says the ground must be well la- 
 boured in autumn, and dunged: 
 " Solum, in quo seratur, elapidatum 
 " purgatumque subigitur autumno: 
 " raox aratura et occatum integitur 
 '^ crate iterum et tertium, quinis die- 
 ^' bus interpositis, et fimo addito." 
 Palladius agrees with Pliny, except 
 with regard to the time of preparing 
 the ground, which he says is in Fe- 
 bruary : '' Nunc ager, qui acceptu- 
 " rus est Medicam, de cujus natura, 
 " cum erit serenda, dicemus, iteran- 
 '' dus est, et,purgatis lapidibus, di- 
 " ligenter occandus. Et circa Mar- 
 " tias Calendas, subacto sicut in hor- 
 '^ tis solo, formandse sunt areas latae 
 '' pedibus decem, longae pedibus 
 " quinquaginta, ita ut eis aqua mi- 
 '' nistretur, et facile possint ex utra- 
 " que parte runcari. Tunc injecto 
 '' antiquo stercore in Aprilem men- 
 '^ sera reserventur paratae." With 
 us a loose sandy soil seems to agree 
 very well with it. 
 
 216. Milio venit annua cura."] This 
 expression of the annual care of mil- 
 let is used by the poet to shew that 
 the Medick lasts many years, Pliny 
 says it lasts thirty: '" Tanta dos 
 *' ejus est, cum uno satu amplius 
 '' quam tricenis annis duret." Co- 
 lumella and Palladius says it lasts 
 ten: " Eximia," says Columella, "est 
 " herba medica, quod cum semel se- 
 " ritur, decem annis durat." The 
 words of Palladius are, " Quae semel 
 " seritur, decem annis permanet." 
 
GEORG. LIB. I. 
 
 51 
 
 Candidus auratis aperit cum cornibus annum 
 
 when the bright bull opens the 
 year with his golden horns, 
 
 Seneca, in his eighty-sixth Epistle, 
 reproves our poet, for placing the 
 time of sowing beans, medick, and 
 millet in the same season, and says 
 he saw the farmers gathering beans 
 and sowing millet about the latter 
 end of June. Hence he takes oc- 
 casion to observe, that Virgil does 
 not confine himself to truth, but 
 only endeavours to divert his read- 
 ers ; " Virgilius noster non quid 
 " verissime, sed quid decentissime, 
 " diceretur, adspexit ; nee agricolas 
 " docere voluit, sed legentes delec- 
 " tare. Nam, ut omnia alia trans- 
 " feram,hoc quod hodie mihi necesse 
 " fuit reprehendere, ascribara : 
 
 *' Verefahis satio est : hinc te quoque Me- 
 
 " dica putres 
 " Accipiunt stilci, et niilio venit annua cura. 
 
 " An uno tempore istaponendasint: 
 " et an utriusque verna sit satio, hinc 
 " aestimes licet. Junius mensis est 
 " quo tibi scribo, jam proclivus in 
 " Julium. Eodem die vidi fabam 
 " metentes, milium serentes." But 
 Virgil does not say that beans and 
 millet are sown precisely at the same 
 time. He says that beans are sown 
 in the spring, that is, in February or 
 March, and that millet is sown 
 when the sun enters Taurus, that is, 
 about the seventeenth of April, and 
 when the dog sets, that is, about the 
 end of the same month. This agrees 
 with what other authors have said. 
 Pliny says, millet is sown before 
 the rising of the Pleiades, that is, 
 according to Columella, before the 
 seventh of May : " Frumenti ipsius 
 " totidem genera per tempora satu 
 " divisa. Hyberna, quae circa ver- 
 " giliarum occasum sata terra per 
 " hyemem nutriuntur, ut triticum, 
 " far, hordeum. -Estiva, quae aestate 
 " ante vergiliarum exortum serun- 
 " tur, ut milium." Palladius says. 
 
 that in warm and dry countries, 
 millet is sown in March : " Calidis 
 " et siccis regionibus panicum sere- 
 " mus, et milium ;" but that in cold 
 and wet places it is sown in May : 
 *' Maio mense, locis frigidis, et 
 " humectis, panicum seremus, et 
 " milium." 
 
 217. Candidus auratis aperit cum 
 cornibus annum Taurus."] By the 
 bull's opening the year, Virgil means 
 the sun's entering into Taurus; 
 which, according to Columella, is 
 on the seventeenth of April: " De- 
 " cimo quinto calendas Maias sol 
 " in Taurum transitum facit." April 
 is said to have its name ab aperiendo, 
 whence the poet uses the expression 
 aperire annum. Servius thinks this 
 passage is not to be rendered the 
 bull opens the year with his golden 
 horns, but the bull with golden horns 
 opens the year; because the bull 
 does not rise with his horns, but 
 with his back. La Cerda adheres 
 to the former interpretation, and 
 supports it with the authority of 
 Manilius, who uses an expression 
 something like it, of the bull's bear- 
 ing the sun upon his horns. This 
 poet speaks also of that sign's be- 
 ginning the labours of the plough- 
 man : as this seems to have some 
 relation to what Virgil has said, I 
 shall set down the whole passage : 
 
 Taurus simplicibus donavit ruracolonis: 
 Pacatisque labor veniet, patientia laudis, 
 Sed lerrae tribuet partus : summittit 
 
 aratris 
 Coila, jugumque suis poscit cervicibus 
 
 ipse. 
 lUe suis Phoebl portat cum cornibus 
 
 orbem, 
 Militiam indicit terris, et seguia rura 
 In veteres revocat cultus dux ipse 
 
 laboris, 
 Nee jacet in sulcis solvitque in pulvere 
 
 pectus. 
 Seranos Curiosque tulit/facilesque per 
 
 arva 
 H 2 
 
52 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 ^o'Jbe'ba&rrd'sSn!"^ "'' Taurus, ct avcrso cedens Canis occidit astro. 
 
 Tradidit, eque suo dictator venit aratro. 
 Laudis amor, tacitae mentes, et corpora 
 
 tarda 
 Mole valent, habitatque puer sub fronte 
 
 cupido. 
 
 218. Aver so cedens canis occidit 
 astro.'] Servius says some read aver- 
 so, others adverso. Pierius says it 
 is adverso in the Roman and Lom- 
 bard manuscripts; but averso in 
 others. In the Medicean, he says, it 
 is averso iticedens. The King's, both 
 Dr. Mead's, and one of the Arunde- 
 lian manuscripts have adverso. The 
 other Arundelian and the Cam- 
 bridge manuscript have averso. 
 The Bodleian has verso. La Cerda 
 and several of the old editors read 
 adverso. Heinsius, Ruaeus, and 
 many others prefer averso. The 
 commentators are greatly divided 
 about the meaning of this passage. 
 Servius interprets it two different 
 ways : if we admit adverso, it is to 
 be rendered the dog with the adverse 
 constellation, because with the dog 
 arises Sirius, who is adverse, or in- 
 jurious to mankind; if we admit 
 averso, cum must be understood, 
 and the sense will be, when the dog 
 giving place sets with the backward 
 sign, that is, the ship, which rises 
 backwards. Grimoaldus seems to 
 understand it to mean that the dog 
 is obscured by the sun when he en- 
 ters Taurus: " Cum canis in scor- 
 " pione constitutus propter tauri so- 
 ^' lem tenentis vicinitatem occulitur 
 '^ et obscuratur." According to 
 this interpretation, the sun must be 
 the adversum astrum. La Cerda 
 seems to adhere to the first inter- 
 pretation of Servius : " Cum canis 
 " heliace occidit, qui habet astrum 
 " adversum contrariumque morta- 
 " libus." Ruaeus, according to Ser- 
 vius's second interpretation, takes 
 the ship to be the aversum astrum : 
 
 but instead of understanding cum, 
 with Servius, he takes averso astro 
 to be the dative case, governed of 
 cedens. Thus the sense will be, the 
 dog sets, giving place to the backward 
 sign, or ship. I rather believe, that 
 Virgil meant the bull by the aversum 
 astrum : for that constellation is 
 known to rise backwards. Thus 
 Manilius : 
 
 Aversus venit in caelum. 
 
 It seems more natural to suppose 
 that Virgil should mean the bull, 
 which he had just mentioned, than 
 the ship, which he has not once 
 named in the whole poem. Dryden 
 translates this passage : 
 
 When with the golden horns, in full 
 
 career. 
 The bull beats down the barriers of the 
 
 year; 
 And Argos and the Dog forsake the 
 
 northern sphere. 
 
 Mr. B — *s translation is reconcil- 
 able with the sense which I have 
 proposed : 
 
 When with his horns the bull unbars the 
 
 year. 
 And frighten'd flies the dog, and shuns 
 
 the adverse star. 
 
 Dr. Trapp has followed Ruseus : 
 
 When now with srolden horns 
 
 The shining bull unlocks the op'ning 
 
 year, 
 And, setting, to the ship the dog gives 
 
 way. 
 
 The sun enters Taurus, according 
 to Columella, on the seventeenth of 
 April, as I observed at the begin- 
 ning of this note. According to 
 the same author, the dog sets with 
 the sun on the last day of the same 
 month : " Pridie calendas Maias 
 " canis se vespere celat." Pliny says, 
 that, according to the Boeotians and 
 Athenians, it is on the twenty-sixth 
 
GEORG. LIB. I. 
 
 53 
 
 At si triticeam in messem, robustaque farra 
 Exercebis hiimum, solisque instabis aristis: 
 Ante tibi Eoae Atlantides abscondantur, 
 
 But if you work the eround 
 for a wheat harvest, and for 
 strong spelt, and labour only 
 for the bearded ears, let 
 the morning Pleiades first be 
 hidden. 
 
 of April ; but, according to the Assy- 
 rians, on the twenty-ninth: ^' Sexto 
 " calendas Maii Boeotiae et Atticae 
 " canis vesperi occultatur, fidicula 
 " mane oritur : quinto calendas As- 
 *' syriae Orion totus absconditur^ 
 " tertio autem canis." 
 
 219. Triticeam in messem.'] The 
 iriticum of the ancients was not our 
 common or lammas wheat, but a 
 bearded sort. Hence arista, which 
 signifies the beard, is often used by 
 the poets for wheat: but it would 
 be too 'dolent a figure to put the 
 beard for corn, which has no beard 
 at all. Cicero, in his Cato major, 
 speaking of the pleasures of hus- 
 bandmen, gives a beautiful descrip- 
 tion of the growth of corn, and 
 mentions the beard as a palisade, 
 to defend the grain : " Me quidem 
 '' non fructus modo, sed etiara ip- 
 " sius terrae vis, ac natura delectat : 
 *' quae cum gremio mollito ac 
 " subacto semen sparsum accepit : 
 *' primum occaecatum cohibet ; ex 
 *' quo occatio, quae hoc efficit, no- 
 " minata est : deinde tepefactum va- 
 " pore, et complexu suo, difFundit, 
 " et elicit herbescentem ex eo viri- 
 " ditatem: quae nixa fibris stirpium, 
 '' sensim adolescit, culmoque erecta 
 " geniculato, vaginis jam quasi pu- 
 ** bescens includitur, e quibus cum 
 "^ emerserit, fundit frugem, spicae 
 " ordine structam, et contra avium 
 " minorum morsum munitur vallo 
 " aristarum." I shall add another 
 proof, that the iriticum wa^ bearded: 
 all the statues and medals of Ceres, 
 that ever I saw, have no other corn 
 represented on them than that which 
 is bearded. 
 
 Farra.'] See the note on Farra, 
 ver. 73. 
 
 220. Aristis.] Arista is the beard 
 of corn : " Spica ea, quae mutilata 
 " non est, in ordeo et tritico, tria 
 ** habet continentia, granum, glu- 
 " mam, aristam : et etiam primitus 
 " cum spica oritur, vaginam. Gra- 
 *' num dictum quod est intimum 
 " solidum : gluma, qui est follicu- 
 " lus ejus : arista, quae, ut acus te- 
 *' nuis, longa eminet e gluma; pro- 
 '' inde ut grani theca sit gluma, 
 
 " apex arista. Arista dicta quod 
 
 " arescit prima." Varro de Re Rust, 
 lib. i. cap. 48. 
 
 221. EocB Atlantides abscondantur.} 
 Atlas had seven daughters by Plei- 
 one. Their names, according to 
 Aratus, are Alcyone, Merope, Ce- 
 lajno, Electra, Sterope, Taygete, and 
 Maia; 
 
 'AXxvovrij Mego'«r>jT8, KeXutvej t*, 'HX«»- 
 
 Ka) "Sri^ovh, xa) Invyirn, xa) zt'ovnot, 
 MuTa. 
 
 See the note on ver. 138. 
 
 By the epithet Eooe, Virgil does 
 not mean setting in the east, as some 
 have imagined, but in the morning, 
 at sun rising: that is, when the 
 Pleiades go down below our western 
 horizon, at the same time that the 
 sun rises above our eastern horizon. 
 Hesiod, according to Pliny, com- 
 puted this to be at the autumnal 
 equinox; Thales, twenty- five days 
 after; Anaximander, twenty -nine; 
 and Euctemon, forty-eight : " Occa- 
 " sum matutinura vergiliarum He- 
 " siodus, nam hujus quoque nomine 
 " extat Astrologia, tradidit fieri, 
 '' cum aequinoctium autumni con- 
 *' ficeretur, Thales xxv die ab aequi- 
 *' noctio, Anaximander xxix, Euc- 
 " temon xlviii." Columella, in the 
 second chapter of his eleventh book^ 
 
54 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 anrt let the Gnossian star of 
 the blazing crown emerge. 
 
 Gnosiaque ardentis decedat stella coronae, 
 
 says they begin to set at sun-rising 
 on the 21st of October: " Duode- 
 " cimo calendas Novembris solis 
 " exortu vergiliae incipiunt occi- 
 " dere/* In the eighth chapter of his 
 second book, he comments on this 
 very passage of Virgil. He there 
 says the Pleiades set on the thirty - 
 first day after the autumnal equinox, 
 which happens on the twenty-third 
 of September : wherefore the time 
 of sowing wheat must be understood 
 to be six and forty days from the 
 setting of the Pleiades, which is be- 
 fore the twenty-fourth of October, 
 to the time of the winter solstice. 
 '•' Absconduntur autem altero et 
 '• trigesimo die post autumnale ae- 
 " quinoctium, quod fere conficitur 
 " nono calendas Octobris, propter 
 " quod intelligi debet tritici satio 
 " dierum sex, et quadraginta ab 
 " occasu vergiliaruro, qui fit ante 
 " diem nonam calendarum Novem- 
 " bris, ad brumae tempora." I be- 
 lieve instead of ante diem nonam, we 
 should read ad diem nonam ; for the 
 ninth of the calends of November, 
 which is the twenty-fourth of Octo- 
 ber, is exactly one and thirty days 
 after the time which Columella 
 fixes for the autumnal equinox: and 
 from the twenty-fourth of October, 
 there are just six and forty days to 
 the twenty- fourth of December, 
 which he reckons to. be the winter 
 solstice : " Nono calendas Januarii 
 '' brumale solstitium, sicut Chaldaei 
 " observant." According to Pliny, 
 the winter solstice is December the 
 twenty-fifth. 
 
 222. Gnosiaque ardentis decedat 
 Stella coronce.'] Gnosus is a city of 
 Crete, where Minos reigned, the fa- 
 ther of Ariadne, who was carried 
 away by Theseus, and afterwards 
 deserted by him in the island of 
 Naxos, where Bacchus fell in love 
 
 with her and married her. At the 
 celebration of their nuptials, all the 
 gods made presents to the bride; 
 and Venus gave her a crown, which 
 Bacchus translated into the heavens, 
 and made a constellation. One of 
 the stars of this constellation is 
 brighter than the rest, and rises be- 
 fore the whole constellation appears. 
 Thus Columella" reckons the bright 
 star to rise on the eighth of October, 
 and the whole constellation on the 
 thirteenth or fourteenth : " Octavo 
 " idus Octobris coronae clara stella. 
 " exoritur, — Tertio et pridie idus 
 " Octobris corona tota mane exo- 
 *' ritur." Pliny tells us, that, accord- 
 ing to Caesar, the bright star rises 
 on the eighth of October, and the 
 whole constellation on the fifteenth ; 
 '' Octavo idus Octobris Caesari ful- 
 
 " gens in corona stella oritur. 
 
 " Idibus corona tota." Aratus men- 
 tions the crown of Ariadne being 
 placed in the heavens by Bacchus : 
 
 AvTou xaxiTvas, s-i(pava;, roy ayavos %^*ixi 
 "iiuTM f/Civ ^-'ifavos zrtXdit. 
 
 Manilius has mentioned the superior 
 brightness of one of these stars. 
 
 At parte ex alia claro volat orbe corona 
 Luce micans varia, nam stella vincitur 
 
 una 
 Circulus in medio radians, quae proxima 
 
 f route 
 Candidaque ardenti distinguit lumina 
 
 flamma 
 Gnosia desertae fulgent monumenta 
 
 puellae. 
 
 I have translated decedat, emerge, be- 
 cause the commentators agree, that 
 V' irgil means by that word the helia- 
 cal rising of the crown ; that is, when 
 the constellation, which before had 
 been obscured by the superior light 
 of the sun, begins to depart from it. 
 
GEORG. LIB. I. 
 
 55 
 
 Debita auam sulcis committas semina, quamque before you commit the due 
 
 T^ It seeds to the furrows, and be- 
 
 Invitae properes anni spem credere terrae. 
 Multi ante occasum Maiae ccepere : sed illos 
 Expectata seges vanis elusit aristis. 226 
 
 fore you hasten to trust the 
 hope of the year to the un- 
 willing earth. Many have be- 
 gun before Uie setting of 
 Maia: but the expected crop 
 has deceived them with empty 
 
 and to appear in the eastern horizon 
 before sun rising. I must own I 
 have some doubt about this inter- 
 pretation ; because Virgil never uses 
 decedere, when applied to the sun, 
 but for the setting of it. In the 
 first Eclogue we find, 
 
 Et sol crescentes deccdens duplicat um- 
 bras : 
 
 in this Georgick, 
 
 — — Eroenso cum jam decedet Olympo . 
 
 and in the fourth Georgick, 
 
 Te veniente die, te decedente canebat. 
 
 Therefore as decedere does signify 
 to set, the poet should rather seem 
 to mean the heliacal setting of the 
 constellation, than the heliacal rising 
 of it. Pliny would have the helia- 
 cal rising to be called emersion, and 
 the heliacal setting to be called oc- 
 cupation : " Aut enim adventu solis 
 " occultantur stellse et conspici de- 
 *' sinunt, aut ejusdem abscessu pro- 
 " ferunt se. Emersum hoc melius 
 " quam exortum consuetude dix- 
 '' isset: et illud occultationem potius 
 '' quam occasum." One of Dr. 
 Mead's manuscripts has descendat 
 instead of decedat, which is mani- 
 festly wrong. Dryden however has 
 translated it in that sense : 
 
 And the bright Gnossian diaderh down- 
 ward bend. 
 
 Mr. B — has criticised on this line 
 of Dryden, and seems to understand 
 the poet to mean the heliacal setting 
 of the crown : '' Mr. Dryden in this 
 '' place, and in many others here- 
 " after, discovers his little know- 
 *' ledge of the lowest degree of 
 
 '' astronomy. Ariadne's crown does 
 " not bend downward, at the time 
 " Virgil mentions, but rises with 
 " the sun ; and as the sun's great 
 <* light soon makes that star imper- 
 " ceptible, this Virgil very poeti- 
 " cally describes by 
 
 *' Gnosiaque ardentis decedat stclla coronae.''* 
 
 But this learned Gentleman, in his 
 translation of this very passage, has 
 represented the poet as speaking of 
 the heliacal rising : 
 
 First let the sisters in the morn go down. 
 And from the sun retire the Gnossian 
 crown. 
 
 225. Ante occasum Maice.] Maia 
 is one of the Pleiades : the poet puts 
 a part for the whole. He speaks 
 here against sowing too early : and 
 we are informed by Columella, that 
 it was an old proverb amongst the 
 farmers, that an early sowing often 
 deceives our expectation, but seldom 
 a late one : " Vetus est agricolarum 
 '' proverbium, maturara sationem 
 *' ssepe decipere solere, seram nun- 
 " quam, quin mala sit." 
 
 226. Aristis.] See the notes on 
 ver. 219 and 220. The King's, the 
 Bodleian, one of the Arundelian, and 
 both Dr. Mead's manuscripts have 
 avenis. The other Arundelian, and 
 the Cambridge manuscript have 
 acervis. Pierius says the Roman 
 manuscript has illusit aristis, and 
 some others elusit aristis. But he 
 prefers avenis, as it is in the Medi- 
 cean copy, because avena is a de- 
 generacy of corn. Heinsius reads 
 aristis : which I take to be the true 
 reading ; because I do not find that 
 any ancient writer has ascribed the 
 
56 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 SSs,'orm^rkw!fe?-bl!l!fs'; ^^ ^^^^ viclamque seres, vilemque faselum, 
 
 ^e Egmian^Tentii, 1hrse*t- Ncc Pelusiacse curam aspernabere lentis ; 
 
 ting of Bootes will give you -^ , , 
 
 no obscure direction. Haud obscura cadens mittet tibi signa Bootes. 
 
 growth of wild oats to the early 
 sowing of corn. Besides vanis 
 avenisj sounds too like a jingle to 
 agree with the style of Virgil. It 
 must be confessed however, that 
 there is a passage in Tibullus, some- 
 thing like this, which seems to coun- 
 tenance the reading of avenis : 
 
 Neu seges eludat messem fallacibus 
 herbis. 
 
 227. Vilem faselum J] The kidney- 
 beans are said to have been very 
 common among the Romans: and 
 therefore the poet is thought to have 
 given them the epithet of vile, 
 mean, or common. He might use 
 this epithet perhaps, because they 
 might be sown in any sort of soil; 
 as Pliny tel^s us. This author tells 
 us also, that the Romans eat. the 
 seeds in the shells, as we do now : 
 
 " Siliquae faseolorum cum ipsis 
 
 " manduntur granis. Serere eos 
 '' qua velis terra licet ab idibus 
 '' Octobris in calendas Novembris," 
 
 228. Pelusiacce leniis.] Pelusium 
 is a town of Egypt, which gives 
 name to one of the seven mouths of 
 the Nile. He calls the lentil Pe- 
 lusian, or Egyptian, because the 
 best are said to grow in that coun- 
 try. 
 
 229. Bootes.'] This is a northern 
 constellation, near the tail of the 
 Great Bear. Arcturus, as has been 
 already observed, is a part of this 
 constellation. Thus Aratus : 
 
 'E^o^iB^tv V IXtKyis <pi^irai ixdovri loixug 
 'A^Kro(puX.ce^, <ravp av^^a l-rixXuovtri BournVy 
 
 KaJ //.xXk -sras a^i^tiXeg' v^o Z,uvvi Ss ol 
 alro? 
 
 The time of the setting of Arcturus, 
 according to Columella, is on the 
 twenty -ninth of October : '' Quarto 
 '* calendas Novembris Arcturus ves- 
 " pere occidit." Let us see now how 
 far the other ancient writers agree 
 with our poet. As for vetches or 
 tares. Columella mentions two times 
 of sowing them ; the first for fodder, 
 about the time of the autumnal equi- 
 nox i the second for seed, about Ja- 
 nuary : " Viciae autem duse sationes 
 '^ sunt. Prima quam pabuli causa 
 " circa aequinoctium auturanale se- 
 ^' rimus, septem modios ejus in 
 " unum jugerum. Secunda quae sex 
 ^' modios, mense Januario, vel etiam 
 '' serius jacimus, seminiprogeneran- 
 '' do." The first of these times is 
 about a month sooner than the acro- 
 nical setting of Arcturus; that is, 
 when Arcturus sets with the sun. 
 The second time Virgil has express- 
 ed, by advising the sowing time to 
 be extended to the middle of the 
 frost. The middle of winter, ac- 
 cording to Columella, is on the 
 fourth of January : " Pridie nonas 
 " Januarii media hyems." Pliny 
 mentions three seasons: the first 
 about the setting of Arcturus, when 
 they are designed for seed : the se- 
 cond in January: the third in 
 March, for fodder: '' Sationis ejus 
 " tria tempora : circa occasum Arc- 
 " turi, ut Decembri mense pascat, 
 " tunc optime seritur in semen. 
 " Secunda satio mense Januario est : 
 '^ novissima Martio, turn adfrondem 
 '^ utilissima." The first of these 
 times is the same with that which 
 Virgil mentions. The second agrees 
 with Columella. The third seems 
 not to have been mentioned by the 
 poet : unless we may suppose that by 
 
GEORG. LIB. I. 
 
 Iilcipe, et ad medias sementem extende pruinas. 
 Idcirco certis dimensum partibus orbem 281 
 Per duodena regit miindi Sol aureus astra. 
 
 Begin and extend your sow- 
 ing time lo (he middle of the 
 frosts. Tor tins purpose the 
 golden sun governs the orb of 
 the world divided into certain 
 parts, through twelve constel- 
 lations. 
 
 the setting of Bootes, he designed to 
 express both the acronical and the 
 cosmical setting of Arcturus. The 
 cosmical setting, that is, the setting 
 at sun-rising, of Arcturus then hap- 
 pened in March. Palladius follows 
 Columella: for he mentions Sep- 
 tember as the first time of sowing : 
 " nunc viciae prima satio est, et faeni 
 " graeci cum pabuli causa seruntur:" 
 and January, as the other time : 
 " hoc raense ultimo, colligendi se- 
 *' minis causa, non pabuli secandi, 
 ^' vicia seritur." As for kidney 
 beans, I think, Palladius alone has 
 mentioned the time of sowing them, 
 which he settles to be from the be- 
 ginning to the middle of October, 
 which is about a fortnight sooner 
 than the time prescribed by Virgil : 
 '* Seremus sisamum usque ad idus 
 " Octobres, et faselum." As for 
 lentils, they all agree that November 
 is the time; only Columella adds, 
 that there is a second season in Fe- 
 bruary: "Sationes ejus duas serva- 
 " mus, alteram maturam per mediam 
 " sementim, seriorem alteram mense 
 " Februario." Pliny's words are, 
 *' Ex leguminibus autera Novembri 
 " seruntur lens, et in Graecia pisum." 
 PaUadius, under the month of No- 
 vember, says, " Nunc seritur prima 
 " ienticula." 
 
 230.] After this line, in one of 
 the Arundelian manuscripts is added, 
 
 Tempus Immo tegercy et jamdudum in- 
 cumbere aratris. 
 
 which is a repetition of ver. 213. It 
 is observable, that this very manu- 
 script, in the proper place of this 
 verse, has raslris instead of aratris. 
 231. Idcirco, ^-c] In these lines 
 the poet, having, in honour of agri- 
 
 culture, supposed the sun to make 
 his annual journey, for the sake of 
 that art, takes occasion to describe 
 the five Zones, the Zodiac, the 
 Northern Pole, and the Antipodes, 
 in a most beautiful and poetical 
 manner. 
 
 232. MundL] The commentators 
 are much divided about the inter- 
 pretation of this passage. The most 
 general opinion is that miindi follows 
 astra; which makes the sense to be 
 this : the sun governs the earth through 
 twelve constellations of the noHd. 
 
 Mr. B contends that mundi 
 
 should follow Sol; and so renders 
 it the golden sun of the world. " Jd- 
 " circo," says he, " sol aureus mundi 
 " (as in the beginning of this book, 
 " clarissima mundi lumina) regit 
 " orbem [suum] dimensum certis 
 " partibus, per duodena astra." 
 Thus, according to Mr. B or- 
 bem signifies the course of the sun ; 
 according to the general opinion, it 
 is the globe of the earth. Ruaeus 
 places mundi after astra, in his in- 
 terpretation ; Dr. Trapp says, "it 
 " may relate either to orbem or astra: 
 " rather to the latter." I believe 
 we must read orbem mundi, and 
 understand it of the turning round 
 of the heavens. We have those 
 words used in this sense in Ma- 
 nilius : 
 
 -Nunc sidera ducit. 
 
 Et rapit immensum inundi revolubilis 
 orhem. 
 
 According to the ancient philosophy, 
 the earth is placed in the centre of 
 the world, and the heavens turn 
 round it once in four and twenty 
 hours. Thus Pliny : " Formam 
 " ejus in speciem orbis absoluti glo- 
 
58 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 vl;;iTtffiT„?is"'aiwa'A- Quinque tenent c^lum Zonse 
 
 red with the bright sun, and 
 
 always glowing with fire: COrUSCO 
 
 quarum una 
 
 Semper sole rubens, et torrida semper ab igni: 
 
 " batam esse, nomen in primis et 
 " consensus in eo mortalium, orbem 
 '' appellantiura, seel et argumenta 
 " rerum docent...Hanc ergo for- 
 '' mam ejus, aeterno et irrequieto 
 "^ ambitu inenarrabili celeritate, vi- 
 " ginti quatuor horarum spatio cir- 
 '' cumagi solis exortus et occasus 
 '^ baud dubium reliquere...Nec de 
 " dementis video dubitari, quatuor 
 *' ea esse. Ignium summum, inde 
 " tot stellarum collucentium illos 
 " oeulos. Proximum spiritus, quara 
 '' GraBci nostrique eodem vocabulo 
 " aera appellant. Vitalem hunc, et 
 ^' per cuncta rerum meabilem, toto- 
 " que consertum : hujus vi suspen- 
 "/ sam, cum quarto aquarum ele- 
 " mento, librari medio spatio tel- 
 '' lurem... Inter banc caelum que, eo- 
 '" dem spiritu pendent, certis dis- 
 *' creta spatiis, septem sidera, quae 
 " ab incessu vocamus errantia,quum 
 '' errent nulla minus illis: eorum 
 " medius Sol fertur amplissimamag- 
 *' nitudine ac potestate: nee tempo- 
 *' rum modo terrarumque, sed side- 
 '* rumetiam ipsorum caelique rector. 
 *' Hunc mundi esse totius animum, 
 " ac planius mentem, hunc princi- 
 " pale naturae regimen ac numen cre- 
 ' * dere decet opera ejus aestimantes." 
 233. Quijique ienent ccelum Zonae.'] 
 This description of the five zones is 
 thought to be taken from Erato- 
 sthenes. I shall set down his words 
 as I find them quoted by Fulvius 
 Ursinus, and La Cerda. 
 
 At ^uo f^h yXauKoto xtXaivori^itt xuoivoto. 
 
 T wrrof/.ivyi (pXoyfAoTffiv, i^ii pa IfAoT^av vx 
 
 aurriv 
 KixXifi,ivoi axTtvis aiiB^i^iis zfu^oucm. 
 Al ^i ivo iKare^^i ziroXoio zgi^tTriTryiyuIat 
 
 Alii K^vfAakiou, ai) B' vhuri fioyiovirai, 
 
 oh f/,i¥ vhuQ, aXX' ahroi a.<r eu^avo^ev 
 
 Ksirat avaTitr^^B zgi^i-^UKTOi Se Tirvxrm. 
 'AXkcc ra fiiv ^i^tfaTa,, xoc) afiSara a.v9-^a- 
 
 Loiai S' aXkoLi ictfftv havriai aXX^Xeuo'it 
 Mifffftjyvs B-i^sos n xa) virtov x^vg-aXkau. 
 
 Under the torrid or burni7ig zone 
 lies that part of the earth, which is 
 contained between the two tropics. 
 This was thought by the ancients to 
 be uninhabitable, because of the ex- 
 cessive heat; but later discoveries 
 have shewn it to be inhabited by 
 many great nations. It contains a 
 great part of Asia, Africa, and South 
 America. Under the two frigid or 
 cold zones lie those parts of the 
 earth, which are included within 
 the two polar circles, which are so 
 cold, being at a great distance from 
 the sun, as to be scarce habitable. 
 Within the arctic circle, near the 
 north pole, are contained Nova 
 Zerabla, Lapland, Greenland, Sec. 
 Within the antarctic circle, near the 
 south pole, no land has yet been 
 discovered: though the great quan- 
 tities of ice found there make it pro- 
 bable that there is more land near 
 the north than the south pole. 
 Under the two temperate zones are 
 contained those parts of the globe, 
 which lie between the tropics, and 
 polar circles. The temperate zone, 
 between the arctic circle and the tro- 
 pic of Cancer, contains the greatest 
 part of Europe and Asia, part of 
 Africa, and almost all North Ame- 
 rica. That between the antarctic 
 circle and the tropic of Capricorn 
 contains part of South America, or 
 the Antipodes. 
 
 234. The old Nurenberg edition 
 has est after is;ni. 
 
GEORG. LIB. I. 
 
 59 
 
 Quam circum extremae dextra laevaque tra- 
 huntur, 235 
 
 Caerulea glacie concretae atque imbribus atris. 
 Has inter mediamque duae mortalibus aegris 
 Munere concessae divum. Via secta per ambas, 
 Obliquus qua se signorum verteret ordo. 
 Mundus ut ad Scythiam Riphaeasque arduus 
 arces MO 
 
 on each side of wbicli to right 
 and left two others are drawn, 
 stiff with blue ice and dark 
 showers. Between these and 
 the middle xone two are 
 granted to weak mortals by 
 the bounty of the gods. A 
 path is cut between them for 
 the oblique course of the signs 
 to turn in. As the world is 
 elevated at Scythia and the 
 Riphaean hills. 
 
 236. C(Brulea.'] Pierius says it is 
 casrulece, in most of the ancient co- 
 pies : and that it was cerulee in the 
 Medicean copy, but had been altered 
 to cerulea. One of the Arundelian 
 manuscripts has coerulece. If this 
 reading be admitted, we must alter 
 the pointing thus : 
 
 Quam circum extremae, dextra laevaque 
 trahuntur 
 
 Caeruleas: glacie concretae atque imbri- 
 bus atris. 
 
 So glacie concretes atque imbribus 
 atris must be understood as the 
 cause that these zones are blue. 
 Pierius farther observes, that some 
 manuscripts hsiwe ccieruleoe et glacie; 
 which reading, though he does not 
 approve, yet he thinks it a con- 
 firmation of cceriilece. In the King's 
 manuscript it is coeridea et glacie. 
 
 9>SS. Munere concesscB diviim. 
 Via secta per ambas, obliquus qua se 
 signorum verteret ordo.'] So I point 
 this verse with Heinsius : most of 
 the editors have a comma or a se- 
 micolon after divum. Here the poet 
 describes the zodiac, which is a 
 broad belt spreading about five or 
 six degrees on each side of the 
 ecliptic line, and contains the twelve 
 constellations or signs. They are 
 Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, 
 Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, 
 Capricornus, Aquarius, Pisces. The 
 ecliptic line cuts the equinoctial ob- 
 liquely in two opposite points. 
 
 whence the poet calls the zodiac 
 obliquus signorum ordo. It traverses 
 the whole torrid zone, but neither 
 of the temperate zones ; so that per 
 ambas must mean between, not 
 through them . Thus presently after, 
 speaking of the Dragon, he says it 
 twines per duas Arctos: now that 
 constellation cannot be said to twine 
 through the two Bears, but between 
 them. The zodiac is the annual 
 path of the sun, through each sign 
 of which he passes in about the 
 space of a month. He is said to be 
 in one of those signs, when he ap- 
 pears in that part of the heavens, 
 where those stars are, of which the 
 sign is composed. 
 
 240. Mundus ut ad Scythiam, t^c] 
 He speaks here of the two poles of 
 the world. He says the north pole 
 is elevated, because that only is visi- 
 ble in these parts of the earth : and 
 for the same reason he speaks of the 
 south pole, as being depressed. 
 These lines seem to be an imitation 
 of Aratus : 
 
 'AXX' fih otiK Wio^rresj o V avrios IkSo- 
 
 aat 
 
 "A^»roi ol/xa r^o^oeacrt, to ^h xaXiovren 
 
 The ancient Scythia was the most 
 northern part of the known world, 
 being what we now call Muscovy, 
 and the Muscovite Tartary. Lybia 
 i2 
 
CO 
 
 p. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 so it is depressed at the south 
 ofLybia. One pole alwa> sap- 
 pears above our heads; but 
 (he other dark Styx, and the 
 infernal gliosis see under their 
 feet. At the north pole the 
 vast Dragon twines with a 
 winding course, and after the 
 manner of a river, between 
 the two Bears, the Bears that 
 fear to be dipped in the wa- 
 ters of the ocean. At the south 
 pole, either, as some report, 
 still night dwells in eternal 
 silence, 
 
 Consurgit, premitur Lybiae devexus in austros. 
 Hie vertex semper nobis sublimis ; at ilium 
 Sub pedibus Styx atra videt, Manesque pro- 
 fundi. 
 Maximus hie flexu sinuoso elabitur Anguis 
 Circum, perque duas in morem fluminis Arctos, 
 Aretos Oeeani metuentes aequore tingi. 246 
 
 Illic, ut perhibent, aut intempesta silet nox 
 
 is an ancient name for Africa, the 
 southern part of which reaches to 
 the tropic of Capricorn. 
 
 244. Maxirmis hie fiexu, c^'c] 
 These lines also are an imitation of 
 Aratus : 
 
 Taj ^£ "hi afie,<pori^uSf o'ln "aorafAolo iiTop- 
 
 afji,<pi T layug 
 Mv^tos, at B' «!» 01 ff^iigTis ixuTi^B^g 
 
 (pvovTUt 
 "A^xToi, xvaviov zre(pvXet<yftiteu axiavoTo. 
 
 This description of the Dragon 
 winding, like a river, at the north 
 pole, between the two Bears, is no 
 less just than beautiful. One of the 
 Arundehan manuscripts has lahitur. 
 246. Arctos Oeeani metuentes ce- 
 quore tingi.'] " I beg leave," says 
 
 Mr. B , " to suppose, that this 
 
 *' line cannot be'of Virgil's writing, 
 *' but that it is slid into the text from 
 " the marginal note of some gram- 
 '^ marian or other. There is such 
 " a jingle betwixt oeeani and tingi, 
 " and the sense, if any sense at all 
 " can be affixed to it, is so forced, 
 *' that it seems to me not in any 
 '^ wise to belong to the author of 
 " the Georgicks." For my part, I 
 see no reason to question the au- 
 thority of this verse : nor is it left 
 out in any manuscript, or printed 
 edition, that I have seen. Virgil, 
 no doubt, had in his view Homer's 
 description of the northern constel- 
 
 lations on the shield of Achilles ; to 
 which he has more than once al- 
 luded : 
 
 nXnia^a? S-', iid^as rt, rori ffB^ives'n^'iuvh. 
 "A^xTov 3-\ 7j» xai afjM^av WixXntrif *«- 
 
 "Ht' ahrou ^^i^traij xai <r 'n^iuna ^oxivit, 
 o'ln ^ aft/M^'os lr< y.oirguf uxiavcTo. 
 
 The Pleiads, Hyads, with the northern 
 
 team •, 
 And great Orion's more refulgent beam ; 
 To which, around the axle of the sky. 
 The bear revolving, points his golden 
 
 eye, 
 Still shines exalted on th' jEtherial plain, 
 Nor bathes his blazing forehead in the 
 
 main. 
 
 Mr. Pope. 
 
 One of the Arundelian manuscripts 
 has mergi for tingi. 
 
 247. Illic, ut perhibent, aut m- 
 tempesta silet nox.l Virgil alludes, 
 in this passage, to that doctrine of 
 Epicurus, that the sun might pos- 
 sibly revive and perish every day, 
 if which opinion be admitted, there 
 can be no Antipodes, nor can the 
 sun go to hght another hemisphere. 
 This opinion of Epicurus is to be 
 found in his epistle to Pythocles, 
 preserved by Diogenes Laertius; 
 
 'Ek T6?V TTggi ^vartci? /ii^Xloig hlKlVflif, 
 eiVe6T0>^eig kX( dv<ntg ijXiov Kxi (TiXKiftig xXi 
 
 yivis-^Xi dvvxT^xi Kccl KXTX aOka-iy. The 
 reader cannot but observehow justly 
 this verse expresses the still silence 
 bf the night. Mr. B has been 
 
GEORG. LIB I 
 
 61 
 
 Semper, et obtenta densantur nocte tenebrae ; 
 Aut redit a nobis Aurora, diemque reducit : 
 Nosqiie ubi primus equis oriens afflavit anhelis, 
 Illic sera rubens accendit lumina Vesper. 251 
 Hinc tempestates dubio praediscere caelo 
 
 and thickens the gloomy dark- 
 ness; or else Aurora returns 
 trorn us to them, and brings 
 back the day : and when the 
 snn first rising breathes on hs 
 with his panting horses, there 
 bright Vesper lights up the 
 late fires. Hence we are able 
 to foresee storms in doubtful 
 weather ; 
 
 more careful to preserve this beauty, 
 than any other of the translators : 
 
 There, as they say, or rests the soft, still 
 night. 
 
 249. Aut redit a nobis Aurora.} 
 Here he proposes the contrary doc- 
 trine : that the sun goes to light an- 
 other hemisphere, when he leaves 
 our horizon. This is not inconsistent 
 with the Epicurean philosophy : for 
 we see, in the preceding note, that 
 Epicurus proposes the other opinion, 
 only as a possibility ; and Lucretius 
 mentions both opinions : 
 
 At nox obruit ingenti cah'gine terras, 
 Aut ubi de longo cursu Sol extima cseli 
 Impulit, atque suos efflavit languidus 
 
 ignes 
 Concusses itere, et labefactos aere multo : 
 Aut quia sub terras cursum convertere 
 
 cogit 
 Vis eadem, supra terras quae pertulit, 
 
 orbem. 
 
 And day may end, and tumble down the 
 
 WCSty 
 
 And sleepy night fly slowly up the east ; 
 Because the sun having now performed his 
 
 round, 
 And reach' d with weary flames the utmost 
 
 hound 
 Of finite heav*n, he there puts out ilte ray. 
 Wearied and Uunted all the tedious day 
 By hindWmg air^ and thus the flames decay y 
 Or else that constant force might make it 
 
 move 
 Below the earthy which whirl'd it round 
 
 above. 
 
 Creech. 
 
 250. Primus equis oriens afflavit 
 anhelis.'] Some interpret this of the 
 morning, as if it referred to Aurora^ 
 just mentioned : but the gender of 
 
 primus is a sufficient argument 
 against this interpretation. I take 
 Sol to be understood ; as it must in 
 the fifth ^neid; where we have 
 the same words, without any men- 
 tion of Aurora : 
 
 Jamque vale: torquet medios nox hu- 
 
 mida cursus, 
 Et me saevus equis oriens afflavit anhelis. 
 
 251. Accendit lumina Vesper. '] 
 Virgil is commonly understood to 
 speak here o^ lighting candles: be- 
 cause Vesper, ov the evening star, 
 is the forerunner of the night. This 
 is so low an idea, that I cannot 
 think it ever entered into the mind 
 of our poet. To conclude so sub- 
 lime a piece of poetry with the 
 mention of lighting candles, would 
 be a wretched anticlimax. Surely 
 Virgil still keeps amongst the hea- 
 venly bodies, and as Vesper is the 
 first star that appears, he describes 
 him poetically, as lighting up the 
 rest. In other places this star is 
 called Hesperus. 
 
 252. Hinc tempestates, t^c] After 
 this beautiful description of the hea- 
 vens, the poet adds an account of 
 the usefulness of this knowledge to 
 husbandmen. 
 
 Hinc.'] One of Dr. Mead's ma- 
 nuscripts has hie. 
 
 Tempestates.] See the note on 
 ver. 27. 
 
 PrGediscere.~\ Pierius says it is 
 prcedicere in the Roman manuscript, 
 but he does not approve of it. La 
 Cerda however has admitted this 
 reading. 
 
62 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 hence we know tbe lime of 
 harvest and tbe season of sow- 
 ing; and when it is proper to 
 cut the faithless sea with oars ; 
 when to draw out the armed 
 fleets, or to fell the pine-tree 
 in the woods in a proper sea- 
 son : nor is it in vain that we 
 observe the setting and rising 
 of the signs, and the j'ear di- 
 vided equally into four differ- 
 ent seasons. Whenever the 
 winter rains conGne the hus- 
 bandman at home, many 
 things may be done at leisure, 
 which afterwards, when the 
 vreather is fair, would be done 
 in a hurry. Then the plough, 
 man 
 
 Possumus : hinc messisque diem, tempusque se- 
 
 rendi ; 
 Et quando infidum remis impellere marmor 
 Conveniat ; quando armatas deducere classes, 
 Aut tempestivam sylvis evertere pinum. 256 
 Nee frustra signorum obitus speculamur et ortus, 
 Temporibusque parem diversis quatuor annum. 
 Frigidus agricolam siquando continet imber, 
 Multa, forent quae mox caelo properanda sereno, 
 Maturare datur. Durum procudit arator 261 
 
 253. Messisque diem.] In some 
 copies it is mensisque diem ; but the 
 best authority seems to be for messis. 
 
 9,5Q. Tempestivam sylvis evertere 
 pinum.'] In several of the old ma- 
 nuscripts and printed editions we 
 find in sylvis; but the leaving out 
 of the preposition is more conform- 
 able to the style of our poet. 
 
 Dryden has translated these 
 words, or when to fell the furzes. He 
 must certainly have meant Jirs: 
 for Xhe furze, otherwise called gorse, 
 and whin, is a prickly shrub, which 
 grows commonly on our heathy 
 grounds, and bears no sort of re- 
 semblance to a fir or pine. There 
 is some pretence for translating 
 pinus a fir, as Mr. B — has done : 
 because that tree which we com- 
 monly know under the name of the 
 Scotch fir is really a species of 
 pine. 
 
 By tempestivam. the poet means 
 the proper season for felling timber. 
 This season we are told by Cato is 
 when the seed is ripe : " Robus, 
 *' materies item pro ridica, ubi sol- 
 •' stitium fuerit ad brumam semper 
 *' tempest! va est. Caetera materies 
 " quae semen habet, cum semen 
 *' maturum habet, tum tempestiva 
 " est." Dr. Trapp has translated 
 tempestivam, seasoned. 
 
 Or when in woods to iQliihe seasoned \ime. 
 
 But I believe we never use that 
 epithet for timber, which is not yet 
 cut down. 
 
 257. Nee frustra, &c.] Here the 
 poet urges still farther the usefulness 
 of astronomical knowledge. He ob- 
 serves, that many works are to be 
 performed by the husbandman ; the 
 proper time for doing which de- 
 pends upon a knowledge of the sea- 
 sons. 
 
 259. Frigidus imber.] The poet 
 does not seem to mean that these 
 works are to be done when any 
 sudden shower happens; but when 
 the winter season comes on, which 
 he had before expressed by brumce 
 intractabilis imbrem. 
 
 261. Matiirare.] It is here op- 
 posed to properare : maturare signi- 
 fies to do a thing at leisure, in a pro- 
 per season : but properare signifies 
 to do it in a hurry. Virgil's sense 
 therefore in this place is, that the 
 farmer has time to prepare these 
 things in winter; but that if he 
 should neglect this opportunity till 
 the season of the year calls him out 
 to work in the field, he will then be 
 so busy, that he cannot have time 
 to do them as he ought. Aulus 
 Gellius observes, that in his time the 
 signification of mature was corruptly 
 used for hastily : "^ Mature nunc 
 *'^ significat propere et cito, contra 
 
GEORG. LIB. I. 
 
 63 
 
 Vomeris obtusi dentem : cavat arbore lintres : biurshaV''eV''3:;!X1"!rouS's 
 
 . . . ^ . .^ out of trees; or marks his 
 
 Aut pecori signum, aut numeros impressit acer- cattie, or numbers his sacks. 
 
 y o ' I Some sharoen stakps and twrt- 
 
 VIS. 
 
 Exacuunt alii vallos, furcasque bicornes, 
 
 Some sharpen stakes and two- 
 horned forks. 
 
 " ipsius verbi sententiam. Aliud 
 
 " enim est mature quam quod di- 
 
 " citur proper e. Propterea P. Ni- 
 
 '^ gidius homo in omnium bonarum 
 
 '' artium disciplinis egregius, Ma- 
 
 " ture, inquit, est quod neque citius 
 
 " est neque serius: sed medium quid- 
 
 " dam et iemperatum est. Bene atque 
 
 " proprie Nigidius. Nam et in fru- 
 
 " gibus et in pomis matura dicuntur 
 
 ** quae neque cruda et immitia sunt, 
 
 '* neque caduca et decocta, sed tern- 
 
 " pore suo adulta maturaque. Quo- 
 
 " niam autem id, quod non segniter 
 
 " fiebat, matiire fieri dicebatur, pro- 
 
 " gressa plurimum verbi significatio 
 
 " est, et non jam quod non segnius, 
 
 '* sed quod festinatius fit, id fieri ma^ 
 
 " ture dicitur, quando ea, quae prae- 
 
 " ter sui temporis modum properata 
 
 *' sunt, hnmaiura verius dicantur. 
 
 " lUud vero Nigidianum rei atque 
 
 " verbi temperamentum divis Au- 
 
 " gustus duobus Grsecis verbis ele- 
 
 " gantissime exprimebat. Namque 
 
 *' et dicere in sermonibus et scribere 
 
 " in epistolis solitum esse aiunt, 
 
 " a-TCiii^i fi^ethiw;. Per quod monebat 
 
 *' ut ad rem agendam simul adhi- 
 
 " beretur et industriae celeritas et 
 
 " diligentiae tarditas, ex quibus duo- 
 
 *' bus contrariis fit maturitas. Vir- 
 
 " gilius quoque, siquis animum at- 
 
 " tendat, duo ista verba properare 
 
 " et maturare tanquam plane con- 
 
 " traria scitissime separavit in hisce 
 
 " versibus : Frigidus agricolam, S^c. 
 
 " elegantissime ista duo verba di- 
 
 " visit. Namque in praeparatu rei 
 
 *' rusticae per tempestates pluvias, 
 
 " quoniam otium est, maturari pot- 
 
 " est : per serenas, quoniam terapus 
 
 " instat, properari necessura est." 
 
 262. Cavat arbore lintres.'] Most 
 
 of the commentators think lintres 
 means boats in this place; which 
 were anciently scooped out of trees. 
 Thus Virgil speaks of hollowed al- 
 ders, when he mentions the begin- 
 ning of navigation : 
 
 Tunc alnos primum fluvii sensere ca- 
 vatas. 
 
 But I believe navigation was so far 
 improved in Virgil's time, that the 
 Romans made no use of hollow trees 
 for boats. Therefore I rather think 
 he meant troughs, which seem more 
 immediately to concern the farmer 
 than boats. 
 
 263. Pecori signum.'] The way 
 of marking the cattle was by burn- 
 ing them ; as we find in the third 
 Georgick : 
 
 Post partum cura in vitulos traducitur 
 
 omnis : 
 Continuoque notas, et nomina gentis 
 
 inurunt. 
 
 Ntimeros impressit acervis.] I take 
 the poet to mean numbering the 
 sacks of corn ; perhaps in order to 
 signify the quantity contained in 
 each. For I cannot understand how 
 the heaps of corn can be said to be 
 imprinted with numbers. Dr. 
 Trapp, in his note on this passage, 
 says, " Sacks, or if you please 
 *' stacks. Acervis. It is uncertain 
 '* whether he speaks of corn threshed 
 *' or unthreshed : of hams, or of 
 " granaries.*' 
 
 264. Exacuunt alii vallos.] Servius 
 interprets vallos the banks and 
 ditches which are made round vine- 
 yards : " Fossas et muros de terra 
 " factos, et glebis, qui tiunt in cir- 
 *' cuitu cohortium et vinearum." 
 He takes exacuunt to mean the 
 
64 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 and prepare willow twigs to 
 bind the bending vine. Now 
 Uie li^ht basket is woven will) 
 bramble twigs. Now parch 
 your corn with fire, now giind 
 It with stones. Nay, even on 
 sacred days, divine and human 
 Jaws permit some works to be 
 done. No strictness ever for- 
 bad to drain the fields. 
 
 Atquc Amerina parant lentas retinacula viti. ^65 
 Nunc facilis rubea texatur fiscina virga : 
 Nunc torrete igni fruges, nunc frangite saxo. 
 Quippe etiam festis qusedam exercere diebus 
 Fas et jura sinunt. Rivos deducere nulla 
 
 cleaning of the ditches, and repair- 
 ing of the banks. But this inter- 
 pretation seems to be greatly 
 forced: and besides it is no work 
 for wet weather : nor is it possible 
 to be done within doors, which 
 Virgil plainly expresses : 
 
 Frigidus agricolam si quando coniinet 
 imber. 
 
 Valli certainly mean the stakes or 
 poles, which serve to prop the 
 vines. 
 
 265. Amerifia retinacula.'] Ameria 
 is the name of a city in Italy where 
 the best willows were said to grow 
 in abundance. It is a sort of willow 
 with slender red twigs, according 
 to Columella; '' Nee refert cujus 
 " generis vimen seras, dura sit len- 
 '' tissimum : putant tamen tria esse 
 '' genera praecipue salicis, Graecee, 
 *' Gallicee, Sabinse, quam plurimi 
 " vocant Araerinam. Groeca flavi 
 " coloris est, Gallica obsoleti purpu- 
 *' rei, et tenuissirai viminis. Ame- 
 " rina salix gracilem virgam, et ru- 
 " tilam gerit." 
 
 9.QQ. Rubea virga.'] Rubi was the 
 name of a city of Apulia. It is 
 mentioned by Horace : 
 
 Inde Rubos fessi pervenimus. 
 
 Servius thinks that by Rubea virga 
 is meant such twigs as grow about 
 Rubi. Indeed it seems natural for 
 the poet to mention these two cities 
 of Italy, Ameria and Rubi, just to- 
 gether. But at the same time it 
 must be confessed, that Rubi is not 
 any where, that I can find, cele- 
 brated for willows or osiers. I ra- 
 
 ther believe the poet meant twigs 
 of brambles, because the bramble, 
 rubus, is mentioned by Pliny 
 amongst the bending twigs, which 
 are fit for such purposes as Virgil is 
 here speaking of. " Siquidem et 
 '' genistae, et populi, et ulmi, et san- 
 '' guinei frutices, et betulae, et ha- 
 *' rundo fissa, et harundinum folia, 
 *' ut in Liguria, et vitis ipsa, reci- 
 '' sisque aculeis, Rubi alligajit, et 
 " intorta corylus." Mr. B — is the 
 only translator, who has followed 
 this last interpretation : 
 
 Now with the bramble weave the baskets 
 round. 
 
 267. Nu?ic torreie igni J'ruges.'J^ 
 He speaks here not of baking, but 
 of parching the corn, in order to 
 grind it. We have the same ex- 
 pression in the first .^neid : 
 
 -Frugesque receptas 
 
 Et lorrere parant flammis, et frangere 
 saxo. 
 
 268. Quippe eliam, &c.] Here 
 the poet enumerates those works 
 which are lawful to be done on festi- 
 val days. 
 
 269. Rivos deducere.'^ Most of the 
 translators have erred about this 
 passage. May translates it. To dig 
 a dyke : Dryden, to jioat the mea- 
 dows : Mr. B , 
 
 To lead the torrent o'er the thirsty 
 plain. 
 
 To dig ditches, or to float the 
 ground, was not allowed by the 
 high priests to be done on holydays. 
 But to drain and cleanse ditches 
 was lawful, as we find in Columella : 
 
GEORG. LIB. I. 
 
 G5 
 
 llclligio vctuit, segeti praetcndere scpem, S70 
 Iiisidias avibus moliri, incendere vepres, 
 Balantumque gregem fluvio mersare salul)ri. 
 Saepe oleo tardi costas agitator aselli 
 Vilibus aut oncrat pomis; lapidemque reyertens 
 Incusum, aut atrae rnassam picis urbe reportat. 
 Ipsa dies alios alio dedit ordine Luna 276 
 
 Felices operum. Quintamfuge: pallidus Orcus, 
 Eunienidesque satae : turn partu terra Defando 
 
 (o (krciid the corn with a 
 Jiedge, to lay snares tor bir-ds, 
 to tire Ihe tliorns, and to dip 
 the bleating flock in the 
 wholesome river. Thc<lriver 
 also of the slow-paced ass 
 often loads liis ribs with oil 
 or common fruit ; and when 
 he returns from the city, 
 brings back with him an in- 
 denied millstone, or a mass of 
 black pitch. The very moon 
 has given some days in dif- 
 fcrent des^rees lucky for work. 
 Avoid the fifth : pale Orcus 
 and the Furies were born on 
 that day: then did the earth 
 with a horrid labour 
 
 " Feriis autem ritus majorum etiam 
 *' ilia permittit. — Piscinas, lacus, 
 '' fossas veteres tergere, etpurgare." 
 And indeed the true meaning of 
 iivos deducere is to drain : 
 
 Quique palndis 
 
 CoUectum humorein hihula deducit arena. 
 For floating is called inducere: 
 
 Deinde satis fluvium imlucit rivosque 
 sequentes. 
 
 See verse 106, and 113, of this 
 Georgick. Dr. Trapp has justly 
 translated these words; '' To drain 
 " the fields." 
 
 ^TiO. Segeti prcetendere sepem."] 
 Coluraella differs from Virgil, in 
 this particular: -' Quanquam Pon- 
 " tifices negent segetem feriis sepiri 
 " debere." 
 
 272. Balantumqtie gregem Jluvio 
 mersare salubri.'] Columella ob- 
 serves, upon this passage, that it 
 was unlawful to wash the sheep on 
 holy days, for the sake of the wool : 
 but that it was allowed to wash 
 them, to cure them of their diseases. 
 Hence Virgil mentions the whole- 
 some river, to shew that he meant 
 it by way of medicine : " Vetant 
 " quoque lanarum causa lavari oves, 
 " nisi propter medicinam. Virgi- 
 " lius, quod liceat feriis flumine 
 " abluere gregem, praecepit, et id- 
 " circo adjecit,^?^yzo mersare salubri. 
 " Sunt enim vitia, quorum causa 
 
 " pecus utile sit lavare." Balantum 
 gregem is here used for sheep, with 
 great propriety : for it is observable 
 that sheep make a great bleating, 
 when they are washed. 
 
 274. Vilibus pomis.'] Vilis signi- 
 fies common, mean, or cheap. Po- 
 miim is used by the ancients not only 
 for apples, but for all esculent fruits. 
 Fruit is used by botanists to signify 
 the seeds of any plant, with their 
 covering : but in common accepta- 
 tion it agrees exactly with what the 
 ancients meant by Pomum. See my 
 First Lecture of a Course of Botany, 
 page 19, 20, 21. 
 
 Lapidem incusum.'] This Servius 
 interprets a stone cut with teeth, 
 for a hand-mill to grind corn. The 
 King's and the Bodleian manuscript, 
 and some of the old printed editions 
 have incussum. 
 
 270*. Ipsa dies, &;c.] Now the 
 poet gives an account of those days, 
 which were reckoned lucky and 
 unlucky by the ancients. 
 
 277. Quiniam fuge.] The fifth 
 day is set down as unlucky by 
 Hesiod: 
 
 nifi'Trets V l^aXicta-^di, l^it ^uXi-prat rt 
 
 xa) aivai. 
 'Ev zfift^TT'/^] ya^ <pccffiv 'Fi^ivvvas af>c(pi<ro- 
 
 Xivtiv, 
 
 'O^KOV TlVVVfiiVCtS, 70'J "E^IS TiXi ZTTifA 
 l7flbgZ0t$, 
 
 278. Tiim.] One of Dr. Mead's 
 manuscripts has ci^w. 
 
 K 
 
66 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 ?ui"^aSr\?r''c'r KtJS Cocumque lapetumque creat, saevumque Ty- 
 
 and the brethren who con- , 
 
 phoea, 
 Et conjuratos caelum rescindere fratres. 280 
 Ter sunt conati imponere Pelio Ossam 
 Scilicet, atque Ossse frondosum involvere Olym- 
 
 pum : 
 Ter pater extructos disjecit fulmine montes. 
 
 spired to destroy heaven. 
 Ihrice truly did they en- 
 dcavonr to lay ossa npon 
 Pelion, and to roll tiie sl\ady 
 Olynipns upon ossa: thrice 
 did Jupiter scatter asunder 
 the heaped mountains vvWh 
 his thunderbolt. 
 
 27.9. Coeumque, lapeiumque creat, 
 savumque TyphotaJ] These are said 
 also by Hesiod to be the sons of 
 the earth. Virgil imitates the Greek 
 poet in mentioning Coeus and lape- 
 tus without any epithet. 
 
 To» <rg. 
 
 But he bestows the epithet of sccvus 
 on Typhoeus : and indeed Hesiod 
 gives a terrible description of this 
 giant. 
 
 281. Ter sunt conati imponere Pe- 
 lio Ossam.'j The fable of the war of 
 the giants against the gods is well 
 known. Homer mentions this heap- 
 ing up of mountains on mountains, 
 but he differs from Virgil in placing 
 them: 
 
 "Offffav It' OvXvfi^eu fiif/,affav fif/,t», avrdg- 
 n^Xtov etvotrtipvkkov, iV ovgxvoi ufi^arof iln. 
 
 Heav'd on 
 stood ; 
 On Ossa Pelion nods with 
 
 Olympus tott'ring Ossa 
 
 his wood. 
 
 Mr. Pope. 
 
 Olympus seems the fittest for the 
 foundation, being the biggest of the 
 three mountains. Longinus brings 
 these verses of Homer, as an in- 
 stance of the sublime, and observes, 
 that the poet, not content with 
 barely mentioning this attempt of 
 the giants, immediately adds that 
 they had almost effected what they 
 designed : K«/ vy xev l^iTiXta-foiv. But, 
 with all due submission to that ex- 
 cellent critic, I think the sublimity 
 of this passage is rather diminished 
 
 than augmented by the following 
 line : 
 
 Kai vu xiv l^iirekiffffiev tl n(ins fi-irgov 'Ixevro. 
 
 " They would have brought to pass 
 " what they designed, if they had 
 ** arrived to their full strength.'* 
 Surely what idea soever this gives 
 of the strength of the giants, it di- 
 minishes the power of Jupiter and 
 the rest of the gods, who with so 
 much difficulty subdued a few boys, 
 who had not yet arrived to their 
 full strength. Virgil has enlarged 
 the idea of Homer, by saying that 
 the giants made this attempt three 
 times before they could be subdued. 
 The labour of the giants in heaping 
 mountain upon raoimtain is very 
 beautifully expressed in the numbers 
 of this verse : 
 
 Ter sunt conati imponere Pelio Ossam. 
 
 It is impossible to read it without 
 a pause. 
 
 283. Disjecit.'] Pierius says it is 
 dejecit in the Roman manuscript. 
 The same reading is in the Cam- 
 bridge, the Arundelian, and one of 
 Dr. Mead's manuscripts. Virgil has 
 used dejicit in this Georgick : 
 
 llle flagranti 
 
 Aut Atho, aut Rhodopen, aut alta Ce- 
 
 raunia telo 
 Dejicit. 
 
 But there he is speaking of single 
 mountains. Disjecit seems more 
 proper in this place, to express the 
 scattering asunder of these moun- 
 tains. And we find in Strabo, that 
 
GEORG LIB. I. 
 
 67 
 
 Septima post decimam felix et ponere vitem, 
 Et prcnsos domitare boves, et licia telae 285 
 Addcre : nona fugae melior, contraria furtis. 
 Multa adeo gelida melius se nocte dedere, 
 Aut cum sole novo terras irrorat Eous. 
 
 i'lii: »cv«nloaiUi is lucky to 
 plant the vine, and to tame 
 oxen, and to bt;t;iu to weave. 
 The ninth is biHter tor flight, 
 but adverse to theft. Many 
 things also may be done bet- 
 ter in the cool ni<;ht, or when 
 the iHOrning bedews tlie e.utli 
 at sun-rising. 
 
 Ossa was really thought to have 
 been torn from Olympus : 'Xxo ^l 
 riitrfiar ^KyfMCT6g ytiofCivov {tx vvv kx- 
 Xovf^ivx Tifi-m) KXt Tiii>"0(rcrxv XTfoa-^t- 
 
 ^o»T«s ccTfo Toy 'OXvfATFcv. Thls might 
 give the poets room to feign that 
 this violence was committed at the 
 time of the war between the gods 
 and the giants. 
 
 284. Seplima post deciynam.] Ser- 
 vius mentions three different inter- 
 pretations of these words: 1. The 
 seventeenth is lucky: 2. the seventh 
 is lucky, but not so lucky as the 
 tenth: 3. the foiu-teenth is lucky, 
 that is the seventh doubled, which 
 comes after the tenth. This last is 
 so forced an interpretation, that I 
 cannot be persuaded that Virgil 
 could mean any thing so obscure. 
 It must however be confessed that 
 Hesiod has set down the fourteenth 
 day as lucky for taming cattle : 
 
 (oovs, 
 Kat xvva, Kccg^^agji^ovra., kcu oh^tias <ra- 
 
 The last words agree with prensos 
 domilare. The second interpreta- 
 tion is generally received : and in- 
 deed Hesiod says the seventh and 
 the tenth days are both lucky : 
 
 Tl^avov £>'/), TiT^oii Ti, X.OU k^ofjcyi^ h^ov 
 
 and 
 
 But he no where says that the se- 
 venth is inferior to the tenth ; nor 
 does he mention either of them as 
 
 fortunate for any part of husbandry. 
 I prefer the first interpretation, be- 
 cause it seems the most plain. He- 
 siod allows it also to be one of the 
 lucky days : 
 
 Ey fid,X' oTi^nuovra i'uroo^aXof h aXu^ 
 BccXXu». iiXoTOftov rt ra.ft.UM ^xXafi-nix 
 
 N»)ia T£ %vXa vfoXXa^ ra r u^fjcivce. vrvtrt 
 ■ar'iXovrai. 
 
 Et."] One of the Arundelian ma- 
 nuscripts has est. Pierius says it is 
 est in the Lombard manuscript, but 
 it is altered from et with a different 
 hand. 
 
 Vitem.] Pierius says it is vites in 
 the Lombard manuscript. It is the 
 same in the King's and both Dr, 
 Mead's manuscripts, and in several 
 printed editions. 
 
 287. Midta adeo, ^-c] The poet 
 proceeds to mention what sort of 
 works are to be done in the night, 
 both in winter and summer. 
 
 Gelida melius.'] Thus it is in the 
 Medicean and other ancient manu- 
 scripts, according to Pierius: and 
 in all the manuscripts, which I have 
 collated, except one of Dr. Mead's. 
 Heinsius, La Cerda, Ruasus, and 
 most of the editors have gelida me- 
 lius. In some few editions it is 
 meliits gelida. 
 
 288. Aid.] Pierius says it is vet 
 in some ancient manuscripts : but 
 that most copies liave aid. One of 
 Dr. Mead's manuscripts also has re/. 
 
 Irrorat.'] In one of the Arunde- 
 lian manuscripts it is irrigal. 
 
 Eous.] Servius and most of the 
 commentators interpret this the 
 MGrning Star. Some take it to 
 K 2 
 
68 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 By nifrht the iigUi stubble, 
 by night the pnrcbed mea- 
 dows are better cut: tlie 
 clammy riew is never known 
 to fail" in the night. Some 
 sit np late by the light of a 
 winter fire, and point torches 
 with a sharp knife: whilst 
 their wives, easing their long 
 labour with singing, ran 
 through the loom with the 
 rattling reed, or boil away 
 the moisture of the sweet 
 must over the fire, and scum 
 with leaves the wave of the 
 trembling kettle. But red- 
 dened Ceres is cut down in 
 the heat of noon. 
 
 Nocte leves melius stipulae, nocte arida prata 
 Tondentur: nocteslentus non deficit humor. 290 
 Et quidam seros hyberni ad luminis ignes 
 Pervigilat, ferroque faces inspicat acuto. 
 Interea longum cantu solata laborem 
 Arguto conjux percurrit pectine telas : 
 Aut dulcis musti Vulcano decoquit humorem, 
 Et foliis undam trepidi despumat aheni. 296 
 At rubicunda Ceres medio succiditur aestu. 
 
 mean one of the horses of the sun 
 of that name. He is mentioned by 
 Ovid: 
 
 Interea volucres Pyroeis, et Eous, et 
 
 .^thon, 
 Solis equi, quartusque Phlegon. 
 
 289. Node leves melius slipulce.'] 
 Heinsius is almost singular, in print- 
 ing the words in this order. Pie- 
 rius however observes that the same 
 disposition is in all the ancient ma- 
 nuscripts which he had seen : and 
 that it is more elegant than the 
 common reading. 
 
 Nocte arida prata tondentur.'] 
 Pliny also observes that a dewy 
 night is fittest for mowing : " Noc- 
 " tibus roscidis secari melius." 
 
 290 Nodes.] In some manu- 
 scripts it is nodis : which may be 
 either the genitive case singular, 
 or the accusative plural. Pierius 
 proves it is the accusative plural, 
 from a passage in Arusianus Mes- 
 sus, de Eloculionibiis Firgilii: where, 
 observing that dejicit illam rem is an 
 elegant expression, he quotes the 
 authority of Virgil, who wrote Noc- 
 tes lenlus non de/idt humor. 
 
 292. Faces inspicat,] The torches 
 of the ancients were sticks cut to a 
 point. 
 
 295. Dulcis musti Vulcano deco- 
 quit humorem.'] Must is the new 
 wine before it is fermented. We 
 find in Columella, that it was usual 
 
 to boil some of the must till a fourth 
 part, or a third, or even sometimes 
 half was evaporated. This Virgil 
 expresses by decoquit humorem. 
 The use of this boiled must is to 
 put into some sorts of wine to make 
 them keep. Columella is very co- 
 pious on this subject, in lib. xii. 
 cap. 19, 20, 21. He recommends 
 the sweetest must for this purpose : 
 thus dulcis is no idle epithet to 
 musti in this passage. 
 
 La Cerda observes that Vulcan is 
 never used by Virgil for fire ; but 
 when he would express a large fire. 
 This is cei*tain, that Columella di- 
 rects the fire to be gradually in- 
 creased to a considerable heat. 
 
 296. Undam trepidi aheni.] The 
 wave of the trembling kettle is a 
 poetical expression ; the boiling of a 
 pot resembling the waves of the sea. 
 Pierius says it is trepidis despumat 
 aenis in the Roman manuscript, and 
 trepidi in the Medicean and some 
 other manuscripts. The Cambridge 
 manuscript has trepidi; in the other 
 manuscripts which I have consulted 
 it is tepidi. Servius, Heinsius, La 
 Cerda, Masvicius, and several good 
 editors read trepidi. Ruaeus and 
 many others prefer tepidi. 
 
 297. At rubicunda Ceres, ^x.] 
 From the mention of works to be 
 done in the night, he passes to those 
 which are to be done in the day 
 time, both in summer and winter : 
 
GEORG. LIB. I. 
 
 69 
 
 Et medio tostas aestu tcrit area frugcs. 
 
 anr) the roasted corn is thresh- 
 ed ill the heat of noon. Plough 
 
 Nudus ara, sere nudus: hyems ignava colono. Tens 'a fh^Voue^Sfe foMUc 
 
 husbandman. 
 
 and enlarges upon the enjoyments 
 of husbandmen in the winter sea- 
 son : 
 
 By ruhictinda Ceres the poet 
 means the standing corn, which is 
 of a reddish yellow, or golden co- 
 lour, when ripe. 
 
 Sticciditur.'] Mr. B — would fain 
 read succi?2giiur. " Several copies," 
 says he, " have succinditur, but it is 
 " a very improper expression to say 
 '' corn is hewed down ; but Ceres 
 " represented by a sheaf of corn is 
 ^' very poetically said to be girt or 
 " bound." In consequence of this 
 criticism, he translates this line 
 thus: 
 
 But bound is Ceres at the noon of heat. 
 
 I do not find any other authority 
 than this gentleman's conjecture, 
 for reading siiccingitur. All the 
 manuscripts and printed copies 
 which I have seen have succiditur, 
 which signifies is cut down. The 
 participle of this verb is applied by 
 Virgil, in the ninth ^^Eneid, to a 
 flower cut down by a plough : 
 
 Purpureus veluti cum flos succisus aratro 
 Languescit moriens. 
 
 Cmlo and its compounds are fre- 
 quently applied by Columella to 
 the cutting down of hay and corn. 
 The title of the nineteenth chapter 
 of his second book is Quemadmodum 
 succisum fcenum Iractari et condi 
 deheat. In that chapter we find 
 cum fcenum cecidimus. In the 
 twenty-first chapter, which treats 
 of harvest, we find si iempestive 
 decisa sint: and sin autem spicce 
 tantummodo recisae sunt. 
 
 298. Et medio tostas cestu terit 
 area fruges.'] Thus Columella: 
 " Quod si falcibus seges cum parte 
 " culmi demessa sit, protinus in 
 
 '* acervum, vel in nubilarium con- 
 " geritur, et suhinde oppor I un is soli- 
 '' bus torrefacta proteritur." 
 
 I make use of the word thresh in 
 my translation, as being most fami- 
 liar to the English reader : though 
 it is certain that the Romans seldom 
 made use of a flail or stick to beat 
 out their corn. I have already de- 
 scribed the trihulum in the note on 
 ver. 164. Sometimes they per- 
 formed it by turning cattle into the 
 floor, to tread the corn out with 
 their feet. Varro, immediately 
 after his description of the tribulum, 
 adds : " Apud alios exteritur grege 
 " jumentorum inacto, et ibi agitato 
 " perticis, quod ungulis e spica ex- 
 " teruntur grana." Columella men- 
 tions all these ways, of threshing, 
 treading, and rubbing with the tri- 
 hulum. " Sin autem spicas tantum- 
 '' modo recisfe sunt, possunt in 
 " horreum conferri, et deinde per 
 '* hyemem, vel baculis excuti vel 
 " exteri pecudibus. At si competit, 
 '' ut in area teratur frumentum, 
 " nihil dubium est, quin equis 
 " melius, quam bubus ea res confi- 
 " ciatur, et si pauca juga sunt, adji- 
 " cere tribulara et traham possis, 
 " quae res utraque culmos facillime 
 " comminuit." 
 
 ^99' Nudus ara, sere nudus.'] 
 Thus Hesiod : 
 
 •Tv/:i.vhv (fTTii^iiVj yu/avov ^l fiours,7\^. 
 
 TofAVOv V afioia'^at. 
 
 By saying these works should be 
 performed naked, the poets mean 
 that they ought to be done when 
 the weather is exceeding hot. Ac- 
 cording to Pliny, Cincinnatus was 
 found ploughing naked, when the 
 dictatorship was brought to him: 
 '' Aranti quatuor sua jugera in Va- 
 " ticano, quse prata Quintia appel- 
 
70 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 In cold weather the farmers 
 generally enjoy wliat they 
 Kave gotten: and rejoicuig 
 one with another make mutual 
 feasts. The genial winter in- 
 vites them, and dissolves their 
 cares. As when the ladeu ships 
 have just reached the port, 
 and the joyful mariners have 
 crowned' their sterns. But yet 
 then is the season to gather 
 acorns, and bay berries, and 
 bloody myrtle berries. 
 
 Frigoribus parto agricobe plermnque fruuntur, 
 Mutuaque inter se laeti convivia curant. 301 
 Invitat genialis hyems, curasque resolvit : 
 Ceu pressse cum jam portum tetigere carinae, 
 Puppibus et laeti nautae imposuere coronas. 
 Sed tamen et quernas glandes turn stringere 
 tempus, 305 
 
 Et lauri baccas, oleamque, cruentaque myrta. 
 
 ** lantur, Cincinnato viator attulit 
 *'■ dictaturam,etquidem, ut traditiir, 
 ^' nudo, plenoque pulveris etiamnum 
 ^' ore, Cui viator, vela corpus, in- 
 *' quit, ut proferam Senatus Popu- 
 '* lique Romani mandata." 
 
 Colono.'] Pierius says that in the 
 Medicean copy it is colono est. 
 
 304. Puppibus et Iwii nauice impo- 
 suere coronasr\ This whole line is 
 repeated in the fourth iEneid, ver. 
 418. 
 
 305. Quernas glandes.'^ Glans 
 seems to have been used by the Ro- 
 mans in the same sense that we use 
 Mast. Thus the fruit of the beech 
 is called ghms; " Fagi glans nuclei 
 *' similis," says Pliny. But strictly 
 speaking it means only such fruits 
 as contain only one seed, which is 
 covered at the lower part with a 
 husk, and is naked at the upper 
 part : thus the fruit of an oak, which 
 we commonly call an acorn, is pro- 
 perly a glans. " Glandem," says 
 Pliny, *' quse proprie intelligitur, 
 " ferunt robur, quercus, esculus, 
 *' cerrus, ilex, suber." 
 
 Stringere.~\ This word signifies 
 to gather with the hand: thus we 
 find in the ninth Eclogue ; 
 
 ■ ■■ Hie ubi densas 
 Agricolae stHngunt frondes. 
 
 306. Lauri haccasr\ Translators 
 frequently confound the laurel and 
 the bay ; as if they were the same 
 tree, and what the Romans called 
 Laurels. Our laurel was hardly 
 known in Europe, till the latter end 
 
 of the sixteenth century j about 
 which time it seems to have been 
 brought from Trebizond to Constan- 
 tinople, and from thence into most 
 parts of Europe. The laurel has 
 no fine smell, which is a property 
 ascribed to the Laurus, by our poet 
 in the second Eclogue : 
 
 Et vos, o Lauri, carpatn, et te proxime, 
 
 myrte. 
 Sic positae, quotiium suaves miscetis 
 
 odores : 
 
 and in the sixth iEneid : 
 Odoratum Lauri nemus. 
 
 Nor is the laurel remarkable for 
 crackling m the fire: of which 
 there is abundant mention with re- 
 gard to the Laurus: Thus Lucre- 
 tius : 
 
 Aridior porro si nubes accipit ignem, 
 Uritur ingenti sonitu succensa repente: 
 Lauricomns ut si per monies flamma 
 
 vagetur, 
 Turbine ventorum comburens impete 
 
 magno. 
 Nee res ulla magis, quam Phoebi Del- 
 
 phica Laurus 
 Terribili sonitu flamma crepitante cre- 
 
 matur. 
 
 But if tJie cloud bs dry^ and thunder fall^ 
 Rises a crackling blaze, and spreads o'er 
 
 all; 
 As xohen fierce fires, press' d on In/ teirtds, 
 
 do seize 
 Our laurel groves, and waste the virgin 
 
 trees ; 
 The leaves all crackle ; she tluit fled the 
 
 chace 
 Of Phtebm' love, still flics the flames' 
 
 embrace. 
 
 CntECH. 
 
GEORG. LIB. I. 
 
 71 
 
 Turn gruibus pedicas et retia ponere cervis, 
 Auritosque sequi lepores; turn figere damas, 
 Stuppea torquentem Balearis verbera fundae, 
 Cum nix altajacetjglaciemcumfluminatrudunt. 
 Quid tempestates autumni, et sidera dicam? 311 
 Atque ubi jam breviorque dies, et mollior aestas, 
 
 Then is the season to lay 
 snares for cranes, and nets 
 for stags, and to pursue the 
 long eared hares: then is the 
 season for the Balearic slinger 
 to pierce the does, when the 
 snow lies deep, when the 
 rivers roll down the ice. Why 
 should 1 speak of the storms 
 aud constellailions of atitiunu. 
 
 These characters agree very well 
 with the bay-tree, which seems to 
 be most certainly the Laurus of the 
 ancients; and is at this time fre- 
 quent in the woods and hedges in 
 Italy. The first discoverers of the 
 laurel gave it the name of Lauro- 
 cerasus, because it has a leaf some- 
 thing like a bay, and a fruit like a 
 cherry. 
 
 Cruentaque rnyria.'] The myrtle 
 berries are here called cruenta, from 
 their vinous juice. There are seve- 
 ral species of myrtle ; but Ray in- 
 forms us that he observed no other 
 sort in Italy, than the common 
 myrtle, or myrtus commmiis Italica 
 
 as. 
 
 SOg. Balearis.'] The Balearides 
 are two islands near Spain, now 
 known by the names of Majorca 
 and Minorca. The inhabitants of 
 these islands are said to have been 
 famous for slinging: their name 
 being derived from /3«sAAg<y. 
 
 311. Qiiid tempestates auiumni, 
 Sfc.'] The poet having barely men- 
 tioned the stormy seasons : the latter 
 end of spring, and the beginning of 
 autumn, proceeds to an elegant de- 
 scription of a storm in the time of 
 harvest. 
 
 Tempestates autumni, et sidera.'] 
 The Autumn was reckoned to begin 
 about the twelfth of August, at the 
 cosmical setting of Fidicula and the 
 Dolphin: which was accounted a 
 stormy season, according to Colu- 
 mella : " Pridie Idus Augusti fidis 
 " occidit mane, et autumnus incipit. 
 " . . Idibus Augusti delphini occasus 
 
 " tempestatem significat. Decimo 
 " nono Calendas Septembrisejusdera 
 " sideris matutinus occasus terape- 
 '^ statem significat. Decimo tertio 
 ♦* Calendas Septembris sol in virgi- 
 " nem transitum facit. Hoc et se- 
 " quenti die tempestatem significat, 
 " interdum et tonat. Hoc eodem 
 " die fidis occidit. Decimo Calen- 
 " das Septembris ex eodem sidere 
 " tempestas plerumque oritur et 
 " pluvia." Homer mentions the 
 Autumn as a stormy season : 
 
 "HfAciT o-prugivu, on Xa^^orarov ^iu v^mq 
 Zivs. 
 
 " — — — When in Autumn Jove his fury 
 pour?. 
 And earth is loaden with incessant 
 show'rs. 
 
 Mr, Pope. 
 
 One of the Arundelian manuscripts 
 has frigor a instead of sidera. 
 
 312. Atque ubi jam breviorque 
 dies, et mollior cestas.~\ One of Dr. 
 Mead's manuscripts has 
 
 Atque ubi jam breviorque dies, jam 
 mollior aestas, 
 
 which is not amiss. Servius thinks 
 the latter end of Autumn is meant: 
 but that interpretation will not agree 
 with mollior cestas, unless we sup- 
 pose cestas to be put poetically for 
 warm weather, as it seems to be in 
 the second Georgick : 
 
 Prima vel autumni sub frigora, cum ra- 
 
 pidus sol 
 Nondum hyemem contingit equis, jam 
 
 praeterit sestas. 
 
n 
 
 p. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 Quas vigilanda viris ? vel cum ruit imbriferum 
 
 and what vigilance is npces- 
 sary in men, wlien tlie days 
 grow shorter, and tlio heat 
 more moderate? or when the 
 showery sprinu; conohides, 
 
 Ss*t?e3Hn ^fe fieidsyand\v""^^^ Spicea jam campis cum messis inhorruit, et cum 
 
 ver : 
 
 313. Vel cum ruit imbriferum 
 verJ] One ofDr, Mead's manuscripts 
 has et instead of vel. Servius inter- 
 prets ruit, prcecipilatur, in fine est. 
 The latter end of the spring is about 
 the end of April, and beginning of 
 May, which is a rainy season, ac- 
 cording to Columella : " Decimo 
 
 ' quinto Calendas Maias sol in tau- 
 ' rum transitum facit, pluviam sig- 
 ^ nificat. Decimo quarto Calendas 
 ' Maias suculae se vesperi celant, 
 
 * pluviam significat. Undecimo Ca- 
 ' lendas Maias ver bipartitur, pluvia 
 ' et nonnunquam grando. Decimo 
 ' Calendas Maias vergiliae cum sole 
 ^ oriuntur, africus vel auster, dies 
 ' humidus. Nono Calendas Maias 
 ' prima nocte fidicula apparet, tem- 
 ' pestatem significat. Quarto Ca- 
 ' lendas Maias auster fere cum plu- 
 ' via. Tertio Calendas Maias mane 
 ' capra exoritur, austrinus dies, in- 
 ^ terdum pluviae .... Quinto Nonas 
 ' Maias centaurus totus apparet, 
 
 * tempestatem significat. Tertio 
 ' Nonas Maias idem sidus plu- 
 ' viam significat. . . . Septimo Idus 
 ' Maias ^Estatis initium, favonius, 
 ' aut corus, interdum etiam pluvia." 
 
 Lucretius mentions both Autumn 
 and Spring, as stormy seasons : 
 
 Autumnoque magis stellis fulgentibus 
 
 alta 
 Concutitur caeli domus undique, totaque 
 
 tellus ; 
 Et cum tempora se Veris florentia pan- 
 
 dunt. 
 
 Now Spring and Autumn frequent lliun- 
 
 ders hear ; 
 They shake the rising and the dy'mg 
 
 year, 
 
 Creech. 
 
 314. Spicea jam campis, S^c.~\ 
 Some understand the poet to speak 
 
 of the ripe corn in this passage. 
 But he plainly means the first ap- 
 pearance of the ear: this agrees 
 with the time mentioned by him, 
 which is May: and the next line, 
 where he speaks of the milky corn, 
 and the green stems, puts it out of 
 all question. 
 
 Inhorruit.] Servius interprets this 
 intremiscit, in which he is followed 
 by Ruaeus. Dr. Trapp adheres to 
 this interpretation: 
 
 When the trembling ears 
 
 Wave with the wind. 
 
 He observes upon this passage, that 
 ^' trembling in animals being the 
 *' effect oijear; the word inhorruit 
 " is elegantly transferred to com, 
 " &c. trembling Avith the wind." 
 See the note on segnisque horreret in 
 arvis carduus, ver. 151. Virgil has 
 used i?ihor7'uit, only in three other 
 places in all his works : in neither 
 of which he puts it for fear or tre7n- 
 bling. In the third and fifth ^neids, 
 he uses it to express a horrid dark- 
 ness overspreading the sea in a 
 storm : 
 
 Ceeruleus supra caput astititimber 
 
 Noctem hyemeraque fei-ens : et inhorruit 
 unda tenebris. 
 
 In the tenth ^neid he uses it to 
 describe a wild boar erecting his 
 bristles : 
 
 Postquara inter retia ventura est, 
 
 Substitit, intremuitque ferox, et inhorruit 
 armos. 
 
 Thus I take it in this place to sig- 
 nify the bristli?2g of the bearded ears 
 of corn 5 as Mr. B — has translated 
 it: 
 
 Or when the harvest bristles into cars. 
 
GEORG. LIB. I. 
 
 Frumenta in viridi stipula lactentia turgent ? 315 
 Sa?pe ego cum flavis mcssorem induceret arvis 
 Agricola, et fragili jam stringeret hordea culmo. 
 Omnia ventorum concurrere proelia vidi, 
 Qua? gravidam late segetem ab radicibus imis 
 Sublime expulsam eruerent: ita turbine nigro 
 
 the milky com <!w<lls on (he 
 green stc-in? often have I 
 Keen, wheu llie. Iiusbandinan 
 hart broii'^lit the reaper into 
 the ycMow fioUls, and was 
 reaping the barley with brittle 
 stems.all the fury of the winds 
 engage, and tear up the lieavy 
 coi n by the very roots far and 
 near, and toss it on high, just 
 as a black whirlwind 
 
 315. Lactentia.'] The Bodleian 
 and one of Dr. Mead's manuscripts 
 have lactantia. Servius observes 
 that lactans signifies that which 
 yields milk, lactens that which re- 
 ceives milky nourishment. 
 
 3 16. Soepe ego cum flams, S^c.'] 
 The meaning of the poet seems to 
 be that the storms of Autumn and 
 Spring have nothing extraordinary 
 in them, being usually expected in 
 those seasons. Therefore he chooses 
 to enlarge upon those storms which 
 he has often seen even in the time 
 of harvest : and describes the ter- 
 rible effects of them in a very po- 
 etical manner. 
 
 317. Fragili jam stringeret hor- 
 dea culmo.l Stringere signifies to 
 gather with the hand^ as is observed 
 in the note on that word, ver. 305. 
 Servius seems to take it in thissense. 
 But Ruaeus interprets it to bind : 
 " Et jam ligaret hordea paleis fra- 
 " gilibus." Most of our translators 
 implicitly follow this interpretation. 
 Dryden translates this verse : 
 
 Ev'n Avhile the reaper fills his greedy 
 
 hands, 
 And hinds the golden sheaves in brittle 
 
 hands. 
 
 Thus he takesy;Y7giZi culmo to mean 
 the hand of the sheaf. I rather be- 
 lieve the poet means the stem or 
 straw of the growing barley by cul- 
 mus, and uses the eiiithet fragilis to 
 express its ripeness j as he adds flu- 
 vis to amis in the foregoing verse, 
 for the same reason. Mr. B — leaves 
 out the brittle straw, and says only, 
 
 And now bound the grain. 
 
 Dr. Trapp follows Dryden : 
 
 •And boicnd 
 
 His sheaves with brittle straw. 
 
 May understood it in the same sense 
 which I have given it : 
 
 ■When corn was ripe to mow. 
 And now in dry, and brittle straw did 
 grow. 
 
 318. Concurrere.] It'is consurgere 
 in one of Dr. Mead's manuscripts, 
 and in the Roman manuscript, ac- 
 cording to Pierius. But concurrere 
 is a better word : and we have the 
 authority of Pliny that it is the word 
 which Virgil used in this place: 
 " Etenim praedicta ratione vento- 
 " rum, ne saepius eadem dicantur, 
 " transire convenit ad reliqua tem- 
 " pestatum praesagia, quoniam et 
 " hoc placuisse Virgilio raagnopeie 
 '^ video. Siquidem in ipsa messo. 
 " saepe concurrere praelia ventorum 
 " damnosa iraperitis refert." 
 
 320. Ita turbine nigro, S^^c] This 
 no doubt is to be understood as a 
 simile. The poet, to magnify the 
 storm he is describing, represents it 
 as wliirling aloft the heavy corn with 
 its ears and roots, just as an ordi- 
 nary whirlwind would toss some 
 light empty straw. Ruaeus seems 
 to take the whirling up of the light 
 straw to be a part of Virgil's storm : 
 " Quae dissiparent in auras plenam 
 " segetem extirpatam radicitus, tarn 
 " denso nimbo jactabat procella 
 " calamos leves, et stipulas vo- 
 " lantes." Dryden follows Ruaeus : 
 
 The heavy harvest from the root is torn, 
 And whirl'd aloft the lighter stubble 
 borne. 
 
 L 
 
74 
 
 r. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 stmwl "l7/Sg^'sUb1eI Ferret hyems culmumque levem, stipulasque 
 volantes. 
 
 often also an immense flood 
 of waters falls from the hea- 
 vens, and clouds gathered out 
 
 ?L{ wiiRiack showers':*X' Saspc etiam immensum cgelo venit agmen aqua- 
 
 lofty sky pours down. 
 
 rum 
 
 Et fcedam glomerant tempestatem imbribus atris 
 Collectae ex alto nubes : ruit arduus aether, 
 
 The two following lines are hardly 
 intelligible, and have nothing, but 
 the word hyems in Virgil, to give 
 them any sort of countenance. 
 
 With such a force the flying rack is 
 
 driv'n, 
 And such a winter wears the face of 
 
 heav'n. 
 
 Dr. Trapp translates it as if by ita 
 turbine was meant tall turbine : 
 
 With such a gust a hurricane would 
 
 drive 
 Light, flying stubble. 
 
 324. Collectce ex alto nubes.] Ser- 
 vius thinks that by ex alto is meant 
 from the north; because that pole 
 appears elevated to us. But, as Ru- 
 aeus justly observes, storms gene- 
 rally come from the south ; and the 
 poet a few lines afterwards says 
 ingeminant austri. Some take ex 
 alto to mean the upper regions of 
 the air : of which opinion Dr. 
 Trapp seems to be : 
 
 ■Gather'd clouds 
 
 Brew the black storm aloft. 
 
 But it seems most probable that 
 Virgil means the sea ; out of which 
 the clouds may properly be said to 
 be gathered. In this sense Dry den 
 has translated it : 
 
 And oft whole sheets descend of sluicy 
 
 rain, 
 Suck'd by the spongy clouds from off 
 the jnain. 
 
 and Mr. B — 
 
 Oft gather from the deep the thick'ning 
 clouds. 
 
 Ruit arduus cether.] Servius takes 
 this to signify thunder: Tonitribus 
 percrepat. I take it rather to be a 
 poetical description of the greatness 
 of the shower, as if the very sky de- 
 scended. Virgil uses ruit, in the 
 third ^neid for the going down of 
 the sun ; 
 
 Sol ruit interea, et montes umbrantur 
 opaci. 
 
 In the fifth ^neid, he uses it for 
 the falling of a great shower in a 
 tempest : 
 
 ■ESTusis imbribus atra 
 Tempestas sine more furit : tonitruque 
 
 tremiscunt 
 Ardua terrarum, et campi: ruit aethere 
 
 toto 
 Turbidus imber aqua, densisque nigerri- 
 
 mus austris. 
 
 Martial uses ccelum ruebat, when he 
 is speaking of a very great shower 
 of rain : 
 
 Imbribus immodicis cselum nam forte 
 ruebat. 
 
 Virgil is thought, in this description 
 of a flood, to have had in his mind 
 a passage in the sixteenth Iliad : 
 
 llo\y.a.s oi kKitv? tot aTOTftuyoviri ^ec^ai- 
 'Es ^ aXec cro^^v^iv* fnyxkee. ffTirx;^oviri 
 
 fiOUffUl 
 
 'E| o^iuv It) xd^' fiivvSu V% <ti %oy at^^u- 
 
 -TTUV. 
 
 From their deep beds he bids the rivers 
 
 rise, 
 And opens all the floodgates of the skies : 
 Th' impetuous torrents from their hills 
 
 obey, 
 
GEORG. LIB. I. 
 
 75 
 
 Et pluvia ingenti sata licta, boumque labores 
 Diluit: implentur fossae, et cava flumina cre- 
 scunt 326 
 
 Cum sonitu, fervetque fretis spirantibus aequor. 
 Ipse pater, media nimborum in nocte, corusca 
 Fulmina molitur dextra : quo maxima motu 
 
 anil with a vast quantity of 
 rain washes away the joyful 
 crops, and labours of the oxen : 
 the ditches are tilled, and the 
 hollow rivers sounding swell, 
 and the sea boils with tossing 
 waves. Jupiter himself in the 
 midst of the thickest darkness 
 lances the thunders with his 
 liery right hand : with the vio- 
 lence of which the whole 
 
 Whole fields are drown'd, and mountains 
 
 swept away ; 
 Loud roars the deluge; till it meets the 
 
 main ; 
 And trembling man sees all his labours 
 
 vain. 
 
 Mr. Pope. 
 
 In both poets are mentioned the de- 
 struction of the fields, and labours 
 of husbandry, and at last the deluge 
 spending its force upon the sea. 
 
 S9.5. Sata Iceia, boumque labores.'] 
 We find the same words in the se- 
 cond ^neid, where he alludes to a 
 torrent rushing down from the 
 mountains : 
 
 .. . Rapidus montano flumine torrens 
 Sternit agros, sternit sata Iceta boumque 
 labores. 
 
 328. Ipse pater, &c.] The poet 
 has already given us the whirlwind, 
 the rain, and the deluge, which 
 make as terrible description of a 
 storm, as perhaps is to be met with 
 in any other poet. But to increase 
 the horror of his description, he in- 
 troduces Jupiter himself lancing his 
 thunders, and striking down the 
 mountains; the earth trembling, 
 the beasts flying, and men struck 
 with horror: then the south wind 
 redoubles its violence, the rain in- 
 creases, and the woods and the 
 shores groan with the violence of 
 the tempest. 
 
 Nimborum in iiocie,'] Thus Lu- 
 cretius : 
 
 Usque adeo tetra nimborum nocte coorta. 
 
 In is wanting in one of the Arunde- 
 lian manuscripts. Pierius observed 
 
 the same in some ancient manu- 
 scripts 'j but he says it is 7iimborum 
 in nocte in the Medicean and most 
 other copies ; and prefers that read- 
 ing as much more numerous and 
 elegant. 
 
 Corusca fulmina molitur dextra.'] 
 Servius, and after him some other 
 commentators, make corusca agree 
 with fulmina. Thus we find in 
 Horace : 
 
 Igni corusco nubila dividens. 
 
 Ruseus joins it with dextra. This 
 also has a parallel in Horace : 
 
 -Rubente 
 
 Dextera sacras jaculatus arces. 
 
 It appears to me more poetical to 
 say that Jupiter lances the thunders 
 with his fiery right hand^ than that 
 he lances the fiery thunders with his 
 right hand. May has translated it 
 in this sense : 
 
 In midst of that tempestuous night great 
 
 Jove 
 From a bright hand his winged thunder 
 
 throws. 
 
 And Dr. Trapp : 
 
 Great Jove himself, amidst the night of 
 
 clouds. 
 Hurls with his red right hand the forky 
 
 fire. 
 
 Dryden seems to follow the other 
 interpretation : 
 
 The father of the gods his glory shrowds, 
 Involv'd in tempests and a night of 
 
 clouds. 
 And from the middle darkness flashing 
 
 out 
 By fits he deals his fiery bolts about. 
 l2 
 
76 
 
 R VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 eai 111 trembles, (he beasfs Me. 
 Ikd: I he hearts of men in all 
 nations ate sunk with humble 
 iear: he casts down "Athos, or 
 Rhodope, or the higli Ceraunia 
 with his burning bolt; the 
 south winds redouble: and the 
 sliowcr thickens exceedingly : 
 DOW the' woods, and now the 
 shores resound with the vast 
 wind. 
 
 Terra tremit: fugcre ferae: mortalia corda 330 
 Per gentes humilis stravit pavor: ille flagranti 
 Aut Atho, aut Rhodopen, aut alta Ceraunia telo 
 Dejicit : ingeminant austri, et densissimus imber : 
 Nunc nemora ingenti vento, nunc littora plan- 
 gunt. 
 
 And Mr. B — — , 
 
 Amidst a night of clouds his gUtt'ring 
 
 fire 
 And rattling thunder hurls th* eternal 
 sire. 
 
 330. FugerefercB : mortalia corda, 
 &c.] So I venture to read it with 
 the Cambridge and one of the Arun- 
 delian manuscripts. The common 
 reading is fugere fercE, et mortalia 
 corda, &c. But the making a pause 
 at fercB, and leaving out the con- 
 junction, seems to me more poe- 
 tical. 
 
 Dr. Trapp justly observes that 
 fugere being put in the preterper- 
 fect tense has a wonderful force: 
 * ' We see, says he, the beasts scud- 
 " ding away ; and they are gone, 
 " and out of sight in a moment." It 
 is pity that learned gentleman did 
 not preserve the force of this tense 
 in his translation. He has not only 
 used the present tense, but has di- 
 minished the strength and quick- 
 ness of the expression, which Virgil 
 has made to consist only of two 
 words fugere ferce, by adding an 
 epithet to beasts, and mentioning 
 the place they fly to : 
 
 Savage beasts to coverts fly, 
 
 Dryden has been guilty of the same 
 oversight : 
 
 And flying leasts in forests seek abode. 
 
 ** The Latin, says Mr. B , is as 
 
 " quick and sudden as their flight. 
 " Fugere fercB, they are all vanished 
 *' in an instant. But in Mr, 
 " Dryden's translation, one would 
 "^imagine these creatures were 
 
 " drove out of some inclosed coun- 
 " try, and were searching for en- 
 " tertainment in the next forest." 
 
 But Mr. B did not observe the 
 
 beauty of the tense ; 
 
 Far shakes the earth: beasts /i/; 
 
 mortal hearts 
 Pale fear dejects. 
 
 and 
 
 332. AtJio.'] The King's, the Cam- 
 bridge, the Bodleian, one of the 
 Arundelian, and both Dr. Mead's 
 manuscripts have Athon, the other 
 Arundelian manuscript has Alon, 
 Pierius observes that it is Athon in 
 the Roman, the Medicean, and 
 some other ancient manuscripts. 
 Servius, Heinsius, La Cerda, Ruaeus, 
 and most of the good editors have 
 Atho. It is certain that the accu- 
 sative case of «5&>5 is generally uBu, 
 though sometimes it is u^av. The- 
 ocritus has u^a, in a verse of the 
 seventh Idyllium, which Virgil is 
 thought in this place to have imi- 
 tated : 
 
 rosvra. 
 
 Athos is a mountain of Macedonia, 
 making a sort of peninsula in the 
 Mgean sea, or Archipelago. 
 
 Rhodopen.'] Rhodope is a moun- 
 tain of Thrace. 
 
 Alta Ceraunia.'] The Ceratmia 
 are some high mountains in Epirus, 
 so called because they are frequently 
 stricken with thunder : for Ki^xviog 
 signifies a thunderbolt. 
 
 323, Densissimus imber.] One of 
 Dr. Mead's manuscripts has den- 
 sissimus eel her. 
 
 334. Plangunt.] Servius reads 
 
GEOllG. LIB. I. 
 
 77 
 
 Hoc metuens, cneli menses et sydera scrva: 
 Frigida Saturni sese quo stella receptet : 
 Qiios ignis cseli Cyllenius erret in orbes. 
 
 33/5 '" ♦*''*•■ o' "'•«' <»bservc the 
 ""'-' monthly signs, and the con- 
 stellations: observe whither 
 the cold planet of Saturn re- 
 tires: into what circles of 
 Leaven Mercury wanders. 
 
 plangit, and interprets it resonare 
 facit: but he acknowledges that 
 others read plangunt. Pierius says 
 it is plangit in the Roman and some 
 qther very ancient manuscripts; 
 and seems to suppose densissimus 
 imber to be the nominative case to 
 plangit. If this interpretation be 
 admitted, we must render the pas- 
 sage now under consideration thus : 
 " The south winds redouble; and 
 " the exceeding thick shower now 
 " makes the woods, and now the 
 " shores resound." He adds, "that 
 " in the Medicean copy plangunt is 
 " paraphrased scindunt : thus the 
 " verb must agree both with mister 
 " and imber.'* But to say either 
 that the shower, or the south wind 
 and the shower, make the woods and 
 shores resound with a great wind, 
 seems to me to be a tautology. If 
 we were to admit plangit, I should 
 
 rather with Mr. B understand 
 
 Jupiter : though I think he is mis- 
 taken in ascribing this interpretation 
 to Pierius. Masvicius also has ad- 
 mitted plangit : but as plangunt 
 seems to be full as good as the other 
 reading, and as it is generally re- 
 ceived, I have chosen to adhere 
 to it. 
 
 335. Hoc metuens] After this 
 description of a tempest, the poet 
 proposes two methods of avoiding 
 such misfortunes : one by a diligent 
 observation of the heavens; the 
 other by a religious worship of the 
 gods, especially of Ceres. 
 
 Cceli menses^ By the months of 
 heaven, I take the poet to mean the 
 twelve signs of the zodiac, through 
 each of which the sun is about a 
 month in passing. 
 
 336. Frigida.'] Thus Pliny, *' Sa- 
 " turni autem sidus gelidcC ac rigen- 
 
 " tis esse naturae." Saturn may 
 well deserve the epithet of cold, its 
 orb being at a greater distance from 
 the sun than that of any of the 
 other planets. 
 
 Receptet.'] Servius commends the 
 skill of Virgil in making choice of 
 this verb, which he thinks is de- 
 signed to express Saturn's returning 
 twice to each sign ; " Sane perite 
 *' ait receptet, ut ex frequentative 
 " verbo nobis ostenderet Saturnum 
 " bis ad unumquodque signum re- 
 " verti, quod alii planetae minima 
 '* faciunt. Solus enim est qui et 
 ** longius a sole discedat, et bis ad 
 " unumquodque signum revertat." 
 Pliny has quoted this passage of 
 our poet : " Ideo Virgilius erran- 
 " tium quoque siderum rationem 
 " ediscendam praecipit, admonens 
 " observandum frigidae Saturni 
 " stellae transitum." 1 cannot 
 think Virgil is to be understood to 
 mean, that we are to observe what 
 part of the zodiac Saturn is in, 
 and thereby to predict a storm. 
 That planet is almost two years 
 and a half in passing through each 
 sign : therefore surely we are not 
 to expect a continuance of the same 
 weather for so long a time. I ra- 
 ther think he means that we should 
 observe the aspects of the planets 
 in general: and mentions Saturn 
 and Mercury for the whole number. 
 Thus in a former verse he mentions 
 Maia, one of the Pleiades, for that 
 whole constellation : 
 
 Mulii ante occasum Maiaj cccpere. 
 
 337. Ignis Cyllenius.'] By the 
 Cylletnan fire he means Mercury, 
 who was said to be born in Cyllene, 
 a mountain of Arcadia. 
 
 Erret.] The wandering of a 
 
78 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 First of all worship the gods, 
 and repeat the anniial sacri- 
 fices to great Ceres, offering 
 upon the joyful tiirf, when 
 winter is ended, and spring 
 grows mild. Then the lambs 
 are fat, and then the wines 
 are mellow; then sleep is 
 sweet, and the shadesare thick 
 on the hills. Let all thy rural 
 youths adore Ceres : for her do 
 thou mix the honeycomb with 
 milk and soft wine ; 
 
 In primis venerare Deos, atqiie annua magnse 
 Sacra refer Cereri, loetis operatus in herbis, 339 
 Extremae sub casum hyemis, jam vere sereno. 
 Turn pingues agni, et turn mollissima vina : 
 Turn somni dulces, densaeque in montibus um- 
 brae. 
 Cuncta tibi Cererem pubes agrestis adoret : 
 Gui tu lacte favos, et miti dilue Baccho ; 344 
 
 planet is a very proper expression ; 
 the word being derived from 7rA«y>j, 
 wandering. 
 
 338. Annua magnce sacra refer 
 Cereri.'] The poet here gives a beau- 
 tiful description of the Ambarva- 
 lioi so called because the victim 
 was led round the fields : quod vic- 
 tima amhiret arva. . In ver. 345. 
 Virgil mentions it being led three 
 times round. 
 
 340. Casum.'] All the ancient 
 manuscripts which Pieriushad seen, 
 except the Medicean, have casu. It 
 is casu also in the King's, the Bod- 
 leian, and in both Dr. Mead's ma- 
 nuscripts. 
 
 341. Turn pingues agni, et turn 
 nwllissima vina.] Pierius says that 
 all the ancient manuscripts he had 
 seen agree in reading pi?igues agni 
 et, without a Synalcepha, and that 
 some have tunc and others turn. He 
 observes also that in the Medicean 
 copy it is tunc in this verse, but in 
 the next it is Turn somni dulces. 
 In one of the Arundelian manu- 
 scripts it is Tunc pingues agni turn 
 sunt. In one of Dr. Mead's it is 
 Turn pingues agni sunt turn. In the 
 other it is Tmn pingues agni, et turn : 
 which reading is admitted by Hein- 
 sius, from whom I seldom deviate. 
 The other manuscripts which I 
 have collated, and most of the com- 
 mon editions, have Tunc agni pin- 
 gues et tunc. 
 
 344. Miti dilue Baccho.] Mont- 
 faucon quotes this passage, to shew 
 
 that Ceres and Bacchus were wor- 
 shipped jointly. '' Virgile marque 
 '• aussi le culte des deux dans les 
 " Georgiques, oii il parle des trois 
 *^ tours qu'on faisoit faire a la victime 
 '^ autour des moissons avant que de 
 " I'immoler. Cette ceremonie des 
 *' trois tours etoit encore observee 
 '^ en d'autres saciifices, coramenous 
 " verrons plus bas : il met Ceres et 
 " Bacchus ensemble, et dit que dans 
 " la ceremonie on invoquoit Ceres 
 " a haute voix." This learned au- 
 thor seems to have viewed the pas- 
 sage under our consideration too 
 hastily, and to have taken Baccho 
 to be put for the name of tlie god, 
 and to be the dative case, coupled 
 with cuL All the commentators 
 agree, and I think it cannot be 
 doubted, that Baccho is here put fi- 
 guratively for wine, and that it is 
 the ablative case, coupled with 
 lacte. Nor could that famous an- 
 tiquary be easily led into this mis- 
 take, if he took Bacchus in this 
 place to signify wine, by conclud- 
 ing that the sacrifice must be to 
 Bacchus, as well as to Ceres, to 
 whom wine did not use to be offered, 
 as some have imagined. For it is 
 plain, from the account which Cato 
 gives of the sacrifices before harvest, 
 not only that wine was offered to 
 Ceres ; but also that Bacchus was 
 not one of the deities, to whom they 
 sacrificed on that occasion. '' Pri- 
 " usquam messim facies, porcam 
 " prsecidaneara hoc modo fieri opor- 
 
GEORG. LIB. I, 
 
 79 
 
 Terque novas circum felix eat hostia fruges, 
 Omnis quam chorus, et socii comitentur ovantes; 
 Et Cererem clamore vocent in tecta: neque 
 
 ante 
 Falcem maturis quisquam supponat aristis, 
 Quam Cereri torta redimitus tempora quercu, 
 Det motus incompositos, et carmina dicat. 350 
 Atque haec ut certis possimus discere signis, 
 ^stusque, pluviasque, et agentes frigora ventos ; 
 Ipse pater statuit, quid menstrua Luna mone- 
 
 ret, 
 Quo signo caderent austri : quid saepe videntes 
 
 and let the happy victim be 
 led thrice round the new 
 fruits, accompanied by the 
 whole crowd ofslioutine; com- 
 panions; and let them loudly 
 invite Ceres under their roofs : 
 nor let any one put the sickle 
 to the ripe corn, before he has 
 crowned his head with wreaths 
 of oak, and danced in uncouth 
 measures, and sung songs to 
 Ceres. And that we may- 
 know these things by manifest 
 tokens, both heat and rain, 
 and cold winds; Jupiter him- 
 self has appointed what the 
 monthly moon shouid advise, 
 what should be a sign of the 
 southwinds falling, what 
 
 " tet. Cereri porca praecidanea, 
 " porco foemina, priusquam hasce 
 " fruges condantur, far, triticum, 
 " ordeum, fabam, semen rapicium, 
 " thure, vino, Jano, Jovi, Junoni 
 
 " praefato Postea porcam 
 
 " praecidaneam immolato, Ubi exta 
 *' prosecta erunt, Jano struem com- 
 '' morato, mactatoque item uti prius 
 *' obmoveris. Jovi ferctum obmo- 
 " veto, mactatoque item uti prius 
 " feceras. Item Jano vinum dato, 
 '^ et Jovi vinum dato,. ita uti prius 
 " datum ob struem obmovendam, 
 '^ et ferctum libandum. Postea Ce- 
 " reri exta, et vimnn dato." It is 
 very certain that Ceres and Bac- 
 chus were frequently joined toge- 
 ther in the same sacrifice ; but it is 
 no less certain, that this passage of 
 Virgil is no proof of it. 
 
 349. Torta redimitus tempora 
 quercu.'] They wore wreaths of 
 oak in honour of Ceres, because 
 she first taught mankind the use of 
 corn instead of acorns : thus our 
 poet : 
 
 ■ Vestro si raunere tellus 
 Chaoniam pingui glandem mutavit arista. 
 
 351. Atque hcec, &c.] La Cerda, 
 and after him Ruseus, and several 
 other commentators, understand the 
 
 poet in this passage to say, there are 
 two ways of predicting the weather; 
 one by astrology, to which purpose 
 he mentions the moon; the other by 
 common observation. But he has 
 already insisted sufficiently on the 
 use of the astrological science, and 
 now intends only to shew the hus- 
 bandman, how, without science, he 
 may be able, in a good measure, to 
 foresee the changes of the weather, 
 and prevent the misfortunes that 
 may attend them. Grimoaldus has 
 justly paraphrased the passage 
 under our consideration to this pur- 
 pose : " Sed quoniam rustici ho- 
 " mines, et operarii ex Saturni ca3- 
 " terorumque syderum conversioni- 
 " bus parum aut nihil possunt col- 
 " ligere, ea de tempestatum indiciis, 
 " ac praenotionibus dicam, quae sunt 
 ^' pene ad vulgarera popularemque 
 " sensum accommodata, &c." 
 
 352. Pluviasque.] It is pluvias 
 without que, in one of Dr. Mead's 
 manuscripts, and in the old Nuren- 
 berg edition : Grimoaldus also has 
 the same reading. 
 
 353. Moneret.] It is vioveret in 
 one of Dr. Mead's manuscripts, and 
 in some of the old printed editions. 
 
 354>. Quo siguo.] " Vel quo sub 
 '' sidere ; vel melius quo indicia in- 
 
so 
 
 p. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 the husbandman often observ- 
 ing, should keep their lierds 
 nearer the stall. When the 
 winds are rising, either the 
 straits of the sea work and 
 begin to swell, and a dry 
 crackling is heard in the 
 mountains; or the far re- 
 sounding shores begin to echo, 
 and the murmur of the groves 
 to thicken. 
 
 x\gricolae, propius stabulis armcnta tenerent. 
 Contlnuo veiitis surgentibus aut freta ponti 356 
 Incipiunt agitata tumescere, et aridus altis 
 Montibus audiri fragor ; aut resonantia longc 
 Littora misceri, et nemorum increbrescere mur- 
 mur. 
 
 " telligi posset ventos deficeve," says 
 Ruasus. I have already observed 
 that Virgil has no astrological mean- 
 ing in this passage: whence we 
 must prefer with Ruaeus this latter 
 interpretation. Dr. Trapp adheres 
 to the former : 
 
 ■Beneath tchat star 
 
 Auster's rough blasts should fall. 
 
 Caderent.'] La Cerda observes, 
 that from the context of Virgil it 
 appears, that caderent must signify 
 not the ceasing or falling of the 
 wind, but its rushing down, to occa- 
 sion storms. He quotes a passage of 
 Terentius Varro in Sesquiulysse, to 
 confirm this interpretation : Adversi 
 venti ceciderunt, quod si pergunt di- 
 utius mare volvei'e, vereor, &c. I 
 cannot find that Virgil has ever used 
 cado in this sense : but he has used 
 it for the ceasing of the wind in 
 the ninth Eclogue : 
 
 Et nunc omne tibi stratum silet aequor, 
 
 et omnes, 
 Aspice, ventosi ceciderunt murmuris 
 
 auras. 
 
 Mr. B 's translation agrees with 
 
 La Cerda ; 
 
 ^When southern tempests rise. 
 
 Quid.] Both the Arundelian and 
 one of Dr. Mead's manuscripts have 
 quod. Servius has the same reading, 
 and it is in some of the old printed 
 editions. Pierius says it is quid in 
 the Roman and Medicean manu- 
 scripts. 
 
 356. Contimio ventis, &c.] Here 
 
 the poet gives us the signs of the 
 winds rising. 
 
 It is more easy to admire than 
 describe the beauty of these lines of 
 our poet. The very motion of the 
 swelling sea is expressed in these 
 words, which seem to rise gradu- 
 ally with the waves : 
 
 -Freta ponti 
 
 Incipiunt agitata tumescere. 
 We hear the crackling of the moun- 
 
 tarns m 
 
 •Aridus altis 
 
 Montibus audiri fragor : 
 
 and the rustling of the woods in 
 
 — Nemorum increbrescere murmur. 
 
 These beauties are too frequent in 
 Virgil to escape the observation of 
 most readers : but it would be un- 
 pardonable in a commentator not to 
 take notice of them. 
 
 The swelling of the sea, the re- 
 sounding of the coasts, and the roar- 
 ing of the mountains are mentioned 
 as prognostics of wind by Aratus, 
 whom Virgil has imitated in his 
 predictions of the weather : 
 
 IrifjLoi, Vi 701 avifiaio xa) efiet'novira, 6a,yMff<rx 
 Tiyy'ia'§u' xa) fJMX^t It* alytakoi (ioiuf 
 
 'Axrai T ilvciXioi, exor iu^tot v^^ntfcreu 
 TiyvovreUf xogul^ai ts (aou/iivcu eS^us aix^xi. 
 
 357' Aridus fragor.] Pierius says 
 it is orduus in the Roman manu- 
 script, Aridus fragor means a dry 
 crackling sound, like that of trees, 
 when they break. 
 
GEORG LIB. I. 
 
 SI 
 
 Jam sibi turn a curvis male temperat unda ca- 
 rinis, 360 
 
 Cum medio celeres revolant ex aequore mergi, 
 Clamoremque ferunt ad littora: cumque ma- 
 rinas ' 
 In sicco ludunt fulicae : notasque paludes 
 Deserit, atque altam supra volat ardea nubem. 
 Saepe etiam Stellas, vento impendente, videbis 
 Praecipites caelo labi, noctisque per umbram 366 
 Flammarum longos a tergo albescere tractus. 
 
 Now can ihe wave hardly for- 
 bear the bending ships, when 
 the cormorants fly swirHy 
 from the mi<ldle of the sea, 
 and come crying to the shore : 
 and when the sea-coots play 
 on the dry land: and the 
 heron forsakes the well known 
 fens and Hies above the lofty 
 clouds. When wind impends, 
 yoa shall also otHen see the 
 stars fall headlong frotn hea- 
 ven, and long tracts of flame 
 whiten after them through 
 the shade of night. 
 
 360. Jam sibi turn a curvis.'] In 
 all the manuscripts I have consulted 
 the preposition a is omitted ; as also 
 in many printed editions. Fieri us 
 says it is a curvis in the Roman ma- 
 nuscript. Heinsius retains the pre- 
 position: and in the only passage, 
 beside this, where Virgil uses iem- 
 pero in the same sense, we find a be- 
 fore the ablative case : 
 
 Quis talia fando, 
 
 Myrmidonum Dolopumve aut duri miles 
 
 Ulyssei 
 Temperet a lachrymis. 
 
 361. Mergir\ What Virgil says 
 of the cormorant, Aratus ascribes to 
 
 the l^a^tog. 
 
 K«J y ay 19) %ri^hv or sgwSiOj eh xura, xoar- 
 
 fl.OV 
 
 Kivvfiivou xi B'aXuffffav VTe^ipo^Utr uvi- 
 
 fAOIO. 
 
 Now l^u^m is generally understood 
 to mean a heron : but La Cerda in- 
 terprets it a mergus or cormorant. 
 It is said to be called l^a^ihq quasi 
 tiXa^ioi, because it delights in fenny 
 places ; but this agrees with the he- 
 ron, as well as with the cornorant. 
 The same author will have the ut^vtcci 
 of Aratus to be ihe fulica of Virgil, 
 because they are so called, as he 
 says, a fuliginej from their black* 
 
 ness: though the ui^vix is generally 
 thought to be the same with the 
 mergus. The xsx^po^ of Aratus he 
 takes to be the heron. For the 
 learned reader's satisfaction I shall 
 set down what Aratus has said of 
 these sea fowl, immediately after 
 the three verses just now quoted: 
 
 Kai -vori xai xi'r(poi, ottot iiihoi croriiuv' 
 
 ruiy 
 'AvTia fAiWovruv avifiuv ukn^a, (pigovrat. 
 Tlokkaxi S' ay^iaSis vtjcrcraif vt uv uXi ^ivxt 
 A'l^vutt ^igffula Tivdffffovreu vrngiyicffiv.. 
 
 365. Scepe etiam siellas, &c.] 
 This prognostic of wind taken from 
 the stars seeming to fall is borrowed 
 also from Aratus : 
 
 Ka/ oia, vvxra fAiXatvav or a^i^ss aiffffuffi 
 Ta^'ioiy rot ^ oTtS-iv pvfAoi VToXivxaivciJvren, 
 Aitoi^B^ctt ximts avrhv ohov i^^o/iiveio 
 Unvfietros. 
 
 Vento impendente.'] One of Dr. 
 Mead's manuscripts has impellente. 
 
 S66. Umbram.'] So I read it 
 with Heinsius. I find the same 
 reading in the Cambridge and in 
 one of the Arundelian manuscripts. 
 In the King's, the Bodleian, the 
 other Arundelian, and in both Dr. 
 Mead's manuscripts, and in some 
 printed editions it is umbras. Pie- 
 rius says it is umbram in the Roman 
 and Medicean manuscripts; and 
 prefers that reading. 
 
82 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 Often shall you see the light 
 chaff and falliug leaves fly 
 about, or floating feathers 
 dance on the surface of the 
 water. But when it lightens 
 from the quarter of fierce 
 Boreas, and when the house 
 of EuruB and of Zephyrus 
 thunders; then all the coun- 
 try swims with full ditches, 
 and every mariner on the 
 sea gathers up the wet sails. 
 Never did a storm of rain fall 
 upon any without giving them 
 warning: either the airy 
 cranes avoided it in the bot- 
 tom of the 
 
 Saepe levem paleam et frondes volitare caducas, 
 Aut summa nantes in aqua colludere plumas. 
 At Boreas de parte trucis cum fulminat, et 
 
 cum 370 
 
 Eurique Zephyrique tonatdomus; omnia plenis 
 Rura natant fossis, atque omnis navita ponto 
 Humida vela legit. Nunquam imprudentibus 
 
 imber 
 Obfuit : aut ilium surgentem vallibus imis 
 
 368. Scepe levem paleam, &c.]] 
 What Virgil says of chaff, falling 
 leaves, and feathers, Aratus has said 
 of the down of thistles. 
 
 '^TifjH lyivovT icvsfiou, xaxptj; aXog owon 
 
 •aoTJkoi 
 "Ax^oi i-Ti^kiicoffi, Ta (Jbiv ^d^os, aXXa S' 
 
 OVIffffSJ. 
 
 370. At Borece, &c.] In these 
 lines we have the prognostics of 
 rain, in which lines the poet plainly 
 imitates Aratus: 
 
 AvTO,^ OT l| sS^oio xa) ix vorou a^^dirlwiv, 
 "AXXars S* Ix ^s(pu^oio, xai aXXort zfu^ 
 
 Av TOTi r)s TiXayu hi ^ti^n vauTtkos avhp, 
 Mjj fiiiv, ry fdv 'i^n ^iXayos, tJJ V Ix Aios 
 
 "T^art ya^ roffffaiti ^igi ?igo<ffa) (po^sovrai. 
 
 The Cambridge, one of the Arun- 
 delian, and one of Dr. Mead's ma- 
 nuscripts have aut instead of at, at 
 the beginning of ver. 370. 
 
 373. Legit.'] Heinsius has legunt, 
 in which, I think, he is almost sin- 
 gular. 
 
 Imprudentibus.'] Some interpret 
 this unwise, as if the poet's meaning 
 was, that these signs are so plain, 
 that the most unwise must observe 
 them. Thus Dryden : 
 
 Wet weather seldom hurts the most 
 
 un'wise, 
 So plain the signs, such prophets are the 
 
 skies. 
 
 But imprudefis signifies not only 
 imprude7it or unwise, but also unad- 
 vised, U7iinformed, or unawares, in 
 which sense this passage is gene- 
 rally understood. Virgil's meaning 
 seems to be, that the signs are so 
 many, that none can complain of a 
 shower's falling on him unawares. 
 
 374. Aut ilium surgentem vallibus, 
 &c.] This passage is variously in- 
 terpreted. Some take the prog- 
 nostic of rain to be the cranes leav- 
 ing the valleys, and flying on high, 
 reading this passage gruesfugere ex 
 imis vallibus. Of this opinion are 
 Servius, Grimoaldus, Ruaeus, and 
 several others. Diyden translates 
 it in this sense : 
 
 The wary crane foresees it first, and 
 
 sails 
 Above the storm, and leaves the lowly 
 
 vales : 
 
 and Dr. Trapp ; 
 
 ■ Or them aerial cranes 
 
 Fled, rising from the vales. 
 
 La Cerda takes the meaning to be 
 that the showers rise out of the val- 
 leys ; interpreting it thus : *' Grues 
 " volatu suo altissimo indicant im- 
 ^' brem surgere ab imis vallibus." 
 In this sense May translates it : 
 
 For from the valleys, e'er it thence arise. 
 The cranes do fly. 
 
 Servius was aware of this inter- 
 pretation, and condemned it: "Dicit 
 
GEORG. LIB. I. 
 
 Aerise fiigere grues : aut buciila caelum 375 
 Suspiciens patulis captavit naribus auras: 
 Aut arguta lacus circumvolitavit hirundo : 
 Aut veterem in limo ranae cecinere querelam. 
 
 valleys as it rose : or the beifer 
 looking np to h«aven has 
 siiufted in the air with wide 
 nostrils: or the chattering 
 swallow has flown round 
 about the lakes : or the frogs 
 have croaked out their an. 
 cient moan in the mud. 
 
 " autem grues, de vallibus surgere, 
 " non pluviam de vallibus surgere." 
 A third interpretation is, that the 
 cranes left their aerial flight, and 
 fled or avoided the coming storm, 
 by retreating to the low vales. In 
 this sense only Mr. B — has trans- 
 lated it : 
 
 Cranes, as it rose, flew downwards to 
 the vale. 
 
 This intei-pretation is agreeable to 
 what Aristotle has said, in the ninth 
 book of his history of Animals, 
 where treating of the foresight of 
 cranes, he says they fly on high, 
 that they may see far off, and if 
 they perceive clouds and storms, 
 they descend, and rest on the 
 ground : EU v-^o^ Trercvrcci, ■zsr^og ro 
 KxB^o^olv rei zro^a. K«i lav ioa/tri n^n, 
 jcati ^iifAZ^ix, KccrccTFToia-ui iicrv%ut<awnv. 
 From this high flight of the cranes, 
 we see the propriety of the epithet 
 a'ericE ', and we also find that not 
 their flying on high, but their 
 descent is to be esteemed a sign of 
 rain. Aratus also, whom our poet 
 imitates in his signs of weather, 
 says, the cranes leave their airy 
 flight, and return in winding 
 mazes : 
 
 OtfS' v^ou yt^dvav (ictx^ai s"i;^£j aura 
 xiXiv^a 
 
 375, Aut hucula coslum, &c.] 
 Thus also Aratus : 
 
 Ket) (iois ii^ri rot Teagos vituros Iv^ioie, 
 
 Virgil has imitated and almost tran- 
 scribed some verses of Varro Ata- 
 cinus, which I shall here set down. 
 
 as I find them 
 Fulvius Ursinus 
 
 in Servius, and 
 
 Turn liceat pelagi volucres, tardaeque 
 paludis 
 
 Cernere inexpleto studio certare lavandi : 
 
 Et velut insolitum pennis infundere 
 rorem : 
 
 Aut arguta lacus circumvolitavit hi- 
 rundo : 
 
 Et bos suspiciens caelum, mirabile visu, 
 
 Naribus aerium patulis decerpsit odo- 
 rem : 
 
 Nee tenuis formica cavis non extulit 
 ova. 
 
 These lines of Varro are undoubt- 
 edly borrowed from Aratus j and 
 the prognostics contained in them 
 are in the same order, as in the 
 Greek poet. Virgil has varied them, 
 and made them more poetical. 
 
 377. Aut arguta lacus, &c.] Thus 
 Aratus : 
 
 "H xlfAvnv zifi^) ^TiB^ci x^Xihons aiffffovraty 
 
 This line of Virgil is exactly the 
 same with one of Varro, quoted in 
 the preceding note. 
 
 378. Aut veterem in limo, &c.] 
 It is generally read et veterem : but 
 Pierius observed aut in several an- 
 cient manuscripts. I find aut in 
 the Bodleian and in one of the Arun- 
 delian manuscripts. We find this 
 prognostic also in Aratus : 
 
 H fiaXkov ^siXut yivia,), ut^otffiv ovtia^, 
 ■ AwroS'Sv l| S^aTos, <rari^is (^omtri yv^ivav. 
 
 As to the frogs croaking out their 
 ancient moan in the mud, the poet 
 no doubt alludes to the story of the 
 Lycian countrymen being turned 
 into frogs by Latona : which is men- 
 tioned by Ovid : 
 
84 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 often also has the pismire 
 inakinga narrow road brought 
 forth her eggs out of the hid- 
 den recesses; and the rain- 
 bow has drank deep ; and the 
 array of ravens departing 
 from their food in a vast body 
 has made a great noise with 
 clapping their wings. Now 
 may you see various sea-fowl, 
 and those which search for 
 food about the Asian mea- 
 dows 
 
 Saepius et tectis penetralibus extulit ova 
 Angustum formica terens iter : et bibit ingens 
 Arcus : et e pastu decedens agmine magno 381 
 Corvorum increpuit densis exercitus alis. 
 Jam varias pelagi volucres, et quae Asia circum 
 
 -Et nunc quoque turpes 
 
 Litibus exercent linguas: pulsoque pu- 
 
 dore, 
 Quamvis sint sub aqua, sub aqua male- 
 
 dicere tentant. 
 Vox quoque jam rauca est. 
 
 379. Scepius et tectis penetralibus, 
 &c.] Thus Aratus : 
 
 Qeiffffov dynviyKOCvTo. 
 
 See also the last of the verses quoted 
 from Varro, in the note on ver. 375. 
 
 380. Et bibit ingens arcus.'\ It 
 was a vulgar opinion amongst the 
 ancients, that the rainbow drew up 
 water with its horns. We find fre- 
 quent allusions amongst the poets 
 to this erroneous opinion. I shall 
 content myself with one quotation 
 fromtheCurculioofPlautus; where, 
 as Lena, a drunken, crooked, old 
 woman, is taking a large draught 
 of wine, Palinurus says, see how the 
 bow drinks ! we shall certainly have 
 rain to-day : 
 
 -Ecce autem bibit arcus ! pluet 
 
 Credo hercle hodie. 
 
 Aratus mentions the rainbow ap- 
 pearing double, as a sign of rain : 
 
 in which he is followed by Pliny : 
 " Arcus cum sunt duplices, pluvias 
 *' nunciant." 
 
 382. Corvorum increpuit densis 
 exercitus alis.] Thus also Aratus: 
 
 An ^ori xat yina) xo^ixuvt xa.) <pv\a, 
 
 xoXoiuv, 
 "t^ctros l^;(^oju,i¥oto Atos 'xd^a. aYifj^ lyivovro, 
 ^OLtvof^ivot dytXyi^df xett i^rixiffciv ofio7ov 
 ^^ly^dfiivor xui -rou xo^ccxis Viou; ra- 
 
 Xayfioh; 
 
 ^uvTi iftiftnffttvre cut vhares l^^ofciteio' 
 *K {TOTS xai x^a^atre [ia^iiri hffffdxi (puin 
 MetxQov l^ippoi^tvffi Tiva^dfAtvoi -xrigd •Jtuxtd. 
 
 383. Jam varias pelagi volucres, 
 &c.] Pierius says that in some an- 
 cient manuscripts, the words are 
 placed thus: Jam volucres pelagi 
 varias ; and that in some it is atque 
 Asia for et quce Asia. He observes 
 also that it is variae in the Roman 
 manuscript. I find the same read- 
 ing in the Bodleian, and in one of 
 the Arundelian manuscripts: but the 
 grammatical construction willhardly 
 allow it not to be varias. The other 
 Arundelian manuscript has ium in- 
 stead oijam. 
 
 Aratus has mentioned this prog- 
 nostic also of the water-fowl duck- 
 ing themselves before rain : 
 
 HaWdxi XifivaTai » tlydXtcu opviBts 
 
 Virgil seems to have imitated this 
 verse of the second Iliad : 
 
 'Affiai h Xufiuft, Kavff^iov a/i^) phB^^a, 
 
 The Asia palus or Asius campus is 
 the name of a fenny country, which 
 receives the overflowings of the Cay- 
 ster. The first syllable of this ad- 
 jective is always long j as in the 
 passage now before us j and in the 
 fourth Georgick : 
 
 Atque Ephyre, 
 Deiopeia : 
 
 atque Opis, et Asia 
 
 and in the seventh .^neid : 
 
 -Sonat amnis et Asia longe 
 
 Pulsa palus. 
 
 The first syllable of Asia, the name 
 
GEORG. LIB. I. 
 
 85 
 
 Dulcibus in stagnis rimantur prata Caystri, 
 Certatim largos humeris infundere rores ; 385 
 Nunc caput objectare fretis, nunc currere in un- 
 
 das, 
 Et studio incassum videas gestire lavandi. 
 Turn cornix plena pluviam vocat improba voce, 
 Et sola in sicca secum spatiatur arena. 
 Nee nocturna quidem carpentes pensa puellae 
 Nescivere hyemem : testa cum ardente viderent 
 Scintillare oleum, et putres concrescere fungos. 
 
 in the sweet lakes of Cayster, 
 strive to pour a plenty of 
 water over their shoulders, 
 and now plunge into the sea, 
 and then run upon the waves, 
 and wantonly wash them- 
 selves in play. Then does 
 the unlucky crow call the 
 rain with a loud voice, and 
 wanders by herself alone on 
 the dry sand. Nor are the 
 maids who perform their 
 nightly tasks ignorant of the 
 approaching storm, when 
 they see the oil spatter in the 
 lamp, and fungous excres- 
 cences grow about the wick. 
 
 of a quarter of the world, is short; 
 as in the second Georgick : 
 
 Qui nunc extremis Aiioe jam victor in 
 oris. 
 
 Cayster or Cay strus is the name of 
 a river of Asia, which rises in Phry. 
 gia major, passes through Lydia, 
 and falls into the ^gean sea near 
 Ephesus. The country about this 
 river, being marshy, abounds with 
 water-fowl. Swans are frequently 
 mentioned by the poets: Homer, 
 in the passage to which we just 
 now referred, speaks of geese,cranes, 
 and swans : 
 
 ■OoviSuv ^intivuv e^vsa troXXd 
 
 'AfftM, &C. 
 
 386. Undas."] Pierius says that 
 some of the ancient manuscripts 
 have undisj and others undas. One 
 of Dr. Mead's manuscripts has 
 iindis, and the other has undam. 
 
 388. Turn cornix plena, &c.] The 
 crow is mentioned also by Aratus ; 
 
 Htou xut zsrorecfioTo iSd'^aro f^iXi^ ista,^ 
 
 ilfAovs IX, xiipuXiis' yi xai (jidXa ■sra.ffa. 
 
 xoXvfA^^ 
 ' H -aroXXi} CTge^srai ara^' «^«g 9a;^£0s «ga- 
 Z,6vffu. 
 
 The ancients thought that crows 
 not only predicted rain, but called 
 
 it. Thus Lucretius, speaking of 
 the different voices of birds : 
 
 Et partim mutant cum tempestatibus 
 
 una 
 Raucisonos cantus, cornicum ut saecla 
 
 vetusta, 
 Corvorumque greges, ubi aquam di- 
 
 cutitur et imbres 
 Poscere, et interdum ventos aurasque 
 
 vocare. 
 
 Sometimes at change of air they change 
 their voice: 
 
 Thus daws, and om'nous crows, with va- 
 rious noise. 
 
 Affright the farmers t and Jill all the plain. 
 
 Now calling /or rough winds, and now 
 for rain. 
 
 Creech. 
 
 Servius reads rauca instead oi plena ; 
 but plena is generally allowed to be 
 the true reading. 
 
 The Bodleian and one of the 
 Arundelian manuscripts, after ver. 
 388, have 
 
 Aut caput objectat querulum venientibus 
 undis. 
 
 The King's and one of Dr. Mead's 
 manuscripts have et caput, &c. In 
 the Cambridge manuscript this verse 
 is mutilated; Aut caput querulum 
 jactat, &c. In the old Nurenberg 
 edition et caput, &c. is added after 
 ver. 389. 
 
 392. Scintillare oleum, et putres 
 concrescere fungosJ] This also is 
 mentioned by Aratus : 
 
86 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 Nor is it less easy to foresee 
 iinshowery sans, and fair open 
 weatlier, and to Icnow them 
 by manifest signs. For then 
 the light of the stars does not 
 seem dim, nor does the moon 
 seem to rise, as if she was in- 
 debted to her bi other's beams : 
 nor thin fleeces of wool seem 
 to be carried through the sky. 
 Nor do Thetis's beloved Hal- 
 cyons spread open their wines 
 to the warm sun, along the 
 shore : 
 
 Nec minus eximbres soles, et aperta serena 
 Prospicere, et certis poteris cognoscere signis. 
 Nam neque tum stellis acies obtusa videtur ; 395 
 Nec fratris radiis obnoxia surgere Luna : 
 Tenuia nec lanae per caelum vellera ferri. 
 Non tepidum ad solem pennas in littore pandunt 
 
 Uvxra xara ffxorivv, f^ri^' nv waro ^^u/Accres 
 
 ugvt 
 Auxvuv ilkkon (lU re (pdog xaroc, »o<rfjt,ev 
 
 "hWoTi V dllffaufftv aTo (pXoyii, rivn 
 
 Ilflytt^oXtfyif. 
 
 The sputtering of the lamps, be- 
 ing occasioned by the moisture of 
 the air, may well predict rain. 
 
 393. Nec minus, &c.] After the 
 signs of wind and rain, the poet 
 now proceeds to give us those of 
 fair weather. 
 
 Eximbres.'] So Pierius found it 
 in some ancient manuscripts. Al- 
 most all the editions have ex imbri; 
 taking the poet's meaning to be that 
 these are signs of fair weather fol- 
 lowing the shower; or that they 
 are to be observed during the rain. 
 May's translation is. 
 
 By no less true, and certaine signs 
 
 may we 
 Faire dayes and sunshine itt a storvie 
 
 foresee. 
 
 Dryden has. 
 
 Then after shoiors 'tis easy to descry 
 Returning suns, and a serener sky. 
 
 Dr. Trapp translates it. 
 
 Nor less serenity succeeding slww^rs 
 And sunny skies, by sure unfailing signs 
 Thou may'st foresee. 
 
 Mr. B — alone adheres to eximbres; 
 
 Nor from less certain signs, the swain 
 
 descry s 
 Unslioiff'ry suns, and bright expanded 
 
 skies. 
 
 This reading seems more poetical 
 than the common : and it is certain, 
 that Virgil's meaning could not be, 
 that these observations are to be 
 made during the rain. At such a 
 time it would be impossible to ob- 
 serve the brightness of the moon 
 and stars ; which are the first prog- 
 nostics mentioned by our author. 
 
 S95. Nam neque turn stellis acies 
 obtusa videtur.'] Aratus mentions 
 the dimness of the light of the stars 
 as a sign of foul weather : 
 
 "'UfMS V dtri^ohv xa6agh (pdos dftSkvfnrat. 
 
 396. Nec fratris radiis obnoxia 
 surgere luna.] Servius thinks that 
 obtusa is to be understood here; and 
 that the sense is, '' For then neither 
 ** does the light of tlie stars seem 
 " dim, nor that of the moon, which 
 " is beholden to her brother's beam." 
 Ruaeus seems to have found the true 
 meaning of this |)assage ; that " the 
 '' moon rises with such an exceed- 
 " ing brightness, that one would 
 '' rather think her light to be her 
 " own, than only borrowed from the 
 " sun." See Aulus Gellius, 1. vii. 
 c. 17. 
 
 397. Tenuia nec Innas per ccelum 
 vellera ferri.] By thin fleeces of 
 wool the poet means the fleecy clouds, 
 which Aratus mentions as a sign of 
 rain ; 
 
 TloXXdxt V l^^ofAtvuv virut f'upta cr^oTei- 
 Ola fidXiffrei zfoxoiffiv iotxora if^uXXoiTai. 
 
 398. Non."] In one of Dr. Mead's 
 manuscripts it is nec. 
 
GEORG. LIB. I. 
 
 87 
 
 Dilectae Thetidi Alcyones : non ore solutos 
 Immundi meminere sues jactare maniplos. 400 
 
 oor do the fililiy swine re- 
 member to uabinfl and loss 
 about the bundles ot straw 
 with their snouts. But ilie 
 , , . . mists descend, and lie on the 
 
 At nebulae mams una petunt, campoque recum- piain: and the owi observing 
 
 o XT ' r T. the setting snn from the top 
 
 v. „4. . of the roof, forbears to sing 
 
 UUni . her iiigiitly song. 
 
 Solis et occasum servans de culmine summo 
 Nequicquam seros exercet noctua cantus. 
 
 399' T>ilect(E Thetidi Halcyones.] 
 The fable of Ceyx and his wife Hal- 
 cyone being turned into these birds 
 is beautifully related in the eleventh 
 book of Ovid's Metamorphoses. The 
 mutual love of these persons sub- 
 sisted after their change, in honour 
 of which, the gods are said to have 
 ordained, that whilst they sit on 
 their nest, which floats on the sea, 
 there should be no storm. Some 
 say this lasts seven days, others 
 nine, others eleven, and others four- 
 teen. Ovid mentions seven : 
 
 Et tandem, superis miserantibus, 
 
 ambo 
 Ante mutantur. Fatis obnoxius isdem 
 Tunc quoque mansit amor. Nee coii- 
 
 jugiale solutum 
 Foedus in alitibus : coeunt, fiuntque pa- 
 rentes : 
 Perque dies placidos hiberno tempore 
 
 septem. 
 Incubat Halcyone, pendentibus aequore 
 
 nidis, 
 Turn via tuta maris : ventos custodit, et 
 
 arcet 
 iEolus egressu: praestatque nepotibus 
 
 aequor. 
 
 The gods commiserate : 
 And cliange them both, obnoxious to like 
 
 fate. 
 As erst they love: tJieir nuptial faiths 
 
 they shew 
 In little birds : ingender^ parents grow. 
 Seven lointer days with peaceful calms 
 
 possesty 
 Alcyon sits ttpon her footing nest. 
 Then safely saile: then Molus incaves 
 For his the winds; and smooths the 
 
 stooping waves. 
 
 Sandys. 
 
 Hence they are said to be beloved 
 
 by the sea-nymphs. Thus Theo- 
 critus : 
 
 X' akxoo'ns ro^ttrsuvrt ra KVfcara, rdv rz 
 
 B'dkao'ffecVf 
 Toy T$ vorov, rov <r ti^ov of 'iff^ccra, (f/uKia 
 
 XiVSt. 
 
 'AkKVovsff yXavKuTs Nw^JjilV* rain (jt.oi- 
 
 ciyga. 
 
 Let Halcyons smooth the seas, the storms 
 allay, 
 
 And skim the floods before him all the 
 way: 
 
 The nymphs' lov'd bird, of all that 
 haunt the flood. 
 
 Skim o'er the waves, and dive for swim- 
 ming food. 
 
 Creech. 
 
 399- Ore solutos.'} Servius says 
 that some read ore soluto, that is, 
 with very wide snouts or mouths. 
 In this sense Mr. B has trans- 
 lated it : 
 
 Nor mindful are the swine, witJi jaws 
 displayed 
 
 To gripe the straw, and toss their rust- 
 ling bed. 
 
 403. Nequicquam.] I have ob- 
 served, in the note on ver. 192, that 
 nequicquam is seldom used by Virgil 
 for non: but here I think it is 
 plainly used in that. sense. Aratus 
 says that the singing of the owl is 
 a sign of the storms ceasing : 
 
 -Nt/«rs^/»j ykecu^ 
 
 Hffv^ov diitovffa, fAct^aivofiivoo ^u/iavos 
 rmr^^u vol ffT^fAK. 
 
 Pliny says the chattering of the owl 
 in rain is a sign of fair weather j 
 
88 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 Nisus soars aloft in the clear Appai'et liouido sublimis in aere Nisus, 
 
 sky, and Scylla is punished for it i 
 
 the purple hair: jj^ ^^^ purputeo poenas dat Scylla capillo : 405 
 
 and in fair weather, of a storm: 
 *' Grues silentio per sublime vo- 
 *' lantes [praesagiunt] serenitatem. 
 '' Sic noctua in imbre garrula : at 
 " sereno, tempestatem." We have 
 seen already, in the note on ex- 
 imbres, that the prognostics here 
 set down relate to the continuance 
 of fair weather, not of its succeed- 
 ing a storm. Therefore the silence 
 of the owl is a sign of the continu- 
 ance of fair weather. If we un- 
 derstand the poet to be speaking 
 during the rain, the hooting of the 
 owl will be a sign of fair weather, 
 according to Aratus. But then ne- 
 quicquam must be wrong, whether 
 we take it to mean not or in vain. 
 If we understand the poet to speak 
 of the continuance of fair weather, 
 nequicquam must signify not; be- 
 cause, according to Pliny, the hoot- 
 ing of the owl at such a time would 
 be a sign of rain. May has trans- 
 lated nequicquam, not : 
 
 The fatal owle high mounted at sun-set 
 Does not the baleful evening song repeat. 
 
 Dryden has translated this passage 
 most wretchedly : 
 
 And owls that mark the setting sun» 
 
 declare 
 A star-light evening, and a morning 
 
 fair. 
 
 Dr. Trapp translates nequicquam, in 
 
 vain : 
 
 And now the bird 
 
 Of night, observant of the setting sun. 
 Sings her late song from some high 
 tow*r in vain. 
 
 " Nequicquam (says this learned 
 *' gentleman) for nan is intolerable : 
 " and Servius gives us no authority 
 *' for it but Persius's ; which, con- 
 '* sidering the obscurity of that 
 " writer, is nothing at all. Besides, 
 
 " it is well known that the music 
 " of the owl (such as it is) is a 
 " prognostic of dry weather. I 
 '' thei:efore take it thus ; that dark 
 " bird delighting in rain and clouds 
 '' makes this noise, by way of com - 
 ^' plaint, not of joy (for it is a dismal 
 " ditty indeed) at the approach of 
 " fair weather : but does it nequic- 
 '* quam, in vain : for that weather 
 " will come, for all her hooting." 
 This interpretation seems to be very 
 much forced, and not to be sup- 
 ported by any good authority. 
 Mr. B — 's interpretation is not very 
 different. " Virgil embellishes this 
 *' mean subject in a very extraor- 
 " dinary manner. When he is to 
 *' say that the hooting of owls at 
 '' night is a sign of fair weather, he 
 " takes occasion to make a delicate 
 *' reflection upon superstitious peo- 
 *^ pie. Owls were supposed by 
 '' such persons always to forbode 
 " some calamity by their noise; 
 " but now, says he, they sing 
 '^nequicquam, in vain; for nobody 
 " is so weak as to expect bad wea- 
 " theV from their music." 
 
 404. A'ere.~\ In one of Dr. Mead's 
 manuscripts it is cethere: it is the 
 same also in the Roman manuscript, 
 according to Pierius. 
 
 40.5. Et pro purpurea poenas dat 
 Scylla capillo.'] The story of Nisus 
 and Scylla is related in the eighth 
 book of Ovid's Metamorphoses. 
 Nisus was king of Alcathoe or 
 Megara. He had on his head a 
 purple hair, in which the security 
 of the kingdom lay. Scylla, his 
 daughter, filing desperately in love 
 with Minos, who besieged the city, 
 stole the purple hair, and fled with 
 it to him. But that just prince, 
 abhorring the crime, rejected her 
 with indignation, and sailed to Crete, 
 
GEORG. LIB. I. 
 
 89 
 
 Quacunque ilia levem fugiens secat aethera 
 
 pennis, 
 Ecce inimicus atrox magno stridore per auras 
 Insequitur Nisus, qua se fert Nisus ad auras, 
 Ilia levem fugiens raptim secat aethera pennis. 
 Turn liquidas corvi presso ter gutture voces, 410 
 Aut quater ingeminant ; et saepe cubilibus altis, 
 Nescio qua praeter solitum dulcedine laeti. 
 Inter se foliis strepitant : juvat imbribus actis 
 Progeniem parvam, dulcesque revisere nidos. 
 Haud equidem credo, quia sit divinitus illis 415 
 Ingenium, aut rerum fato prudentia major : 
 
 wherever she (lying cuts tlie 
 light air with her wings, be- 
 hold Nisns her cruel enemy 
 pursues with a great noise 
 through the air: where Nisus 
 mounts the sky, she swiniy 
 flying cuts the light air with 
 her wings. Then do the ra- 
 vens press their throats, and 
 three or four times redoubled 
 a clearer sound ; and often re- 
 joicing, in their lofty habita- 
 tions, with I know not what 
 unusual sweetness, rustle a- 
 mongst the leaves: they de- 
 light, when the showers are 
 driven away, to revisit their 
 little offspring, and their sweet 
 nests. Not that I think they 
 have any genius from heaven, 
 or extraordinary knowledge 
 of things by fate : 
 
 leaving her behind. Scylla, in de- 
 spair, plunged into the sea after him, 
 and took fast hold of the ship. Her 
 father, who had just been changed 
 into the Haliaetos, which is thought 
 to be the osprey, a rapacious bird 
 of the eagle kind, hovering over her 
 to tear her in pieces, she let go her 
 hold, and was immediately changed 
 into the ciris. Some take this bird 
 to be a lark, others think it is a 
 solitary bird, with a purple crest on 
 its head, which continually haunts 
 the rocks, and shores of the sea. 
 
 406. Mthera.'] In one of the 
 Arundelian manuscripts it is a'era. 
 
 410. Corvi.l This prognostic of 
 the ravens is taken also from Aratus : 
 
 Ka/ Xanaxes fiouvot (aIv, l^n(/,Be,7oi (ioatovrss 
 Aiirffaxts. avru^ s'Tura (ttsraSgaa xixXti- 
 <yovri$. 
 
 ^uvtis 'i[i.vXtm, ^^ai^uv xi rts ditffffoiTo, 
 Olcc ra fiiv (ioo&icrt, Xiyaivofjcivotiriv ofiola,. 
 TloWk %\ ^tv^^iioio Ti^t <pXoov oiXkoT' Itt 
 
 aiiTov 
 H^i Ti xsioufftv xu) v^or^O'Tei avri^iovTat. 
 
 413. Inter se foliis.'] So I read it 
 with Heinsius, and most of the good 
 editors. Pierius says it is inter se 
 in foliis, in the Medicean and most 
 of the ancient manuscripts. The 
 preposition in is retained also in one 
 
 of the Arundelian, and both Dr. 
 Mead's manuscripts : but in the rest, 
 which I have consulted, mis omitted. 
 It is more agreeable to Virgil's style 
 to leave it out. 
 
 4)15. Haud equidem credo, &c.] 
 Here Virgil speaks as an Epicurean : 
 he does not allow any divine know- 
 ledge or foresight to be in birds ; but 
 justly ascribes these changes in their 
 behaviour to the effects which the 
 alterations of the air, with regard to 
 rarefaction and density, have upon 
 their bodies. 
 
 41 6. Rerum fato prudentia ma- 
 jor.'] This passage has been vari- 
 ously interpreted by the commen- 
 tators. Servius interprets it, " pru- 
 " dentia quce est major rerum fato j" 
 a knowledge which is greater than 
 the fate of things. La Cerda ex- 
 plains it much to the same purpose ; 
 " prudentia quibus fata superent;" 
 a knowledge by which they sur- 
 pass fate, Ruaeus follows Servius : 
 " prudentia qucB potentior est fato." 
 May translates it according to the 
 same construction : but with a sort 
 of paraphrase : 
 
 1 do not thinke that all these creatures 
 have 
 
 More wisedome than the fates to man- 
 kind gave. 
 
90 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 but when the storm and move- 
 able moisture of the heaven 
 have changed their courses, 
 and the air moist with south 
 winds condenses wliat just be- 
 fore was rare, and rarifies what 
 was dense; the images of their 
 minds are changed, and their 
 breasts now receive a diflferent 
 impression, from that whicli 
 tliey had when the wind drove 
 away the clouds. Hence the 
 birds join in concert in the 
 fields, and the cattle rejoice, 
 and the ravens exulting croak. 
 But if you regard the rapid 
 sun, and the moons which 
 follow in order ; the next day 
 will never deceive von, nor 
 will you be caught bv the 
 snares of a fair night. When 
 the moon first collects the 
 returning rays, if she in- 
 closes black air with dark- 
 ened horns. 
 
 Verum, ubi tempestas, et caeli mobilis humor 
 Mutavere vias, et Jupiter uvidus austris 
 Deiisat erant quae rara modo, et quae densa 
 
 relaxat ; 
 Verttintur species animorum, et pectora motus 
 Nunc alios, alios dum nubila ventus agebat, 421 
 Concipiunt. Hinc ille avium concentus in agris, 
 Et laetas pecudes, et ovantes gutture corvi. 
 Si vero solem ad rapidum, lunasque sequentes 
 Ordine respicies ; nunquam te crastina fallet 
 Hora, neque insidiis noctis capiere serenae. 426 
 Luna revertentes cum primum coUigit ignes, 
 Si nigrum obscuro comprenderit aera cornu. 
 
 Dryden's translation is scarce sense: 
 
 Not that I think their breasts with 
 
 heav'nly souls 
 Inspir'd, as man, who destiny controuU. 
 
 Mr. B proposes a new inter- 
 pretation, ''major prudentia in fato," 
 or " in futuro ; " and accordingly 
 translates this passage. 
 
 Not that I think the gods to them dis- 
 pense 
 
 Of things in fate a more discerning 
 sense. 
 
 Dr. Trapp is of the same opinion : 
 " Prudence greater than fate (as this 
 '' is generally rendered) is flat non- 
 " sense. Take it thus: A gi-eater 
 " knowledge [than we have] in the 
 '' fate of things." His translation 
 runs thus : 
 
 Not that I think an ingeny divine 
 
 To them is giv'n or prescience of events 
 
 la fate superior. 
 
 Grimoaldus seems to have found 
 the true sense of this passage : that 
 these animals have no particular in- 
 struction from the gods, or superior 
 knowledge by fate. 
 
 418. Mutavere vias.'] In one of 
 the Arundelian manuscripts it is mu- 
 tavere vices. 
 
 Jupiter uvidus.'] So I read it with 
 Heinsius: almost all the editions 
 have Jupiter humidus. Masvicius 
 reads uvidus. 
 
 419. Bensat.'^ La Cerda con- 
 tends, that denset is the true reading. 
 I find denset in one of the Arunde- 
 lian, and in one of Dr. Mead's ma- 
 nuscripts. 
 
 420. Pectora.] It is pectore in the 
 Cambridge and in one of Dr. Mead's 
 manuscripts. Pierius^ound pectore 
 in several ancient copies: he ob- 
 serves that in the Medicean manu- 
 script pectore is written in a different 
 hand. 
 
 424. Si vero, &c.] Having shewn 
 how the changes of weather are pre- 
 dicted by animals, he now proceeds 
 to explain the prognostics from the 
 sun and moon; and begins with the 
 moon. 
 
 428. Aera.] Pierius would fain 
 read aere; though he allows at the 
 same time that it is aera in all the 
 ancient manuscripts. He thinks 
 nigrum agrees with cornu, because 
 Varro has said ohatnnn coniu ; and 
 then obscuro will agree with aere. 
 The horn of the 7noon black with 
 dark air would certainly not be 
 amiss: but then there is some diffi- 
 
GEORG. LIB. I. 
 
 91 
 
 Maximus agricolis pelagoque parabitur imber. 
 At, si virgineum suffuderit ore ruborem, 430 
 Ventus erit : vento semper rubet aurea Phoebe. 
 Sin ortu quarto, namque is certissimus auctor, 
 Pura, neque obtusis per caelum cornibus ibit, 
 Totus et ille dies, et qui nascentur ab illo, 
 Exact um ad mensem, pluvia ventisque carebunt : 
 Votaque servati solvent in litore nautae 436 
 
 a great storm of rain wjllin- 
 vafle botli land and sea. Bui 
 it" she spreads a virgin blush 
 over her face, there will be 
 wind: for golden Phoebe al- 
 ways reddens with wind. 
 But if at her fourth rising, 
 for that is the surest sign, 
 she shines clear, and not witli 
 blunted horns, that whole 
 day, and ail the rest of the 
 month will be free from rain 
 and wind: and the sailors 
 escaping shall pay their vows 
 on the shore 
 
 culty in making cornu follow com- 
 prenderit. For though we may say 
 the moon contains or incloses dark 
 air with her horns; yet we cannot 
 say that the moon contains or in- 
 closes her horns with dark air. 
 Varro, as he is quoted by Pliny, 
 speaks of the dark part of the moon's 
 orb inclosing a cloud : Si caligo 
 orbis nuhem incluserit. This seems 
 to be the same with the horns in- 
 closing black air; si nigrum com- 
 prenderit a'era cornu. Soon after 
 he says ; if the moon rises with the 
 upper horn blackish, there will be 
 rain after the full; nascens luna, si 
 cornu superiore obatro surget, pluvias 
 decrescens dabit. This I suppose is 
 the passage to which Pierius alludes. 
 Virgil has comprehended both these 
 presages in one line : the latter be- 
 ing fully expressed by the epithet 
 obscuro added to cornu. The most 
 that we can grant to Pierius seems 
 to be, that his reading might be ad- 
 mitted, if there were good authority 
 for it. But, as he cannot produce 
 one manuscript to justify it, and as 
 the common reading is sense, and 
 very intelligible, I see no reason to 
 make such an alteration. 
 
 429. Agricolis.] La Cerda reads 
 Agricolce. 
 
 430. Virgineum.'] La Cerda reads 
 virgineo. 
 
 4iS2. Sin ortu quarto.] La Cerda, 
 Ruaeus, and several other editors 
 read ortu in quarto. But the prepo- 
 
 sition is omitted in most of the an- 
 cient manuscripts, according to Pie- 
 rius. It is omitted also in the King's, 
 the Cambridge, one of the Arunde- 
 lian, and both Dr. Mead's manu- 
 scripts. Servius, Heinsius, and se- 
 veral of the old editors also leave it 
 out. It is retained in the Bodleian, 
 and in the other Arundelian manu- 
 script. It is more agreeable to the 
 style of Virgil, to leave out the 
 preposition. 
 
 Other authors differ from Virgil 
 in this particular, and propose other 
 days of the moon's age, as equally 
 or more certain prognostics of the 
 ensuing weather. The poet follows 
 the opinion of the Egyptians, ac- 
 cording to Pliny: Quariam earn ma- 
 xime observat Mgyptus. 
 
 434. Nascentur.] It is. nascetur 
 in the Roman, and nascuntur in the 
 Lombard manuscript, according to 
 Pierius. It is nascetur in the King's 
 manuscript: La Cerda also has the 
 same reading. 
 
 436. Votaque servati solvent in li- 
 tore nautce.] Pierius says it is ad li- 
 tora in the Roman manuscript. 
 
 It was a custom amongst the an- 
 cient mariners to vow a sacrifice to 
 the sea-gods on the shore, provided 
 they returned safe from their voyage. 
 This custom is alluded to by our 
 poet in the third ^neid : 
 
 Quin ubi transmissce steterint trans 
 
 aequora classes, 
 Et positis aris jam vota in littorc solves. 
 
 N 2 
 
92 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 loMS%'%'e^sr''o?'i:S Glauco, et Panopeae, et Inoo Melicertae. 
 
 The sun also, both when he _, , . t • j 
 
 rises, and when he dies him- S50I quoQue et exoneiis, et cum sc condit in undas, 
 
 self m the waves, will give t T -^ -' 
 
 liflLT '""'' "'" '"'"' Signa dabit ; solem certissima signa sequuntur ; 
 
 Bui ■when your ships rest wafted o'er the 
 
 main, 
 jind you on altars rais'd along the shore 
 Pay your vow'd off*rings. 
 
 Dr. Tbapp. 
 
 And again in the fifth ; 
 
 Dii, quibus imperium est pelagi, quorum 
 
 aequora curro ; 
 Vobis laetus ego hoc candentem in littorc 
 
 taurum 
 Constitiiam ante aras voti reus, extaque 
 
 salsos 
 Porriciam in fluctus, et vina liquentia 
 
 fundaro. 
 
 Ye gods, who rule the ocean which I sail : 
 Victor, before your altars on this shore. 
 To you a snow white bull I will present, 
 Oblig'd hy vow ; and on the briny deep 
 Scatter the entrails, pouring purest wine. 
 Dr. Tbapp. 
 
 437. Glauco, et PanopecE, et Inoo 
 Melicerfce.'] This verse is taken 
 from Parthenius, according to Aulus 
 Gellius: 
 
 TXavKoi, XU4 N)7^£/ xa) iivakiu MiXixi^rr,. 
 
 Macrobius reads 'ivaa instead of tim' 
 >^ia. Lucilius also has almost the 
 same words in one of his epigrams: 
 
 TXavKu, Kut N9]^£j, xet) 'ivot, xai MiXixi^Tvi 
 Kai (ivB-iu K^ovi^n, xai lafceB-^tt^^t B^toTg, 
 
 "^u^iU ix ■^iXa.yovs tiouxiXXios, eShi xixa^- 
 ftai 
 Tag Tgi^oLi ix xiipuXiis' cikko yog ovhiv 
 
 Virgil leaves the vowels open, after 
 the manner of the Greek poets. 
 
 Glaucus was a fisherman, who, 
 observing that his fish, by touching 
 a certain herb, recovered their 
 strength, and leaped again into the 
 water, had the curiosity to taste of 
 it himself: upon which he imme- 
 diately leaped into the water and 
 became a sea-god. Panopea was 
 
 one of the Nereids. She 
 tioned in the fifth ^Eneid : 
 
 IS men- 
 
 Dixit ; eumque imis sub fluctibus audiit 
 
 omnis 
 Nereidum Phorcique chorus, Panope- 
 
 aque virgo ; 
 Et pater ipse manu magna Portunus 
 
 euntem 
 Impulit. 
 
 Ino was the daughter of Cadmus, 
 and wife of Athamas, king of Thebes. 
 Flying from the fury of her husband, 
 who had already torn one of their 
 children in pieces, she threw herself 
 into the sea, with her son Melicerta. 
 They were both changed into sea- 
 deities: Ino was called by the Greeks 
 Leucothea, and by the Romans Ma- 
 tuta: Melicerta was called by the 
 Greeks Palaemon, and by the Ro- 
 mans Portunus. 
 
 438. Sol quo(jue, <^c.] In this pas- 
 sage are contained the predictions 
 drawn from the rising and setting 
 of the sun. The three first lines are 
 taken from as many of Aratus : 
 
 'HeX/a/o Vi roi fiiXira Ixdrt^Bi* lovres' 
 'HiXtu xai fAaXkev loixora ffriftara, xtTreu, 
 'A/A([)oTi^o¥, ^utdDTi, xeti Ix vTi^eiTtis atiitrt. 
 
 Cotidit.'] It is condet in one of the 
 Arundelian, and both Dr. Mead's 
 manuscripts: several printed edi- 
 tions have the same reading. I 
 follow Heinsius. 
 
 439. Sequuntur.'] It is sequeniur 
 in the Cambridge, one of the Arun- 
 delian, one of Dr. Mead's manu- 
 scripts, and in several printed edi- 
 tions. Pierius says it is sequuntur 
 in the Roman, the Medicean, and 
 the Lombard manuscript, and thinks 
 this the best reading. Servius, La 
 Cerda, and some others read sequeU' 
 iur. Heinsius, Ruaeus, and others 
 read sequuntur. 
 
GEORG. LIB. I. 
 
 Et qua? mane refert, et quae surgentibus astris. 
 Ille ubi nascentem maculis variaverit ortum 441 
 Condi tus in nubem, medioque refugerit orbe ; 
 Suspect! tibi sint imbres ; namque urget ab alto 
 Arboribusque satisque Notus pecorique sinister. 
 Aut ubi sub lucem densa inter nubila sese 445 
 Diversi rumpent radii, aut ubi pallida surget 
 Tithoni croceum linquens Aurora cubile; 
 Heu male turn mites defendet pampinus uvas, 
 Tammultain tectis crepitans salithorrida grando. 
 
 botb those which he brings in 
 the morning, and those when 
 the stars arise. VVIien at his 
 first rising he appears spotted, 
 and hid in a cloud, and with- 
 draws half his orb; you 
 may suspect showers: for 
 the south- wind pernicious to 
 trees, and corn, and cattle, 
 presses from the sea. Or 
 when at his rising the rays 
 scatter themselves diversly 
 among thick clouds, or when 
 A urora rises pale, as she leaves 
 the saffron bed of Tithonus; 
 alas, the vine-leaf will but 
 poorly defend the ripening 
 grapes, so thick will horrid 
 hail bound rattling upon the 
 roofs. 
 
 441. Maculis variaverit ortum.'] 
 Thus Aratus : 
 
 M;j 01 -roixikXetro viov (iaXXovrog a^ov^ais 
 KvxkoSf or tii^tov xi^^rtfU'ivos ijfcaros Ufis, 
 Mri^i vt ffTtfAO, (p's^oif <patvoiTo ^l Xtros a^tavrt], 
 
 442. Conditus in mihem.'] Thus 
 Aratus : 
 
 M»jS' on 01 oXiyt} vi^iXti -rd^os avriXXniriy 
 T>jy Tt fiiT ax'rlyuvxi^^oi7(Ji.hos oihros asg^w, 
 
 443. Ab alio.'] La Cerda explains 
 this ab alto aere. Ruaeus interprets 
 it e mart. Mr. B seems to fol- 
 low La Cerda : 
 
 The south comes pow'ring down. 
 
 And Dr. Trapp : 
 
 ' Notus /rcwi above 
 Threatens. 
 
 See the note on collects ex alto nubes, 
 ver. 324. 
 
 445. Sese diversi rumpent radiL] 
 Pierius says it is rumpunt in the Ro- 
 man manuscript; and rumpent in 
 the Medicean, and other ancient 
 manuscripts. It is rumpent in the 
 King's, the Cambridge, and both 
 the Arundelian manuscripts. Hein- 
 sius, Masvicius, and several other 
 editors, have the same reading. 
 Servius, La Cerda, Ruaeus, and 
 others read erumpent. 
 
 This prognostic of the scattering 
 of the rays of the sun is taken also 
 from Aratus ; 
 
 'AXX' oux,* oirvoTi xolXos luVofiivos <rfgi- 
 
 r'iXXriy 
 OvV ottot' axTi'vuv, at /x,h vorev, at Ss (io^riec 
 '2^tZ,o[jt,iva,i (idXXafft, <rei V au jrigi ftiera'a 
 
 'AXXd 'xou n vBToto hi^^irat, « uvifieto, 
 
 446. Surget.] So Pierius found 
 it in the Medicean and other ancient 
 manuscripts, though, he says, there 
 are some that read surgit. One of 
 the Arundelian, and both Dr. Mead's 
 manuscripts have surgit. Almost 
 all the printed editions have surget. 
 
 447. Tithoni croceum linquens Au- 
 rora cubileS] This verse is repeated 
 in the third and ninth ^neids. 
 Tithonus was the son of Laomedon, 
 king of Troy. Aurora, or the 
 morning, is fabled to have fallen in 
 love with him. Homer speaks of 
 Aurora rising from the bed of Ti- 
 thonus, in the eleventh Iliad : 
 
 'H«j S* \x Xi^iuv jrag' ayavou Ti^avoTo 
 
 The saffron morn, with early blushes 
 
 spread. 
 Now rose refulgent from Tithonus* bed. 
 Mr. Pope. 
 
 448. Defendet.] Servius reads 
 defendit : but Pierius has observed, 
 that it is the future tense, in the 
 Medicean, and almost all the other 
 ancient manuscripts. 
 
 449. Tarn.] It is turn in several 
 manuscripts: but iam is generally 
 received. 
 
94 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 It will also be more profitable 
 to observe this, when the sun, 
 having measured the heavens, 
 is now going down : for we 
 often see various colours wan- 
 der over his face, 'i'he blue 
 foretels rain ; the fiery foretels 
 wind : but if the spots begin 
 to be mixed with fiery red, 
 then you may expect a storm 
 of wind and rain. That night 
 let none advise me to go upon 
 the sea, or to loose my cable 
 from the shore. But if his 
 orb shall be clear, both when 
 he biings on the day, and 
 when he carries it back again, 
 in vain shall you be afraid of 
 showers, and you will see the 
 woods wave with the clear 
 north wind. Lastly, the sun 
 will give you signs of what 
 the late evening will produce, 
 from whence the wind drives 
 the bright clouds, what the 
 moist south wind is meditat- 
 ing. Who dares accuse the 
 sun of falsehood ? he also often 
 foretels the approach of dark 
 tumults, and the growth of 
 treachery, and bidden wars. 
 
 Hoc etiam,emenso cum jam decedetOlympo, 450 
 Profuerit meminisse magis: nam saepe videmus 
 Ipsius in vultu varios errare colores. 
 Caeruleus pluviam denunciat, igneus euros : 
 Sin maculae incipient rutilo immiscerier igni ; 
 Omnia tunc pariter vento nimbisque videbis 455 
 Fervere. Non ilia quisquam me nocte per altum 
 Ire, neque a terra moneat convellere funem. 
 At si, cum referetque diem, condetque relatum, 
 Lucidus orbis erit, frustra terrebere nimbis, 
 Et claro sylvas cernes aquilone moveri. 460 
 
 Denique, quid vesper serus vehat, unde serenas 
 Ventus agat nubes, quid cogitet humidus auster, 
 Sol tibi signa dabit : Solem quis dicere falsum 
 Audeat ? ille etiam caecos instare tumultus 
 Saepe monet, fraudemque et operta tumescere 
 bella. 465 
 
 450. Emenso cum jam decedei 
 Olympo, profuerit meminisse 7nagis,'2 
 Thus Aratus : 
 
 ^EtTTt^iois KO.) fioiXXov aXridio, nx/n^gaio. 
 
 452. Varios errare colores.^ The 
 various colours of the sun are men- 
 tioned also by Aratus : only, where 
 Virgil speaks of blue, the Greek 
 poet mentions black : 
 
 "H i" -rou fiiXavsT, xal ffoi to, fAiv, v^aros 'i?'u 
 'XrifACtra fiiXXovros' tx. V \giu6ia, 'xdv-r 
 
 E'tys fih afA^origois cifiu^is xi^^tucri^'ivos £<'»;, 
 Ka/ x£v uhup ^o^ioty xai vnjvifiios rawolro. 
 
 456. 'Non ilia quisquam, &c.] 
 This kind of excursion is used by 
 Virgil in other places. Thus in the 
 second Georgick : 
 
 Nee tibi tam prudens quisquam persua- 
 
 deat auctor 
 Tellurem Borea rigidam spirante mo- 
 
 And in the third : 
 
 Ne mihi turn molles sub dio carpere 
 
 somnos, 
 Neu dorso nemoris libeat jacuisse per 
 
 herbas. 
 
 458. At si, &c.] Thus Aratus : 
 
 E/ S' aiiru; xa^a^o'v ju,iv 'i^ot (iovXvffios <w^»7, 
 Avvot y avi^iXoi fjCuXuxriv vTo^iUXos aiyXtiv, 
 K«i fih Wt^x^ofji.ivns hovi 'iff vTiv^tos un. 
 
 461. Vehat ^ Pierius says it is 
 ferat in the Roman manuscript; 
 which he takes to have been put in 
 by way of paraphrase. I find the 
 same reading in the Cambridge ma- 
 nuscript. 
 
 462. Agat.'] It is agit in the 
 King's manuscript : but agat is cer- 
 tainly much better. 
 
 Quid cogitet humidus Auster.] Pie- 
 rius says that some would fain read 
 quid cogat et humidus Auster: but 
 that most of the ancient manuscripts 
 have cogitat. 
 
 465. Operta.] The Bodleian ma- 
 
GEORG. LIB. I. 95 
 
 Ille etiam extincto miseratus Caesare Romam, "'lie mu?det7cam?T'' 
 
 nuscripthas aperta. Dryden seems 
 to have read aperta, for he trans- 
 lates it open wars. But I have not 
 seen aperta in any other manu- 
 script, or in any printed edition. 
 
 In Mr. B 's edition it is operta, 
 
 and yet he translates it audacious 
 wars. 
 
 4>66. Ille etiam, &c.] Having just 
 observed that the sun foretels wars 
 and tumults, he takes occasion to 
 mention the prodigious paleness of 
 the sun after the death of Julius 
 Caesar. Then he digresses into a 
 beautiful account of the other pro- 
 digies which are said to have ap- 
 peared at the same time. But though 
 he represents these extraordinary 
 appearances, as consequences of the 
 murder of Caesar ; yet at the same 
 time he shews, that they predicted 
 the civil war of Augustus and An- 
 thony, against Brutus and Cassius, 
 The reader cannot but observe how 
 judiciously Virgil takes care to shew 
 that he had not forgot the subject 
 of his poem in this long digression. 
 At the close of it he introduces a 
 husbandman in future ages plough- 
 ing up the field of battle, and asto- 
 nished at the magnitude of the bones 
 of those, who had been there buried. 
 
 Servius takes the prodigies here 
 mentioned to have predicted the 
 death of Julius Caesar ; and men- 
 tions a darkness of the sun, which 
 happened on the fourteenth of 
 March, being the day before that 
 murder. He adds that this dark- 
 ness lasted several hours : '' Constat 
 " autem occiso Caesare in Senatu, 
 " pridie Iduum Martiarum Sol is 
 *^ fuisse defectum, ab hora sexta 
 " usque ad noctem. Quod quia 
 " multis protractum est horis, dicit 
 " in sequentibus, ceternam timuerunt 
 " scEcula noctem." Ovid relates these 
 
 prodigies, as preceding Caesar's 
 death, but the greatest part of them, 
 and especially the extraordinary 
 dimness of the sun, are related by 
 historians, as happening after that 
 murder. Servius is generally un- 
 derstood to mean an eclipse in this 
 passage by the word defectus ; but 
 it is no where mentioned as an 
 eclipse, that I remember, nor can I 
 guess upon what authority Servius 
 could relate either that there was 
 an eclipse about that time, or that 
 it happened the day before Caesar's 
 murder. Ovid speaks of a pale- 
 ness of the sun : 
 
 Phoebi quoque tristis imago 
 Lurida sollicitis praebebat lumina terris. 
 
 Pliny makes use indeed of the word 
 defectus, but he cannot possibly be 
 understood to mean what is pro- 
 perly called an eclipse j because he 
 speaks of its lasting a whole year ; 
 " Fiunt prodigiosi etlongiores solis 
 " defectus, qualis occiso dictatore 
 '' Caesare, et Antoniano bello, totius 
 '' pene anni pallore continuo." Ti- 
 buUus also says the misty year saw 
 the darkened sun drive pale horses : 
 
 Ipsum etiam solem defectum lumine 
 
 vidit 
 Jungere pallentes nubilus annus equos. 
 
 Plutarch, in his life of Julius Caesar, 
 goes farther. He not only men- 
 tions the paleness of the sun, for a 
 whole year after Caesar's death: 
 but adds, that for want of the na- 
 tural heat of the sun, the fruits 
 rotted, without coming to maturity. 
 Dryden has fallen into the error, 
 that the s«.in predicted Caesar's 
 death. 
 
 He first the fate of Csesar ^^ii^foretel, 
 And pitied Rome when Rome in Caesar 
 feil. 
 
96 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 h^adriithT'dusky'reS Cuiii caput obscura nitidum ferrugine texit, 
 
 and impious mortals were ^ . , , 
 
 afraid the darkness would be Impiaoue aetemam tioiuerunt saecula noctem. 
 
 eternal- U hough at that tmie *- ^ 
 
 anVoSoul^aogTAnd'fore: Tempore quamquam illo tellus quoque, et 
 
 boding birds 
 
 aequora ponti, 
 Obsccenique canes, import unseque volucres 470 
 
 467. Cum.'] In the King's manu- 
 script it is turn. 
 
 Ferrugine.'] Ferrugo does not pro- 
 perly signify darkness, or blackness, 
 but a deep redness. Thus ferrugi- 
 neus is apph'ed to the flower of the 
 hyacinth, which is also called -pur- 
 pureus, the colour of blood. 
 
 468. Impia scecula.] By scecula 
 the poet means men, in imitation of 
 Lucretius, Avho frequently uses that 
 word, for kind, species, or sex. Out 
 of many examples I shall select a 
 few : in the fifth book he calls man- 
 kind homirium scEcla : 
 
 Quod si forte fuisse antehac eadem 
 
 omnia credis : 
 Sed periisse hominum torrenti sacla va- 
 
 pore. 
 
 In the fourth book he calls the fe- 
 male sex muUebre sceclum : 
 
 Et muliebre oritur patrio de semine 
 scEclum. 
 
 In the second book, scecla is used 
 for the several kinds of animals : 
 
 Effoetaque tellus 
 
 Vix anitnalia parva creat, quae cuncta 
 
 creavit 
 SoeclOf deditque ferarum ingentia corpora 
 
 partu, 
 Haud ut opinor enim mortalia scscla 
 
 superne 
 Aurea de caelo demisit funis in arva. 
 
 In the same book sceva scBcla is used 
 for beasts of prey, and bucera scecla 
 for bulls and cows : 
 
 Principio genus acre leonum, scevaqiie 
 
 scecla 
 Tutata 'st virtus, vulpes dolus, et fuga 
 
 cervos j 
 At levisomna canum fido cum pectore 
 
 corda. 
 
 Et genus omne, quod est veterino semine 
 
 partum^ 
 Lanigeraeque simul pecudes, et bucera 
 
 scecla 
 Omnia sunt hominum tutelae tradita, 
 
 Memmi. 
 
 Cornicum scecla vetusta is used also 
 in the same book for the species of 
 crows. In the second book scecla 
 pavonum is used for peacocks : 
 
 Aurea pavonum ridenti imbuta lepore 
 Seecla novo rerum superata colore jacc- 
 rent. 
 
 I shall produce but one quotation 
 more from this author, where scecla 
 is used for inanimate things ; 
 
 Nam sua cuique locis ex omnibus omnia 
 
 plagis 
 Corpora distribuuntur, et ad sua seecla 
 
 recedunt : 
 Humor ad humorem, &c. 
 
 Virgil seems to have used scecula for 
 mankind also in the first ^neid : 
 
 Aspera tum positis mitescent sa:cnUi 
 bellis. 
 
 470. Obsccenique canes.] Hein- 
 sius reads obsccence, in which he is 
 almost singular. Obsccenus amongst 
 the augurs was applied to any thing 
 that was reputed a bad omen. Ap- 
 pian mentions dogs howling like 
 wolves, after the death of Caesar. 
 Ovid speaks of dogs howling by 
 night in the forum, and about 
 houses, and the temples of the 
 gods: 
 
 Inque foro, circumque domos, et tempJa 
 
 Deorum 
 Nocturnes ululasse canes. 
 
 hnporiunceque volucres.] Ovid 
 mentions the owls as giving omens. 
 
GEORG. LIB. I. 
 
 97 
 
 Simia dabant. 
 agros 
 
 Quoties Cyclopum efFervere in 
 
 Vidimus uiidantem ruptis fornacibus ^tnam, 
 Flammarumque globos, liquefactaque volvere 
 
 saxa 
 
 Armorum sonitum toto Germania cselo 
 Audiit, insolitis tremuerunt motibus Alpes. 475 
 Vox quoque per lucos vulgo exaudita silentes 
 Ingeiis, et simulacra modis pallentia miris 
 
 presaged. Uow often have 
 we seen /Etna poiir a burning 
 (leli^ge from her bursten fur- 
 naces over the fields of the 
 Cyclops, and roll <lown globes 
 of fire and melted stones! 
 Germany heard a clashing 
 of arms througliout the sky; 
 the Alps treml)led with un- 
 usual shakings A mighty 
 voice also was frequently 
 heard through the silent 
 groves, and spectres horridly 
 pale 
 
 Tristia mille locis Stygius dedit omina 
 bubo. 
 
 Some omens of birds are mentioned 
 by the historians, as preceding the 
 death of Caesar. 
 
 474. Armorum sonitum toto Ger- 
 mania ccelo audiit.'] Ovid speaks of 
 the clashing of arms, and the noise 
 of trumpets and horns : 
 
 Arma ferunt inter nigras crepitantia 
 
 tiubes, 
 Terribilesque tubas, auditaque cornua 
 
 caelo 
 Praemonuisse nefas. 
 
 Appian also mentions great shouts 
 in the air, and clashing of arms, and 
 rushing of horses. Perhaps this 
 was some remarkable Aurora bore- 
 alis seen about that time in Ger- 
 many. The learned M. Celsius, 
 professor of astronomy at Upsal in 
 Sweden, has assured me, that in 
 those northern parts of the world, 
 during the appearance of an Aurora 
 horealis, he has heard a rushing 
 sound in the air, something like the 
 clapping of a bird's wings. Before 
 these phsenomena were so frequent 
 amongst us as they now are, it was 
 no unusual thing for the common 
 people to take them for armies 
 fighting in the air. 
 
 475. Motibus.] The King s, and 
 one of Dr. Mead's manuscripts, and 
 Schrevelius, read montibus. 
 
 .476. Vox quoque per lucos vulgo 
 exaudita silentes ingens.'] In the 
 
 King's manuscript it is vulgo est 
 audita. 
 
 La Cerda is of opinion that the 
 mighty voice heard in the groves, 
 of which Virgir here [speaks, was 
 the voice of the gods leaving, or 
 threatening to leave, their|habita- 
 tions. He understands Ovid to 
 mean the same thing, when he 
 speaks of threatening words being 
 heard in the sacred groves : 
 
 Cantusque feruntur 
 Auditi, Sanctis et vc7-ia minacia lucis. 
 
 He takes this to be farther explained 
 by a|passage in Tibullus, lib. ii. eleg. 
 5. where he says the groves foretold 
 a flight : 
 
 Atque tubas, atque arma ferunt strepi- 
 
 tantia caelo 
 Audita, et lucos praecinuisse fugam. 
 
 The threatening words, says he, of 
 Ovid are explained by the flight of 
 the gods in Tibullus. He strength- 
 ens this observation by a quotation 
 from Josephus's seventh book of 
 the Jewish war; where speaking 
 of the prodigies, which preceded 
 the destruction of Jerusalem, he 
 says the priests heard a voice in 
 the night-time, saying. Let us go 
 hence. 
 
 477. Simulacra modis pallentia 
 miris visa sub obscurum nociis,'] 
 Thus Lucretius : 
 
 Sed quaedam simulacra modis pallentia 
 miris. 
 O 
 
98 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 were seen in the dusk of even- 
 ing, and cattle spoke, a dire 
 omen ! the rivers stop, and 
 the earth gapes: and the 
 mournful ivory weeps in the 
 temples, and fhe brazen sta- 
 tues sweat. Eridanus, the 
 king of rivers, whirling down 
 whole woods with his mad 
 torrent, poured forth, and 
 bore away the herds with 
 their stalls all over the plains: 
 nor at the same time 
 
 Visa sub obscurum noctis, pecudesque locutae, 
 Infandum ! sistunt amnes, terraeque dehiscunt : 
 Et moestum illacrymat templis ebur, aeraque 
 sudant. 480 
 
 Proluit insano contorquens vortice sylvas 
 Fluviorum Rex Eridanus, camposque per omnes 
 Cum stabulis armenta tulit : nee tempore eodem 
 
 Plutarch speaks of ghosts walking 
 in the night,, before Caesar's death. 
 Ovid also mentions the same thing : 
 
 -Umbrasque silentum 
 
 Erravisse ferunt. 
 
 478. Pecudesque locutcB.I By pe- 
 cudes the poet seems to mean oxen : 
 for those are the cattle, which are 
 said to have spoken on this occa- 
 sion. Appian says expressly that 
 an ox spoke with human voice. 
 TibuUus also mentions oxen : 
 
 Fataque vocales praemonuisse boves. 
 
 479- Sistutit amnes.'] Horace men- 
 tions the overflowing of the Tiber 
 at this time : 
 
 Vidimus flavum Tiberim, retortis 
 Littore Etrusco violenter undis. 
 Ire dejectum raonumenta regis 
 
 Templaque Vestae : 
 Iliae dum se nimium querenti 
 Jactat ultorem ; vagus, et sinistra 
 Labitur ripa, Jove non probante, 
 
 Uxorius amnis. 
 
 Terrceque dehiscunt.'] Ovid men- 
 tions an earthquake at Rome : 
 
 — — Motamque tremoribus urbem. 
 
 480. Et moestum illacrymat templis 
 ebur oeraque sudant.] " In the an- 
 " cient oblong manuscript it is lacri- 
 " mat. But in the Boman, Medi- 
 '' cean, and some other ancient ma- 
 " nuscripts it is illacrimat, which is 
 " more like Virgil. For our poet 
 '' loves to join to the verbs those 
 '' prepositive particles which he has 
 
 '' taken from before the nouns." 
 
 PlERIUS. 
 
 Appian says that some statues 
 sweated, and that some even 
 sweated blood. 0\ad mentions the 
 ivory images sweating in a thou- 
 sand places : 
 
 Mille locis lacrymavit ebur. 
 
 Tibuilus speaks of the statues (rf 
 the gods weeping : 
 
 Et simulacra Deum lacrymas fudisse 
 tepentes. 
 
 482. Fluviorum Rex Eridanus.~\ 
 The two first syllables o£ fluviorum 
 are short: the poet therefore puts 
 two short syllables for one long one. 
 Dr. Trapp observes that this redun- 
 dancy of the syllables elegantly ex- 
 presses the overflowing of the river: 
 and has accordingly imitated it in 
 his version : 
 
 Eridanus supreme of rivers. 
 
 Eridanus is the Greek name for the 
 Po. It rises from the foot of Vesu- 
 lus, one of the highest mountains of 
 the Alps, and passing through the 
 Cisalpine Gaul, now part of Italy, 
 it falls into the Adriatic sea, or 
 gulf of Venice. It is the largest 
 and most famous of all the rivers 
 of Italy ; whence Virgil calls it the 
 king of rivers, see Pliny, lib. iii. 
 c. l6. 
 
 4-83. Tulit.] In the King's ma- 
 nuscript it is irahif. 
 
GEORG. LIB. I. 
 
 99 
 
 Tristibus aut extis librae apparere minaces ; 
 Aut puteis manare cruor cessavit ; et alte 485 
 Per noctem resonare, lupis ululantibus, urbes. 
 Non alias caelo ceciderunt plura sereno 
 Fulgura ; nee diri toties arsere cometae. 
 
 did threatening fibres fail to 
 appear in the sad entrails: or 
 wells to flow with blood ; and 
 cities loudly to resound with 
 howling wolves by night. 
 Never did more lightnings 
 fall from a clear sky ; nor 
 dreadful comets so often 
 blaze. 
 
 484. Trislibus aut extis fibrce ap- 
 parere minaces.'] Several authors 
 mention a victim wanting a heart, 
 before Caesar's death. Ovid adds 
 that none of the sacrifices were pro- 
 pitious : 
 
 Victima nulla litat : magnosque instare 
 
 tumultus 
 Fibra monet. 
 
 485. Puteis manare cruor.'] Ovid 
 speaks of its raining blood : 
 
 Saepe inter nimbos guttae cecidere cru- 
 entae. 
 
 Alie per noctem resonare lupis ulu' 
 lantihus urhes.] Servius reads altcBj 
 and interprets it magnce. If this 
 reading be admitted, we must render 
 this passage, and great cities to re- 
 sound with howling wolves by night. 
 
 Appian mentions wolves running 
 along the Forum. La Cerda thinks 
 that the poet means by wolves the 
 ghosts of the departed. In confirma- 
 tion of this he quotes some passages 
 where the verb ululare is applied to 
 spectres. But that real wolves 
 should come into the cities seems 
 no more improbable than many of 
 the other prodigies. 
 
 487- Non alias ccelo ceciderunt 
 plura sereno fulgura.'] Thunder from 
 a clear sky was always looked upon 
 as a prodigy by the ancients : 
 though not always accounted an ill 
 omen. Horace speaks of Jupiter's 
 sending a great deal of snow and 
 hail on this occasion, and affrighting 
 the city with his thunder and light- 
 ning : 
 
 Jam satis terris nivis, atque dirae 
 Grandinis misit Pater : et rubente 
 
 Dextera sacras jaculatus arces, 
 
 Terruit urbem. 
 
 Appian also mentions the temples 
 and statues of the gods being fre- 
 quently stricken with thunder-bolts. 
 488. Nee diri toties arsere cometce.] 
 Comets are to this day vulgarly re- 
 puted dreadful presages of future 
 wars. Thus TibuUus : 
 
 Hae fore dixerunt belli mala signa 
 cometen. 
 
 Virgil is generally thought to mean 
 that comet which appeared for seven 
 nights after Caesar's death. But he 
 speaks of several comets : where- 
 fore I rather believe he means some 
 fiery meteors, which were seen about 
 that time. Ovid calls them torches : 
 
 > Saepe faces visae mediis ardere sub astris. 
 
 Besides, the famous comet, which is 
 said to have appeared for seven 
 days, was esteemed a good omen, 
 and was fancied to be Caesar's soul 
 converted into a blazing star by 
 Venus. Thus Ovid : 
 
 Vix ea fatus erat ; media cum sede Se- 
 
 natus 
 Constitit alma Venus nulli cernenda : 
 
 suique 
 Caesaris eripuit membris, nee in aera 
 
 solvi 
 Passa recentem animam, caelestibus in- 
 
 tulit astris, 
 Dumque tulit; lumen capere, atque 
 
 ignescere sensit : 
 Emisitque sinu. Luna volat altius ilia : 
 Flammiferumque trahens spatioso limite 
 
 crinem 
 Stella micat. 
 
 This said: invisible faire Venus stood 
 Amid the Senate ; from his corpse, ivilh 
 Hood 
 o2 
 
100 
 
 Therefore did Philippi a se 
 cond time 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 Ergo inter sese paribus concurrere telis 
 
 DefiVd, her Coesar*s new-fled spirit hare 
 To heaven, nor suffer''d to resolve to aire. 
 And, as in her soft hosom home, she might 
 Perceive it take a powre, and gather light, 
 Then once let loose, it forthwith upward 
 
 flew ; 
 And after it long Hazing tresses drew. 
 
 Sandys, 
 
 Pliny says it was worshipped in a 
 temple at Rome, and has set down 
 the very words in which Augustus 
 Caesar gave an account of this co- 
 met's appearing, whilst he was cele- 
 brating the games to Fenus genitrix, 
 soon after Caesar's death, in the col- 
 lege which he had founded; "lis 
 " ipsis ludorum meorum diebus, 
 '' sidus crinitum per septem dies 
 " in regione caeli, quae sub septen- 
 " trionibus est, conspectum. Id 
 '* oriebatur circa undecimam horam 
 " diei, clarumque et omnibus terris 
 " conspicuum fuit. Eo sidere sig- 
 " nificari vulgus credidit, Caesaris 
 " animara inter deorum immorta- 
 " lium numina receptam : quo no- 
 " mine id insigne simulacro capitis 
 " ejus, quod mox in foro consecra- 
 *' vimus, adjectum est." We see 
 here that Augustus does not mention 
 this star, or comet, as being the soul 
 of Caesar, but only as a sign, that his 
 soul was received into the number 
 of the gods. Yet Suetonius, after 
 Ovid, has related it to have been 
 thought the very soul of Caesar : 
 '^ In deorum numerum relatus est, 
 '^ non ore modo decernentium, sed 
 '^ et persuasione vulgi. Siquidem 
 " ludis, quos primo consecratos ei 
 '' haeres Augustus edebat, stella cri- 
 '* nita per septem dies continuos 
 " fulsit, exoriens circa undecimam 
 " horam. Creditumque est, animam 
 " esse Ccesaris in caelum recepti; et 
 " hac de causa simulacro ejus in 
 " vertice additur stella." Cicero 
 however, in his second book de 
 natura deorum, mentions the appear- 
 
 ance of some comets, in Augustus's 
 war, which were predictions of great 
 calamities: " Stellis iis, quas Graeci 
 " cometas, nostri crinitas vocant : 
 '' quae nuper bello Octaviano, mag- 
 " narum calamitatum fuerunt prae- 
 " nuntiae." Before Ave part with 
 these prodigies, it may not be amiss 
 to observe, that it is very common 
 not only with poets, but with his- 
 torians also, to introduce them as 
 attending upon great wars, and 
 especially upon the destruction of 
 cities and great persons. Lucan 
 makes them >vait on the battle of 
 Pharsalia, and Josephus is not 
 sparing of them at the destruction 
 of Jerusalem. The wisest men 
 however amongst the ancients had 
 little faith in them: and only made 
 use of them to lead the superstitious 
 vulgar. Virgil has related them as 
 a poet, with a design to flatter his 
 patron Augustus: for it cannot be 
 supposed that he, who was not only 
 a philosopher, but an epicurean 
 also, could have any real faith in 
 such predictions. If historians 
 have thought it not unbecoming 
 their gravity to make such relations, 
 surely a poet may be indulged in 
 making use of popular opinions, 
 when they serve to adorn his work, 
 and ingratiate himself with those, 
 who have inclination and power to 
 confer benefits upon him. 
 
 489. Ergo inter sese, &c.] There 
 seems to be no small difficulty, in 
 explaining what Virgil means, by 
 saying Philippi saw two civil wars 
 between the Romans, and Eraathia 
 and the plains of Haemus were twice 
 fattened with Roman blood. Ruaeus 
 says that he once was of opinion, 
 that A'irgil alluded to the two battles 
 fought near Philippi, within a mdnth 
 of each other ; in the first of which 
 Cassius was routed, and in the se- 
 
GEORG. LIB. I. 101 
 
 Romanas acies iterum videre Philippi : 490 ^ft,;^^q;!.?rms?'"' '"'''' 
 
 cond Brutus. But that learned 
 commentator gives up this inter- 
 pretation; because he thinks the 
 fields cannot be said to have been 
 twice fattened in one year. He 
 seems to me to give it up on rather 
 too slight grounds : and I cannot 
 help allowing it as no ill solution of 
 the difficulty. It is however very 
 probable, that the poet alludes to 
 the two great civil wars, the first of 
 which was decided at Pharsalia, and 
 the latter at Philippi. This is gene- 
 rally allowed to be Virgil's meaning: 
 but then the great distance between 
 those two places causes an almost 
 inextricable difficulty. Servius in- 
 deed says that both battles were 
 fought at Philippi, and makes it a 
 city of Thessaly : " Philippi civitas 
 " est Thessaliae ; in qua primo Cae- 
 " sar et Porapeius, postea Augustus 
 " et Brutus cum Cassio dimicave- 
 " runt." Some others, as Ruaeus 
 observes, finding in Stephanus, that 
 the Thessalian Thebes, near Phar- 
 salus, was also called Philippi, have 
 supposed this to be the place, 
 where Brutus and Cassius were 
 overthrown. But this is certainly 
 a mistake, for whosoever rightly 
 considers the account delivered by 
 historians of that overthrow, will 
 find that no other Philippi could 
 be meant, but that which is on 
 the confines of Thrace, and by some 
 authors is placed in Trace, and by 
 others in Macedon. Plutarch plainly 
 describes the march of Brutus and 
 Cassius from Asia through Thrace, 
 to the plains of Philippi. There 
 they were near destroying Norbanus, 
 who was encamped near Symbolon, 
 a port of Thrace. He mentions their 
 being at this time on the coasts of 
 Thassus, which is an island between 
 Lemnos and Abdera, a city of 
 Thrace. Cassius also was sent to 
 
 Thassus to be buried. The situation 
 of Pharsalia is no less evidently in 
 Thessaly, being described by Julius 
 Caesar himself, as near Larissa : and 
 besides he says expressly that the 
 decisive battle between him and 
 Pompey was fought in Thessaly. 
 Hence it appears, that the whole 
 country of Macedon lay between 
 the fields in which those great 
 battles were fought. Ruaeus has 
 thought of a new way to resolve 
 the difficulty. He refers iiemm, 
 not to Philippi, but to the Roman 
 armies ; and makes the sense to be, 
 that Philippi saw the Roman armies 
 engage a second time : that it was 
 indeed the first time, that Philippi 
 saw them engage, but that it was 
 the second time of their engaging. 
 This solution is very ingenious: 
 but it seems to be attended with 
 another difficulty. The poet imme- 
 diately adds, that Emathia and the 
 plains of Haemus were twice fattened 
 with Roman blood. Servius says 
 Emathia is Thessaly : " Emathia 
 " Thessalia est, dicta ab Emathio 
 " rege." If this be true, Emathia 
 cannot be said to have been twice 
 fattened with Roman blood : it hav- 
 ing been already proved, that the 
 second war was in Thrace. Be- 
 sides Virgil mentions the plains of 
 Hasmus, which every body knows to 
 be in Thrace. But Pliny expressly 
 says that Macedon was anciently 
 called JEmathia : " Macedonia post- 
 " ea cl populorum, duobus inclyta 
 *' regibus quondam que terrarura 
 " imperio, Emathia antea dicta." 
 Ruaeus justly observes, that Mace- 
 don may be said to have been twice 
 fattened with Roman blood ; be- 
 cause the plains of Philippi and 
 Pharsalia are both on the confines of 
 Macedon. But this learned com- 
 mentator's interpretation with re- 
 
10^ p. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 ?hat Em'atiSa,^'''*'' '^"^"^ Nec fuit indignuni superis, bis sanguine nostro 
 
 gard to Haeraus seems not very 
 clear. He would have bis to refer 
 only to Eraathia, and not to Hae- 
 mus : as if Virgil had said, Emathia 
 was twice fattened with Roman blood, 
 hut above all mount Hcsmus once. I 
 cannot be persuaded that the poet 
 had so obscure a meaning, which 
 seems little better than a mere 
 quibble. 
 
 For my part, I believe Virgil is 
 to be understood as using the lati- 
 tude of a poet, not the exactness of 
 a historian, or a geographer. He 
 seems to have considered all that 
 part of Greece, which contains 
 Thessaly, Epirus, and Macedon, 
 quite to the foot of mount Haemus, 
 as one country. Strabo the geo- 
 grapher tells us that spme reckon 
 Epirus a part of Macedon : ivioi 11 
 
 xeci (rvfATTXa-oiv ri}V f^i^C^i Ko^Kv^xg, Mec- 
 Ki^cvlcti TTptxTxyo^tvova-ii i and Pompo- 
 nius Mela seems to speak of Thes- 
 saly as a part also of Macedon ; 
 " In Macedonia prima est Thes- 
 "salia; deinde Magnesia, Phthi- 
 " Otis." Nor is Virgil singular in 
 ascribing both wars to the same 
 tract of land. Ovid introduces Ju- 
 piter comforting Venus at the death 
 of Julius Caesar, and telling her that 
 Pharsalia shall feel Augustus, and 
 that Philippi shall be moistened 
 with a second Emathian slaughter : 
 
 ■' Pharsalia sentiet ilium, 
 ^mathiaque iterum madefient caede Phi- 
 lippi. 
 
 Lucan mentions the seat of the war 
 between Caesar and Pompey, some- 
 times under the name of Emathia, 
 and sometimes of Thessaly. He be- 
 gins his poem with 
 
 Bella per Emathios plus quam civilia 
 campos. 
 
 In the sixth book he gives a parti- 
 cular description of Thessaly, as the 
 
 field of battle, and represents Phar- 
 salus, as belonging to Emathia : 
 
 regnum Pharscdos 
 
 Emathis ffiquorei 
 A chillis. 
 
 In the seventh book, when the trum- 
 pets sound to battle, he makes not 
 only Pelion, Pindus, and ^ta, but 
 also Haemus and Pangaea, which are 
 mountains of Thrace, to re-echo : 
 
 Excepit resonis clamorem vallibus ^mus, 
 
 Peliacisque dedit rursus gemincire ca- 
 verais : 
 
 Pindus agit gemitus, Pangaeaque saxa re- 
 sultant, 
 
 (Etffiaeque gemunt rupes. 
 
 At the end of this book, he men- 
 tions a great part of the Romans 
 being mixed with the Emathian 
 soil : and then makes an apostrophe 
 to that country under the name of 
 Thessaly, and prophesies that its 
 fields will be fattened a second time 
 with Roman blood : 
 
 — — Latiae pars maxima turbje 
 Pastidita jacet; quam sol, nimbique, 
 
 diesque 
 Longior Emathiis resolutam miscuit 
 
 arvis. 
 Thessalica infelix, quo tanto crimine 
 
 tellus 
 Lassisti superos, ut ne tot mortibus 
 
 unam, 
 Tot scelerum fatis premerent? quod 
 
 sufficit aevum, 
 Immemor ut donet belli tibi damna ve- 
 
 tustas? 
 QuaB seges infecta surget non decolor 
 
 herba ? 
 Quo non Romanos violabis vomere 
 
 manes? 
 Ante novee venient acies, scelerique &e- 
 
 cundo 
 Praestabis nondum siccos hoc sanguine 
 
 campos. 
 
 In the eighth book he calls Phi- 
 lippi Emathian : 
 
 Credet ab Emathiis primes fagisse Phi- 
 lippis. 
 
 In the first book he had described 
 
 i 
 
GEORG. LIB. I, 
 
 103 
 
 Emathiam, et latos Hsemi pinguescere campos. 
 Scilicet et tempus veniet, cum finibus illis 
 Agricola, incurvo terrain molitus aratro, 
 Exesa inveniet scabra rubigine pila ; 495 
 
 Aut gravibus rastris galeas pulsabit inanes, 
 Grandiaque efFossis mirabitur ossa sepulchris. 
 
 and the broad plains of Hae- 
 mus should twice be fattened 
 with our blood. Nay, and 
 the time will come, when in 
 those countries the husband- 
 man, labouring the earth with 
 his crooked plough, shall find 
 javeling half consumed with 
 eating rust; or shall strike 
 empty helmets with his heavy 
 harrows; and shall wonder at 
 the greatness of the bones, 
 when he digs up the graves. 
 
 that place to lie under mount Hae- 
 mus: 
 
 . Latosque ^mi sub rupe Pol- 
 
 and in the tenth book he calls Hae- 
 mus Thessalian : 
 
 •Thessalici qui nuper rupe sub 
 Hami, 
 
 Thus we find he speaks of Emathia, 
 Thessaly, Haemus, Pharsalus, and 
 Philippi, as being in the same coun- 
 try. Florus also, the historian, 
 speaks of Thessaly, and the plains 
 of Philippi, as the same place : " Sic 
 ** prsecipitantibus fatis, praelio sumta 
 *^ est Thessalia, et Philippicis cam- 
 *' pis, urbis, imperii, generis hu- 
 " mani fata commissa sunt." Per- 
 haps both Pliny and Servius are in 
 the right, of whom the former, as 
 has been already observed, says Ma- 
 cedon was anciently called Emathia, 
 and the latter says the same of 
 Thessaly : for it is not impossible 
 that Macedon, Thessaly, and Epirus 
 might have been anciently included 
 under the name of Emathia. And 
 indeed it appears from Caesar's own 
 account of that war, that it ex- 
 tended over all those countries. 
 Soon after Caesar was come into 
 Greece we find all Epirus submit- 
 ting to him, and the two armies en- 
 camped between Dyrrhachium and 
 ApoUonia, with the river Apsus be- 
 tween the two camps. There are 
 several sharp engagements in the 
 neighbourhood of Dyrrhachium. 
 After his defeat there, he marches 
 to the river Genusus, where there 
 
 was a skirmish between Caesar's 
 horse, and those of Pompey, who 
 pursued him. We find Domitius 
 marching as far as Heraclea Sentica, 
 which is in the farther part of Ma- 
 cedon, towards Thrace, whence, 
 being closely pursued by Pompey, 
 he narrowly escaped, and joined 
 Caesar at ^giniura, on the borders 
 of Thessaly. Presently after Caesar 
 besieges Gomphi, a city of Thes- 
 saly, near Epirus, and soon subdues 
 all Thessaly, except the city of 
 Larissa, which was possessed by 
 Scipio's army. Pompey in a few 
 days marches into Thessaly, and 
 joins his army with that of Scipio. 
 After the famous battle of Pharsalia, 
 in Thessaly, we find Caesar pursu- 
 ing Pompey, as far as Amphipolis, 
 a city of Macedon, in the confines of 
 Thrace, not far from Philippi. Thus 
 we see the war was not confined to 
 Thessaly, but spread itself all over 
 Epirus and Macedon, even to the 
 borders of Thrace : so that the two 
 wars may, with some latitude, be 
 ascribed to the same country 5 
 though there was so large a space 
 between the two spots, where they 
 were decided. 
 
 Paribus telis.'] By equal arms the 
 poet means a civil war j Romans 
 being opposed to Romans. 
 
 492. Latos.'j In the King's ma- 
 nuscript, and in some printed edi- 
 tions, it is IfEtos. 
 
 493. Cum.] La Cerda has quo. 
 497- Grandia ossa,"] It was the 
 
 opinion of the ancients, that man- 
 kind degenerated in size and 
 strength. In the twelfth ^neid 
 
104 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 Si yel'/i JSVLSl: M patrii, indigetes, et Romule, Vestaque mater, 
 
 and mother vesta. 
 
 the poet represents Turnus throw- 
 ing a stone of such a size that 
 twelve such men as lived in his 
 time could hardly lift from the 
 ground : 
 
 Nee plura effatus, saxum circumspicit 
 
 ingens; 
 Saxum antiquum, ingens, campo quod 
 
 forte jacebat 
 Limes agro positus, litem ut discerneret 
 
 arvis. 
 Vix illud lecti bis sex cervice subirent, 
 Qualia nunc hominum producit corpora 
 
 tellns, 
 Ille manu raptum trepida torquebat in 
 
 hostem. 
 
 Then as he rolVd his troubled eyeiT 
 
 around, 
 An antiqzie stone he saw ; the common 
 
 bound 
 Of neighh'ring fields ; and harrier of 
 
 the ground. _ 
 
 So vast, that twelve strong men of mO' 
 
 dern days, 
 Th' enormous weight from earth coii'd 
 
 hardly raise. 
 He heavd it at a lift; and poisd on 
 
 high. 
 Ran stagg\ing on against his evicmy. 
 
 Drydex. 
 
 In the passage now before us he re- 
 presents their degenerate posterity 
 astonished at the bones of the Ro- 
 mans, who fell at Pharsalia and 
 Philippi, which in comparison of 
 those of later ages may be accounted 
 gigantic. 
 
 4-98. T>ii patrii &c.] The poet 
 concludes the first book, with a 
 prayer to the gods of Rome, to pre- 
 serve Augustus, and not to take 
 him yet into their number, that he 
 may save mankind from ruin. 
 
 The commentators differ about 
 the signification of the words Dii 
 patrii, indigetes: some think the 
 Dii patrii and the indigetes are the 
 same; to which opinion Ruaeus 
 subscribes. Servius, with better 
 reason, separates them, and observes 
 that the Dii patrii are those which 
 
 l)reside over particular cities, as 
 Miners'^a over Athens, and Juno over 
 Carthage. They are also caDed 
 Penates : and in the second JLneid 
 our poet himself seems to make the 
 Dii patrii and Penates the same. 
 Anchises invokes the Dii patrii to 
 preserve his family : 
 
 Dii patrii, servate domum, servate ne- 
 potem. 
 
 And immediately ^neas desires 
 him to take with him the patrii Pe- 
 nates : 
 
 Tu, genitor, cape sacra raanu, jmtrics^ue 
 Penates : 
 
 Ovid, at the end of his Metamor- 
 phosis, has an invocation for the 
 safety of Augustus; wherein he 
 mentions these Penates, which 
 ^neas carried with him, as different 
 from the Dii indigetes : 
 
 Dii precor, jEnece comites, quibus ensis 
 
 et ignis 
 Cesserunt, Diique indigetes, genitorque, 
 
 Quirine, 
 Urbis, etinvicti genitor, Gradive, Quirini, 
 Vestaque Cassareos inter sacrata Penates; 
 Et cum Caesarea tu, Phcebe domestice, 
 
 Vesta, 
 Quique tenes altus Tarpeias, Jupiter, 
 
 arces, 
 Quosque alios vati fas appellare piumque. 
 Tarda sit ilia dies, et nostro serior ebvo. 
 Qua caput Augustum, quem temperat, 
 
 orbe relicto, 
 Accedat ceeIo : faveatque precantibus 
 
 absens. 
 
 You gods, Eneas' mates, who made your 
 way 
 
 Through fire and sword : you gods of mat 
 become ; 
 
 Quirinus, father oftriumj.liant Rm)ie ; 
 
 Thou Mars, invincible Quirinus sire; 
 
 Chaste Vesta, wiHi thy ever-burning fire. 
 
 Among great Ccesar'^s household gods 
 enshrin'd : 
 
 Domestic Phcebus, with his Testa join'd ; 
 
 TJwu Jove, who in Tarpeian tow'rt Ttc 
 adore ; 
 
 Arid you, all you, who poets nujy im- 
 plore : 
 
 I 
 
GEORG. LIB. I. 
 
 105 
 
 Quae Tuscum Tiberim,et Romana palatia servas, S^ an<f'fhrRoman 
 
 9t l(>»4t f\n nnt liin 
 
 Hunc saltern everso juvenem succurrere saeclo 
 
 rurian Ti- 
 
 ^ ^.„ palace, 
 
 ._ least do not hinder this 
 young man from saving llie 
 sinking world ; 
 
 Sfoio he that day, and after I am dead, 
 Wherein Augustus, of the woi'ld the head. 
 Leaving the earth, shall unto heaven 
 
 repair^ 
 And fartour those that seek to him ly 
 
 prayer. 
 
 Sandys. 
 
 There is indeed an inferior order of 
 Penates, which preside over private 
 famih'es_, and are more frequently 
 mentioned : but those spoken of in 
 these quotations are plainly the 
 greater sort, which preside over 
 countries and cities. Ovid indeed 
 speaks of Vesta, as one of the Pe- 
 nates of Augustus Caesar's family: 
 but this seems to be a poetical com- 
 pliment, making her peculiar to 
 Augustus, who was public to all 
 Rome J as appears from Cicero's 
 second book de Natura Deorian: 
 " Nam Vesta nomen Graecis: ea 
 " est enim, qiTae ab illis t^U dicitur. 
 " Vis autem ejus ad aras, et focos 
 " pertinet. Itaque in ea dea, quae 
 " est rerum custos intimarum, om- 
 " nis et precatio, et sacrificatio ex- 
 *^ trema est." The Indigetes are 
 men, who on account of their great 
 virtues have been deified : of these 
 Cicero speaks in the same book : 
 '* Suscepit autem vita hominum, 
 *' consuetudoque communis, ut be- 
 '' neficiis excellentes viros in caelum 
 '* fama, ac voluntate tollerent. Hinc 
 '' Hercules, hinc Castor, et Pollux, 
 
 " hinc .^sculapius Hinc 
 
 '' etiam Romulus, quern quidem 
 " eundem esse Quirinum putant: 
 " quorum cum remanerent animi, 
 " atque aeternitate fruerentur, dii 
 " rite sunt habiti, cum et optimi es- 
 '' sent, et aeterni." And in the 
 third book he speaks of them as 
 strangers naturalized in heaven : 
 " In G'aecia multos habent ex ho- 
 " minibus deos Roraulum 
 
 '•" nostri, aliosque complures : quos 
 " quasi novos et adscriptitios cives 
 " in caelum receptos putant." Ovid 
 mentions ^neas as being made one 
 of these Indigetes, by Venus, with 
 the consent of Jupiter : 
 
 Lustratura genitrix divino corpus odore 
 Unxit, et ambrosia cum dulci nectare 
 
 mista 
 Contigitos; fecitque Deum : quemtuiba 
 
 Quirini 
 Nuncupat Indigetcm, temploque avisque 
 
 recepit. 
 
 His mother .... 
 
 Anoints with sacred odours, and his lijjs 
 In Nectar, mingled with Amlroda, dips ; 
 So deified : whom Indiges Ro?ne calls ; 
 Honour* d with altar Sj shrinesy and festivals. 
 Sandys. 
 
 Livy also says that JSneas was called 
 Jupiter Indiges: " Situs est, quern - 
 " cunque eum dici jus fasque est, 
 " super Numicium flumen, Jovem 
 " Indigelem appellant." 
 
 Hence it appears tome that Virgil 
 invokes two orders of gods, the Dii 
 patrii, gods of the country, tutelary 
 gods, or Penates, and the Indigetes, 
 or deified men : and then that he 
 enumerates one of the chief of each 
 order. For we find that V^esta is a 
 principal tutelary goddess of Rome; 
 and Romulus is one of the chief of 
 the Indigetes, being the founder of 
 the city. 
 
 49.9. Tuscum Tiberim.'] The Ty- 
 ber is so called, because it rises in 
 Etruria. 
 
 Romana palatia.'] It was on the 
 Palatine hill that Romulus laid the 
 foundation of Rome. Here he kept 
 his court, as did also Augustus Cae- 
 sar; hence the word Palatium came 
 to signify a royal seat or palace. 
 
 500. Juvenem.] He means Au- 
 gustus Caesar, who was then a young 
 man, being about twenty-seven 
 P 
 
106 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 alrt-ady have we paid suffi- 
 ciently witli oiir blood for the 
 perjury of Laomedon's Troy. 
 Already, O Caesar, does the 
 palace of Leaven envy us thy 
 reign, and lament that thou 
 still regardest human tri- 
 umphs. For here right and 
 wrong are confounded ; there 
 are so many wars throughout 
 the world; so many sorts of 
 wickedness; the due honours 
 are not paid to the plough; 
 the husbandmen are carried 
 awas', and the fields lie neg- 
 lected, and the crooked sickles 
 are beaten into cruel swords. 
 Here Euplirates, and there 
 Germany, makes war; the 
 neighbouring cities break 
 their leagues, and wage war 
 with each other; impious 
 Mars rages all over the globe. 
 Thus when the four horsed 
 chariots pour forth from the 
 barriers, they increase their 
 swiftness in llie ring, and the 
 charioteer vainly pulls in the 
 reins. 
 
 Ne prohibete. Satis jampridem sanguine nostro 
 Laomedonteae luimus perjuria Trojae. 502 
 
 Jampridem nobis caeli»te regia, Caesar, 
 Invidet, atque hominum queritur curare trium- 
 
 phos. 
 Quippe ubi fas versum atque nefas: tot bella 
 
 per orbem : 505 
 
 Tam multae scelerum facies : non uUus aratro 
 Dignus honos : squalent abductis arva colonis, 
 Et curvae rigidum falces conflantur in ensem. 
 Hinemovet Euphrates, illinc Germania bellum: 
 Vicinae ruptis inter se legibus urbes 510 
 
 Arma ferunt : sasvit toto Mars impius orbe. 
 Ut cum carceribus sese efFudere quadrigae, 
 Addunt in spatio, et frustra retinacula tendens 
 
 years of age, when Virgil began his 
 Georgicks, which he is said to have 
 finished in seven years. But Mr. 
 
 B and Dr. Trapp seem not very 
 
 exact, who call him a youth in their 
 translations. 
 
 502. LaomedontecB luimus perjuria 
 Trojce.] Laomedon, king of Troy, 
 when he was building a wall round 
 his city, hired the assistance of Nep- 
 tune and Apollo, and afterwards de- 
 frauded them of the reward he had 
 promised. 
 
 506. Non ullus aratro dignus 
 honos.] Here again the Poet slides 
 beautifully into his subject. When 
 he is speaking of the whole world's 
 being in arras, he expresses it by 
 saying the husbandmen are pressed 
 into the service, the fields lie neg- 
 lected, the plough is slighted, and 
 the instruments of agriculture are 
 turned into swords. 
 
 508. Et curves rigidum falces con- 
 jlaniur in ensem.'] We have an ex- 
 pression much like this in the pro- 
 phet Joel ; " Beat your plough- 
 ** shares into swords, and your 
 *' pruning hooks into spears." 
 
 509. Hinc movet Euphrates, illinc 
 Germania helium.'] This part of the 
 Georgicks must have been written, 
 whilst Augustus and Anthony were 
 drawing together their forces, to 
 prepare for that war, which was 
 decided by the defeat of Anthony 
 and Cleopatra, at Actiura. An- 
 thony drew his forces from the east- 
 ern part of the empire, which 
 Virgil distinguishes by the river 
 Euphrates ; Augustus drew his from 
 the western parts, which he ex- 
 presses by Germany. 
 
 510. Vicince ruptis inter se.] The 
 Cambridge manuscript has Vicince 
 inter se ruptis jam. 
 
 512. Ut cum carceribus sese effu- 
 dere quadrigce.'] Thus Horace : 
 
 Ut cum carceribus missos rapit ungtda 
 currus. 
 
 5\S. Addunt in spatio.] This pas- 
 sage is variously read, and almost as 
 variously interpreted. Some read 
 addunt se in spatio, which is not very 
 easy to be understood. Both the 
 Arundelian manuscripts, and seve- 
 ral printed editions, have addunt se 
 
GEORG. LIB. I. 
 
 107 
 
 Fertur equis auriga, neque audit currus habenas. Jofsil, *i?o?*'doe*3"'t1?'e cL 
 
 but h canied away 
 horses, nor does " 
 regard the bridle. 
 
 the 
 ariot 
 
 in spatia. But se is left out in the 
 King's, the Cambridge, the Bod- 
 leian, and both Dr. Mead's manu- 
 scripts; also in the Medicean, and 
 several other ancient manuscripts, 
 according to Pierius. La Cerda en- 
 deavours to prove that spatium sig- 
 nifies the turning round the melaj 
 which was usually performed seven 
 times; and that addere se in spatia 
 or addere in spatia signifies the often 
 turning round, and adding one 
 circle to another. But Virgil seems 
 to me to mean by spatium the whole 
 space that was allotted for the course. 
 Thus, at the end of the second 
 Georgick, where he alludes to a 
 chariot- race, he says. 
 
 - Immensum 
 aequor. 
 
 spatiis confecimus 
 
 which can relate only to the vast 
 circumference of the whole ring. 
 That passage in the third Georgick 
 is to be understood in the same 
 manner, where he is speaking of a 
 good horse : 
 
 Hie vel ad Elei nietas et maxima campi 
 Sudabit spatia. 
 
 In the fifth ^neid, where he de- 
 scribes the foot race, spatium is evi- 
 dently used for the whole ring : for 
 we find that the moment they starts 
 they enter the spatia : 
 
 — — LoGum capiunt, signoque repente 
 Corripiunt spatia audito, limenque relin- 
 
 quunt 
 Effusi. 
 
 If adduni se in spatia be the right 
 
 reading, I should rather think it 
 means they enter the ring, which is 
 the meaning of corripiunt spatia or 
 campum, as he expresses it in the 
 third Georgick : 
 
 Cum praecipiti certamine campum 
 
 Corripuere, ruuntque effusi carcere cur- 
 rus. 
 
 Heinsius and Ruaeus, whom I have 
 followed, read addunt in spatio: 
 which I take to signify they increase 
 their swiftness in the ring, or run 
 faster and faster. In this sense 
 Grimoaldus has paraphrased this 
 passage: " Quemadmodum tamen 
 " equorum plus plusque currendo 
 " cursus augetur." May's transla- 
 tion is according to this reading : 
 
 So when swift chariots from the lists 
 
 are gone, 
 Their furious haste increases as they run. 
 
 Dryden's seems to have much the 
 same meaning : 
 
 So four fierce coursers starting to the 
 
 race. 
 Scour thro* the plain, and lengthen ev^ry 
 
 pace. 
 
 Mr. B reads addunt se in spatia, 
 
 and translates it thus : 
 
 As when the cars swift pouring thro' the 
 
 race. 
 Encounter furious on the dusty space. 
 
 Dr. Trapp translates it according to 
 La Cerda' s interpretation : 
 
 As when the racers from their barriers 
 
 start, 
 Oft whirling round the goal. 
 
 p2 
 
p. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 GEORGICORUM 
 
 LIBER SECUNDUS. 
 
 Thus far of the culture of 
 
 HACTENUS carvorum cultus, et sidera caeli: Ktlonf of^'aveV?^Zfo 
 
 Bacchus, will I sing of thee. 
 
 Nunc te, Bacche, canam, nee non sylvestria l^f^^^^^ ^^^^ «'««' "^ ^"<* 
 tecum 
 
 1. Hactenus arvorum, &c.] The 
 poet begins this book with a brief 
 recapitulation of the subject of the 
 first : he then declares that of the 
 second book to be vines, olives, and 
 wild trees and shrubs; and invokes 
 Bacchus to his assistance. 
 
 2. Nee non sylvestria tecum, &c.] 
 " This introduction the commen- 
 " tators have not sufficiently taken 
 " into their consideration, and for 
 '* want of thoroughly explaining it, 
 ** it is not easy, for every reader, to 
 "reconcile the conclusion of this 
 '* book with the beginning of it. 
 *' Virgil begins with these words, 
 *' Nunc te, Bacche, canam; but 
 •' about the latter end of the book, 
 ** he prefers olives and fruit, and 
 " timber trees, and even shrubs, to 
 *' the vine itself: 
 
 Quid memorandu7n oeque Baccheia dona 
 tulerunt ? 
 
 " This is not easily understood, 
 "^ without observing in how particu- 
 " lar a manner the poet, immedi- 
 " ately after Nunc te Bacche canam, 
 '' adds. Nee non sylvestria tecum 
 
 " Virgulta, Sfc. The reason of which 
 " I, conceive to be this. Virgil, in 
 " order to raise the dignity of the 
 " verse, in this place, above that 
 '' of the proposition, in the first 
 " Georgick, as he there makes use 
 " of a figure, by employing sydere 
 " instead of tempore, so here he 
 " chooses a nobler figure, by the 
 " apostrophe he makes to Bacchus; 
 " and in the third book, he uses the 
 " same figure, for the same purpose, 
 " three times in the two first lines. 
 " But this expression, nunc te, Bac- 
 " che, canam, having the air of a 
 " Bacchique piece, which was not 
 " by any means the poet's intention, 
 " he immediately gives it another 
 " turn, by declaring he will cele- 
 " brate equally with Bacchus, that 
 " is, the vine, every twig of the 
 " forest. This seems to be Virgil's 
 "meaning, and this made the sub- 
 " ject worthy of Virgil. He under- 
 " takes to disclose all the bounties 
 " of nature in her productions of 
 " trees, and plants, and shrubs ; 
 " and this he does from the vine to 
 " the furze." Mr. B . 
 
no 
 
 p. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 and the ofifspring of the slow 
 growing olive. Come hither, 
 O father Lenaens : here all is 
 full of thy gifts; for thee the 
 field flourishes, laden with 
 viny aatumn, and the vint- 
 ze foams with fall vats, 
 hither, O father Le- 
 naeas; and take off thy 
 
 age 
 Ck>E 
 
 Virgulta, et prolem tarde crescentis olivse. 
 Hue, pater O Lenaee : tuis hie omnia plena 
 Muneribus ; tibi pampineo gravidus autumno 5 
 Floret ager, spumat plenis vindemia labris. 
 Hue, pater O Lenaee, veni; nudataque musto 
 
 3. Tarde crescentis olives.'] The 
 ancient Greek writers of agriculture 
 speak of the olive as a very slow 
 grower; whence they have given it 
 the epithets of h-^iyA^tg, o-t^Uet^Tros, 
 o^i<eXx?-*i9, o->i/t»v^^. Pliny quotes 
 a passage from Hesiod, wherein he 
 says, that the planter of an olive 
 never lived to gather the fruit of it; 
 but he adds, that in his time they 
 planted olives one year, and ga- 
 thered the fruit the next: "Hesi- 
 " odus quoque in primis cultum 
 " agrorum docendam arbitratus 
 '* vitam, negavit Oleae satorum 
 '' fructum ex ea percepisse quen- 
 *' quam. Tarn tarda tunc res erat. 
 " At nunc etiam in plantariis serunt, 
 " translatarumque altero anno de- 
 " cerpuntur baccae." But Hesiod 
 no doubt spake of sowing the seeds 
 of the olive; which will take off 
 Pliny's objection, who seems to 
 mean the transplanting of the trun- 
 cheons. Varro mentions also the 
 slow growth of olives; but it is plain 
 that he speaks of sowing them ; and 
 therefore he observes that it is a 
 better way to propagate them by 
 truncheons : " Palma et cupressus, 
 
 " et Olea in crescendo tarda 
 
 " Simili de causa Oleae semen cum 
 " sit nucleus, quod ex eo tardius 
 " enascebatur colis, quam e taleis, 
 " ideo potius in seminariis taleas, 
 " quas dixi, serimus." It is not 
 improbable that the ancient Gre- 
 cians were unacquainted with any 
 other method of propagating olives, 
 than by sowing them : and, as Mr. 
 Miller informs me, they practise 
 that method in Greece to this day. 
 This might occasion those epithets. 
 
 mentioned at the beginning of this 
 note. Hence also Virgil might 
 make use of the epithet slow grow- 
 ing; though in his time they had a 
 quicker way of propagating olives. 
 4. Pater Lencee.'] Bacchus is pe- 
 culiarly called Pater; thus Horace: 
 
 Romulus et Liher Pater, et cum Castore 
 Pollux. 
 
 Virgil very judiciously makes use of 
 the name Lenceus for Bacchus in this 
 place, Lenasus being derived from 
 A»j»of, a wine-press. 
 
 In one of Dr. Mead's manuscripts 
 this verse begins with nunc instead 
 of hue. 
 
 Hie.'] In one of the Arundelian 
 manuscripts it is sunt: La Cerda 
 reads haec. 
 
 Tuis muneribus.] Bacchus is said 
 to have been the inventor of wine. 
 This gift is ascribed to him at the 
 beginning of the first Georgick: 
 
 Liber et alma Ceres, vestro si mimere 
 
 tellua 
 Chaoniam pingui glandem mutavit arista, 
 Poculaque inventis Achtloia miscuH urns, 
 
 7. Hue] It is 7iunc again, in Dr. 
 Mead's manuscript. 
 
 Nudataque musto Sfc.] This alludes 
 to the custom, frequent even now, 
 in Italy and other places, of treading 
 out the grapes with their feet. Bac- 
 chus is represented frequently with 
 buskins. Thus we find in Tacitus, 
 that Silius wore buskins in imitation 
 of Bacchus : " At Messallina non 
 " alias solutior hiKu, adulto autum- 
 " no, simulacrum vindemiae per do- 
 " mum celebrat; urgeri preela, fluere 
 
GEORG. LIB. II. 
 
 Ill 
 
 Tinge novo mecum direptis crura cothurnis. me^fnew ^[lusLlnTetS 
 
 _... iM ... f f\ place the ways Of producing 
 
 Prmcipio, arboribus varia est natura creandis : U trees are various: for some 
 
 r ^ come up of tlieir own accord, 
 
 Namque alias, nullis hominum cogentibus, ipsae kind""i!nd*'wiidy"ovmprea(i 
 
 . the plains and winding nvers; 
 
 Sponte sua veniunt, camposque et numma late 
 
 " lacus, et feminse pellibus accinctae 
 " assultabant, ut sacrificantes vel 
 " insanientes Bacchae : Ipsa crine 
 " fluxo, thyrsum quatiens, juxtaque 
 '' Silius hedera vinctus, gerere co- 
 " thurnos, jacere caput, strepente 
 " circum procaci choro." Velleius 
 Paterculus also tells us^ that Mark 
 Anthony would have himself be 
 called a new Father Bacchus, and 
 was carried at Alexandria in a cha- 
 riot, like Father Bacchus, crowned 
 with ivy, adorned with a golden 
 crown, holding a thyrse, and wear- 
 ing buskins : '' Cum ante, novum 
 " se Liberum Patrem appellari jus- 
 '• sisset, cum redimitus hederis, co- 
 " ronaque velatus aurea, et thyrsum 
 " tenens, cothurnisque succinctus, 
 " curru, velut Liber Pater, vectus 
 " esset Alexandriae. 
 
 " In the introduction, where Vir- 
 " gil makes an apostrophe to Bac- 
 " chus, Mr. Dry den makes one to 
 " his Muse ; and where Virgil seri- 
 " ously desires Bacchus to partake 
 '^ of the labour of treading the 
 ''grapes, which comprehends the 
 " whole subject, as to the vine, Mr. 
 *' Dryden falls into a most extra- 
 " vagant rant. 
 
 Come iirip with me, my God, cotne drench 
 
 all 0*67' 
 
 Thy iimhs in mmt of wine, and drink at 
 ev*ry pore* 
 
 " than which lines nothing was ever 
 *' writ by man more wide from the 
 *' author's sense or character; nei- 
 " ther should it pass unobserved in 
 *' how shocking a manner the ex- 
 *' pression, viy God, is put in tlie 
 " mouth of a heathen poet, address- 
 " ing himself to a heathen deity. 
 
 " which I do not believe was 
 " ever done in any place but this." 
 Mr. B— . 
 
 9. Principio, arboribus &c.] The 
 poet begins with an account of the 
 several methods of producing trees : 
 and first he speaks of the three ways, 
 by which they are produced without 
 culture i spontaneously, by seeds, 
 and by suckers. 
 
 Virgil in this place plainly imi- 
 tates Theophrastus, who, at the be- 
 ginning of the second book of his 
 history of plants, says, '' The gene- 
 '' ration of trees and plants in ge- 
 " neral is either Spontaneous, or 
 ''by seed, or by root, or by suck- 
 '* ers, or by sets, or by cuttings of 
 *' the young shoots, or by layers, or 
 « even by cutting the wood into 
 '* small pieces : for that way also a 
 " plant will rise. Among these the 
 ** spontaneous generation seems to 
 \' be the principal : and those which 
 " are by seed and root appear the 
 '' most natural : for they are in a 
 '' manner spontaneous j and there- 
 " fore suit with wild plants; where- 
 *'as the rest are procured by the 
 " art and industry of man." At 
 Ttn<niq rm ^£v^gA»v Tcoct oXas rm ^vrm, 
 lit uvrofAotrai, li utto <r7n^fAurog, « UTro 
 fi^ns, >l 01710 'ffec^etcTTrct^og , Hi utto uk^s- 
 (Aovoq, \i UTTo KXcifyogy tj utt ecvTov rov 
 
 'S'iXi^OVS Wiv, « iTl rev %VX0V KXTUKOfTiV- 
 
 r»r rovrcitv ^£ « f^lv etvTof^etrcg wgarn 
 
 Tig. J) ^g UTTO TTTi^fAeCTOg XUt |I/^»J?, (^V- 
 
 (TiKOiTetroti ^o^utiv uv OJTTS^ yet^ uvro- 
 fjcetrci KX( ctvrxi. 010 Kxi to7$ uygUig 
 v7rei^^ova-iv , ul ^e xXheti ri^vi^g, 1) uttI 
 TT^oxt^zs-iug. 
 
 11. Sponie sua veniunt.'] Though 
 the spontaneous generation of plants 
 
112 
 
 r. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 binding "bfoomTthe'SopUr! Curva tcnent ; ut molle siler, lentaeque genistas, 
 
 and the willow with ho:iry .p» , ,-, ,-r> i t . ia 
 
 bluish leaves. Some are pro- I'opulus, et ffiEuca caneiitia ironcle salicta. lO 
 
 duced by seeds; as the lofty *■ ■> o 
 
 Pars autem posito surgunt de semine ; ut altae 
 
 is now sufficiently exploded ; yet it 
 was universally believ^ed by the 
 ancient philosophers. Instances of 
 this are frequent in Aristotle, Pliny, 
 and many others. 
 
 12. Siler.] I have followed the 
 general opinion, in translating Siler, 
 an osier. I do not meet with any 
 thing certain, in the other Latin 
 writers, to determine exactly what 
 plant they meant, Pliny says only, 
 that it delights in watery places : 
 whence I wonder that Caesalpinus 
 should imagine it to be the Euony- 
 mus Theophrasii, or Spindle-tree 
 which grows usually in hedges. La 
 Cerda fancies it to be the Siler mon- 
 ianum, or Sermouniain, because he 
 thinks it more elegant for the poet 
 to speak of two which grow in the 
 plains, and two in the rivers. But 
 this seems too trifling an exactness, 
 to be worth insisting upon : and 1 
 do not find any other Siler, to be 
 mentioned in any ancient Latin 
 author, but that which grows in the 
 water. 
 
 Lentoeque gefiisice.'] I take the 
 Genista to be what we call Spanish 
 broom, which grows in great plenty, 
 in most parts of Italy. The Itali- 
 ans weave baskets of its slender 
 branches. The flowers are very 
 sweet, last long, and are agreeable 
 to bees. This agrees with what 
 Virgil says of it afterwards in this 
 Georgick : 
 
 Salices humilesque Genista', 
 
 Aut illae pecori frondem, aut pastoribus 
 
 umbrain 
 Sufficiunt; sepemque satis, et pabula 
 
 melli. 
 
 What Pliny says of the Genista 
 agrees very well with the Spanish 
 broom. In lib. xxi. c. 9. he says it 
 
 has a yellow flower, and is used in 
 garlands : " Transeat ratio ad eas 
 " coronas, quae varietate sola pla- 
 " cent. Duo earum genera, quando 
 '' aliae flore constant, alise folio. 
 " Florem esse dixerim Genistas : 
 " namque et iis decerpitur luteus." 
 In lib. xxiv. c. 9« he says the seed 
 grows in pods, like kidney -beans : 
 
 " Semen in folliculis, 
 
 " Phaseolorum modo, nascens :" 
 and that the plant is used for withs 
 to bind; and that the flowers are 
 agreeable to bees : " Genista quo- 
 '^ que vinculi usum praestat. Flores 
 " apibus gratissimi." In lib. xvi. 
 c. 1 8. he says it is used in dying : 
 " Tingendis vestibus nascentes Ge- 
 " nistae." I do not know that the 
 broom is ever used by our dyers : 
 but another plant of the same kind 
 is much in use : they call it wood- 
 wax, and green weed. It is the 
 Coroneola of Caesalpinus : and is 
 called by other authors Genista 
 linctoria, Genistella tinctoria, and 
 Tinctorius Jlos. I doubt not, but 
 the Spanish broom might be used 
 for the same purposes. 
 
 13. Populus.'] This no doubt is 
 the poplar, of which, according to 
 Pliny, there are three sorts : the 
 white, the black, and the Lybian, 
 which is our asp : ** Populi tria ge- 
 " nera, alba, nigra, et quae Lybica 
 " appellatur, minima folio, ac niger- 
 '' rima, fungisque enascentibus lau- 
 " datissima." 
 
 Glauca canentia fronde Salicta. 1 
 This is a beautiful description of the 
 common willow : the leaves are of a 
 bluish green ; and the under side 
 of them is covered with a white 
 down. He uses Salictiim or Sali- 
 cetum, the place where willows grow, 
 for Salices, the trees themselves. 
 
GEORG. LIB. II. 
 
 113 
 
 Castaneae, nemorumque Jovi quae maxima fron- chesnuis, and the escuius, 
 
 "■ ^ which has toe largest leaves 
 
 jjg|. ]^5 ofall the groves of Jupiter, 
 
 15. CaHanecB.'] The Castanea no 
 doubt is our chesnut. Pliny de- 
 scribes the fruit very plainly : " Nu- 
 " ces vocamus et Castaneas, quan- 
 *' quam accommodatiores glandium 
 " generi : armatum iis echinato 
 " calyce vallum, quod inchoatum 
 '' glandibus." 
 
 Nemorumque Jovi qua maxima 
 frondet Escuius.'] It is no easy mat- 
 ter to determine certainly w^hat the 
 Escuius is. This is certain, that it 
 is not our beech, as many have 
 imagined, and as Dryden and Mr. 
 B — have rendered it in their trans- 
 lations. What has given occasion 
 to this mistake is that Escuius seems 
 to be derived from esca, food, as 
 <Pnyog is from ^oiyu, to eat ; whence 
 many learned authors have thought, 
 and not without reason, that (piiyo? 
 and Escuius are the same plant. 
 This being supposed, it has been 
 imagined that Fagus is only (p»jy«? 
 expressed in Roman characters, and 
 so that Escuius is the same with Fa- 
 gus. It is very plain, from Pliny, that 
 Fagus is the beech : " Fagi glans 
 " nuclei similis, triangula cute in- 
 " cluditur. Folium tenue, ac le- 
 " vissimum, Populo simile." But 
 it is no less plain that the Escuius 
 is a sort of oak ; for Pliny reckons 
 it amongst those trees which bear 
 acorns: *' Glandem, quae proprie 
 " intelligitur, ferunt Robur, Quer- 
 " cus, Escuius, Cerrus, Ilex, Suber." 
 Theophrastus also makes the ^nyos 
 to be a species of oak. Thus the 
 (p^yoi and Fagus are two different 
 trees : the first being a sort of oak, 
 and the other a beech. The Escuius 
 as our poet describes it has large 
 leaves; for that I take to be the 
 sense of maxima frondet. Ovid also 
 speaks of it, as a tree with abun- 
 dance of large leaves : 
 
 — Escu]ea f/oiidosuf. ab arbore ramus: 
 and 
 
 -Frondibus Escuius altis. 
 
 Virgil speaks of it in another place 
 of this Georgick, as a large, spread- 
 ing tree, with a very deep root. See 
 ver. 291. Pliny says the acorn of 
 the Escuius is next in size and good- 
 ness to that of the Quercus : " Glans 
 " optima in Quercu atque gran- 
 " dissima, mox Esculo." He says 
 also that it is not so common in 
 Italy as the Quercus: " Quippe 
 " cum Robur, Quercumque vulgo, 
 " nasci videamus, sed Esculum non 
 ** ubique." Horace however seems 
 to speak of it as common in Dau- 
 nia: 
 
 Quale portentum neque militaris 
 Daunia in latis alit Esculetis. 
 
 The same poet represents the wood 
 of the Escuius, as being very hard : 
 
 Nee rigida mollior Esculo. 
 
 This tree was sacred to Jupiter, 
 thus Pliny : " 7\rborum genera nu- 
 '' minibus suis dicata perpetuo ser- 
 " vantur, ut Jovi Escuius." We 
 find also in the same author, that 
 the Romans made their civic crowns 
 of it : " Civica iligna primo fuit, 
 " postea magis placuit ex Esculo 
 " Jovi sacra. Variatumque et cum 
 " Quercu est, ac data ubique qua? 
 '^ fuerat, custodito tantum honore 
 " glandis." I think it not impro- 
 bable that the Escuius may be that 
 sort of oak, which is known in some 
 parts of England under the name of 
 the bay-oak. It has a broad, dark- 
 green, firm leaf, not so much si- 
 nuated about the edges, as that of 
 the common oak. It is called by 
 C. Bauhinus Quercus latifolia mas, 
 qtfce brevi pediculo est. In the com- 
 Q 
 
114 
 
 P VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 and the oaks which were re- 
 puted oracular by the Greeks, 
 others have a thick wood a- 
 rising from their roots; as 
 cherries, and elms; the little 
 Parnassian bay also shelters 
 itself under the great shade 
 of its mother. Nature first 
 shewed these ways : by these 
 every kind of woods, and 
 shrubs, and sacred groves 
 flourishes. There are other 
 ways, which experience it- 
 self has found out by art. 
 
 Esculus, atque habitae Graiis oracula quercus. 
 PuUulat ab radice aliis densissima sylva ; 
 Ut cerasis, ulmisque: etiam Parnassia laurus 
 Parva sub ingenti matris se subjicit umbra. 
 Hos natura modos primum dedit : his genus 
 omne 20 
 
 Sylvarum, fruticumque viret, nemorumque sa- 
 
 crorum. 
 
 Sunt alii, quos ipse via sibi repperit usus. 
 
 mon oak, the acorns grow on long 
 stalks, and the leaves have scarce 
 any tail, but grow almost close to 
 the branches: but in the bay-oak 
 the acorns grow on short stalks and 
 the leaves have long tails. They 
 are both figured in C. Bauhinus's 
 edition of Matthiolus. 
 
 16. HabitcB Graiis oracula quer- 
 cus.'] " It is very well known how 
 '' fond the Romans were of their 
 *' gods, and religious ceremonies, 
 " and what a contempt they had 
 *' for those of other nations. It is 
 " in this manner Virgil uses hahitce 
 *' Graiis oracula quercus : he smiles 
 " at the Greeks, as he calls them, 
 "for their superstition; but Mr. 
 " Dryden unhappily applies this 
 " passage seriously, in these words, 
 
 " Where Jove of old oraculoiisly spoke." 
 
 Mr. B 
 
 18. Cerasis.'] Cherries were a new 
 fruit amongst the Romans in Virgil's 
 time. Pliny tells us they were 
 brought from Pontus, by Lucullus, 
 after he had subdued Mithridates : 
 ''^ Cerasi ante victoriam Mithrida- 
 " ticam L. Luculli non fuere in 
 " Italia. Ad urbis annum dclxxx. 
 " Is primum vexit e Ponto, annisque 
 " cxx trans Ocean um in Britanniam 
 ' ' usque pervenere," 
 
 Ulmis.] Elms were in great re- 
 quest amongst the ancients, they be- 
 
 ing preferred before all other trees 
 for props to their vines. Hence we 
 find frequent mention of them 
 amongst the poets. 
 
 Parnassia Laurus.] The finest 
 bay trees grew on mount Parnassus, 
 according to Pliny : '* Spectatissima 
 " in monte Parnasso." I have en- 
 deavoured to prove, in the note on 
 ver. 306, of the first Georgick, that 
 the bay, and not the laurel, is the 
 Laurus of the ancients. I shall add 
 in this place, that the laurel is not 
 so apt to propagate itself by suckers 
 as the bay. 
 
 20. Hos natura modus primum de- 
 dit.] By this the poet means, that 
 these are the ways, by which trees 
 are naturally propagated, without 
 the assistance of art. 
 
 21. Frulicum.] The difference 
 between a tree and a shrub is, that 
 the tree rises from the root, with a 
 single trunk, and the shrub divides 
 itself into branches, as soon as it 
 rises from the root. Thus Theo- 
 phrastus : Asu^gey ftsv cvf i(rri to utto 
 p/^ij5 f^ovoa-TiXi^ig , 'xoXvy.}<MOoi, o^urhf, 
 
 OVK iVXTfoXvXvTtV' OiOf iXuteC . <rVK>), AflTTl- 
 
 Xog. ^^vyxvov 21, to utfo p*^»3? ««i sro- 
 At;o-Tg^8;te?, Keti TroXwcXx^of, oict {ixrog, 
 
 TTXXlOV^Oi. 
 
 22. Sunt alii, &c.] Having already 
 mentioned the several ways by 
 which plants naturally propagate 
 their species ; he now proceeds to 
 mention those methods, which are 
 
GEORG. LIB. II. 
 
 Hie plantas tenero abscindens de corpore ma- 
 
 trum 
 
 Deposuit sulcis : hie stirpes obruit arvo, 
 Quadrifidasque sudes, etacutorobore vallos : 25 
 Sylvarumque alias presses propaginis arcus 
 
 One ciils off tlic plants from 
 tlie tender body ot their mo- 
 ther, and puis them into the 
 furrows: anollier plants sets 
 in the field, either by splitting 
 or sharpening the foot. Other 
 trees expect the bent down 
 arches of a layer, 
 
 used by human industry. These 
 are by suckers, sets, layers, cut- 
 tings, pieces of the cleft wood, and 
 ingrafting. 
 
 Pierius says it is viam in the Lom- 
 bard manuscript. If this reading 
 be admitted the passage must be 
 rendered thus : " There are other 
 " methods which experience has 
 *' found out to be its way." 
 
 23. Plantas tenero abscindens de 
 corpore matrum.'] In one of the 
 Arundelian manuscripts it is Plantas 
 teneras abscindens corpore matrum. 
 
 In these words the poet plainly 
 describes the propagation of plants 
 by suckers. I take this to be what 
 Theophrastus means by cctto ttu^x- 
 trTFudog: The suckers are called Sto- 
 lones, as Varro tells us, who adds 
 that an ancestor of C. Licinius Stolo 
 had the surname of Stolo, because 
 he was very diligent in digging 
 away the suckers from the roots of 
 his trees. '^ Nam C. Licinium Sto- 
 " lonem, et Cn. Tremelium Scrofam 
 '* video venire, unum cujus majores 
 " de modo agri legem tulerunt. 
 " Nam Stolonis ilia lex, quse vetat 
 '' plus D. jugera habere civem Ro- 
 " manum, et qui propter diligentiam 
 " culturse Stolonum confirmavit 
 " cognomen, quod nullus in ejus 
 " fundo reperiri poterat Stolo, quod 
 ** effodiebat circum arbores, e radi- 
 " cibus, quae nascerentur e solo, 
 " quos Stolones appellabant." Pliny 
 calls this way of planting Avulsio, 
 and uses avellere in the same sense, 
 that Virgil here uses abscindere: 
 '' Et aliud genus simile natura mon- 
 " stravit, avulsique arboribus Sto- 
 " lones vixere. Quo in genere et 
 
 '* cum perna sua avelluntur, par- 
 " temque aliquam e matris quoque 
 '^ corpore auferunt secum fimbriato 
 " corpore." 
 
 24. Hie stirpes obniit arvo, quadri- 
 fidasque sudes , et acuto rohore vallos.'] 
 This is fixing the large branches, like 
 stakes, into the earth. It is what 
 Theophrastus calls utt ax^g^ovo?. 
 Ruaeus divides this passage, and 
 makes the stirpes obruit arvo to be 
 one way of planting ; and the sudes 
 and valli to be another. The first 
 he takes to be stocks, the other sets. 
 
 " This line," says Mr. B , 
 
 " has very much puzzled the com- 
 " roentators, but there is no great 
 " difficulty in it, to any one that is 
 " the least versed in husbandry, and 
 " consequently knows that there 
 " are two ways of planting setters. 
 " The quadrifidas sudes is when 
 " the bottom is slit across both 
 " ways ; the acuto rohore is when it 
 '• is cut into a point, which is called 
 " the colt's-foot." 
 
 26. Sylvaru7nque alice, &c.] This 
 is propagating by layers ; which are 
 called propagines. It, is to be ob- 
 served, that, though we use the word 
 propagation for any method of in- 
 creasing the species, yet amongst 
 the Roman writers of agriculture 
 propagatio is used only for layers. 
 The common method, which Virgil 
 seems to mean, is exactly de- 
 scribed by Columella. " When 
 '^ you would lay down a branch, 
 '' says he, from the mother tree, 
 " dig a trench four feet every 
 " way, so that the layer may not 
 " be hurt by the roots of the other. 
 " Then leave four buds, to come to 
 q2 
 
116 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 and to see a young nursery 
 in their own earth. Others 
 have no need of any root; 
 and the planter makes no dif- 
 ficulty to plant the young 
 shoots in the groimrl. Nay, 
 and what is wonderful, if yon 
 cut the trunk of an olive in 
 pieces, it will put forth new 
 roots. 
 
 Expectant, et viva sua plantaria terra. 
 Nil radicis egent aliae ; summumque putator 
 Haud dubitat terras referens mandare cacumen. 
 Quin et caudicibus sectis, mirabile dictu, 30 
 Truditur e sicco radix oleagina ligno. 
 
 '' the bottom of the trench, and 
 " strike roots : rub the buds off that 
 " part which joins to the mother, 
 *' to avoid superfluous shoots. Suf- 
 "^ fer that part, which is to appear 
 *' above ground, not to have above 
 *' two or at most three buds. Rub 
 '' off all the buds, except the four 
 " lowest, from that part which is 
 " put into the ground, that the vine 
 *^ may not strike roots too near the 
 " surface. If you propagate it in 
 ^' this manner, it will quickly take 
 '^ root, and the third year you may 
 '' separate it from the mother." 
 Pliny tells us that nature first taught 
 this method by the brarnble ; the 
 branches of which are so slender 
 that they fall to the ground, and 
 make layers of their own accord : 
 " Eadem natura et Propagines do- 
 '' cuit. Rubi namque curvati graci- 
 " litate, et simul proceritate nimia, 
 '' defigunt rursus in terram capita, 
 '' iterumque nascuntur ex sese, re- 
 " pleturi omnia ni resistat cultura, 
 '' prorsus ut possint videri homines 
 " terrae causa geniti. Ita pessima 
 '' atque execranda res, Propaginem 
 " tamen docuit, atque radicem ac- 
 " quiri viridem." This method of 
 planting I take to be what Theo- 
 phrastus means by <^;r' (/.vrtv rov a-iiXk- 
 
 28. Nil radicis egent alice^ &c.] 
 Here he plainly describes what we 
 call cuttings. This is what Theo- 
 phrastus means by aTro -AXmoq. It 
 is cutting the young shoots of a 
 tree, and planting them into the 
 ground; whence V^irgil says they 
 have no need of a root. They are 
 
 called in Latin Surctdi. Thus we 
 find them called by Varro : '' Ter- 
 "^ tium genus Seminis quod ex ar- 
 '' bore per Surculos defertur in ter- 
 " ram, sic in huraum demittitur, ut 
 " in quibusdam tamen sit videndum, 
 " ut eo tempore sit deplantatum 
 " quo oportet." 
 
 SO. Quin et caudicibus sectis, &c.] 
 He speaks of it justly as a wonder, 
 that olive-trees should strike roots 
 from dry pieces of the trunk. This 
 is mentioned by Theophrastus ; rov 
 |wAot» x.scrctK0'7riVT6$ itg ftiK^a. This 
 
 sentence of Virgil has been fre- 
 quently understood -to mean graft- 
 ing : but of this he speaks imme- 
 diately after. La Cerda says, that 
 what the poet here speaks of was 
 practised in Spain in his time. 
 They take the trunk of an olive, 
 says he, deprive it of its root and 
 branches, and cut it into several 
 pieces, which they put into the 
 ground, whence a root, and soon 
 afterwards a free is formed: *' Hunc 
 " sextum raodum cum septirao con- 
 " fundunt plurimi, et putant in his 
 " caudicibus loqui Virgilium de In- 
 '^* sitione, et una cum iUis Beroaldus. 
 ** Nihil unquam magis adversum 
 '' menti Virgilii. Testes sunt oculi 
 *' scientissiraorum agricolarum, a 
 '^ quibus id quaesivi : testis ars ipsa, 
 " quae nunc quoque in Hispania, 
 '' ubi ego sum, viget. Secant agri- 
 " colse, scinduntque in partes plures 
 " caudicem Olivae, cui amputata ra- 
 " dix, cui amputati rami : ita con- 
 *' sectum infodiunt, ac inde format 
 " se radix et mox arbor, quod poeta 
 " stupet, quia vere mirura." 
 
GEORG. LIB. 11. 
 
 117 
 
 Et saepe alterius raraos impune videmus 
 Vertere in alterius, mutatamque insita mala 
 Ferre pyrum, et prunis lapidosa rubescere corna. 
 Quare agite O proprios generatim discite ciiltus, 
 Agricolffi, fructusque feros moUite colendo, 36 
 Neu segues jaceant terrae. Juvat Ismara Baccho 
 Conserere, atque Olea magnum vestire Tabur- 
 num. 
 
 And we often see the branches 
 of one tree to turn with im- 
 punity into those of another, 
 and a pear tree being clianged 
 to bear grafted apples, and 
 stony Cornelian cherries to 
 glow upon plum-stocks. 
 Wherefore, O husbandmen, 
 learn the culture which is 
 proper to each kind, and 
 learn to tame the wild fruits 
 by cultivating them, that no 
 land may lie idle. It is worth 
 the while to plant Ismarus 
 with vines, and to crown the 
 great Taburnus with olives. 
 
 32. Alterius ramos impune videmus 
 vertere in alteriusr\ In this passage 
 he plainly speaks of graftings, of 
 which he subjoins two instances. 
 This subject is farther explained, 
 ver. 73. 
 
 33. Mutatamque insita mala ferre 
 Pyrum.'] He speaks of grafting ap- 
 ples upon a pear stock, not of pears 
 upon an apple- stock, as Dry den has 
 translated it, who has added quinces 
 also, though not in the original : 
 
 Thus pears and quinces from the crab- 
 tree come. 
 
 Mntatam agrees with Pyrum; now 
 it is the nature of the stock, not of 
 the graft, that is changed: wherefore 
 the pear must be the stock spoken 
 of in this place. The apples are 
 said to be insita, ingrafted, which 
 fully explains the meaning of this 
 passage. 
 
 34. Prunis lapidosa rubescere cor- 
 na.2 It is a doubt whether Virgil 
 means, that cornels are ingrafted 
 upon plum-stocks, or plums upon 
 cornel -stocks. May takes it in the 
 former sense: 
 
 And hard red cornoiles from a slock of 
 plumme : 
 
 and Dr. Trapp : 
 
 And on the plum's the stony cornel 
 glow. 
 
 Dryden takes it in the latter sense : 
 
 And thus the ruddy cornel bears the 
 plum : 
 
 and Mr. B- 
 
 And stony Cornells blush with blooming 
 plums. 
 
 I take the former to be the poet's 
 meaning : for the Cornelian cherry 
 is a fruit of so beautiful a red colour, 
 that the cornel cannot properly be 
 said to glow or redden with plums, 
 which are not so red as its own na- 
 tural fruit. Besides the epithet 
 stony belongs very properly to the 
 fruit of the cornel, not to the tree : 
 wherefore if Virgil speaks of that 
 fruit, he must mean the stock of the 
 plum. Columella says the Cor- 
 nelian cherries were used for olives ; 
 " Corna, quibus pro olivis uta- 
 " mur." 
 
 37' Juvat Ismara Baccho conse- 
 rere.~\ Ismarus is a mountain of 
 Thrace, not far from the mouth of 
 Hebrus. That country was famous 
 for good wines. Ulysses speaks in 
 commendation of some wine, which 
 was given him by Maron, the priest 
 of Apollo at Ismarus : 
 
 • 'Ara:^ tttyiov atrxov e^ov fAtkxvot 
 
 o'lvoio 
 'H^saf , 09 fioi s^uKS Ma^av EvdvB-ios vlas 
 
 ok a goat-skin fill'd with pre-->w 
 js wine, | 
 
 of Maron. of Evantheus' line, - > 
 ist of Phoebus at th' Ismarian | 
 ine. -y 
 
 Then took a goat-skin fill'd with pre- 
 cious 
 
 The gift 
 
 The priest 
 shrine. 
 
 Mr. Pope. 
 
 38. Olea magnum vestire Tahur- 
 «M7W.] Taburnus is a mountain of 
 
118 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 And do thon, O Maecenas, 
 assist me, an(t bear a part of 
 the labour which I have be- 
 gun, thou, who art my glory, 
 and justly the greatest part of 
 my fame, and flying spread 
 the sails to the open sea. I 
 do not hope to contain in my 
 verses all that could be said 
 on this subject; 
 
 Tuque ades, inceptumque una decurre laborem, 
 O decus, O famae merito pars maxima nostrae, 
 Maecenas, pelagoque volans da vela patenti. 41 
 Non ego cuncta meis amplecti versibus opto : 
 
 Campania, which was very fruitful 
 in olives. It is now called Taburo, 
 
 39. Tuque ades, &c.] The poet 
 having invoked Bacchus, and pro- 
 posed the subject of this Book, now 
 calls upon his patron Maecenas, to 
 give him his assistance. 
 
 " This allegory, says Ruaeus, is 
 " generally thought to allude to the 
 " Cirque, which opinion is strength- 
 '•' ened by the last verses of this 
 " book : 
 
 " Sedjam tempus equum fumantia solvere 
 " colla, &c. 
 
 " but I think that this and the fol- 
 " lowing lines allude to Navigation. 
 " And indeed the verb decurro is 
 " used with water ; thus Catullus ; 
 
 " Ausi sunt vada salsa cita decurrere puppi. 
 " And Virgil, in the fifth ^neid ; 
 
 " Prona petit maria et pelago decurrit 
 " aperio.''* 
 
 40. decus, OfamoB merito pars 
 maxima nostrce."] " In some ancient 
 " manuscripts it is nostri: if this be 
 " admitted, we must necessarily 
 " read, as some think it should be, 
 
 " O decus, Ofama, et merito pars maxima 
 " nostri. 
 
 " But in the Medicean and other 
 " correct copies it is Jamce nostroe. 
 
 " The reading in some copies 
 
 " is extravagant, 
 
 " O Beus, O famce merito pars maxiina 
 " nostroe. 
 
 " Surely it is better to read decus 
 " with Horace, 
 
 " O et prcesidium, et duke decus meum." 
 
 PlERIITS. 
 
 41. Pelagoque volans da vela pa- 
 tenti.'] Several commentators take 
 these words to signify, that the poet 
 begs Maecenas to favour him : " Sim- 
 " plici generi carminis praesta favo- 
 " rem : ut Vela favorem accipia- 
 " mus," says Servius. ** Ut Mae- 
 " cenas favoris vela explicet, aspi- 
 " rans in patenti pelago totius 
 " opens," says La Cerda. But if 
 we carefully consider the poet's de- 
 sign in the whole passage now be- 
 fore us, we shall find, that by da 
 vela pelago, he does not mean fa- 
 vour my undertaking, but set sail or 
 embark rvith me : as two lines before 
 he had desired him to join with 
 him in the labour he had under- 
 taken : " inceptumque una decurre 
 " laborem." By Pelago patenti 
 Ruaeus thinks he means an open 
 sea, not shut up with winds. I be- 
 lieve he uses that metaphor to ex- 
 press the copiousness of his subject, 
 comparing the immensity of his 
 undertaking to that of the ocean. 
 For he adds immediately, that Mae- 
 cenas may not be discouraged by 
 the vastness of the labour, that he 
 has no intent to aim at comprehend- 
 ing the whole in his Poem, and in- 
 deed, that, if he had such a design, 
 it would be impossible. 
 
 42. Non ego cuncta meis.'] We 
 have an expression like this in the 
 second Iliad. Homer, when he is 
 drawing up the Grecian army, says 
 he should not be able to recite all 
 their numbers, though he had ten 
 tongues, and ten mouths, a voice 
 not to be broken, and a heart of 
 brass : 
 
GEORG. LIB. II. 
 
 119 
 
 Non, mihi si linguae centum sint, oraque centum, 
 Ferrea vox. Ades, et primi lege littoris oram: 
 In manibus terrae : non hie te carmine ficto, 45 
 Atque per ambages, et longa exorsa tenebo. 
 Sponte sua quae se tollunt in luminis oras, 
 
 not though I had a hundred 
 tongues, a hundred mouths, 
 and a voice of iron. Assist 
 me, and coast along the near- 
 est shore: the land is in sight: 
 I will not here detain you 
 with poetical fiction, and cir- 
 cumlocutions, and long pre- 
 ambles. Those, which spring 
 spontaneously into the open 
 
 OwS* «*/6«« ifxa /Av yXuffffai, Ss'xa ^l ^ofi,aT' 
 tTsv, 
 
 tvtit], 
 
 44. Primi lege littoris oram.'] This 
 expression, of coasting near the 
 shore, is thought to contradict the 
 open sea just now mentioned : but 
 I believe what I have said in the 
 note on ver. 41. will reconcile this 
 
 seeming contradiction. Mr. B 
 
 would have primi altered to the ad- 
 verb primo; and indeed it is jorf- 
 jnum in the King's manuscript, but 
 there seems to be no occasion for 
 this alteration. Lego in naval affairs 
 is always used in Latin for coasting, 
 whence, as La Cerda observes, pe- 
 lagus legere, which some write, is 
 barbarous. 
 
 45. Non hie te carmine ficto, &c.] 
 " Ruaeus and Mr. Dry den under- 
 " stand non hie te carmine ficto rela- 
 *' tively to the whole work in ge- 
 " neral ; but it is plain, Virgil con- 
 " fines it to his invocation, non hie, 
 " not in this place. The conclusion 
 " seems to carry with it some kind 
 " of reflection upon the common 
 '' tedious forms of invocation, 
 " which, it is probable, Maecenas 
 " had been often tired with." Mr. 
 B . 
 
 47. Sponte sua, &c.] The poet 
 had before mentioned the three ways 
 by which wild trees are produced; 
 spontaneously, by roots, and by 
 seeds. Here he mentions them 
 again, and shews by what culture 
 each sort may be meliorated. 
 
 Oras.'] So I read it with Heinsius, 
 and La Cerda : it is commonly read 
 in luminis aiu'as. This last author 
 
 observes that in luminis oras is a fre- 
 quent expression amongst the poets: 
 thus Ennius : 
 
 O Romule, Romule die, O 
 
 Qualem te patriae custodem Di genue- 
 
 runt? 
 Tu produxisti nos inter luminis oras. 
 
 And Lucretius : 
 
 Nee sine te quicquain dias in luminis oras 
 Exoritur. 
 
 And 
 
 At nunc seminibus quia certis quidque 
 
 creatur, 
 Inde enascitur, atque oras in luminis exit, 
 Materies ubi inest cujusque et corpora 
 
 prima. 
 
 And 
 
 -Vivida tellus 
 
 Tuto res teneras effert in luminis oras* 
 And 
 
 Miscetur funere vagor. 
 
 Quern pueri tolJunt visentes luminis oras. 
 
 And 
 
 Significare volunt indignos esse putandos, 
 Vivam progeniem qui in oras luminis 
 edant. 
 
 And 
 
 Turn porro puer, ut saevis projectus ab 
 
 undis 
 Navita, nudus humi jacet, infans, indi- 
 
 gus omni 
 Vitali auxilio, cum primum in luminis 
 
 oras 
 Nixibus ex alvo matris natura profudit. 
 
 And 
 
 Nunc redeo ad mundi novitatem, et 
 
 moUia terrae 
 Arva, novo foetu quid primum in lu7nims 
 
 oras 
 Tollere, et incertis tentarit credere ventis. 
 
120 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 are unfmitfol imleed, but fair 
 and strong: for nature lies 
 bid in the soil. Yet tliese if 
 yea graft them, or change 
 them Dy piitiing them into 
 well prepared trenches, will 
 put off their wild nature, and 
 fay frequent cnitnre wilt be 
 not slow to obey any disci- 
 pline. And those also, which 
 arise barren from the bottom 
 of the plant, will do the same, 
 if 3'ou transplant them into 
 the open fields. For the high 
 shoots and branches of the 
 mother overshadow them, 
 and liinder them from bear- 
 ing fruit, as they grow up; 
 and scorch it when they bear 
 any. The tree which arises 
 from seed, grows slowly, and 
 will spread a shade for late 
 posterity. 
 
 Infoecunda quidem, sed laeta et fortia surgunt : 
 Quippe solo natura subest. Tamen haecquo- 
 que si quis 49 
 
 Inserat, aut scrobibus mandet mutata subactis, 
 Exuerint sylvestrem animum : cultuque fre- 
 quent! 
 In quascunque voces artes, baud tarda sequen- 
 
 tur. 
 Nee non et sterilis, quae stirpibus exit ab imis. 
 Hoc faciet, vacuos si sit digesta per agros. 
 Nunc altae frondes, et rami matris opacant, 55 
 Crescentique adimunt foetus, uruntque ferentem. 
 Jam, quae seminibus jactis se sustulit arbos, 
 Tarda venit, seris factura nepotibus umbram. 
 
 And 
 
 Sic unum quicquid paullatim protrahil 
 
 setas 
 In medium, ratioque in lutninis erait 
 
 oras. 
 
 Thus also our poet himself, in the 
 seventh Mneid : 
 
 ' Quera Rhea sacerdos 
 
 Furtivum pariu sub luminis edidit oras. 
 
 Though here also many editors read 
 auras. Fulvius Ursinus looks upon 
 the passage now under consideration 
 to be an imitation of that line in 
 Lucretius : 
 
 Sponte sua nequeunt liquidas existere in 
 auras. 
 
 49. Quippe solo natura subest.'] 
 Some understand solo to mean the 
 root of the tree : others interpret it 
 the soil or earth, in which it grows. 
 By nature's lying hid in the soil, the 
 Poet seems to mean, that there is 
 some hidden power in the earth, 
 which causes it to produce particular 
 plants, which therefore grow fair 
 and strong in that soil, which is 
 adapted to give them birth. 
 
 Tamen hoec quoque si quis, &c.] 
 The way to tame these luxuriant 
 wild trees, is to ingraft a good fruit 
 upon them, or to transplant them. 
 
 50. Inserat.'] Some have imagined 
 erroneously that Virgil means that 
 their branches should be ingrafted 
 upon other trees ; but this is con- 
 trary to practice. Inserere arborem 
 signifies not only to ingraft that tree 
 upon another, but also to ingraft 
 another upon the stock of that. 
 
 52. Voces.] Pierius says that some 
 ancient manuscripts have voles, and 
 some velis ; but that voces is most 
 approved by the learned. 
 
 56. Crescentique. "2 In the King's 
 and Cambridge manuscripts it is 
 crescentesque. If this reading be ad- 
 mitted, we must render this passage, 
 " and destroy the growing fruits, 
 " and scorch the plant which bears 
 " them." 
 
 57. Jam.] In the Cambridge, 
 and one of the Arundelian manu- 
 scripts, and in some old printed edi- 
 tions, it is nam. 
 
 58. Nepotibus.] Fulvius Ursinus 
 contends, contrary to the opinion of 
 all the other commentators, that by 
 
GEORG. LIH. II. 
 
 1^1 
 
 Poniaque degencrant succos oblita priores : 
 
 Et turpes avibus praedam fert uva racemos. 6o 
 
 Scilicet omnibus est labor irapendendus, et 
 
 omnes 
 Cogendae in sulcum, ac multa mercede do- 
 
 mandae. 
 Sed truncis Oleae melius, propagine Vites 
 
 And apples degenerate, for- 
 getting their totiner juices: 
 and the vine bears sorrv clus- 
 ters, n food for birds. There- 
 fore l.ibour must be bestowed 
 on them all, and all must be 
 removed into trenches, and 
 tamed with much expence. 
 But olives succeed bert by 
 truncheons, vines by layers. 
 
 Nepotes Virgil meant the late pos- 
 terity of the tree, which he thinks 
 is more poetical, and more worthy 
 of Virgil, than the common inter- 
 pretation. 
 
 59' Pomaque degeneranL^ Some 
 take poma to mean the fruit of the 
 tree just mjentioned: and indeed 
 the ancients seem to have used pu- 
 mum not only for an apple, but for 
 any esculent fruit. Others under- 
 stand the poet to speak of the fruit 
 of the apple-tree. Of the former 
 opinion is La Cerda, who explains 
 this passage thus : " Praeterea poma 
 " harum arborum facile degenerant, 
 " veluti oblita suam naturam et 
 '^ succos." And Ruaeus, whose in- 
 terpretation is in these words : *' Et 
 " fructus ejus degenerant, amisso 
 " priore sapore." Dryden also 
 translates this line in the same 
 sense. 
 
 The geii'rous flavour lost, the fruits 
 decay. 
 
 And Dr. Trapp : 
 
 Its fruit degen'rous proves. 
 
 Losing its native juices. 
 
 Grimoaldus is of the latter opi- 
 nion, whose paraphrase runs thus : 
 " Queraadmodum pirus abit in pi- 
 '* rastrum, et mali dulces in amaras, 
 " aliaeque in alias transeunt." May's 
 translation also is in this sense: 
 
 And apples lose the first good juice they 
 had. 
 
 And Mr. B— 's : 
 
 Degenerate apples thus forget their taste. 
 
 60. Turpes avibus prcedavi fert 
 uva racemos.'] Uoa must be used 
 here figuratively for the tree : for 
 uva signifies the whole cluster of 
 grapes as well as racemus, not a sin- 
 gle grape, which is properly called 
 acinus or vinaceitm. Thus, at the 
 latter end of the fourth Georgick, 
 we find uva used to express a swarm 
 of bees hanging on the branches of 
 a tree : 
 
 Liquefacta bourn per viscera toto 
 
 Stridere apes utero, ct ruptis effervere 
 
 costis, 
 Immensasque trahi nubes; jamque ar- 
 
 bore suinma 
 Confluere, et lentis uvam demittere ramis. 
 
 63. Sed truncis y &c ] Here the 
 poet speaks of the several ways of 
 cultivating trees by human in- 
 dustry : and gives us a no less just 
 than beautiful description of the 
 manner of inoculating and ingraft- 
 ing. 
 
 Servius, and after him most of 
 the other commentators, think that 
 what the poet says here of olives is 
 a repetition of what he had said 
 before : 
 
 Qtiin et caudicibus seciis, mir.bile dictu ! 
 Truditur e sicco radix oleagina ligtio. 
 
 In the note on that passage, it is 
 shewn, that Virgil speaks of a way 
 of cutting the trunk of an olive-tree 
 in pieces : and h6 mentions it as a 
 wonder, that the roots should shoot 
 from the dry wood. Here he speaks 
 of the best way of propagating olives, 
 which he says is by truncheons, 
 
1'^^ p. \ IRGILII MARONIS 
 
 ^iki woll;;!" '"^""' ''- "'' Respondent, solido Paphise de robore Myrtus, 
 
 which are the thick branches sawn 
 in pieces, of a foot or a foot and a 
 half in length. These are to be 
 planted as fresh as possible, not e 
 sicco ligno. Columella, in the seven- 
 teenth chapter of his book de Arbo- 
 ribus, follows our poet in recom- 
 mending the propagation of olives 
 by truncheons : " Melius autem 
 " irimcis quam plantis olivetum 
 " constituitur." The ninth chapter 
 of the fifth book of the same author 
 is entirely on the culture of olives. 
 I shall here set down his description 
 of the tahcB or truncheons of olive- 
 trees. " Turn ramos novellos, pro- 
 *' ceros, et nitidos, quos compre- 
 * ' hensos manus possit circum venire, 
 * ' hoc est manubrii crassitudine fe- 
 " racissimos arboribus adimito, et 
 " ex his quam recentissimas taleas 
 *' recidito, ita ut ne corticem, aut 
 " uilam aliam partem, quam quae 
 " serra praeciderit, laedas : hoc au- 
 *' tem facile contingit, si prius va- 
 '* ram feceris, et earn partem supra 
 *' quam ramum secaturus es, foeno, 
 " aut straraentis texeris, ut molliter, 
 " et sine noxa corticis taleae super- 
 *' positae secentur. Talete deinde 
 ** sesquipedales serra praecidantur, 
 *' atque earum plagae utraque parte 
 " falce leventur, &c." Here he says 
 they ate to be cut to the length of a 
 foot and half; but Cato recommends 
 them to be no longer than one foot : 
 " Taleas oleagineas, quas in scrobe 
 " saturus eris, tripedaneas decidito, 
 " diligenterque tractato, ne liber 
 " laboret. Cum dolabis aut secabis, 
 " quas in seminario saturus eris, pe- 
 " dales facito." 
 
 Triincus is properly a stock of a 
 tree, divested of its head : hence 
 these ialeco, or branches, with their 
 heads cut off, are called trunci. The 
 French derive their word troncon 
 from iruncus ; and hence comes our 
 word iruiicheon. 
 
 The winters in England are gene- 
 rally too severe, to suffer olive-trees 
 to be planted in the open ground. 
 The way of propagating them here 
 is by laying down their tender 
 branches, and taking them from the 
 mother-plant in about two years. 
 This method is so tedious, that most 
 people choose to have them from 
 Italy in the spring. They are 
 usually planted in pots or cases, 
 and removed into the green-house 
 at the approach of winter. 
 
 Propagine vites respondentr^ Vir- 
 gil here recommends the propaga- 
 tion of vines by layers : which is 
 still practised. It is found by ex- 
 perience to be a better way to pro- 
 pagate them by cuttings ; the de- 
 scription of which I shall take the 
 liberty to set down, in the words of 
 my judicious friend Mr. Miller: 
 " You should always make choice 
 '' of such shoots as are strong and 
 " well ripened of the last year's 
 " growth. These should be cut 
 " from the old vine, just below the 
 " place where they were produced, 
 " taking a knot of the two years' 
 " wood, which should be pruned 
 " smooth, then you should cut off 
 ' ' the upper part of the shoot, so as 
 " to leave the cutting about sixteen 
 '^ inches long." This is the way 
 which Columella recommends ; who 
 calls this sort of cutting malleolus, 
 because it bears no ill resemblance 
 to a little hammer. I do not know 
 that we have any proper English 
 word for malleolus, though it is a 
 cutting of a different nature from 
 that which is usually taken from 
 other trees. Columella mentions 
 also the propagation of vines by 
 layers, in his seventh book de Arbo^ 
 ribus. 
 
 64. Solido Paphice de robore Mt/r- 
 tus.'] In one of the Arundelian ma- 
 nuscripts it is melius instead of solido. 
 
GEORG. LIB. II. 
 
 123 
 
 Plantis edurae Coryli nascuntur, et ingens 65 '^^ ''and ''^h^'' free^'wilich 
 
 T, • TT 1 1 1 spreads its Shade for the crown 
 
 Fraxinus, Herculeaeque arbos umbrosa corona?, of nemiies, and the acorns 
 
 ^ ' of our Chaonian father, grow 
 
 Chaoniique patris glandes : etiam ardua palma mmsTile^ioftV piTand^'tle 
 
 The myrtles are called Paphian 
 from Paphos a city of the island Cy- 
 prus, where Venus was worshipped. 
 The myrtle was sacred to that god- 
 dess: see the note on ver. 28. of 
 the first book. 
 
 By solido de robore he seems to 
 mean planting by sets. Thus Mr. 
 B seems to understand him : 
 
 •Myrtles by huge boughs. 
 
 With us they are propagated by cut- 
 tings, and removed into the green- 
 house in winter. 
 
 65. Flanlis edurce Coryli nasmm- 
 iur."] By planlts the poet means 
 suckers ; which is a method still in 
 common practice : though it is now 
 found to be a better way to propa- 
 gate them by layers. 
 
 I read edurce with Heinsius, and 
 several other good editors. Servius 
 reads et durce ; but he says that 
 some read edurce, as it were non 
 durce; like enodes for sine nndis. 
 Pierius says that in some ancient 
 manuscripts it is edurce, but in the 
 greater part et durae. One of the 
 Arundelian manuscripts has et durce, 
 and the other edurce. The King's, 
 the Cambridge, and the Bodleian 
 manuscripts have et durce. Both 
 Dr. Mead's manuscripts have edurce. 
 Grimoaldus, Paul Stephens, La 
 Cerda, Schrevelius, and several 
 other editors read et dune, Ruaeus 
 and many others read edurce. This 
 last commentator interprets edurce, 
 valde durce: and the hazel being 
 a hard wood, this interpretation 
 seems to be better than that of 
 Servius. 
 
 One of the Arundelian manu- 
 scripts reads nascenlur, instead of 
 nascuntur. 
 
 66. Herculeceque arhos umbrosa 
 coronce.'} The tree of Hercules was 
 the poplar : thus Theocritus, in his 
 second Idyllium : 
 
 and our poet, in his seventh Eclogue; 
 
 Populus Alcidae gratissima. 
 
 It is certain that the poplar puts 
 forth suckers in great abundance. 
 
 67. Chaoniique patris glandes.'] 
 See the note on ver. 8. of the first 
 Georgick. The oak was sacred to 
 Jupiter. 
 
 Etinm.'] In both Dr. Mead's ma- 
 nuscripts it is etjam. 
 
 It must not be denied, that not- 
 withstanding our poet seems to men- 
 tion the oak, palm, and fir, as being 
 propagated by suckers, yet these 
 trees are never known to produce 
 any, nor were they ever propagated 
 any other way than by seeds. It 
 has been suggested to me by an in- 
 genious friend, that what Virgil 
 says of suckers is terminated with 
 the end of ver. 6Q, and that Chaonii 
 patris glandes, ^'C signifies that 
 " oaks grow from seeds, as does 
 " also the lofty palm, and the fir, 
 " which is to try the dangers of the 
 " sea." I much question whether 
 the words of our author can be 
 brought to this sense, but I leave 
 it to the determination of the learned 
 reader. 
 
 Ardua palma.] The palm (I be- 
 lieve) has this epithet on account of 
 its great height. Some think it is 
 called ardua, because the honour o^ 
 the palm is difficult to be obtained. 
 Mr. Miller thinks it is called ardua, 
 because " it is with diflicully propa- 
 •' gated, and is of slow growthj so 
 
 R 2 
 
1524 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 ff sei''B.7ttmgTeTa?- Nascitur, et casus abies visura marinos. 
 
 bnte is iiicrafter) with the off- _ . *» Tk.T • -i i • i 
 
 spring of the walnut-tree, Inscritur vcro cx loetu JNucis aiDUtus nornda. 
 
 " that the persons who plant the 
 " stones, seldom live to taste the 
 " fruit of their labour." 
 
 68. Casus abies visura marinos.'] 
 The abies is owv yerv-leaved fir-tree. 
 The wood of this tree was much 
 used by the ancients in their ship- 
 ping. 
 
 QQ. Inseritur vero ex foetu nucis 
 arbutus horrida.'] I believe there is 
 no passage, in all the Georgicks, 
 which has been more censured, than 
 this about grafting : it being a re- 
 ceived opinion, that no graft will 
 succeed, unless it be upon a stock, 
 which bears a fruit of the same 
 kind. Hence this is looked upon 
 as a mere poetical rant, to talk of 
 grafting a walnut on an arbute, an 
 apple on a plane, a beech on a ches- 
 nut, a pear on a wild ash, and an 
 oak on an elm. Whether the pre- 
 sent art falls short of that of the 
 ancients, or whether our climate 
 will not admit of the same advan- 
 tages, with the better air of Italy, 
 I will not pretend to determine. 
 But I shall endeavour to strengthen 
 what our poet has said, by the au- 
 thority of the best, the most expe- 
 rienced, and the most judicious, 
 prose writer on agriculture, amongst 
 the ancients. Columella spends a 
 whole chapter, in his book de Arho- 
 ribus, in shewing how any cion 
 may be grafted on any stock. I 
 shall present the reader with a trans- 
 lation of that entire chapter. " But 
 " since the ancients have denied 
 " that every kind of cion may be 
 " ingrafted on every tree, and have 
 " determined this as a perpetual 
 *' law, that those cions only can 
 " succeed, which are like in outer 
 " and inner bark, and fruit, to those 
 " trees on which they are ingrafted, 
 '• we have thought it proper to re- 
 
 " move this mistake, and deliver 
 " to posterity the method by which 
 " every kind of cion may be in- 
 " grafted on every kind of tree. 
 " But not to tire the reader with 
 " a long preface, we shall give 
 " one example, by following which 
 " any one may ingraft whatso- 
 " ever kind he pleases on any 
 " tree. Make a trench four feet 
 " every way from an olive-tree, of 
 " such a length that the extremities 
 " of the olive-branches may reach 
 " it. Into this trench put a young 
 '* fig-tree, and be careful that it be 
 " fair and strong. After three or 
 " five years, when it is sufficiently 
 '' grown, bend down the fairest 
 " branch of the olive-tree, and bind 
 *' it to the fig-stock : and so cutting 
 " off the rest of the branches, leave 
 " only those which you would in- 
 " graft. Then top the fig, smooth 
 *' the wound, and cleave the middle 
 " of the stock with a wedge. Then 
 "■ shave the ends of the olive 
 " branches on each side, whilst they 
 " grow to the mother plant, and so 
 " fit them to the cleft of the fig, 
 " and take out the wedge, and bind 
 '' them carefully, that they may not 
 •' start back. Thus in three years' 
 *' time the fig and olive will unite : 
 *' and in the fourth year, when they 
 " are well incorporated, cut the 
 " olive branches from the mother 
 *' in the same manner as you cut off 
 " layers. By this method every 
 " kind of cion is ingrafted upon 
 " any tree." 
 
 What I have here quoted is, I 
 think, sufficient to justify what the 
 poet has related. It cannot be ima- 
 gined, that all he says is from his 
 own experience : but it was cer- 
 tainly thought in his time to be 
 practicable. I shall now lay before 
 
GEORG. LIB. II. 125 
 
 Et steriles platani malos gessere valentes : 70 S.Jg'IJSie^tre" :"'^' ''°'" 
 
 the reader what may be said on the 
 other side of the question, in the 
 words of Mr. Miller, who has done 
 me the favour to communicate the 
 following observations. 
 
 " The ancients used two different 
 methods of grafting: the first is 
 by approach; the other is what 
 ' the gardeners term clift-grafting. 
 ' It is the former method which 
 ' Columella has described, where 
 ' he directs the stock, on which the 
 ' graft is to be inserted, to be 
 ' planted so near the tree designed 
 ' to be propagatedj as that the 
 ' branches may be drawn down, 
 ' and inserted in the stock, without 
 ' being cut from the parent tree : 
 ' for he directs the letting it remain 
 ' two years before it is separated. 
 ' As to the different kinds of trees, 
 ' which are mentioned by the poet, 
 ' to be ingrafted on each other, I 
 ' dare affirm it was never practised 
 ' in any country : so that we must 
 ' either suppose the trees, which 
 ' now pass under tlie same appel- 
 ' lation, to be different from those 
 ' known at that time under such 
 ' names, or that it is a licence taken 
 ' by the poet to embellish his poem. 
 ' What Columella has said to con- 
 ' firm this, is no more than what 
 we find in most books of hus- 
 ' bandry, both ancient and modern ; 
 ' in which the authors have too 
 ' frequently spent more time in ex- 
 ' plaining what they supposed 
 ' mysteries, than in relating the 
 ' practice of the most experienced 
 ' husbandmen. For suppose these 
 ' things were practicable, there 
 ' could no advantage arise from it 
 ' to the practitioner, and it would 
 ' be only a matter of curiosity, 
 ' to see the stock of one kind sup- 
 ' porting a tree of a very different 
 * one. But all these sorts of trees 
 
 " have been tried on each other, 
 " not only in England, but also in 
 " Italy J and from all the different 
 " experiments which have been 
 " made, it is found that no trees of 
 *' a different kind will take on each 
 " other. In several books of gar- 
 " dening and husbandry, we find 
 " directions how to ingraft one sort 
 " of tree on another of any kind ; 
 " which is to plant the stock near 
 " the tree from which the cion is to 
 " be taken, and when the stock is 
 " sufficiently rooted, then you must 
 *' draw down a young branch of the 
 " tree, and insert it into the stock 
 '' as near the ground as possible : 
 '* then the earth is ordered to be 
 " laid round the stock above the 
 " place where it was grafted. In 
 ** this state they were to remain 
 " until the second or third year, 
 " when they should be cut off from 
 •' the parent-tree. By this method 
 *' I have known a pear-tree grafted 
 *' on a cabbage stalk, but the stock 
 *' was of no use to the graft : for 
 " the cion put out roots whereby it 
 '' maintained itself. But these being 
 " little better than jugglers' tricks, 
 ** were never practised by persons 
 " of experience." 
 
 69. Ex.l In one of the Arunde- 
 lian manuscripts it is et. 
 
 Ibid. Nucis.'] See the note on ver. 
 187- of the first Georgick. 
 
 Ibid. Arbutus.'] See the note on 
 ver. 148. of the first Georgick. 
 
 Ibid. Horrida.] It is horrens in 
 the King's, and both Dr. Mead's 
 manuscripts. 
 
 Ruaeus thinks that arbutus has 
 the epithet horrida, on account of 
 the fewness of the leaves : I rather 
 believe it is because of the rugged- 
 ness of its bark. Servius seems to 
 take it in this sense : *' horrida 
 *' autem hispida," says he. The 
 
126 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 bSXsf and thf^'moumyin Castancae fagos, ornusque incanuit albo 
 
 ash has been hoary with the 
 white 
 
 branches also of the arbute]are very 
 unequal, which the poet seems to 
 express in the numbers of this verse. 
 Mr. B — takes the arbutus to be our 
 crab-tree : and nux to be the fil- 
 berd : 
 
 But Jilberds graft on th' horrid crab-trees 
 brows. 
 
 70. Sleriles platani malos gessere 
 valentes.'] The Platanus is our ori- 
 ental Plane-tree, without all ques- 
 tion. Dionysius the geographer 
 compares the form of the Morea, or 
 ancient Peloponnesus, to the leaves 
 of this tree, making the footstalk to 
 be the isthmus, by which it is 
 joined to Greece : 
 
 'UiXeifiS y i^i vv^oi o^ri^iTy 
 
 'Ei^ofiBvri vXaravoio fivou^tXovn ^irviXu. 
 Tl^$ [iopinv, xttj xiivhv i(p' 'Fikkaoes "/^vog) 
 
 K.o'Xtois uvakioig i^nfi/^iv)} iv^a xee.) ivSa. 
 
 Pliny also says that the Pelopon^ 
 nesus is shaped, by the number of 
 its bays, like a plane leaf: " Platani 
 ** folio similis, propter angulosos re- 
 '' cessus." To illustrate this simi- 
 litude, which is as just as we can 
 expect in any thing of this nature, 
 I have added a figure of the Pelo- 
 ponnesus, and of a leaf of a plane- 
 tree. The Platanus is so called 
 from xXeeTyj broad, on account of 
 the remarkable breadth of its leaves. 
 Pliny tells us this tree was first 
 brought over the Ionian sea, into 
 the island of Diomedes, for a mo- 
 nument for that hero : thence into 
 Sicily, and so into Italy. " Sed 
 *' quis non jure miretur arborem 
 " umbrae gratia tantum ex alieno 
 " petitam orbe } Platanus haec est, 
 " per mare Ionium in Diomedis in- 
 " sulam ejusdem tumuli gratia pri- 
 *' mum invecta; inde in Siciliara 
 
 " transgressa, atque inter primas 
 " donata Italiae." It seems the an- 
 cients had so profuse a veneration 
 for this tree as to irrigate it with 
 wine; thus Pliny: *' Tantumque 
 " postea honoris increvit, ut mero 
 " infuso enutriantur : compertum 
 *' id maxime prodesse radicibus, 
 " docuimusque etiam arbores vina 
 " potare." The poet calls the plane 
 barren, because it bears no fruit that 
 is eatable. 
 
 71. Castanece fagos."] The com- 
 mentators differ greatly about the 
 reading of this passage. Servius 
 reads castanece fagos, but thinking 
 it absurd that a barren beech, as he 
 calls it, should be ingrafted on a 
 fruitful chesnut, he fancies either 
 that it is a hypallage, so that CaS' 
 tanecE fagos is for fagl castaneas: or 
 else that we must make a stop at ^ 
 castanece, taking it for the genitive ■ 
 case after malos ; and making /agos '^ 
 the nominative case with a Greek 
 termination, this and the preceding ^ 
 verse being to be read thus : a 
 
 Et steriles platani malos gessere valentes 
 Castaneffi : fagos, ornusque incanuit, S^c. 
 
 The first of these interpretations is 
 such, that, I believe, to mention it 
 is to confute it. The second inter- 
 pretation is not without its follow- 
 ers. Pierius says he has seen cas- 
 tanece marked for the genitive case, 
 in some ancient copies : and As 
 censius, as he is quoted by Ruaeus, 
 contends for this reading. He 
 takes malos to signif3^ not apple- 
 trees, but masts : so that the sense 
 w^U be, according to this critic. 
 Plane-trees have borne such strong 
 branches of chesnuts, that they seem 
 to be masts of ships : but this, as 
 Ruaeus justly observes, is too harsh. 
 Others, says Servius, like neither 
 of these interpretations, but make 
 
GEORCx. LIB. II. 
 
 127 
 
 Flore pyri, glandenique sues fregere sub Ulmis. sS'hav^ crunched 
 
 ami the 
 acorns 
 
 castanea the genitive case after /Zore, 
 and reaidi fagiis in the nominative 
 case singular. Thus it will be, 
 " the beech has been hoary with 
 ** the blossoms of chesnuts, and the 
 *' mountain ash with those of the 
 " pear-tree." Ruaeus follows this 
 interpretation, and Mr. B 
 
 Thus chesnut plumes nn beech surprise 
 
 the sight. 
 And hornbeam blows with pear-tree 
 
 flowers all white. 
 
 Griraoaldus reads caslaiiece fagos, 
 and thinks the poet means a wild 
 sort of chesnuts, for he paraphrases 
 it " in castanea sylveUri fagum." 
 La Cerda contends that it should be 
 read caslaneas fagus, xwskmg fagiis 
 the nominative case plural, like 
 laurus, ptatanus, viyrtus, which are 
 found in some old copies. Dryden 
 seems to have read caslaneas fagus : 
 
 Thus mastful beech the bristly chesnut 
 bears. 
 
 Dr. Trapp also highly approves of 
 this reading: " I entirely agree," 
 says he, '' with those who read cas^ 
 " ianeas fagus, or castanoe fagus, 
 " in Abramus's sense, [see Ruaeus;] 
 " not castanecE fagos. Nobody in 
 ** his wits would graft a beech upon 
 '•' a chesnut." His translation is 
 according to this latter sense : 
 
 Chesnuts bloom'd on beech. 
 
 For my part I see no reason to re- 
 ject the common reading, castanece 
 fagos. Thus Pierius found it in 
 the Medicean manuscript: and thus 
 I find it in all the seven manu- 
 scripts, which I have collated. The 
 commentators have been induced 
 to alter the text, on a supposition, 
 that chesnuts were esteemed, in 
 Virgil's time, as much superior to 
 beech-mast, «s they are now : the 
 
 contrary to which I believe may 
 easily be proved. Pliny mentions 
 chesnuts, as a very sorry sort of 
 fruit, and seems to wonder that 
 nature should take such care of 
 them, as to defend them with a 
 prickly husk : " Armatum iis echi- 
 " nato calyce vallum, quod inchoa- 
 " turn glandibus. Miruraque vi- 
 " lissima esse quae tanta occultaverit 
 " cura naturae." We learn from 
 the same author that this fruit was 
 made better by culture, about the 
 time of Tiberius : " Divus Tiberius 
 " postea balanum nomen imposuit, 
 " excellentioribus satu factis." The 
 mast of the beech was reckoned a 
 very sweet nut, and men are said 
 to have been sustained by it in a 
 siege. " Dulcissima omnium fagi," 
 says Pliny, ^' ut qua obsessos etiam 
 " homines durasse in oppido Chio, 
 " tradat Cornelius Alexander." This 
 tree was held in great veneration 
 by the Romans, vessels made of it 
 were used in their sacrifices, and 
 the mast was used by them in me- 
 dicine. Hence I see no reason to 
 doubt that Virgil meant the in- 
 grafting a beech on a chesnut: 
 though with us, who prefer the 
 chesnut, this practice would be 
 absurd. 
 
 71. Ornusque mcanuit albo fiore 
 P^ri.'] What the Romans called 
 Ornus seems to be the Sorbus aucu- 
 paria or Quicken-tree, which grows 
 in mountainous places ; not only in 
 Italy, but in many parts, especially 
 the northern counties, of England, 
 where it is commonly called the 
 Mountain Ash. Columella says the 
 Ornus is a wild sort of Ash, and 
 that its leaves are broader than 
 those of the other species : * ' Sed si 
 " aspera et siticulosa loca arboribus 
 " obserenda erunt, neque Opulus, 
 " neque Ulmus tarn idoneae sunt 
 
128 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 Nor are grafting and inoculat- 
 ing performed the same wa}'. 
 For where the bads thrust 
 themselves forth, out of the 
 middle of the bark, and break 
 the thin membranes, a small 
 slit is to be made in the very 
 kuot; here they inclose a bud 
 from a tree of another sort, 
 and teach it to unite with the 
 moist rind. Or again, the 
 nnknotty stocks are cut, and 
 a way is made into the solid 
 wood wiih wedg«s, and then 
 fruitful cions are put in : and 
 in no long time the vast tree 
 rises up to heaven with happy 
 branches, and wonders at the 
 new leaves, and fruits not its 
 own. 
 
 Nec modus inserere, atque oculos imponere sim- 
 plex. 
 Nam qua se medio trudunt de cortice gemmae, 
 Et tenues rumpunt tunicas, angustus in ipso 75 
 Fit nodo sinus : hue aliena ex arbore germen 
 Includunt, udoque docent inolescere libro. 
 Aut rursum enodes trunci resecantur, et alte 
 Finditur in solidum cuneis via ; deinde feraces 
 Plantae immittuntur : nec longum tempus, et 
 ingens 80 
 
 Exiit ad caelum ramis felicibus arbos, 
 Miraturque novas frondes, et non sua poma. 
 
 I 
 
 *' quam OrnL Eae sylvestres Fra- 
 " xini sunt, paulo latioribus tamen 
 " foliis quam caeterae Fraxini, nec 
 " deteriorem frondera quam Ulmi 
 " praestant." 
 
 I have sometimes suspected that 
 the Ornus may be that sort of Ash, 
 from which the manna is said to be 
 gathered in Calabria, and which 
 Caspar Bauhinus brought out of 
 Italy, under the name of Ornus 3. 
 Gain Brixiani de Re rustica. Both 
 he and his brother John Bauhinus 
 have called it Fraxinus rotundiore 
 folio. 
 
 72. Glandemque sues fregere sub 
 Ulmis.'] In the King's, and one of 
 Dr. Mead's manuscripts, I find 
 glandes instead of glandem. 
 
 Pliny has committed an error in 
 quoting this passage, for he says 
 that Virgil speaks of ingrafting 
 cherries upon elms : '^ Quippe cum 
 " Virgilius insitam nucibus arbutum, 
 '^ malis platanum, cerasis ulmum 
 '* dicat." 
 
 73. Inserere atque oculos impo- 
 nere.'] Here the poet shews the dif- 
 ference between grafting and in- 
 oculating. Inoculation, or budding, 
 is performed by making a slit in 
 the bark of one tree, and inserting 
 the bud of another into it. There 
 
 are several ways of grafting now in 
 use, but the only one, which Virgil 
 describes, is what we call cleft- 
 grafting, which is performed by 
 cleaving the head of the stock, and 
 placing a cion from another tree in 
 the cleft. 
 
 78. Triincl'] We call the body 
 of a tree the trunk: but iruncus is 
 not used for the body, unless the 
 head be cut off. The body of a 
 tree, when it is adorned with its 
 branches, is called caudex or codex. 
 
 82. Miraturque.] Servius reads 
 mirata estqite. 
 
 To conclude the notes on this 
 passage about ingrafting and inocu- 
 lating : it seems impossible not to 
 observe the beautiful manner in 
 which our poet has described them. 
 The variety of expression which he 
 has used in speaking of the different 
 sorts of ingrafted trees, and the 
 various epithets he bestows on them, 
 render this passage exceedingly de- 
 lightful. The arbute is distin- 
 guished by its ruggedness ; the 
 plane by its barren shade ; and the 
 pear by its snowy blossoms. It 
 would have become a prose writer, 
 simply to have said that any cion 
 may be ingrafted on any stock : 
 but a poet must add beautj' to his 
 
GEORG. LIB. II. 
 
 Pr^terea genus baud unum, nee fortibus ulmis, ?„\^'St'o7'strr,ATn.s?'o'f 
 
 . . . willows, of loies, and of 
 
 Nec sahci, lotoque, neque Idaeis cyparissis : 84 idaean cypresses; 
 
 instructions, and convey the plain- 
 est precepts in the most agreeable 
 manner. Thus Virgil, after he had 
 said that walnuts are ingrafted on 
 arbutes, apples on planes, and 
 beeches on chesnuts, adorns the 
 wild ash with the fine blossoms of 
 the pear: and instead of barely 
 telling us that oaks may be in- 
 grafted on elms, he represents the 
 swine crunching acoms under elms, 
 than which nothing can be more 
 poetical. At the close of this pas- 
 sage, he gives life and sense to his 
 ingrafted trees; making them won- 
 der at the unknown leaves and 
 fruits with which they are loaded. 
 
 8S. Prceierea genus, c^c] In this 
 passage the poet just mentions, that 
 there are several species of trees, 
 and speaks of the infinite variety of 
 fruits. 
 
 The two first lines of Dryden's 
 translation are intolerable : 
 
 Of vegetable woods are various kinds. 
 And the same species are of sev'ral minds. 
 
 Ulmis.'] Theophrastus speaks of 
 two sorts of elm : Pliny mentions 
 four. 
 
 84. Salici.'] Pliny speaks of four 
 sorts of willow. 
 
 Loto.2 There is a tree, and also 
 an herb, called Lotus by the an- 
 cients. The herb is mentioned by 
 Homer, as being fed upon by the 
 horses of Achilles, 
 
 It grows in great plenty in the Nile, 
 where they make bread of the heads 
 of it. Prosper Alpinus, an author 
 of good credit, who travelled into 
 Egypt, assures us, that the Egyp- 
 tian Lotus does not at all differ from 
 our great white water lily. But it 
 is the tree which Virgil here speaks 
 
 of: and which gave name to a peo- 
 ple mentioned by Homer in his 
 ninth Odyssey : 
 
 O/ y aJ'4'^ el^oftivoi fziytv av^^aci fiuro^a- 
 
 yoicrtv 
 Oiy ci^a AuToipxyoi fz,v^ov3-' troi^oiiriv oXsS^av 
 ^Hfjt.iri^on f aXXd (r(pi ooo'ecv XutoIo ToiiraffS^at. 
 Tav S' flV'5 "kurolo (pdiyoi f/,iXiyidia xcc^^oVf 
 Ovx' IT a.fa.yyuXai ^dXiv rfS^sXsv, rM 
 
 'AXX' abroZ (oovXovro [liT ccth^aai Auro- 
 (^ccyotfft 
 
 AuTOV lpi7r]of/,iVOl (/.IVlfJCiVf vo^ou Tl XaS'So'S-ai. 
 
 They went, and found a hospitable race ; 
 Not prone to ill, nor strange to foreign 
 
 guest. 
 They eat, they drink, and nature gives 
 
 the feast ; 
 The trees around them all their food 
 
 produce. 
 Lotos the name, divine nectareous juice ! 
 (Thence call'd Lotophagi) which whoso 
 
 tastes, 
 Insatiate riots in the sweet repasts. 
 Nor other home, nor other care intends. 
 But quits his house, his country, and his 
 
 friends. 
 
 Mr. Pope. 
 
 Theophrastus describes this tree to 
 be something less than a pear-tree ; 
 he says its leaves are cut about the 
 edges, and like those of the Ilex or 
 ever-green oak. He adds, that there 
 are several sorts of them, differing 
 according to their fruit, which is of 
 the size of a bean, and grows thick 
 upon the branches like myrtle ber- 
 ries :"Ef/ dl rov A&fTov TO f^lv 'i^tov 
 ygvof, iVfiiyiBig , y,X{Kov w^io^, tj f^tK^ov 
 '{Xecrlov. ^vXXov ^g Ivro/^ug g^ov kcci 5rg<- 
 vadig .... yivvt ^g ctVTov Tf'Xiia otcc^c^cii 
 i^ovret Tc7g x.x^7ro7g. o dl KcngTeog ti^^lxog 
 
 KVUfAOq .... (pvirXl ^g KOt^CC-TTl^ TU ^V^TX 
 
 TTx^ciXXuXei, TTVKVog Itti rav /iXxfav. 
 Pliny has translated Theophrastus 
 almost word for word, with very 
 little addition. He informs us how- 
 ever that it was frequent in Italy, 
 where it had degenerated : " Eadem 
 s 
 
130 
 
 nor do the fat olives, 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 Nee pingues unam in faciem nascuntur olivaf, 
 
 *' Africa qua vergit ad nos, insignem 
 " arborem Loton gignit, quam vo- 
 '' cant ce tin, et ipsam lialice fami- 
 *' Harem, sed terra mutatam." It 
 must indeed have very much dege- 
 nerated, if it be, as most botanists 
 agree, that which we call the nettle 
 tree : the fruit of which is far from 
 that delicacy, which is ascribed to 
 the Lotus of the ancients. The 
 leaves are indeed cut about the 
 edges : but he must have a warm 
 imagination, who can find in them 
 any resemblance of the ilex. Hence 
 some critics have taken the liberty 
 to alter the text of Theophrastus, 
 reading TF^imZhs instead of Tr^tvahi, 
 that is, serrated, or indented like a 
 saw, instead of like those of the ilex. 
 But if we should allow this emen- 
 dation, it would not answer our 
 purpose : for, either hrefcx? 'i^ot cut 
 about ike edges, and T^tmahs serrated, 
 mean the very same thing, and so 
 Theophrastus would be guilty of 
 tautology; or else the first must be 
 interpreted simiated, which is not 
 true of the nettle-tree. Besides, in 
 Pliny's time, it certainly was TrgivS^gj ^ 
 for he translates this passage : 
 '' Incisurae folio crebriores, alioquin 
 " ilicis viderentur." 
 
 It seems to me more probable 
 that the Lotus of the Lotophagi is 
 what we now call Zizyphus or the 
 Jujube-tree. The leaves of this are 
 about an inch and a half in length, 
 and about one inch in breadth, of a 
 shining green colour, and serrated 
 about the edges : wherefore they 
 are much more like the leaves of 
 the ilex, than those of the nettle-tree 
 can be imagined to be. The fruits 
 grow thick upon the branches, ac- 
 cording to what Theophrastus 
 says of the Aajcg. They are of the 
 shape and size of olives, and the 
 pulp of them has a sweet taste, like 
 honey, which agrees with what 
 
 Homer says of this tree ; that it has 
 ^gA*»j5s<« xtfcg^rdv. They are sent over 
 dried, from Italy. 
 
 There is another sort of Lotus 
 mentioned by Theophrastus, dif- 
 ferent from that of the Lotophagi, 
 which he calls also TrxT^t'ov^og. This 
 is thought, not without reason, to 
 be that which Prosper Alpinus tells 
 us the Egyptians call Nabca. It is 
 described and figured by that learned 
 author, in his book de Plantis 
 JEgyptif page 7, S. This is thought 
 also to be the lotus described by 
 Polybius, as we find him quoted by 
 Athenaeus. Virgil has mentioned 
 the Paliurus, in his fifth Eclogue : 
 
 / Spinis surgit Paliurus acutis. 
 
 Idceis cyparissis.'] He calls the cy- 
 press Idcean, from Ida, a mountain 
 of Crete. Theophrastus tells us this 
 tree is so familiar to that island, that 
 it comes up there spontaneously, if 
 you do but turn up the earth : '£><«- 
 
 tv^vq xvxZxxi'ecvtiv rx tiKUX ths ^ei^xg. 
 
 85. Nec pingues unam in faciem 
 nascu7itur olivce.'] There are many 
 sorts, or varieties, of olives ; though i 
 they are not so numerous as apples, 
 pears, and plums. Cato mentions 
 eight sorts ; oleam conditivam, ra- 
 dium majorem, sallentinam, orchitem, 
 poseam, sergianam, colminianam, aU 
 bicerem. Columella says, that ten 
 sorts only had come to his know- i 
 ledge : though he thinks there are i 
 more. The names of the ten men- 
 tioned by Columella are; Pausia, | 
 atgiana, liciniana, sergia, nevia, cul- 
 minia, orchis, regia, cercites, murtea. i 
 He mentions the radius also soon i 
 after : but that may probably be only 
 another name for one of the ten. 
 There are many more sorts men- 
 tioned by Pliny, and other authors ; 
 the same fruit obtaining, as I sup- 
 
GEORG. IJB. II 
 
 131 
 
 Orchites, et radii, et amara pausia bacca : 86 
 
 the orcliltes, and <he radii, 
 and the pausia with bitter ber- 
 ries, grow in tite same form : 
 
 pose, diiFerent names, in different 
 provinces, and at different times. 
 Thus we find in Pliny, that the ser- 
 gia was called regia by the Sabines : 
 and yet Columella sets these down 
 as two different sorts. Matthiolus 
 informs us, that there were no more 
 than three sorts known in his time 
 in Tuscany : " Virgilius trium tan- 
 " turn generum meminerit, quem- 
 '^ adraodum etiam plura non no- 
 " vit hac nostra aetate Hetruria, 
 " praesertiraque noster Senensis 
 " ager." 
 
 86. Orchites.'] Most of the manu- 
 scripts I have seen have orchades. 
 The same reading is in the Medi- 
 cean, and other ancient manuscripts. 
 Heinsius also. La Cerda, Ruaeus, 
 and most of the editors read orcha- 
 des. One of Dr. Mead's manu- 
 scripts has orchades, radiique, mak- 
 ing the middle syllable of orchades 
 long. Servius reads orchites, which 
 I take to be right, because I find it 
 spelt in that manner by the prose 
 writers of agriculture; and par- 
 ticularly by Pliny, when he quotes 
 this very passage of Virgil: " Ge- 
 " nera earum tria dixit Virgilius, 
 " orchites, et radios, et pausias." 
 The orchis is a round olive, being 
 so called from o^x^g, a testicle. Co- 
 lumella says that it is fitter for 
 eating, than to make oil : " Orchis 
 " quoque et radius melius ad escam, 
 " quam in liquorem stringitur." 
 Pliny says the orchis abounds most 
 in oil: " Prima ergo ab autumno 
 *' colligitur, vitio operae non na- 
 " turse, pausia cui plurimum carnis : 
 " mox orchites, cui olei:' It seems 
 to be the same with that which Cae- 
 salpinus, who was of Arezzo in Tus- 
 cany, tells us the modern Italians 
 call Olivola, being a small round 
 olive, yielding abundance of oil. 
 " Nostratium, quae minores, rotun- 
 
 " dloresque, plurimum olei haben- 
 " tes, olivolce vocantur." Matthio- 
 lus says that the olive, which pro- 
 duces the best oil, and in greatest 
 quantities, is called olivasire : that 
 it is a large spreading tree, as big 
 as a walnut-tree J *' Proximae, turn 
 " colore, turn magnitudine prae- 
 " stantes, quamvis praedictis longe 
 " minores sint, sunt tamen omnium 
 " aptissimae ad olei conficiendi 
 " usum : quippe quod oleum ex eis 
 '' expressum sit non modo flavum, 
 " dulce, pellucidum, ac caeteris 
 " praestans, sed etiam copiosum. 
 *' Gignuntur haec a procerissimis 
 '* oleis, praegrandibus, juglandium 
 '^ nucum instar, ramos in altum la- 
 ** tumque amplissime fundentibus, 
 " eas rura nostra olivastre vulgo 
 " vocant." Hence I take the orchis 
 of Virgil, the olivola of Caesalpinus, 
 and the olivastre of Matthiolus to 
 be the same sort of olive. 
 
 Radii.] The radius is a long olive, 
 so called from its similitude to a 
 weaver's shuttle. There was a 
 larger and a smaller sort of radius : 
 for Cato, in the passage quoted in 
 the note on ver. 85. mentions the 
 radius major; and Columella in 
 lib. xii. cap. 47. speaks of the ra- 
 diolus. Caesalpinus mentions only 
 the large sort, which, he says, are 
 large and long, yielding a very 
 sweet oil, but in small quantities, 
 and are called raggiaricefrom radius: 
 *' Quae majusculae et oblongae, dul- 
 '' cissimura oleum reddentes, sed 
 " parcius, raggiaricB a radiis nomine 
 *' deflexo." These seem to be the 
 same with the first sort mentioned 
 by Matthiolus, which he says are 
 large olives, produced from small 
 trees, and are generally pickled, 
 because they yield but a little oil : 
 ** Primum harum genus eas nostri 
 " faciunt, quae licet a minoribus 
 s 2 
 
132 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 neither do apples, and the 
 \roods of Alcinous: nor are 
 the shoots the same of the 
 Crustutnian and Syrian pears, 
 and of the heavy volemi. Nor 
 does the same vintage hang 
 on our trees, as Lesbos gathers 
 from the Methymnjean vine, 
 ■j'hcre are Thasian vines, and 
 there are white Mareotidcs : 
 
 Pomaque, et Alcinoi sylvae : nee surculus idem 
 Crustumiis, Syriisque pyris, gravlbusque volemis. 
 Non eadem arboribus pendet vindemia nostris, 
 Quam Methymnaeo carpit de palmite Lesbos. 
 Sunt Thasiae vites, sunt et Mareotides albae : 91 
 
 '' olearum plantis proferantur, sunt 
 " tamen spectata forma et magnitu- 
 " dine, Bononiensibiis non quidem 
 " inferiores : his tantum muria as- 
 *' servatis utuntur in cibis : quando- 
 " quidem oleae minus aptae sunt, 
 " quod multo plus amurcae quam 
 " olei fundant." 
 
 Amara pausia bacca.'] The poet 
 mentions the bitter berry of this sort 
 of olive, because it is to be gathered 
 before it is quite ripe ; for then it 
 has a bitter or austere taste. But 
 when it is quite ripe, it has a very 
 pleasant flavour, according to Co- 
 lumella : '' Bacca jucundissima est 
 " pausiae." Cato, when he is speak- 
 ing of making green oil, says you 
 must choose the roughest olive : 
 " Quam acerbissima olea oleum 
 '* facies, tum oleum optimum erit." 
 Pliny has almost the same words : 
 " Oleum quam acerbissima oliva 
 *' optimum fieri." And Columella 
 calls the Pausian olive acerba : 
 " Acerbam pauseam mense Sep- 
 " tembri vel Octobri, dum adhuc 
 " vindemia est, contunde." 
 
 87. Poma.'] Columella mentions- 
 nine sorts of apples, as the most ex- 
 cellent: " Praeterea malorum ge- 
 " nera exquirenda maxime scan- 
 " diana, matiana, orbiculata, sex- 
 " tiana, pelusiana, amerina, syrica, 
 " malimela, cydonia." Pliny men- 
 tions twenty-nine sorts: but in these 
 are included citrons and several 
 other fruits which we do not now 
 call apples. 
 
 Alcinoi sylvce.'] The gardens of 
 Alcinous, in which were groves of 
 fruit trees, are celebrated in the se- 
 venth Odyssey. 
 
 88. Crustumiis, Syriisque pyris, 
 gravibusque volemis.'] The Crustu- 
 mia, or, as others call them, crus- 
 tumina, were reckoned the best sort 
 of pears. Columella gives them the 
 first place in his catalogue; and 
 Pliny says they are the best fla- 
 voured. " Cunctis autem crustu- 
 " mina gratissima." Whether they 
 are aiiy sort of pears now known is 
 
 uncertain : Mr. B- translates 
 
 them warden pears. 
 
 The Syrian pears are called also 
 Tarenlina, according to Columella. 
 They are thought by some to be the 
 bergamot. 
 
 The volemi are so called, quia vo- 
 1am maiius impleant ; because they 
 fill the palm of the hand. Ruaeus 
 thinks they are the bon chretien, and 
 that those are mistaken, who con- 
 found them with the libralia of Pli- 
 ny, which are the pound pears. Dry- 
 den however differs from Ruaeus : 
 
 Unlike are bergamots and pounder 
 pears. 
 
 And Mr. B 
 
 The same variety the orchard bears, 
 In warden, bergamot, and pounder 
 pears. 
 
 90. Methymnceo.] Methymna is 
 a city of Lesbos, an island of the 
 Mgean sea, famous for good wine- 
 
 91. ThasicB vites.'] Thasus is an- 
 other island of the same sea. The 
 Thasian wine is mentioned by Pliny, 
 as being in high esteem ; " In 
 " summa gloria post Homerica ilia, 
 '' de quibus supra diximus, fuere 
 " Thasium, Chiumque." 
 
 Mareotides albce.] It is disputed 
 whether these vines are so called 
 
GEORG. LIB. II. 
 
 133 
 
 Pinguibus hae terris habiles, levioribus illae : 
 Et passo psythia utilior, tenuisque lageos, 
 
 the one thrives iu a fat soil, 
 and the other in a light one: 
 and the Psythian. which is 
 fitter to be used dry, and the 
 light lageus, 
 
 from Mareia, or Mareotis, a lake 
 near Alexandria; from Mareotis, a 
 part of Africa, called also Marraa- 
 rica, and now Barca ; or from Ma- 
 reotis, a part of Epirus. Columella 
 seems to be of the latter opinion, 
 for he calls them Greek vines : 
 " Nam quae Graeculae vites sunt, ut 
 " Mareoticae, Thasiae, Psythiae, c^c.'' 
 Athenaeus is of the former opinion, 
 and says the best Mareotic or Alex- 
 andrian wine is white. But Pliny 
 expressly says the Alexandrian grape 
 is black. " Alexandrina appellatur 
 " vitis circa Phalacram brevis, ra- 
 " mis cubitalibus, acino nigro!' 
 Horace seems to countenance the 
 opinion that the Mareotic was an 
 Egyptian wine ;^ for he represents 
 Cleopatra as inebriated with it : 
 
 Mentemque lymphatam Marcotico 
 Redegit in veros timores 
 Caesar. 
 
 Strabo is quoted, as ascribing the 
 Mareotic wine to Marmarica : but I 
 think unjustly. The place referred 
 to is in the seventeenth book: which 
 if the reader will carefully consult, 
 he will find, I think, that this part 
 of Africa did not bear good wine : 
 MgT«|v ^g TT^arcv /tc8v a«gtf6 Agw»oyg;«?, 
 Mvicvi UKT*! xxXivfizvyj. 'i-Kiira, (poiviscovg 
 XtfAiiv, Kcci 'TViyivg KCOf^n. i'net v^a-og wjj- 
 doti'ec XifAiva, 'i^ovcrx. ilr clvTl<p^xt, f4.iK.gov 
 ecvur'i^a rvi<; ^ocXdrr'Ag . oLtccco-cc (.civ ys yfioqtx. 
 etvTfi ovK ivotvo?, TFhiia dzy^ofchov rou 
 Ki^Uf4.ov ^ciXecrrctv, « olvov, ov ^h fcxXovTt 
 AiZvKov. « ^i] xeci rZ ^v^aro ttcXv ^vXov 
 Xi^roit rm 'AAg|«y^gs&'». Here we see 
 that the Lybian wine was in no 
 esteem, and that it served only for 
 the use of the common people of 
 Alexandria. But he plainly enough 
 ascribes the Mareotic wine to the 
 country about the lake Mareia: 
 
 Kxi oiv^o, TrXureg fx,lv t^n 'TrXitovav , ^ 
 'TTiVTKKovrx Kxt Ikxtov ^XOIUV, fAyiKOg 5' 
 hXxTTovav >J r^ixKortav. "'Exit oi oktoi 
 tvia-ovg, Kxi rx KVxXa -ttxvtx ciKovfCivx 
 KxXag. Evoiv'tx ri Wt 7rsg< Tovg toTFOvg, 
 a<s^i xxt ^tx(f>6i(rB'Xi -x^og TTxXxioJFiv rh 
 Mx^xiariv olvov. The same author 
 tells us expressly, in another place 
 of the same book, that this lake 
 Mareia, or Mareotis, is on the south 
 side of Alexandria: 'Af.c(pUxv^ov re 
 yx^ W) ro ^agiov ^o<rt viXciyari, ro fiiv 
 x%o •rav ei^Krar ra Alyvrria Xiycfzivat, 
 ro di XTTO fciTHf^/i^lxg rS rtig Xtfcvng rtis 
 Mx^eixg, ^ kx} Mx^iarig xiysTxi. Stra- 
 bo indeed makes Egypt to extend 
 as far as to Catabathmus, which 
 must comprehend the whole Mare- 
 otis Lybia, which, according to 
 Pliny, extends from Catabathmus 
 to Alexandria. Now, as the lake 
 Mareotis is on the borders of Egypt 
 and Lybia, the Mareotic vines may 
 be supposed to have grown in either 
 of these countries. But as Strabo 
 plainly distinguishes between the 
 Lybian and Mareotic vines, I believe 
 we may venture to conclude, that 
 they grew on the Egyptian side of 
 the lake Mareotis : that there were 
 both black and white grapes in that 
 country : and therefore that the poet 
 added the epithet lu^i^e, because they 
 were better than the black sort. 
 
 9S. Passo psythia utilior.'] Passuni 
 is a wine made from raisins, or dried 
 grapes. Columella has described 
 the manner of making it, in lib. xii. 
 cap. 39. It is called passicm from 
 patior according to Pliny : '* Quin 
 " et a patientia nomen acinis datur 
 " passis." 
 
 Tenuis lageos.'] The lageos is so 
 called from Xxyag a hare, on account 
 of its colour. This was not an Ita- 
 lian, but a foreign wine, as we are 
 informed by Pliny : " Dixit Virgi- 
 
134 
 
 P. VIRGILII MAROxNIS 
 
 which will make your legs 
 fail j^on, and tie your tongue: 
 there are purple and early 
 ripe grapes: and bow shall I 
 praise thee, O Rbaetian grape? 
 
 Tentatura pedes olim, vincturaque linguam ; 94 
 Purpureas, preciaeque, et quo te carmine dicam 
 
 " lius Thasias et Mareotidas, et Ja- 
 *' geas, compluresque externas, quae 
 *' non reperiuntur in Italia." Ser- 
 vius interprets tenuis , penetrabilis, 
 quce cito descendit ad venas. Some 
 think that tenuis signifies weak, and 
 therefore that the poet uses olim, to 
 signify that it will be long before it 
 affects the head. I take tenuis in 
 this place to signify what we call a 
 light wine. Dioscorides opposes the 
 light wines to the thick black wines: 
 Oi Jg TTX^tTi Kxi ftiXecveg KeucoTOfcxx,ct, 
 (Pva-a-a^lig , c-ec^xog ftlvTOt ytvvviTiKOi. ct 
 ftivroi Ag9no/ »eci xv^-yi^oi tvTOfAx^oi. 
 
 95. PrecicE,] " Preciae, quasi pras- 
 " coquae/' says Servius, " quod ante 
 '' alias coquantur»" 
 
 Quo te carmine dicam, Rhcetica ?] 
 Rhaetia is a country bordering upon 
 Italy. It has been questioned whe- 
 ther this expression of Virgil is in- 
 tended to praise the Rhaetian wines 
 or not. Seneca in his first book of 
 natural questions, cap. II. speaking 
 of the parhelia, is in doubt what 
 Latin name to give them, and asks 
 whether he shall imitate Virgil's ex- 
 pression, where he is in doubt how 
 to call the Rhaetian vine ; "His 
 " quod noraen imponimus? An fa- 
 " cio quod Virgilius, qui dubitavit 
 " de nomine, deinde id de quo du- 
 " bitaverat, posuit } 
 
 Et quo te nomine dicam 
 
 *' Rhaetica ? nee cellis ideo contende Fa- 
 *' lernis." 
 
 Here Seneca certainly understood 
 Virgil's meaning to be, that he was 
 in doubt what to say of this sort of 
 vine. But I think his authority in 
 this place not very great, because he 
 seems not to have read our poet 
 very carefully. Virgil did not say 
 nomine, but carmine: he was in no 
 doubt about the name of the vine. 
 
 but how he should celebrate it. 
 Servius tells us that Cato commended 
 this grape, and that Catullus spoke 
 in contempt of it : and that Virgil 
 therefore judiciously kept a middle 
 way, and made a doubt whether he 
 should praise or dispraise it. Ful- 
 vius Ursinus thinks this interpre- 
 tation very insipid. Let us see now 
 what reason there is to think that 
 Virgil intended absolutely to praise 
 the Rhaetian vine. I shall first quote 
 the authority of Strabo, who tells us 
 that the Rhaetian wine was highly 
 esteemed : O/ (aIi ovv 'VaiTai fiz^^i t?5 
 'ireiXixg )cx6»x.ov!n, rij? y;r£g OvK^avof 
 KXi Kafiov, xeci oy6 'VuiTiKog oivog tat if 
 ro7g 'irxXiKoTg iTrxnovftivuf oi»c uxcXii- 
 iFiT^xi ^cKcii, h rxii nvrui vfrv^uxig 
 ylnrxt. The next author I shall 
 quote is Pliny, who understood 
 our poet to mean, that the Rhaetian 
 vine was second to none but the 
 Falernian : " In Veronensi item 
 " Rhaetica, Falemis tantum postha- 
 " bita a Virgilio." He speaks of it 
 in another place, as a grape in high 
 esteem : " Et Rhaetica in maritimis 
 " Alpibus appellata, dissimilis lau- 
 " datoe illi." We learn from the 
 same author, that Tiberius intro- 
 duced another sort of wine, but that 
 till then the Rhaetian was most 
 esteemed : * ' Aliis gratiara qui et 
 '' vinis fumus affert fabrilis, iisque 
 " gloriam praecipuam in fomacibus 
 " Africae Tiberii Caesaris autoritas 
 " fecit. Ante eum Rhaeticis prior 
 " mensa erat, et uvis Veronensium 
 " agro." But what has the most 
 weight with me in this argument 
 is, that Suetonius has informed us, 
 that this wine was the favourite of 
 Augustus Caesar: '' Maxima delec- 
 " tatus est Rhsetico." Surely Vir- 
 gil was not so ill a courtier, as to 
 make a doubt whether he should 
 
GEORG. LIB. II. 
 
 135 
 
 Rhaetica ? nee cellis ideo contende Falernis. 96 
 Sunt etiam Ammineae vites, firmissima vina, 
 Tmoliiis adsurgit quibus, et rex ipse Phanaeus, 
 Argitisque minor: cui non certaverit ulla, 
 Aut tantum fluere, aut totidem durare per annos. 
 Non ego te, Dis, et mensis accepta secundis, 101 
 
 but however tbou must not 
 contend with the Falernian 
 cellars. There are also Am- 
 minean vines, which yield 
 the best bodied wine: which 
 the Tmolian, and even the 
 Phanaean king reverences: 
 and ihe smaller Argiiis, which 
 none can rival, either in yield- 
 ing; so much juice, or in last- 
 ing so many years. Nor shall 
 I pass thee over, O Rhodian 
 grape, which art so grateful 
 to (he gods, and to second 
 courses ; 
 
 praise or dispraise that wine which 
 his Emperor applauded : though he 
 confesses at the same time that he 
 must be so sincere as to prefer the 
 Falernian wine before it. 
 
 96. Nee cellis ideo contende Faler- 
 nis,] Pierius found adeo instead of 
 ideo, in some ancient manuscripts, 
 which he thinks more elegant. 
 
 Falernus is the name of a moun- 
 tain of Campania, famous for the 
 best wine. 
 
 97^ Sunt etiam Amminea vites, fir- 
 missima vina.'] One of the Arunde- 
 lian manuscripts has sunt et Ammi- 
 nece: the other has su7it etAminece. This 
 last reading is in one of Dr. Mead's 
 manuscripts, and is admitted by 
 Servius, Paul Stephens, La Cerda, 
 and several other editors. The 
 Cambridge, and the other manu- 
 script of Dr. Mead, has stmt et Ani- 
 meCj which is an easy mistake of the 
 transcribers for Aminecd. The old 
 Nurenberg edition has suntque Ami- 
 necE. Pierius says the Medicean and 
 Vatican manuscripts ha,ve sunt etiam 
 Ammintce: it is the same in the 
 King's and the Bodleian manu- 
 scripts. This reading is approved 
 by Heinsius, Ruaeus, Masvicius, and 
 most of the modern editors. Ami- 
 neum vinum, says Servius, quasi sine 
 minio, id est, rubor e, nam album est. 
 But this seems to be an imagination 
 of his own, not founded on any good 
 authority. 
 
 98. Tmolius adsurgit quibus, et 
 rex ipse Phanceus.'] Most of the 
 editors read Tmolus et adsurgit. 
 Some have Tmolus adsurgit, but 
 this is objected to by the gramma- 
 
 rians, because there is no instance 
 of a hexameter verse beginning 
 with a trochee. To avoid this im- 
 propriety, perhaps they stuck in et, 
 for which there is no occasion, if 
 we read Tmolius, according to the 
 Medicean, the Vatican, and the 
 King's manuscripts. This reading is 
 approved by Pierius, Heinsius, and 
 Masvicius. I find it also in several 
 of the oldest printed editions. In 
 one of Dr. Mead's manuscripts it is 
 moUius assurgit. I have spoken of 
 Tmolus in the note on ver. 56. of the 
 first book. This mountain was 
 very famous for wine : thus Ovid : 
 
 Africa quot segetes, quot TmoUa terra 
 racemos. 
 
 Phanae or Phanaea is the name of a 
 mountain of Chios, now called Scio. 
 The Chian wines are abundantly ce- 
 lebrated by the Greek and Roman 
 writers. 
 
 99- Argitis.'] This is thought to 
 be so called from Argos, a city, and 
 kingdom in the Morea, or ancient 
 Peloponnesus. Some think it is 
 derived from a^yhq, white, in which 
 sense May has translated it : 
 
 And white grapes, less than those, 
 
 101. Bis et mensis^ So I find it 
 in the King's, the Cambridge, the 
 Bodleian, and one of the Arunde- 
 lian manuscripts. In the other 
 Arundelian it is Dis aut mensis. In 
 both Dr. Mead's manuscripts, it is 
 mensis et Dis; which order of the 
 words is preferred by Pierius, 
 wherein he is followed by most of 
 the editors. He acknowledges how- 
 
136 
 
 r. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 nor thee, O Bumastus, with 
 swelling clusters. But the 
 many species, and the names 
 of them are without number: 
 nor is there occasion to relate 
 their number: which, he that 
 would count, might as well 
 number the sands of the Ly- 
 bian sea, that are tossed with 
 the west wind, or the Ionian 
 waves, that dash against the 
 shore, when a strong e^st- 
 wind falls upon the ships. 
 But neither can every sort of 
 land bear all sorts of trees. 
 Willows grow about rivers, 
 and alders in muddy marshes: 
 
 Transierim, Rhodia, et tumidis, bumaste, race- 
 mis. 
 Sed neque quam multae species, nee nomina quae 
 
 sint. 
 Est Humerus : neque enim numero comprendere 
 
 refert : 
 Quem qui scire veKt, Lybici velit aequoris idem 
 Discere quam multae Zephyro turbentur arenae : 
 Aut ubi navigiis violentior incidit eurus, 
 Nosse, quot lonii veniant ad litora fluctus. 
 Nee vero terrae ferre omnes omnia possunt. 
 Fluminibus salices, crassisque paludibus alni 110 
 
 ever that Dis et mensis is in most of 
 the ancient manuscripts he has seen : 
 and this reading is approved by 
 Heinsius, and Masvicius. 
 
 The first course was of flesh ; and 
 the second, or dessert, of fruit : at 
 which they poured Out wine to the 
 gods, which was called libation. 
 Therefore when the poet says the 
 Rhodian wine is grateful to the gods 
 and to second courses, he means it 
 was used in libations, which were 
 made at these second courses; or 
 perhaps, that the wine was poured 
 forth, and the grapes served up, as 
 part of the dessert. 
 
 102. Tumidis bumaste racemis.'] 
 One of Dr. Mead's manuscripts has 
 gravidis, instead of tumidis. The 
 bumasti are so called, because they 
 are large clusters, swelling like great 
 udders: thus Pliny: " Tumunt 
 *' vero mammarum mode bumasti." 
 
 103. Sed neque quam multce spe- 
 cies, nee nomina quce sint, est nume- 
 rus.'] Pliny tells us that Deraocritus 
 alone thought, that the different 
 sorts of vines were to be numbered, 
 but that others thought they were 
 infinite : " Genera vitium numero 
 " comprehendi posse unus existi- 
 ' ' mavit Democritus, cuncta sibi 
 *' Graeciae cognita professus. Cae- 
 
 '^ teri innumera atque infinita esse 
 " prodiderunt, quod verius appa- 
 •' rebit ex vinis." 
 
 105. Velit.'\ It is volet in one of 
 Dr. Mead's manuscripts. 
 
 Lybici velit cequoris idem, c^c] 
 This seems to be an imitation of 
 Theocritus, in his sixteenth Idyl- 
 lium. 
 
 'AXX' Zffos ya.^ o fte^S'est W am xv/nara 
 "Off' einfi.es ;^i^ffevSt fitret, yXoLVxeis eiT^i 
 
 109- Nec vero terrce, S^xJ] The 
 poet now informs us, that different 
 plants require different soils; he 
 mentions several considerable trees, 
 by which the countries that pro- 
 duce them may be distinguished; 
 and concludes with a beautiful de- 
 scription of the citron -tree. 
 
 Half this verse is taken from Lu- 
 cretius, lib. i. ver. I67. 
 
 Ferre omnes omnia possent. 
 
 110. Fluminibus salices.'] The 
 author of the books of plants, 
 ascribed to Aristotle, says, that wil- 
 lows grow either in dry or wet 
 places: Tivu fih ^Za-tv h toxois vy^oTg, 
 rirei 21 ^ri^olg, rtvct iv MMtT£g«<5, ug »i Wicc, 
 It would be wasting time, to pro- 
 
GEORG. LIB. 11. 
 
 137 
 
 Nascuntur : steriles saxosis montibus orni : 
 Littora myrtetis laetissima : denique apertos 
 Bacchus amat colles, aquilonem et frigora taxi. 
 Aspice et extremis domitum cultoribus orbem, 
 Eoasquedomos Arabum, pictosque Gelonos. 115 
 
 the barren wild ashes on rockj' 
 inoiintairis: ihe sph shores a- 
 boiind with myrtles: lastly 
 the virK* loves open hills, Hnil 
 yews the northern cold. Be- 
 hold also the most distant 
 parts of the cultivated gh^be, 
 both the eastern habitations 
 of the Arabians, and the 
 painted Geloni. 
 
 duce innumerable quotations from 
 other authors, to shew that wet 
 grounds are the proper soil for wil- 
 lows ; since it is confirmed by daily 
 experience. 
 
 Crassis paludibus.'] Servius inter- 
 prets crassis, lutosis, naturaliter : 
 Grimoaldus's paraphrase is, ''Alni 
 *' gaudent paludibus, et Into repletis 
 " locis." Mr. Evelyn says, '' The 
 " Alder is of all the other the most 
 " faithful lover of watery and boggy 
 " places, and those most despised 
 *^ weeping parts, or water-galls of 
 " forests ; for in better and dryer 
 " ground they attract the moisture 
 '' from it, and injure it." 
 
 111. Orni.l See the note on ver. 
 
 71. 
 
 114. Exlremis domitum cuUoribus 
 orbem.'] Servius thinks the prepo- 
 sition cum is to be understood here, 
 and that these words are to be ren- 
 dered ' ' the farthest part of the earth 
 " subdued together with its hus- 
 " bandraen." He supposes the poet 
 designs a compliment to the Romans, 
 who had subdued those nations. 
 Grimoaldus, La Cerda, and most of 
 the commentators follow this inter- 
 pretation. Ruaeus gives the sense 
 which I have followed in my trans- 
 lation.- May follows Servius: 
 
 — — And again behold 
 
 The conquer*d world's farthest inhabit- 
 ants : 
 
 and Dr. Trapp : 
 
 See the most distant regions, by the 
 
 pow*r 
 Of Roman arms subdu'd. 
 
 *' I have rendered it," says he, "ac- 
 
 "^ cording to the sense of all the 
 " commentators, except Ruaeus. — 
 " Orbem domitum [a Romanis, una 
 '' cum] exlremis [suis] cultoribus. 
 " Though I confess it is strained, 
 '* and harsh ; and Ruaeus's is more 
 '^ natural. — Orbem domitum; for 
 '^ subactum ; i, e. cultiim [ab] extre^ 
 '' mis, Sfc." Dryden follows Ruaeus : 
 
 Regard th' extremest cultivated coast. 
 and Mr. B : 
 
 Where'er the globe subdu'd by Jdnds we 
 see, 
 
 115. Piclos Gelonosr\ The Geloni 
 were a people of Scythia, who 
 painted their faces, like several other 
 barbarous nations, to make them- 
 selves appear more terrible in battle. 
 Some have erroneously, contrary to 
 all geographers, placed the Geloni 
 in Thrace : and Ruaeus thinks that 
 Virgil himself seems to make them 
 Thracians, in the third Georgick, 
 where he says, 
 
 — — Acerque Gelonus, 
 
 Cum fugit in Rhodopen, atqiie in deserta 
 Getarum : 
 
 because Rhodope is a mountain of 
 Thrace, and the Getae border upon 
 Scythia and Thrace. I believe the 
 poet uses Rhodope for Thrace ; and 
 the desarts of the Getae are confess- 
 edly not in Thrace, the Danube 
 flowing between them. Hence it is 
 as reasonable to say that the poet 
 makes the Geloni to be Getai as 
 Thracians, nay that he makes them 
 both Getae and Thracians, which is 
 absurd. It seems more probable 
 that when he speaks of their flying 
 
138 
 
 r. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 Yoa will find that countries Divisae avboribus patriae : sola India nigrum 
 
 are divided by their trees: » *=* 
 
 India alone bears the black Yevt ebenum 
 
 soils est thurea virga Sabaeis. 
 
 ebony: the Sabeeans only en 
 
 joy the bough of frankincense. „.,.,., „ , • -,• -i-in 
 
 •Why shoniii I mention the (juid tiDi oQorato reieraui sudantia liffno 118 
 
 balsam, which sweats out of ^ o 
 
 b«rieT^"f the°''ever-green Balsamaq ue, etbaccas semper frondentis acanthi ? 
 
 acanthus I 
 
 into Thrace, and the desarts of the 
 Getae, he should mean flying out of 
 their own country ; whence it will 
 follow that they were neither Getae 
 nor Thracians, but Scythians. 
 
 U6. Divis6e.'\ In the King's and 
 one of Dr. Mead's manuscripts it is 
 diverse. 
 
 Sola India nigrum fert ehenum.'] 
 Our poet has been accused of a mis- 
 take in saying that only India pro- 
 duces Ebony, since we are informed 
 by good authors, not only that it is 
 brought from Ethiopia, but also that 
 the best grows in that country. 
 Herodotus says expressly that 
 Ebony grows in Ethiopia, and we 
 find him quoted to this purpose by 
 Pliny : " Unara e peculiaribus In- 
 " diae VirgiUus celebravit Ebenum, 
 " nusquam alibi nasci professus. 
 " Herodotus eam ^Ethiopiae intelligi 
 " raaluit, tributi vice regibus Per- 
 " sidis e materie ejus centenas pha- 
 " langas tertio quoque anno pensi- 
 ." tasse ^thiopas cum auro et ebore, 
 " prodendo." Dioscorides mentions 
 an Indian Ebony, but he says the 
 best comes from Ethiopia: ''ESevo? 
 K^urUn « Al^iOTTiK^. — — Vf< ^e rk y-eti 
 'ly^iK-Ji. Lucan is quoted for saying 
 it is an Egyptian plant : 
 
 Ebenus Mareotica vastos 
 
 Non operit posies, sed stat pro robore 
 
 vili 
 Auxilium. 
 
 But it has, not without reason, been 
 supposed, that we ought to read 
 Mero'itica instead of Mareotica, 
 which will make the Ebony not an 
 Egyptian, but an Ethiopian plant, 
 even according to Lucan^ for Meroe 
 is in Ethiopia. This emendation is 
 
 confirmed by another passage in 
 the same author; where he ex- 
 pressly says that the Ebony grows 
 in Meroe ; 
 
 Late tibi gurgite rupto 
 
 Ambitur nigris Meroe fcEcunda colonis, 
 Laeta corais Ebeni : quae, quamvis ar- 
 
 bore multa 
 Frondeat, asstatem nulla sibi mitigat 
 
 umbra. 
 
 Thus we find a concurrent testimony 
 of several authors, that the Ebony 
 grows in Ethiopia, whereas Virgil 
 asserts, that it grows only in India. 
 Servius vindicates the poet by say- 
 ing, that Ethiopia was reckoned a 
 part of India ; which opinion seems 
 to be confirmed by a passage in the 
 fourth Georgick, where the source 
 of the Nile i« said to be India; 
 which must be understood to mean 
 Ethiopia, for it is impossible to sup- 
 pose the Nile to rise in India pro- 
 perly so called : 
 
 Et diversa mens septem discurrit in ora 
 Usque coloralis amnis devexus. ab Indis. 
 
 However it is not improbable, that 
 the poet might think that Ebony 
 was peculiar to India, for we find 
 that Theophrastus was of the same 
 opinion. This great author, speak- 
 ing of the trees of India, says that 
 Ebony is peculiar to that country : 
 
 1 1 7- Solis est thurea virga Sabceis.] 
 See the note on ijioUes sua thura Sa- 
 bcei, book i. ver. 57. 
 
 119. Balsamaqiie.'] In one of Dr. 
 Mead's manuscripts it is Bahama, 
 quid. If this reading, which seems 
 very good, be admitted, the whole 
 passage will stand thus : 
 
 Quid tibi odorato referam sudantia Hgno 
 
GEORG. LIB. II. 
 
 139 
 
 Quid iiemora iEthiopum moUi canentia lana? 
 
 Why should I speak of tlie 
 forests of the Ethiopians, 
 hoary with soft wool ! 
 
 Balsama? quid baccas semper frondentis 
 
 acanthi ? 
 Quid nemora iEthiopum molli canentia 
 
 lana? 
 
 In the Cambridge manuscript, it is 
 Balsama, et baccas. 
 
 According to Pliny the Balsam 
 plant grows only in Judaea : but Jo- 
 sephus tells us, that the Jews had a 
 tradition, that it was first brought 
 into their country by the Queen of 
 Sheba, who presented it to Solomon: 
 
 Aiyeyc* 5' on kx) t^v rov 07roQxX(rxuiv 
 fiC^xvvjV iTi vvv KfACi)y t} ^copoc, (pzgii, doVFlif 
 
 rctvTiig TJij yvveiiKog s^ofiiv. According 
 to the best accounts of modern au- 
 thors the true country of the Balsam 
 plant is Arabia Felix. It is a shrub 
 with unequally pennated leaves. The 
 Balsam flows out of the branches, 
 either naturally, or by making 
 incisions in June, July, and August. 
 It is said to be white at first, then 
 green, and at last of a yellow colour, 
 like that of honey. 
 
 Baccas semper frondentis Acanthi.] 
 The Acanthus is mentioned several 
 times by Virgil. In this place he 
 speaks of it as a tree, that bears ber- 
 ries, and is always green. In the 
 fourth Georgick, he seems to speak 
 of it as a twining plant : 
 
 •■ Flcxi tacuissein vimeu Acanthi. 
 
 A little afterwards he mentions it as 
 a garden plant : 
 
 Ille comam mollis jam turn tondebat 
 Acanthi. 
 
 In the third Eclogue he describes 
 two cups adorned with the figure 
 of it: 
 
 Et nobis idem Alcimedon duo pocula 
 
 fecit ; 
 Et moUi circum est ansas amplexus 
 
 Acantho. 
 
 This verse is taken from the first 
 Idyllium of Theocritus : 
 
 In the fourth Eclogue it is repre- 
 sented as a beautiful plant : 
 
 Mixtaque ridenti Colocasia fundet Acan- 
 tho. 
 
 In the first ^Eneid he speaks of a 
 garment wrought with yellow silk, 
 in the form of Acanthus leaves : 
 
 Et circumtextum croceo velamen Acan- 
 tho. 
 
 And 
 
 Pictum croceo velamen Acantho. 
 
 It seems scarce possible to find any 
 one plant, with which all these cha- 
 racters agree. Hence it has not 
 been unreasonably supposed, that 
 there are two sorts of Acanthus; 
 the one an Egyptian tree, of which 
 the poet speaks in this place ; and 
 the other an herb, to which the 
 other passages allude. The tree is 
 described by Theophrastus. He 
 says it is called Acnnthus, because 
 it is all over prickly, except the 
 trunk : for it has thorns upon the 
 shoots and leaves. It is a large 
 tree, and affords timber of twelve 
 
 cubits. The fruit grows in pods, 
 
 after the manner of pulse, and is 
 used by the inhabitants, instead of 
 galls, in dressing leather. The 
 flower is beautiful, and is used in 
 garlands : it is also gathered by the 
 physicians, being useful in medi- 
 cine. A gum also flows from it, 
 either spontaneously, or by incision. 
 It shoots again the third year after 
 it has been cut down. This tree 
 grows in great plenty, and there is 
 a large wood of them about The- 
 bais: 'H ^g "Ax«fv9-e? xccMTtui f^lv diei 
 TO axccvB-a^ig oXov ro ^'iv^^ov tivut, -ttXkv 
 Toy 5'sAs;^oyj, ku] yoi^ ZTri Tcov /iXoc^Zv 
 xcit iTiri Tcov <pyAA<yv lyjii. Miyi^il ^i 
 ^iyot, xxt y«4^ ^M^iKoiTFny^v; £| diirm 
 T 2 
 
140 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 121 
 
 ^ne'flStr'oSh^^^^^^^^^ Velleraque ut foliis depectant tenuia Seres ? 
 
 trees! Or of the groves of . ^ . . t t i 
 
 oSn'/S irth^'fauhe^ ^^^^ oceano propior gent India lucos, 
 
 bonnrlof the earth? whtre no T?,,i.^ ^^* * -l" o u* •• 
 
 arrows can soar JtiXtremi sious orbis T uDi aera vmcere summum 
 
 sAAoWej, x.xB'oiTrip tSv vi^poyrZv, u v,pm- 
 rui el iy^a^ioi Tr^oq ret, ^'i^y^xToi uvri 
 x-tKiOeg. To 5' civ^og kui t? o^h KscXoy. 
 
 a^l KXt i-i^CiVOVg TTOliTv || CCVTOV. Kxi 
 
 ^x^fcecxahg, ho kui TvXXiyovcriv oi iciT^»t. 
 
 TtViTeCt ^l U TXVTTfig KCci TO KOfifil, X.XI 
 
 peg/, XXI TrXi/iyita-tig, kx) xCrof/^xroy Xfiv 
 o-)^ucriug. "Orxv Ti xoTir^, fiiTX T^ircv 
 
 iTOg ivB-vg aVX^lZXcUnxi, Uo>.V 2i TO 
 
 dlid^6v l<fl, Kxt d^vftog f^zyxg 9reg; to? 
 
 0}}Ci9('/xoi^ vofAov. The Acanthus of 
 Theophrastus is certainly the Egyp- 
 tian Acacia, from which we obtain 
 that sort of gum, which is com- 
 monly known by the name of Gum 
 Arabic. Ihere is only one thing, 
 in which the Acacia differs from the 
 Acanthus ; the trunk of it is prickly, 
 as well as the other parts. But in 
 this particular Theophrastus might 
 have been misinformed : in other 
 circumstances theyagrec sufficiently. 
 The juice of the unripe pods is now 
 used at Cairo, in dressing leather ; 
 and Prosper Alpinus, wiio had ga- 
 thered the gum from this tree with 
 his own hands, affirms that no other 
 sort of tree bears any gum, either 
 in Egypt or Arabia. But, though 
 it be allowed that the Acacia is the 
 Acanthus of Theophrastus, yet there 
 remains a great difficulty to recon- 
 cile what Virgil says of it in this 
 place with the description of that 
 tree. It is certain that the fruit of 
 the Acacia, or Acajilhus, is a pod, 
 and bears no resemblance of a berry. 
 Bodseus a Stapel has proposed a 
 solution of this difficulty. He ob- 
 serves that the flowers grow in little 
 balls, which Virgil might therefore 
 poetically call berries -, though that 
 word strictly belongs to small round 
 fruits. Prosper Alpinus has given 
 a particular description of them: 
 
 " Flores parvos, pallidos, subflavos, 
 " atque etiam albos, rotundos, par- 
 *' vos lanae floccos imitantes, platani 
 " fructibus forma plane similes, his 
 " tamen longe minores, et nihil 
 *' aliud flos hujusce arboris videtur, 
 '' quam mollis lanugo parvum ro- 
 " tundumque globulum effiarmans, 
 '' non ingrati odoris." But might 
 not Virgil as well call the globules 
 of gum berries ? Mr. B — seems to 
 have been of this opinion : 
 
 Where ever-ffreen 
 
 Acanthus rises with his gummy stem. 
 
 We shall consider the other Acan- 
 thus, in the note on ver. 123. of the 
 fourth Georgick. 
 
 120. Nemora jEthiopum molli ca- 
 nentia lana.'] These forests, that are 
 hoary with soft wool, are the cotton- 
 trees. They grow usually to about 
 fifteen feet in height ; the cotton is 
 a soft substance, growing within a 
 greenish husk, and serving to de- 
 fend the seeds. 
 
 121. Velleraque n t foliis depectant 
 tenuia Seres.'] The Seres were a peo- 
 ple of India, who furnished the other 
 parts of the world with silk. The 
 ancients were generally ignorant of 
 the manner in which it was spun by 
 the silk-worms; and imagined that 
 it was a sort of down, gathered from 
 the leaves of trees. Thus Pliny : 
 '' Primi sunthominum, quinoscan- 
 " tur. Seres, lanicio syl varum no- 
 " biles, perfusam aqua depectentes 
 '* frondium caniciem.*' 
 
 122. Propior.'] In the Cambridge, 
 and in one of Dr. Mead's manu- 
 scripts, and in the old Nurenberg 
 edition, it is proprior. 
 
 123. Aera vincere summum, &c.] 
 The vast height of the Indian trees 
 is mentioned also by Pliny, lib. vii. 
 
GEORG. LIB. II. 
 
 141 
 
 Arboris baud ullae jactu potuere sagittae : 124 
 Etgens illaquidem sumptis non tarda pharetris. 
 Media fert tristes succos, tardumque saporcm 
 Felicis mali, quo non praesentius ullum, 
 Pocula si quando saevae infecere novercae, 
 MiscLieruntque herbas, et non innoxia verba, 
 Auxilium venit, ac membris agit atravenena. 130 
 
 above the lofly gnmmits of 
 Iheir trees : and yet those peo- 
 ple are no bad archers. Media 
 bears bitter juices, and the 
 slow taste of the happj' apple, 
 than which there is not a 
 better remedy, to expel the 
 venom, when cruel step-mo- 
 thers have poisoned a cup, 
 and mingled herbs, with bale- 
 ful charms. 
 
 c. 2. " Arbores quidem tantae pro- 
 *' ceritatis traduntur, ut sagitti.s su- 
 ** perari nequeant." 
 
 126. Media fert tristes succos, &c.] 
 The fruit here mentioned is cer- 
 tainly the Citron. Dioscorides says 
 expressly that the fruit which the 
 Greeks call Medicum, is in Latin 
 called Citrium: T«t ^l Mvi^txa:, Xtyo- 
 
 21 K/Tg;<«, zsUti yva^if^cc. 
 
 Trisils signifies bitter, as iristisque 
 lupifii. This must be understood 
 either of the outer rind, which is 
 very bitter ; or of the seeds, which 
 are covered with a bitter skin. The 
 juice of the pulp is acid. 
 
 What sort of taste the poet means 
 by tardum saporem, is not very easy 
 to determine, nor are the commen- 
 tators and translators well agreed 
 about it. Servius seems to under- 
 stand it to be a taste which does not 
 presently discover itself. Philargy- 
 rius interprets it a taste which dwells 
 a long time upon the palate. La 
 Cerda takes it to mean that persons 
 are slow or unwilling to swallow it, 
 on account of its acrimony. Ruaeus 
 follows Philargyrius. May trans- 
 lates this 
 
 Slow tasted apples Media dolh produce, 
 And bitter too ; but of a happy use. 
 
 Diyden renders tristes succos, sharp 
 tasted, and tardum saporem, bitter; 
 which he applies to the rind : 
 
 Sharp-tasled citrons Median climes pro- 
 duce, 
 Bitter the rind, but gen'rous is the juice. 
 
 Mr. B makes it a clamwy taste: 
 
 To Media's clime those happy fruits 
 
 belong, 
 Bitter of taste, and dummy to the tongue. 
 
 Dr. Trapp translates tristis, pun- 
 gent; and follows Philargyrius, with 
 regard to tardum saporem : 
 
 Media the happy citron bears, of juice 
 Pni?getit, of taste that dwells upon the 
 tongue. 
 
 I take the epithet happy to be 
 ascribed to this fruit on account of 
 its great virtues. Some of the com- 
 mentators think it is so called, be- 
 cause the tree enjoys a continual suc- 
 cession of fruits. 
 
 127. PrcEsenthis.'] Pierius says it 
 is proEstantius, in the Lombard ma- 
 nuscript : but he adds that prcesen- 
 tins is preferred by the learned. 
 
 129. Miscuerunt.'] It is miscue- 
 rant in the Cambridge manuscript : 
 and miscuerintm one of Dr. Mead's, 
 and in some old printed editions. 
 
 130. Membris agit aira venena,'] 
 Athenaeus relates a remarkable story 
 of the use of Citrons against poison ; 
 which he had from a friend of his, 
 who was governor of Egypt. This 
 governor had condemned two male- 
 factors to death, by the bite of ser- 
 pents. As they were led to execu- 
 tion, a person taking compassion of 
 them, gave them a citron to eat. 
 The consequence of this was, that 
 though they were exposed to the 
 bite of the most venomous serpents, 
 they received no injury. The go- 
 
142 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 The tree is large, and very 
 like a bay; and, if it did nut 
 spread abroad a different 
 Mnell, it might be taken for a 
 bay : tiie leaves are not shak- 
 en off with any winds : the 
 flower is very tenacious : the 
 Medes chew it for their un- 
 savoury breaths, and cure 
 with It their asthmatic old 
 
 Ipsa ingens arbos, faciemque simillima lauro . 
 Et si non alium late jactaret odorem, 
 Laurus erat : folia haud iiUis labentia ventis : 
 Flos ad prima tenax : animas et olentia Medi 
 Ora fovent illo, et senibus medicantur anhelis. 
 
 vernor being surprised at this ex- 
 traordinary event, enquired of the 
 soldier who guarded them, what 
 they had eat or drank that day, and 
 being informed, that they had only 
 eaten a Citron, he ordered that the 
 next day one of them should eat 
 Citron, and the other not. He who 
 had not tasted the Citron, died pre- 
 sently after he was bitten : the other 
 remained unhurt. 
 
 131. Faciemque simillima Lauro.'] 
 " This is a verbal translation of 
 " Theophrastus : "Ep^^e* 21 to div^^ov 
 
 " Tovro ^vXXoy fiiv ofioiov kxi o-^iTov la-ci 
 " rf TJJ5 Aatpf*)?. But it must be ob- 
 *' served that in the common editions 
 '' we find uv^^eiy^m, which is a cor- 
 " rupt reading for "^sicpn^; : which 
 " has led Theodorus Gaza into a 
 " mistake, who translates it Portu- 
 " laca. Others finding this passage 
 " corrupted, have taken pains to 
 " correct it, by substituting ec^^d^vvig 
 " for ecv2^ci^v/i?. But I think I have 
 " restored the true reading ; for so 
 " Athenaeus, lib. iii. informs us that 
 '' it ought to be read. This au- 
 " thor, quoting this passage of The- 
 *' ophrastus, uses ^ecCpvn^, instead of 
 '' uv^^d^vvi?. As for the words 
 
 " civd^oi^vvig, xci^vct?, which follow 
 
 " ?«'(p>»}5, I take them to be the gloss 
 '^ of some idle commentator, for 
 " they are not to be found in the 
 " oldest copies." Fulvius Ursinus. 
 
 Both Dr. Mead's manuscripts 
 havefacieque. 
 
 134. Flos ad prima tenaxJ2 
 " Though some manuscripts have 
 *' apprime, I prefer ad prima, which 
 " I find in the most ancient copies. 
 " This reading seems to have been 
 
 " allowed also by Arusianus. And 
 " in an old manuscript of Terence 
 " we find, Meis me omnibus scio esse 
 " ad prima obsequentem. 'Efct vu. 
 " TT^mei is no inelegant Greek fi- 
 " gure." PiERius. 
 
 Servius reads apprima, which he 
 says is put adverbially, like Et pede 
 terram. crehra. ferit , for crebro. The 
 King's, the Cambridge, and the 
 Bodleian manuscripts have ad prima, 
 which is acknowledged also by 
 Heinsius. 
 
 134. Animas et olentia Medi ora 
 fovent illo.'] Grimoaldus refers illo 
 to the flower: but it is generally 
 thought to refer to the fruit. The- 
 ophrastus ascribes this virtue to the 
 fruit : '£«» y«^ t<5 I4''5C'*5 6» to t^eifAu >) 
 Iv fij^Aft* Tjv/, TO 'ia-uhv Toy fi^Xov hcTFiKrn 
 
 itg TO WftflC KXl KXTU^0^KO-*l, ZTOIU TV^V 
 
 oa-fih iiluxv. Pliny says the Par- 
 thians are subject to a stinking 
 breath, on account of the variety of 
 their food, and their hard drinking: 
 and that their great men cure this 
 disorder with the seeds of Citrons. 
 " Animae leonis virus grave . . . Ho- 
 " minis tantum natura infici voluit 
 " pluribus modis, et ciborum ac den- 
 *^ tium vitiis, sed maximesenio. Do- 
 " lorem sentire non poterat, tactu 
 ^' sensuque omni carebat ; sine qua 
 " nihil sentitur. Eadem commea- 
 "■ bat recens assidue, exitura su- 
 " premo, et sola ex omnibus super- 
 " futura. Denique haec trahebatur 
 " e caelo. Hujus quoque tamen re- 
 '' perta poena est, ut neque ad ip- 
 '' sum quo vivitur, in vita juvaret. 
 '' Parthorum populis hoc prsecipue, 
 " et a juventa, propter indiscretos 
 *' cibos: namque et vino foetent ora 
 
GEORG. LIB. II. 
 
 143 
 
 Sed neque Medorum sylvae, ditissima terra, 136 B"t neither the groves 
 
 T- J ' .Aleclia, the richest of c( 
 
 Nec pulcher Ganges, atque auro turbidus Her- Ss'^an^rHer,n«s"u:ick wit"h 
 
 mus, 
 
 Laudibus Italiae certent: non Bactra, neque Indi, 
 
 gold, may contend for praise 
 with Italy: not Bactra, nor 
 India, 
 
 " nimio, Sed sibi proceres meden- 
 " tur grano Assyrii mali, cujus est 
 '' suavitas praecipua, in esculenta 
 " addito." The same author, in 
 another place, speaks of the Citron, 
 as the most salutary of exotic fruits, 
 and a remedy for poison. He there 
 compares the leaves of it to the ar- 
 bute : he says the fruit is not eaten, 
 which we find also in Theophrastus, 
 but it has an agreeable smell; as 
 also the leaves, M'hich preserve gar- 
 ments from being eaten. The tree 
 is laden with a continual suc- 
 cession of fruits. Several nations 
 have endeavoured to transplant it 
 into their own countries, but it will 
 grow only in Media and Persia. 
 The seeds are used by the Parthi- 
 ans, for the sake of their breath: 
 and there is no other tree of note in 
 Media. *' In prsesentia externas 
 " persequemur, a salutari maxime 
 " orsi. Malus Assyria, quern alii 
 " vocant Medicam, venenis mede- 
 " tur. Folium ejus est Unedonis, 
 *' intercurrentibus spinis. Pomum 
 " ipsum alias non manditur : odore, 
 " prsecellit foliorum quoque qui 
 ^* transit in vestes una conditus, 
 " arcetque animalium noxia. Ar- 
 '^ bor ipsa omnibus horis pomifera 
 " est, aliis cadentibus, aliis matures- 
 " centibus, aliis vero subnascenti- 
 *' buso Tentavere gentes transferre 
 *' ad sese, propter remedii prsestan- 
 '^ tiam, fictilibus in vasis, dato per 
 '* cavernas radicibus spiramento : 
 '^ qualiter omnia transitura longius, 
 '^ seri arctissime transferrique me- 
 " minisse conveniet, ut semel quae- 
 '^ que dicantur. Sed nisi apud Me •■ 
 " dos et in Perside nasci noluit. 
 " Haec autem est cujus grana Par- 
 
 " thorum proceres incoquere dixi- 
 " mus esculentis, commendandi ha- 
 " litus gratia. Nec alia arbor lau- 
 ^' datur in Medis." 
 
 Palladius seems to have been the 
 first, who cultivated the Citron, with 
 any success, in Italy. He has a 
 whole chapter on the subject of this 
 tree. It seems, by his account, that 
 the fruit was acrid : which confirms 
 what Theophrastus and Pliny have 
 said of it; that it was not esculent: 
 " Feruntur acres medullas mutare 
 " dulcibus, si per triduum aqua 
 " mulsa semina ponenda maceren- 
 " tur, vel ovillo lacte, quod praestat." 
 It may have been meliorated by 
 culture, since his time. 
 
 136. Sed ?ieque, &c.] The poet 
 having spoken of the most remark- 
 able plants of foreign countries, 
 takes occasion to make a beautiful 
 digression in praise of Italy. 
 
 137. Pulcher Ganges.^ The 
 Ganges is a great river of India, di- 
 viding it into two parts. It is men- 
 tioned by Pliny, as one of the rivers, 
 which afford gold. 
 
 . Juro turbidus Hermus.'] Hermus 
 is a river of Lydia ; it receives the 
 Pactolus, famous for its golden 
 sands . 
 
 138. Bactra.~\ This is the name 
 of the capital city of a country of 
 Asia, lying between Parthia on the 
 west, and India on the east. Pliny 
 says it is reported, that there is 
 wheat in this country, of which 
 each grain is as big as a whole ear of 
 the Italian wheat : *' Tradunt in 
 ^' Bactris grana tantse magnitudinis 
 '' fieri, ut singula spicas nostras 
 " se.quent." 
 
 Indi.'] He puts the name of the 
 
144 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 nor all Panchaia, whose rich 
 sands abound with frankin- 
 cense. This country lias never 
 been ploughed by bulls, that 
 breathe fire from their nos- 
 trils, nor sown with the teetii 
 ofacrnci dragon: nor have 
 the fields borne a horrid crop 
 of men armed with helmets 
 and spears, but it is filled 
 with lieavy corn, and the 
 Massic liquor of Bacchus: 
 antl is possessed by olives, 
 and joyful herds. 
 
 Totaque thuriferis Panchai'a pinguis arenls. 
 Hasc loca non tauri spirantes naribus ignem 140 
 Invertere, satis immanis dentibus hydri ; 
 Nee galeis, densisque virum seges horruit hastis : 
 Sed gravidas fruges, et Bacchi Massicus humor 
 Implevere ; tenent oleae, armentaque laeta. 
 
 people, for the country. Mr. B — 
 seems to imag^Ine, that Virgil meant 
 both the East and West Indies ; 
 
 No nor yet Bactria, nor loth Indies shores. 
 
 Probably the poet may mean Ethi- 
 opia in this place : for he has spoken 
 already of India properly so called, 
 in mentioning the Ganges. 
 
 139. Thuriferis Pancha'ia pinguis 
 arenis.'] Pancha'ia or Panchoea is a 
 country of Arabia felix. See the 
 note on ver. 57, of the first Geor- 
 gick. The sands hearing frankin- 
 cense may be variously interpreted. 
 It may mean, that it is in such 
 plenty, that it is not only gathered 
 from the trees, but even found in 
 plenty on the ground. Thus Gri- 
 raoaldus paraphrases it: *' Neque 
 " Pancha'ia, pars Arabiae soli sub- 
 " jecta et consecrata, ubi tanta thu- 
 " ris affluentia est, ut non solum in 
 *' arbor um corticibus, sed in areis 
 " etiam legi queat." I believe areis 
 is an error of the Press, and that it 
 should be arenis. It may mean also, 
 a soil producing frankincense, as 
 Ruaeus interprets it: '' Nee tota 
 *' Panchaia, dives solo turifero :" 
 and Dr. Trapp : 
 
 ■■ Nor Panchaia fat 
 All o'er, with frankincense-producing 
 glebe. 
 
 Mr. B thinks it means, that the 
 
 frankincense is in such plenty, that 
 the country may be said to be 
 dunged with it : 
 
 Or all Panchaia's plains, manu'd with 
 spicy stores. 
 
 " The interpretation of the last of 
 " these lines (says he) differs from 
 " the commentators, but I think it 
 '^ is Virgil's sense. He always rises 
 " in his descriptions. After he has 
 " mentioned groves of citrons, and 
 " golden sandsj Persia and India, 
 " what can be greater than to men- 
 " tion a country dunged with spices, 
 " and what more proper to bring 
 '^ the digression home to his sub- 
 " ject, and to connect it with what 
 *' follows ? But this passage de- 
 " serves to be examined more nearly. 
 ''It is plain, the sense of it turns 
 " upon this word pinguis. Now 
 " there are too many places in the 
 *' Georgicks to be enumerated, 
 *' where pinguis terra, pinguis hu' 
 " mus, or pingue solum, signifies 
 '' lands well manured; but where 
 " it once implies dives by its pro- 
 " duce, as Ruaeus and his followers 
 " understand it, I have not been 
 " able to discover." 
 
 140. HcEc loca, &c.] He alludes 
 to the story of Jason, who went to 
 Colchis for the golden fleece ; where 
 he conquered the bulls, which 
 breathed forth fire from their nos- 
 trils, and yoked them to a plough. 
 He also slew a vast dragon, sowed 
 his teeth in the ground, and de- 
 stroyed the soldiers, which arose 
 from the dragon's teeth, like a crop 
 of corn from seed. 
 
 143. Bacchi Massicus humor.'] 
 Massicus is the name of a mountain 
 of Campania, celebrated for wine. 
 
 144. Olece, armentaque.~\ It is ge- 
 nerally read oleaque, armentaque. 
 
GEORG. LIB. IL 
 
 145 
 
 Hinc bellator equus campo sese arduus infert : 
 Hinc albi, Clitumne, greges, et maxima taurus 
 Victima, saepe tuo perfusi flumine sacro, 147 
 Romanes ad templa deum duxere triumphos. 
 Hie ver assiduum, atque alienis mensibus aestas: 
 
 Hence the warlike horse with 
 his lofty neck ruslies into the 
 field. Hence thy w hite flocks, 
 Clitnmnus, and the greatest of 
 victims, the bull, having been 
 often washed with thy sacred 
 stream, have ltd the Roman 
 triumphs to thetemplesof the 
 gods. Here the spring is per- 
 petual, and the summer shines 
 in unusual months. 
 
 But Pierius informs us^ that in the 
 Medicean and other ancient manu- 
 scripts que is left out after olecp. 1 
 find it so in the King's manuscript. 
 Heinsius also and Masvicius follow 
 this reading. 
 
 146- Hinc albi y Clitumne, greges, 
 SfC.~\ Clitumnus is a river of Italy, 
 in which the victims were washed, 
 to be rendered more pure; for 
 none, but such as were white, were 
 offered to Jupiter Capitolinus. 
 
 In the King's manuscript it is 
 tauri instead o'^ taurus. 
 
 149. Hie ver assiduum, atque alie- 
 nis mensibus cestas.'} He describes 
 the temperate air of Italy, by saying 
 it enjoys a perpetual spring, and 
 summer warmth in such months, as 
 make winter in other countries. 
 Mr. B — contends, that we ought 
 to read messibus, for mensibus. " 1 
 " do not wonder (says he) if none 
 " of the interpreters have been able 
 " to make sense of this line : but if 
 " we alter mensibus to messibus, it 
 *' seems very intelligible. Virgil 
 " had already enumerated in the 
 " praises of his country, their corn, 
 " their wine, their olives, and their 
 " cattle, and what could be more 
 " properly mentioned after them 
 " than their foreign grasses ? he 
 " very poetically calls their verdure 
 " perpetual spring, and their fre- 
 " quent harvests continued summer. 
 " The Medico, which he takes such 
 " particular notice of in the first 
 " Georgick, is cut seven or eight 
 " times a year in Italy. There is a 
 " passage in Claudian, which may 
 " give some light to this in Virgil : 
 " Quodgelidi rubeant alieno gramine menses. 
 
 " What Claudian calls alieno gra- 
 " 7nine, Virgil expresses by aliena 
 '^ messe. What the former describes 
 *' by menses qui rubent, the latter 
 " paints in a finer manner by cestas. 
 " That this passage relates to the 
 *' foreign grasses, can hardly be dis- 
 *' puted, for another reason, because 
 " otherwise Virgil would have left 
 " them out of his praises of Italy, 
 *' which would have been no incon- 
 '* siderable omission*." In pursuance 
 of this criticism, his translation of 
 this passage is. 
 
 Here everlasting spring adorns the field. 
 And foreign harvests constant summer 
 yield. 
 
 This is a bold alteration, and not 
 warranted by the authority of any 
 manuscript. Alienis mensibus sig- 
 nifies in unusual months; that is, in 
 such months, as other countries do 
 not feel warmth. Lucretius uses 
 alienis partibus anni, or, as Fulvius 
 Ursinus reads, alienis mensibus anni, 
 in much the same sense. He is 
 proving that something cannot be 
 produced from nothing by this ar- 
 gument: roses appear in the spring, 
 corn in summer, and grapes in au- 
 tumn. Now, says he, if these were 
 produced from nothing, we should 
 see them rise at uncertain times, and 
 unusual parts, or months, of the 
 year. 
 
 — — Subito exorerentur 
 
 Incerto spatio, atque alienis partibus anni. 
 
 Trebellius, in the life of Gallienus, 
 as he is quoted by La Cerda, speak- 
 ing of fruits being brought to table 
 out of the common season, ex- 
 presses it by alienis mensibus. ""Fi- 
 
146 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 The sheep bear twice, and the 
 tree is twice loaded with ap- 
 ples every year. But there 
 are no ravening tygers, nor 
 savage breed of lions: nor do 
 aconites deceive the anhappy 
 gatherers. 
 
 Bis gravidas pecudes, bis pomis utilis arbos. 150 
 At rabidae tigres absunt, et saeva leonum 
 Semina: nee miseros fallunt aconita legentes: 
 
 '' cos virides, et poma ex arboribus 
 '^ recentia semper alienis mensibus 
 " praebuit." The verse, which Mr. 
 B — quotes from Claudian, rather 
 confirms the old interpretation. He 
 speaks of roses blooming in winter, 
 and the cold months glowing with 
 unusual grass : 
 
 Quod bruma rosas innoxia servet. 
 
 Quod gelidi rubeant alieno gramine 
 menses. 
 
 That is, the roses blow, and the 
 grass flourishes in winter, which is 
 not the usual season. The same 
 author, speaking of a star appear- 
 ing at noon, calls it alienum tempus: 
 
 Emicuitque plagis alieni temporis hospes 
 Ignis. 
 
 I do not understand Dryden's trans- 
 lation of the line under considera- 
 tion; 
 
 And summer suns recede by slow de- 
 
 May has translated it better : 
 
 And summers there in months unusual 
 shine. 
 
 Dr. Trapp's translation is not very 
 different : 
 
 And summer shines 
 
 In months not her's. 
 
 150. Bis grav'idce pecudes, bis po- 
 mis utilis arbos.'] He tells us the 
 sheep are so fruitful in Italy, that 
 they breed twice in a year. He 
 seems to insinuate the same in his 
 second Eclogue, where Cory don, 
 speaking of his great riches in sheep 
 and milk, says he has no want of 
 new milk either in summer or win- 
 ter: 
 
 Quam dives pecoris nivei, quam lactis 
 abundans. 
 
 Mille meae Siculis errant in montibus 
 agnae: 
 
 Lac mihi non asstate novum, non frigore 
 defit. 
 
 What stores my dairies, and my folds con- 
 tain ; 
 
 A thousand lambs that wander on the plain; 
 
 New milk that all the winter never fails. 
 
 And all the summer overflows the pails ? 
 Dbyden. 
 
 Homer speaks of the Lybian sheep 
 breeding thrice in a year : 
 
 which is impossible, if the sheep be 
 of the same species with those of 
 Europe ; which go 1 50 days with 
 young according to Pliny; '' Ge- 
 " runt partum diebus cl." Mr. B — 
 translates pecudes, kine : 
 
 Twice ev'ry year the kine are great with 
 young. 
 
 Varro mentions an apple-tree, 
 which bears twice : " Malus bifera, 
 *' ut in agro Consentino." 
 
 151. Rabidae.'] In the Medicean, 
 and other ancient manuscripts, it is 
 rapidce, accordmg to Pierius. 
 
 152. Nee miseros fallunt aconita 
 legentes.'] The Aconite or Wolfs- 
 bane is a poisonous herb, which 
 was found in Heraclea Pontica. 
 We have several sorts in our gar- 
 dens, one of which is very common, 
 under the name of Monkshood. 
 There are several cases of persons 
 poisoned with eating this herb, one 
 of which was communicated lately 
 to the Royal Society, by Mr. Bacon. 
 See Phil. Transact. No. 432. p. 287. 
 Servius affirms, that the Aconite 
 grows in Italy, and observes, that 
 
GEORG. LIB. II. 
 
 147 
 
 Nee rapit immensos orbes per humum, neque 
 
 tanto 
 Squameus in spiram tractu se colligit anguis. 
 Adde tot egregias urbes, operumque laborem : 
 Tot congesta manu praeruptis oppida saxis; 156 
 Fluminaque antiquos subterlabentia muros. 
 An mare, quod supra, memorem, quodque alluit 
 
 infra ? 
 
 Nor does the scaly serpent 
 trail his immense folds along 
 the ground, nor collect his 
 length into so vast a spire. 
 Add to this so many famous 
 cities, and stupendous works: 
 so many towns built on the 
 rocky cliflfs : and rivers slid- 
 ingunderancient walls. Shalt 
 I mention the sea which 
 washes it above, and that 
 which washes it below? 
 
 the Poet does not deny it, but art- 
 fully insinuates, that it is so well 
 known to the inhabitants, that they 
 are in no danger of being deceived 
 by it. Dryden's translation seems 
 to be according to this interpreta- 
 tion: 
 
 Nor pois'nous Aconite is here produc'd. 
 Or grows unknown, or is, when known, 
 refus'd. 
 
 I do not find however that this 
 poisonous plant is now found com- 
 mon in Italy : or that it was deemed 
 a plant of that country by the an- 
 cients. 
 
 153. Nee rapit immensos, &c.] He 
 does not deny that there are ser- 
 pents in Italy, but he says they are 
 not so large or so terrible as those 
 of other countries. 
 
 155. Lahorem.'] In the King's 
 manuscript it is labores. 
 
 156. Congesta manu prcEriiptis 
 oppida saxis.'] This is generally 
 understood to mean towns built 
 on rocky cliffs, as I have trans- 
 lated it. Thus Grimoaldus pa- 
 raphrases : " Extant oppida non 
 '* pauca, hominum industriis, et 
 " laboribus, in promontorii's collo- 
 ** cata." Ruseus also interprets it, 
 " Oppida manu extructa in altis 
 *' rupibus." Thus also Dryden 
 translates it : 
 
 Our forts on steepy hills : 
 
 And Dr. Trapp : 
 
 On tops 
 
 Of craggy hills so many towns uprear'd. 
 
 La Cerda takes it to mean towns, 
 in which buildings are raised by 
 human industry, like rocks and pre- 
 cipices : " Oppida in quibus aedifi- 
 *' cia in star pracipitii et rupium ef- 
 " formata ab humana industria." 
 May interprets it towns fortified 
 with rocks : 
 
 Towns, that are 
 
 Fenced with rocks impregnable. 
 
 Mr. B — gives it yet another sense : 
 
 Add towns unnumber'd, that the land 
 
 adorn. 
 By toiling hands from rocky quarries 
 
 torn. 
 
 157. Fluminaque antiquos subterla- 
 bentia muros.^ Some take this to 
 mean, that the walls of these towns 
 are so built as to give admittance to 
 rivers which flow through them. 
 Others think the Poet speaks of the 
 famous aqueducts. But the general 
 opinion is, that he means the rivers 
 which flow close by the walls. 
 Thus when any action is performed 
 close to the walls of a town^ we 
 say it is done under the walls. 
 
 15S. ^n mare, quod supra, memo- 
 rem, quodque alluit infra ?~\ In one 
 of Dr. Mead's manuscripts it is ab- 
 litit. 
 
 Italy is washed on the north side 
 by the Adriatic sea, or Gulf of Ve 
 nice, which is called mare superum 
 
 V 2 
 
148 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 grUelt^Laduf^an?"^^^^^^ Anne kcus taiitos ? te, Lari maxime, teque, 159 
 
 Benacas, swelling with waves ._-,, ., „ . _^ 
 
 Ml all '^rml.timf the^ h'aveS'^ Fluctibus ct fremitu assurgens Benace marino ? 
 
 and the moles added to the 
 Lucrine lake, 
 
 An memorem portus, Lucrinoqueadditaclaustra, 
 
 or the upper sea ; and on the south 
 side, by the Tyrrhene, or Tuscan 
 sea, which is called mare inferum, or 
 the lorver sea. We have a like ex- 
 pression in the eighth ^neid : 
 
 Quin omnem Hesperiam penitus sua sub 
 
 juga mittant ; 
 Et mare quod supra, teneant, quodque 
 
 alluit infra. 
 
 159. Lari maxime.'\ The Larius 
 is a great lake, at the foot of the 
 Alps, in the Milanese, now called 
 Lago di Como. 
 
 160. Benace."} The Benacus is 
 another great lake, in the Veronese, 
 now called Lago di Garda ; out of 
 which flows the Mincius, on the 
 banks of which our Poet was born. 
 
 Ib'l. Lucrinoque addita claustra, 
 &c.] Lucrinus and Avernus are two 
 lakes of Campania; the former of 
 which was destroyed by an earth- 
 quake j but the latter is still re- 
 maining, and now called Lago 
 d'Averno. Augustus Caesar made a 
 haven of them, to which he gave 
 the name of his predecessor Julius ,• 
 as we are informed by Suetonius : 
 " Portum Julium apud Baias, im- 
 " misso in Lucrinum et Avernum 
 " lacum mari, effecit." This great 
 work seems to have been done 
 about the time that Virgil began 
 his Georgicks. We may gather the 
 manner, in which these lakes were 
 converted into a haven, from Stra- 
 bo the geographer, who, as well 
 as our Poet, lived at the time when 
 it was done. He ascribes the work 
 to Agrippa, and tells us, that the 
 Lucrine bay was separated from the 
 Tyrrhene sea by a mound, which 
 was said to have been made by 
 
 Hercules : but as the sea had broken 
 through it in several places, Agrippa 
 restored it : 'O dl Aox^Tvos KoP^yroi 
 
 ro fAKKC^, zs-Xdrog dl ayM%irov -zs-XxTiietg, 
 
 sXxvveyrcc rois Tn^vovov ds^ofAivev S* Ivi- 
 TToXtig TO xvfAcc roTg ^tif^Zciy, a^i fch zjt~ 
 ^6vta-^xt ^of^iag, 'Ayg/Trxatj iTrio-Kiveto-iv. 
 Thus we find this great work con- 
 sisted chiefly in forming moles, to 
 secure the old bank, and leave no 
 more communication with the sea, 
 than was convenient to receive the 
 ships into the harbour. Hence it 
 appears that we are to understand 
 these words of Pliny, mare Tyrrhe- 
 num a Lucrino molibus seclusum not 
 to mean, that the sea was entirely 
 excluded, but only so far as to se- 
 cure the bank. This is what the 
 Poet means by the moles added to 
 the Lucrine lake, and the sea raging s| 
 with hideous roar. He calls the new ^ 
 haven the Julian water ; as we saw 
 just now, in Suetonius, that Augus- 
 tus gave it the name of the Julian 
 port. It remains now, that we ex- 
 plain what the Poet means by the 
 Tuscan tide being let into the Aver- 
 nian straits. We find in Strabo, 
 that the lake Avernus lay near the 
 Lucrine bay, but more within land : 
 Tuig ^g Bxttcif (rvn^hg a t£ Aex.g7tog xo'A- 
 7r«5, XXI Ivrog rovTov o 'Ao^vog. Hence 
 
 it seems probable, that a cut was 
 made between the two lakes, which 
 the Poet calls the straits of Aver- 
 nus. Philargyrius, in his note on 
 this passage of Virgil, says a storm 
 arose at the time when this work 
 was performed, to which Virgil 
 seems to allude, when he mentions 
 
GEORG. LIB. II. 
 
 149 
 
 Atque indignatura magnis stridoribus aequor, 
 Julia qua ponto longe sonat unda refuse, 
 Tyrrhenusque fretis immittitur aestus Avernis? 
 Hsec eadem argenti rivos, aerisque metalla 165 
 Ostendit venis, atque auro plurima fluxit. 
 Hsec genus acre virum Marsos, pubemque Sabel- 
 
 1am, 
 Assuetumquemalo Ligurem, Volscosque verutos 
 
 and the sea raKiinj with hide- 
 ous roar, where the Julian wa- 
 ter resounds, the sea being dri- 
 ven far back, and the Tuscan 
 tide is let into the Avernian 
 straitsi The same country has 
 disclosed veins of silver and 
 copper, and has flowed with 
 abundance of gold. The same 
 Las produced a warlike race 
 of men, the Marsi, and the 
 Sabellian youth, and the Ligu- 
 rians inured to labour, and the 
 Volscians armed 
 
 the raging of the sea on this occa- 
 sion: 
 
 — - Indignatum magnis stridoribus 
 aequor, 
 
 l65. Hoec eadem argenti rivos, 
 &c.] PlJny tells us in lib. iv. cap. 
 20. that Italy abounds in all sorts 
 of metals, but that the digging 
 them up was forbid by a decree of 
 the Senate : " Metallorum omnium 
 " fertilitate nuUis cedit terris. Sed 
 " interdictum id vetere consulto 
 " patrum, Italiae parci jubentium." 
 In lib. xxxiii. cap. 4. he mentions 
 the Po amongst the rivers which 
 afford gold. In the same chapter 
 he confirms what he had said before 
 of the decree of the senate : " Ita- 
 " lise parcitum est vetere interdicto 
 " patrum, ut diximus, alioquin 
 " nulla foecundior metallorum quo- 
 *' que erat tellus." At the end of 
 his work, where he speaks of the 
 excellence of Italy, above all other 
 countries, he mentions gold^ silver, 
 copper, and iron : " Metallis auri, 
 " argenti, aeris, ferri, quamdiu li- 
 " buit exercere, nullis cessit." yir- 
 gil seems to allude to this ancient 
 discovery of metals, by using ostendit 
 and fluxit in the preterperfect tense. 
 
 JEris metalla.} Ms is commonly 
 translated Brass : but Copper is the 
 native metal ; Brass being made of 
 Copper melted with Lapis Calami- 
 naris. In the Cambridge manu- 
 script it is metalli, which is wrong : 
 
 for the ancient Romans did not say 
 {PS metallum, but ceris metalla. We 
 find auri metalla, argenti metalla, 
 and (Eris metalla, in Pliny. 
 
 166. Plurima.'] See the note on 
 this word, in ver. 18?. of the first 
 Georgick. 
 
 167. HcEc^ In one of Dr. Mead's 
 manuscripts it is lioc, which must 
 be an error of the transcriber. 
 
 Marsos.] The Marsi were a very 
 valiant people of Italy, said to be 
 descended from Marsus, the son of 
 Circe. They inhabited that part 
 of Italy, which lay about the Lacus 
 Fucinus, now called Lago Fucino, or 
 Lago di Celano. It is now part of 
 the kingdom of Naples. 
 
 Pubem Sabellam.] The Sabelli 
 were anciently called Ausones. They 
 inhabited that part of Italy, which 
 was called Samnium. 
 
 168. Assuetumquemalo Ligurem.] 
 The Ligurians inhabited that part 
 of Italy, which is now the Republic 
 of Genoa. Some have thought that 
 assuetum malo signifies accustomed 
 to deceit, which was imputed as a 
 national crime to the Ligurians, 
 and is mentioned by Virgil himself, 
 in the eleventh ^Eneid : 
 
 Vane Ligur, frustraque animis elate su- 
 
 perbis, 
 Nequicquam patrias tentasti lubricus 
 
 artes : 
 Nee fraus te incolumem fallaci perferet 
 
 Auno. 
 
150 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 with darts: the Decii, the 
 Marii, and the great Camiili, 
 the Scipio's fierce in war: and 
 thee, O greatest C?esar, who 
 now being conqueror in the 
 farthest parts of Asia, 
 
 Extulit : haec Decios, Marios, magnosque, Ca- 
 
 millos, 
 Scipiadas duros bello: et te, maxime Caesar, 
 Qui nunc extremis Asiae jam victor in oris 171 
 
 Oil others practise thy Ligurian ai-ts ; 
 Thin stratagems, and tricks of little hearts 
 Are lost on me. Nor shalt thou safe retire 
 With vaunting lies to thy fallacious sire. 
 
 Dryden. 
 
 But it seems scarce probable, that 
 Virgil would mention the vices of 
 the people, in this place, where he 
 is celebrating the praise of Italy, 
 I have followed therefore the ge- 
 neral opinion of the commentators 
 and translators, in rendering ma- 
 lum hardship or labour. 
 
 Volscos.'] The Folsci were a war- 
 like people of Italy, of whom there 
 is abundant mention in the iEneids. 
 
 Verutos.'] " Armatos veruhus, that 
 *' is, according to Nonius, armed 
 "■ with short and sharp darts. Lip- 
 " sius reads, 
 
 " Assuetumque malo Ligurem, Volscos- 
 " que veruto: 
 
 '* and verutum and veru is the same ; 
 " but I prefer the common reading, 
 " verutos from veru, as scutatos from 
 " scutum; cinctutos from cinctus," 
 Ru^us. 
 
 The Veru is thought to differ 
 from the Pilum in the form of its 
 iron ; which was flat in the latter, 
 but round in the former ; as it is 
 described in the seventh ^neid : 
 
 Et tereti pugnant mucrone, veruque 
 
 Sabello. 
 And with round pointed Sabine javelins 
 
 fight. 
 
 Dr. Trapp. 
 
 169. Decios.'] The Decii were a 
 famous Roman family, three of 
 whom, the father, son, and grand- 
 son devoted themselves at different 
 times, for the safety of their coun- 
 
 try : the first in the war with the 
 Latins, being Consul together with 
 Manlius Torquatus ; the second in 
 the Tuscan war; and the third in 
 the war with Pyrrhus. 
 
 Marios.'] There were several 
 Marii, whereof one was seven times 
 Consul. Julius Caesar was related 
 to this family by marriage : where- 
 fore the Poet makes a compliment 
 to Augustus by celebrating the 
 Marian family. 
 
 Camillos.] Marcus Furius Ca- 
 millus beat the Gauls out of Rome, 
 after they had taken the city, and 
 laid siege to the capital. His son 
 Lucius Furius Camillus also beat 
 the Gauls. 
 
 170. Scipiadas duros bello.] The 
 elder Scipio delivered his country 
 from the invasion of Hannibal, by 
 transferring the war into Africa j 
 where he subdued the Carthagini- 
 ans, imposed a tribute upon them, 
 and took hostages. Hence he had 
 the surname of Africanus, and the 
 honour of a triumph. The younger 
 Scipio triumphed for the conclu- 
 sion of the third Punic war, by 
 the total destruction of Carthage. 
 Hence they were called the thun- 
 derbolts of war : thus Virgil, in 
 the sixth JEneid : 
 
 Geminos, duo fulmiua belli, 
 
 Scipiadas, cladem Libyae. 
 
 17L Extremis Asice jam victor in 
 oris.] This verse, as Ruaeus ob- 
 serves, must have been added by 
 Virgil, after he had finished the 
 Georgicks : for it was about the 
 time of his concluding this work, 
 that Augustus went into Asia, and 
 spent the winter near the Euphra- 
 
GEORG. LIB. II 
 
 151 
 
 Imbellem avertis Romanis arcibus Indum. 
 
 do3t avert the (Usarmed In- 
 dian ^oin the Roman towers. 
 
 tes, after he had vanquished An- 
 thony and Cleopatra. 
 
 172. Imbellem avertis Romanis ar- 
 cibus Indum.'] Some think the 
 Indians here mentioned are the 
 Ethiopians, who came to the as- 
 sistance of Cleopatra, and are called 
 Indians in the eighth ^neid. 
 
 —.- Omnis eo terrore iEgyptus, et 
 
 Indi, 
 Omnis Arabs, omnes vertebant terga 
 
 Sabaei. 
 
 The trembling Indians, and Egyptians 
 
 yield ; 
 And soft Salceans quit the ivat'ry 
 
 field, 
 
 Dryden. 
 
 Others think he alludes to the In- 
 dians, who being moved by the 
 great fame of the valour and mo- 
 deration of Augustus sent ambas- 
 sadors to him to desire his friend- 
 ship ; as we find in Suetonius : 
 " Qua virtutis moderationisque 
 ^' fama, Indos etiam ac Scythas, 
 " auditu modo cognitos, pellexit 
 '^ ad amicitiam suam populique 
 '^ Romani ultro per legatos peten- 
 " dam." We find also in Florus, 
 that after Augustus had subdued 
 the people between the Euphrates 
 and mount Taurus, those nations 
 also who had not been subdued by 
 arms, amongst whom he reckons 
 the Indians, came to him ^of their 
 own accord, bringing him presents, 
 and desiring his friendship : '' Om- 
 " nibus ad occasum, et meridiem 
 " pacatis gentibus, ad septentrio- 
 *^ nem quoque duntaxat intra Rhe- 
 " num atque Danubium ; item ad 
 " orientem intra Taurum et Eu- 
 '^ phratem, illi quoque reliqui, qui 
 " immunes imperii erant, sentie- 
 " bant tamen magnitudinem, et 
 " victorem gentium Populum Ro- 
 " manum reverebantur. Nam et 
 " Scythse misere legatos, et Sar- 
 
 " matae amicitiam petentes. Seres 
 " etiam habitantesque sub ipso sole 
 " Indi, cum gemmis et margaritis, 
 " Elephantes quoque inter munera 
 " trahentes, nihil magis quam 
 " longinquitatem viae imputabant, 
 " quam quadriennio impleverant : 
 " et tamen ipse hominum color ab 
 " alio venire cselo fatebatur." These 
 things happened in the year of 
 Rome 724, about the time that Vir- 
 gil finished his Georgicks, as he 
 himself testifies at the end of the 
 fourth book ; 
 
 Haec super arvorum cultu, pecorumque 
 
 canebam, 
 Et super arboribus: Caesar dum magnus 
 
 ad altutn 
 Fulminat Euphratem bello, victorque 
 
 volentes 
 Per populos dat jura, vianique affectat 
 
 olympo. 
 
 From what has been said, we may 
 observe that imbellem in this place is 
 not to be rendered weak, effeminate, 
 or unwarlike, as it is generally trans- 
 lated : the meaning of the Poet be- 
 ing, that they came in a peaceable 
 manner to Augustus, being disarmed 
 by the glory of his name, and the 
 fame of his great exploits. 
 
 The King's and the Cambridge 
 manuscripts have artihus instead of 
 arcibus. If this reading be admitted, 
 we must render this passage, " dost 
 " avert the disarmed Indian by Ro- 
 " man arts;" that is, by power and 
 government, which he has told us, 
 in the sixth iEneid, are the proper 
 arts of the Roman people : 
 
 Excudent alii spirantia molHus a»ra. 
 Credo equidem : vivos ducent de mar- 
 more vultus ; 
 Orabunt causas melius ; caelique meatus 
 Describent radio, et surgentia sidem 
 
 dicent : 
 Tu regere imperio populos ^ Roman e, me- 
 mento: 
 Hoe tihi erunt artes ; pacisque imponere 
 morem. 
 
152 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 Hail, Saturnian land , the great 
 parent of fruits, the great pa- 
 rent of men ; for thee I enter 
 upon subjects of ancient praise 
 and art, and venture to open 
 the sacred springs: and sing 
 the Ascreeau verse through 
 the Roman towns. Now is 
 the time to speak of the na- 
 ture of the fields; what is 
 the strength of each of them, 
 what their colour, and what 
 they are most disposed to pro- 
 duce. In the first place stub- 
 born lands, and unfruitful 
 hills, 
 
 Salve, magna parens frugum, Saturnia tellus, 
 Magna virum : tibi res antiquae laudis et artis 
 Ingredior, sanctos ausus recludere fontes : 175 
 Ascraeumque cano Romana per oppida carmen. 
 Nunclocusarvoruraingeniis; quae robora cuique, 
 Quis color, et quae sit rebus natura ferendis. 
 Difficiles primum terrae, coUesque maligni, 
 
 Parcere subjectis, et debellare super- 
 bos. 
 
 Let others better mould the running"^ 
 
 mass 
 Of metals, and inform the breathing 
 
 brass. 
 And soften into flesh a mar'Ueface : j 
 Plead better at the bar; describe the skies. 
 And -when the stars descend, and when 
 
 they rise : 
 But Rome, 'tis thine alone with awful" 
 
 sway. 
 To rule mankind; and make the 
 
 world obey ; 
 Disposing peace, and war, thy own ma- 
 jestic way. 
 To tame the j.roud, the fetter'd slave to 
 
 free ; 
 These are imperial arts, and worthy 
 
 thee. 
 
 Dryden. 
 
 173. Salve, magna parens, &c.] 
 Pliny has concluded his Natural 
 History much after the same man- 
 ner: '' Ergo in toto orbe et qua- 
 " cunque caeli convexitas vergit, 
 «' pulcherrima est omnium, rebus- 
 *' que merito principaturo obtinens, 
 '* Italia, rectrix parensque mundi 
 '' altera, viris, foeminis, ducibus, 
 '' militibus, servitiis, artium prae- 
 " stantia, ingeniorum claritatibus, 
 " jam situ ac salubritate caeli atque 
 ** temperie, accessu cunctarum 
 " gentium facili, littoribus portuo- 
 " sis, benigno ventorum afflatu. 
 *' Etenim contingit recurrentis po- 
 " sitio in partem utilissimam, et 
 " inter ortus occasusque mediam, 
 " aquarum copia, nemorum salu- 
 " britate, montium articulis, fero- 
 " rum aniraalium innocentia, soli 
 '' fertilitate, pabuli ubertate. Quic- 
 
 '^ quid est quo carere vita non de- 
 *' beat, nusquam est praestantius : 
 " fruges, vinum, olea, vellera, lina, 
 " vestes, juvenci. Ne quos quidem 
 " in trigariis praeferri uUos verna- 
 " culis animadverto. Metallis auri, 
 *' argenti, aeris, ferri, quamdiu li- 
 " buit exercere, nullis cessit. Et 
 " iis nunc in se gravida pro omni 
 *' dote varios succos, et frugum 
 " pomorumque sapores fundit." 
 
 176. Ascrceum carmen.'] By As- 
 crcean verse he means, that he fol- 
 lows Hesiod, who was of Ascra in 
 Boeotia, and wrote of husbandry in 
 Greek verse. 
 
 177. Nunc locus, &c.] Here the 
 Poet speaks of the different soils, 
 which are proper for olives, vines, 
 pasture, and corn. 
 
 178. EQ In one of the Arun- 
 delian manuscripts, and several of 
 the old printed editions, it is aut. 
 
 Ferendis.'] In one of the Arun- 
 delian manuscripts it is creandis. 
 
 179- Difficiles primum terrce.~] The 
 same soil does not agree with olives 
 in all countries. Thus Pliny tells 
 us, that a fat soil suits them in 
 some places, and a gravelly soil in 
 others : * ' Glareosum oleis solum 
 " aptissimum in Venafrano, pin- 
 '^ guissimum in Boetica." The soil 
 where Virgil lived is damp, being 
 subject to the inundations of the 
 Po, and therefore he recommends 
 the hilly and stony lands for the 
 culture of olives. We find in Pliny, 
 that the country about Larissa for- 
 merly abounded with olives, but 
 
GEORG. LIB. II. 
 
 15S 
 
 Tenuis ubi argilla, et dumosis calculus arvis, 
 Palladia gaudent sylva vivacis olivae. 181 
 
 Indicio est, tractu surgens oleaster eodem 
 Plurimus, et strati baccis sylvestribus agri. 
 At quae pinguis humus, dulcique uligine laeta. 
 
 where the bushy fields abound 
 with lean clay and pebbles, 
 rejoice in a wood of long- 
 lived Palladian olives. You 
 may know this soil by wild 
 olives rising thick, and the 
 fields being strewed with wild 
 berries. Jiut the ground which 
 is fat, and rich with sweet 
 moisture, 
 
 that the land being chilled by the 
 overflowing of a lake they were 
 all lost : " In Thessalia circa Laris- 
 *' sam emisso lacu frigidior facta ea 
 *^ regio est, oleaque desierunt quae 
 '* prius fuerant." 
 
 180. Tenuis ubi argilla.^ May 
 translates this, where clay is scarce : 
 which is an error j for tenuis signi- 
 fies lean or hungry. Argilla is not 
 our common clay, but potter's clay, 
 which Columella observes is as 
 hungry as sand : " Creta, qua 
 " utuntur figuli, quamque nonnuUi 
 " argillam vocant, inimicissima est 
 " [viti] ; nee minus jejuna sabulo." 
 
 181. Palladia.'] Pallas or Minerva 
 was said to be the discoverer of the 
 olive-tree. See the note on ver. 
 18. of the first Georgick. 
 
 Vivacis.] We have seen, in the 
 note on ver. 3. of this Georgick, 
 that the olive is a slow grower, 
 and therefore he here calls it long- 
 lived. 
 
 182. Oleaster.] This is. a wild 
 sort of olive, which seems to be 
 different from the cultivated sort, 
 only by its wildness, as crabs from 
 apples. That fjant which is culti- 
 vated in our gardens under the 
 name of Oleaster, is not an olive : 
 Tournefort refers it to his genus 
 of Elaeagnus. It grows in Syria, 
 Ethiopia, and Mount Lebanon j 
 Clusius observed it in great plenty 
 also near Guadix, a city in the 
 kingdom of Granada, as also in the 
 south of France and Germany. It 
 is thought to be the Cappad'ocian 
 Jujubs, which are mentioned by 
 Pliny, amongst the coronary flow- 
 
 ers : '^ Zizipha, quae et Cappadocia 
 " vocantur; his odoratus similis 
 *' olearum floribus." The flowers 
 of the Elaagnus are much like those 
 of the olive ; but the ovary of the 
 Elceagnus is placed below the petal, 
 whereas that of the olive is con- 
 tained within the petal. They are 
 very sweet, and may be smelt at 
 some distance. 
 
 183. Plurimus.] See the note on 
 ver. 187. of the first Georgick. 
 
 184. At qucB pinguis humus, &c.] 
 Virgil here recommends a fat, 
 moist, fruitful soil for vines, in 
 which he is said to diflFer from the 
 other writers of agriculture, who 
 say that a very fruitful soil will ge- 
 nerally make a bad vineyard. Cel- 
 sus, as he is quoted by Columella, 
 says the ground for a vineyard 
 should be neither too loose nor too 
 hard, but approaching to loose: 
 neither poor nor very rich, but ap- 
 proaching to rich : neither plain 
 nor steep, but a little rising: nei- 
 ther dry nor wet, but a little moist : 
 *' At si noto est eligendus vineis 
 *' locus, et status cseli sicut censet 
 '' verissime Celsus, optimum est 
 " solum, nee densum nimis, nee 
 '' resolutum, soluto tamen propius : 
 '' nee exile, nee laetissimum, proxi- 
 *' mum tamen uberi : nee campes- 
 '' tre, nee praeceps, simile tamen 
 " edito campo : nee siccum, nee 
 " uliginosum, modice tamen rosi- 
 '' dum." We have almost the same 
 words in Palladius; '' Sed solum 
 '' vineis ponendis nee spissum sit 
 " nimis, nee resolutum, propius 
 *' tamen resoluto : nee exile, nee 
 
 X 
 
154 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 and tbe field which is full of 
 grass, and abounding with 
 fertility, such as we are often 
 wont to look down upon in 
 the valley of some hill, where 
 rivers are melted down from 
 the tops of tiie rocks, and 
 carry a rich ooze along with 
 them: and such as rises gently 
 to the south, and produces 
 brakes, detested by the 
 crooked plough : such a soil 
 will in time produce strong 
 vines, abounding with juice: 
 such a soil will be rich in 
 clusters, and wine, to be 
 poured forth to the gods in 
 golden bowls, when the fat 
 Tuscan has blown his pipe at 
 the altars, 
 
 Quique frequens herbis, et fertilis ubere cam- 
 pus, 185 
 Qualem saepe cava montis convalle solemus 
 Despicere : hue summis liquuntur rupibus amnes, 
 Felicemquetrahunt liraum: quiqueeditus austro, 
 Et filicem curvis invisam pascit aratris : 
 Hie tibi pr^validas olim multoque fluentes 1 90 
 Sufficiet Baccho vites : hie fertiKs uvae, 
 Hie latieis, qualem pateris hbamus et auro, 
 Inflavit cum pinguis ebur Tyrrhenus ad aras. 
 
 '' laetissimum, tamen laeto proxi- 
 " mum : nee campestre, nee prae- 
 " ceps, sed potius edito campo ; nee 
 '' sieeum, nee uliginosum, modice 
 " tamen rosidum." These authors 
 differ very little Srom Virgil. He 
 recommends a loose soil j rarissima 
 quceque Lyceo ; they say it should be 
 rather loose than hard : he recom- 
 mends a rich soil ; fertilis ubere cam- 
 pus; they say it should be rather 
 rich than poor : he recommends a 
 rising ground; editus austro; and 
 so do they: he recommends a moist 
 soil ; they say it should not be dry. 
 Besides Columella quotes Tremel- 
 lius and Higinius, who agree with 
 our Poet, in recommending the foot 
 of a hill, which receives the soil 
 from above, and valleys, which have 
 received their soil from the over- 
 flowings of rivers : " Higinius qui- 
 ** dem secutusTremellium prsecipue 
 '' montium ima, quae a verticibus 
 *^ defluentem humum receperint, 
 " vel etiam valles, quae fluminum 
 *' alluvie, et inundationibus concre- 
 *' verint, aptas esse vineis asseverat, 
 '' me non dissentiente." 
 
 189. Filicem.'] There are several 
 sorts of Filex or Fern. I take that 
 of which the Poet speaks to be our 
 female Fern, or Brake, which covers 
 most of the uncultivated, hilly 
 grounds in Italy. 
 
 Masvicius has silicem ior filicem j 
 whether by design, or by an error of 
 the press, I am not sure. This 
 reading however is not without 
 some foundation -, for Columella 
 says flints are beneficial to vines : 
 " Est autem, ut mea fert opinio, 
 " vineis amicus etiam silex, cui su- 
 *' perpositum est modicum terre- 
 " num, quia frigidus, et tenax hu- 
 " moris per ortum caniculse non 
 '^ patitur sitire radices." Palladius 
 also uses almost the same words. 
 And Mr. Miller observes, that '' the 
 '' land which abounds with Fern is 
 '* always very poor and unfit for 
 '^ vines : but the flinty rocks which 
 " abound in Chianti are always pre- 
 " ferred, and the vines there pro- 
 " duced are esteemed the best of 
 '^ Italy." But I take ^Zicem to be 
 the true reading, because it is in all 
 the manuscripts I have seen or 
 heard of; and because Pliny has it, 
 when he quotes of this very pas- 
 sage : *' Virgilius et quae filicem 
 " ferat non improbat vitibus." 
 
 191. Fites.J In the King's ma- 
 nuscript it is vires. 
 
 192. Pateris libamus et auro.'] It 
 is agreed by the grammarians, that 
 pateris et auro is the same with au- 
 reis pateris. 
 
 193. Pinguis Tyrrhenus.] The 
 ancient Tuscans were famous for 
 
GEORG. LIB. II. 
 
 155 
 
 Lancibus et pandis fumantia reddimus exta. 
 Sin armenta magis studium vitulosque tueri, 195 
 Aut foetus ovium, aut urentes culta capellas : 
 Salt us et saturi petito longinqua Tarenti, 
 Et qualem infelix amisit Mantua campum, 
 
 and we offer the smoking 
 entrails in bending chargeis. 
 But if your design is to breed 
 kine with their calves, or 
 lambs, or kids that burn the 
 trees ; seek the forests and dis- 
 tant fields of fat Tarentum, 
 and such as unhappy Mantua 
 has lost. 
 
 indulging their appetites, which 
 made them generally fat -, thus Ca- 
 tullus also calls them obesus Etrus- 
 cus. Or perhaps he might allude 
 to the bloated look of those, who 
 piped at the altars, as we com- 
 monly observe of our trumpeters. 
 
 194. Pandis.] Some interpret this 
 hollow, others bending, which seems 
 the more poetical expression ; thus 
 Mr, B 
 
 And massy chargers bending with their 
 loads. 
 
 In one of Dr. Mead's manuscripts 
 it is patulis, which word seems to 
 have crept into the text from some 
 marginal comment. 
 
 195. Studium vitulosque.] In one 
 of Dr. Mead's manuscripts it is stu- 
 dium est vitulosque. 
 
 196. Urentes culta capellas.] We 
 find in Varro that the ancient Ro- 
 man^, when they let a farm, were 
 accustomed to make an article, that 
 the tenant should not breed kids, 
 because they destroy the trees and 
 bushes by browsing upon them : 
 " Nee multo aliter tuendum hoc 
 " pecus in pastu, atque ovillum, 
 *' quod tamen habet sua propria 
 " quaedam, quod potius sylvestri- 
 " bus saltibus delectantur, quam 
 '' pratis. Studiose enim de agresti- 
 *' bus fruticibus pascuntur, atque 
 '' in locis cultis virgulta carpunt : 
 " itaque a carpendo caprae nomi- 
 " natae. Ob hoc in lege locationis 
 " fundi excipi solet, ne colonus 
 " capra natum in fundo pascat : ha- 
 " rum enim dentes inimici satio- 
 ^' nis." This injurious biting of 
 
 goats is also taken notice of by 
 Mr. Evelyn : *' Be sure to cut off 
 *' such tender branches to the quick, 
 '* which you find have been cropt 
 '' by goats or any other cattle, who 
 " leave a drivel where they bite; 
 *' which not only infects the 
 " branches, but sometimes endan- 
 ^' gers the whole ; the reason is, 
 " for that the natural sap's recourse 
 *' to the stem communicates the ve- 
 ^' nom to all the rest, as the whole 
 " mass and habit of animal blood 
 '* is by a gangrene, or venereal 
 " taint." 
 
 197. Tarenti.] Tarentum is a c'liy 
 of Magna Graecia, part of the king- 
 dom of Naples, famous for fine 
 wool, according to Pliny: " Lana 
 '^ autem laudatissima Apula, etquae 
 ** in Italia Graeci pecoris appella- 
 
 '^ tur, alibi Italica. Circa Ta- 
 
 " rentum Canusiumque summam 
 " nobilitatem habent." 
 
 198. Aut qualem infelix amisil 
 Mantua campum.] " This line of 
 " Mr. May's, 
 
 " Such fields as hapless Majitua has lost, 
 
 " has something very fine in it. 
 " The metre is extremely grave 
 " and solemn, as it is remarkably 
 " so in the original. There the 
 " verse complains, and every word 
 
 '* seems to sigh." Mr. B . 
 
 Augustus Caesar had given the 
 fields about Mantua and Cremona 
 to his soldiers : and Virgil lost his 
 farm with the rest of liis neigh- 
 bours ; but he was afterwards re- 
 stored to the possession of it, by 
 the interest of his patron Maecenas j 
 x2 
 
156 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 where snowy swans feed in 
 the grassy river. Here nei- 
 ther clear springs nor grass 
 will be wanting tor the flocks; 
 and what the herds devour in 
 a long daj', the cool dew will 
 restore to you in a short night. 
 That soil generally which is 
 black, and fat under the pierc- 
 ing share. 
 
 Pascentem niveos herboso flumine cycnos. 
 Non liquid! gregibus fontes, non gramina dee- 
 runt : 200 
 Et quantum longis carpent armenta diebus, 
 Exigua tantum gelidus ros nocte reponet. 
 Nigra fere, et presso pinguis sub vomere terra. 
 
 which is the subject of the first 
 eclogue. 
 
 199- Herboso flumine.'] In one of 
 Dr. Mead's manuscripts, and in se- 
 veral of the old printed copies, it is 
 herboso \n flumine. 
 
 WO. Beerunt.'] So I read with 
 Heinsius, and Masvicius. In the 
 other editions it is demnt : but the 
 other verbs in this sentence are in 
 the future tense. 
 
 201. Quantum longis, &c.] What 
 the Poet here says of the prodigious 
 growth of the grass in a night's 
 time seems incredible; and yet we 
 are informed by Varro, that Caesar 
 Vopiscus affirmed, that at Rosea, a 
 vine-pole being stuck in the ground 
 would be lost in the grass the next 
 day: " Caesar Vopiscus ^dilicius, 
 *' causam cum ageret apud Censo- 
 *' res, campos Rosese Italiae dixit 
 " esse sumen, in quo relicta pertica 
 " postridie non appareret propter 
 '' herbam." The same is related 
 by Pliny, lib. xvii. cap. 4. 
 
 203. Nigra fere.'] Columella 
 blames the ancient writers of hus- 
 bandry, for insisting upon a black 
 or grey colour, as a sign of a rich 
 land : " Plurimos antiquorum, qui 
 " de rusticis rebus scripserunt, me- 
 ^' moria repeto, quasi confessa, nee 
 '^ dubia signa pinguis, ac frumen- 
 " torum fertilis agri prodidisse, dul- 
 " cedinem soli propriam herbarum 
 " et arborum proventum, nigrum 
 '' colorem vel cinereum. De c^te- 
 '' ris ambigo, de colore satis admi- 
 ^'^ rari non possum cum alios, turn 
 
 " Cornelium Celsum, non solum 
 '' agricolationis, sed universae na- 
 '' turae prudentem virum, sic et sen- 
 " tentia, et visu deerrasse, utoculis 
 ^' ejus tot paludes, tot etiam campi 
 " salinarum non occurrerent, qui- 
 " bus fere contribuuntur praedicti 
 " colores. Nullum enim temere 
 " videmus locum, qui modo pigrum 
 " contineat humorem, non eundem 
 " vel nigri, vel cinerei coloris, nisi 
 " forte in eo fallor ipse, quod non 
 '' putem aut in sololimosaepaludis, 
 " et uliginis amarae, aut in mariti- 
 " mis areis salinarum gigni posse 
 " jacta frumenta : sed est manifes- 
 '' tior hie antiquorum error, quam 
 '^ut pluribus arguraentis convin- 
 " cendus sit: non ergo color, tan- 
 " quam certus autor, testis estboni- 
 " tatis arvorum." Virgil seems to 
 have been aware of this objection, 
 and therefore cautiously puts in 
 fere. Mr. Evelyn however seems 
 to recommend a black earth, and 
 such as is here mentioned by the 
 Poet : " The best is black, fat, yet 
 " porous, light, and sufficiently te- 
 *' nacious, without any mixture of 
 " sand or gravel, rising in pretty 
 " gross clods at the first breaking 
 '' up of the plough ; but with little 
 '' labour and exposure falling to 
 ^* pieces, but not crumbling alto- 
 '* gether into dust, which is the 
 '" defect of a vicious sort. Of this 
 '' excellent black mould (fit almost 
 " for any thing without much ma- 
 '' nure) there are three kinds, which 
 '^ differ in hue and goodness." 
 
GEORG. LIB. ir. 
 
 157 
 
 Et cui putre solum, namque hoc imitamur 
 
 arando, 
 Optima frumentis : non uUo ex aequore cernes 
 Plura domum tardis decedere plaustra juvencis : 
 Aut unde iratus sylvam devexit arator, 207 
 Et nemora evertit multos ignava per annos, 
 Antiquasque domos avium cum stirpibus imis 
 
 and that which is naturally 
 loose, such as we imitate by 
 ploughing, is fittest for corn: 
 from no plain will you seethe 
 slow oxen draw more loaded 
 waggons home: that also 
 from which the angry plough- 
 man has removed a wood, and 
 felled the groves which have 
 stood idle lor many years, and 
 subverted the ancient habita- 
 tions of the birds from the 
 verj' 
 
 Presso pbigiiis sub vomer e ierra^ 
 A rich land is universally allowed 
 to be good for corn. Virgil here says 
 the soil should be deep, so as to be 
 fat, even below the share that 
 makes a deep furrow ; presso sub 
 vomere. I take the epithet presso to 
 allude to the custom of laying a 
 weight on the head of the plough, 
 to make the share enter deeper. 
 
 204. Pulre solum.] Puire signi- 
 fies rotten, crumbling, or loose. The 
 Poet explains it here himself, and 
 tells us it is such a soil, as we pro- 
 cure by ploughing. Therefore in this 
 place he recommends such a soil 
 for corn as is in its own nature 
 loose, and crumbling: because we 
 endeavour to make other soils so 
 by art. Agreeable to this Colu- 
 mella tells us, that such a soil, as is 
 naturally loose, requires little la- 
 bour of ploughing: " Pastinationis 
 " expertes sunt externarum gen- 
 *' tium agricolae : quae tamen ipsa 
 " pene supervacua est iis locis, qui- 
 " bus solum putre, et per se resolu- 
 " turn est: namque hoc imitamur 
 '' arando, ut ait Virgilius, quod 
 ** etiam pastinando. Itaque Cam- 
 " pania, quoniam vicinum ex nobis 
 " capere potest exemplum, non uti- 
 *' tur hac molitione terrae, quia fa- 
 '^ cilitas ejus soli minorem operam 
 " desiderat." 
 
 205. Non ullo.'] In the Cambridge 
 manuscript it is non nullo, which is 
 manifestly an error of the tran- 
 scriber. 
 
 206. Decedere^ In one of Dr. 
 Mead's manuscripts it is descendere. 
 
 207. Iratus.'] This epithet seems 
 to be added, to express the anger or 
 impatience of the ploughman, who 
 sees his land overgrown with wood, 
 which otherwise might bear good 
 crops of corn. 
 
 Devexit.'] It is dejecit, in the Me- 
 dicean manuscript, according to 
 Pierius. 
 
 209. Antiquasque domos avium, 
 &c.] " I understand this place, 
 '^ says Mr. B — , in a manner differ- 
 " entfrom Ruaeus, and others, who 
 '' interpret stirpibus imis, the roots 
 '' of the trees. These are connected 
 " to domos avium, and consequently, 
 *' according to Virgil's clear way of 
 *' writing, must relate to the birds ; 
 " besides, if they related to the 
 " roots of the trees, it vt^ould be an 
 '' useless tautology ; for, that the 
 *' roots were grubbed up, is said 
 " before, nemora evertit. And again, 
 "' cum stirpibus imis is the best 
 *' expression possible to describe 
 '* where the birds' young ones were 
 " lodged ; for it is well known, 
 " that by getting down into the 
 *' bottoms of decayed trees, several 
 '* sorts of birds preserve their 
 " brood. I translate altum, the 
 '^ top of the tree, and not the air, 
 " because in fact, when hollow 
 *' old trees are felled, in which 
 '' birds have young ones, they al- 
 '^ ways keep hovering about the 
 " top, and making a lamentable 
 
158 
 
 P. VIRGILIl MARONIS 
 
 tr/"nrs!;'t'&fS"a! Erait: illse altiim nidis petiere relictis : 
 
 soon as the share has been ... 
 
 shlwiube'!!?'''^'^ ''''"'"* '° ^* rudis enituit impulso vomere campus. 
 
 210 
 
 *' noise for several days together." 
 According to this interpretation, he 
 translates the passage thus : 
 
 — Down with the sounding wood 
 
 The birds' old mansions fell, and hidden 
 
 brood ; 
 They from their nests flew upwards to 
 
 the head. 
 Long hover'd round, and piteous outcry 
 
 made. 
 
 According to the common interpre- 
 tation of stirpibus imis, Virgil is not 
 made guilty of tautology : for ne- 
 mora evertit does not necessarily 
 signify grubbed up the groves j but 
 may be interpreted felled the groves. 
 Evertere is rendered to fell, in the 
 first Georgick, by Mr. B — himself: 
 
 Aut tempestivam sylvis everiere pinum ; 
 
 which he thus translates : 
 
 And timely on the mountain fell the 
 fir. 
 
 Therefore the Poet has not expressly 
 said that the groves are grubbed up, 
 till he mentions cum stirpibus imis. 
 Altum, I believe, is never used for 
 the top of a tree, especially after it 
 has been felled. 
 
 Manililis's description of the fell- 
 ing of woods is not very unlike 
 that of our Poet : 
 
 — — Ruit ecce nemus, saltusque vetusti 
 Procumbunt, solemque novum, nova si- 
 
 dera cernunt. 
 Pellitur omne loco volucrum genus, at- 
 
 que ferarum, 
 Antiquasque domos, et nota cubilia lin- 
 
 quunt. 
 
 211. At rudis enituit , &c.] In the 
 King's manuscript it is aut ; and in 
 one of Dr. Mead's it is ei : but in 
 the other manuscripts, and in most 
 of the printed editions, it is at. Mr. 
 B — makes the period to end at 
 relictis; and takes the description 
 
 of an unfit soil for corn to begin 
 with this line, which he translates 
 thus ; 
 
 But where the plough is urg'd on rubhle 
 
 ground, 
 Nothing, but wJiiteuitig furrows ^ will be 
 
 found, 
 
 " This, says he, is another of those 
 " passages which all the commen- 
 ** tators have misunderstood, more 
 ^' or less, for want of some know- 
 '* ledge of country affairs. Ruaeus, 
 " according to his usual custom, 
 '^ only abstracts Pontanus. Virgil 
 " speaks here of three sorts of soil, 
 " two of which are fit for corn, the 
 " other not. The first he describes 
 " thus; a loose soil which looks 
 *' dark and fat, when turned up 
 '' with the plough. Nigra fere, 
 " &c. The second is forest, or 
 '^ coppice ground ; Aut unde iratus 
 " sylvam, &c. The third he de- 
 *' scribes in a very poetical manner, 
 ^^ by the different effect the plough 
 " has upon it 3 At rudis enituit, &c. 
 '* The loose rich ground, first men- 
 " tioned, looks dark, and fat, even 
 "' below the piercing of the share, 
 *' but the hard rubbly field, quite 
 " contrary, is all white and shin- 
 " ing, impulso vomere, because the 
 " plough must be drove into it ; 
 ^' such ground not being to be 
 " ploughed, but by putting weight 
 " upon the head of the beam." I 
 believe Mr. B — mistakes in trans- 
 lating rudis campus, rubble ground j 
 for rudis does not signify any par- 
 ticular sort of soil, but only that 
 which has not yet been cultivated. 
 Thus Columella : " Sed nunc po- 
 " tius uberioris soli meminerimus, 
 '' cujus demonstranda est duplex 
 '^ ratio, culti et sylvestris : de syl- 
 
GEORG. LIB. II. 
 
 159 
 
 Nam jejuna quidem clivosi glarea ruris 212 
 Vix humiles apibus casias, roremque ministrat : K 
 
 For the hungry gravel of the 
 
 hilly field will scarce afford 
 
 rofemary for the 
 
 " vestri regione in arvorum for- 
 " mam redigemla prlus dicemus. — 
 " Incidlum igitur locum considere- 
 *^ mus. — Sed jam expedienti rudis 
 '' agri rationem sequitur cultorum 
 '' novalium cura." Here sylvestris, 
 incultus, and rudis are used as sy- 
 nonymous terms, to express a field 
 that has never been ploughed for 
 corn : as rudis, applied to a person, 
 signifies one who has had no edu- 
 cation ; whence erudire signifies to 
 instruct, or educate, that is to take 
 away, rudeness^ or roughness; and 
 eruditus signifies a well educated, or 
 learned person, whose mind is not 
 uncultivated. Enituit, which Mr. 
 B — takes to mean the whitening of 
 the furrows, signifies to shine, or 
 look beautiful. This verb, I think, 
 is used but once more by our Poet, 
 in all his works. It is in the fourth 
 ^neid, where he describes ^neas 
 going forth to hunt with Dido, and 
 compares him to Apollo, for the 
 splendor of his dress, and beauty of 
 his person : 
 
 Ipse ante alios pulcherrimus omnes 
 
 Infert se socium iEneas, atque agmina 
 
 jungit. 
 Qualis, ubi hybernam Lyciam,Xanthique 
 
 fluenta 
 Deserit, ac Delum maternam invisit 
 
 Apollo, 
 Instauratque chores, mixtique altaria 
 
 circum 
 Cretesque Dryopesque fremunt, pictique 
 
 Agathyrsi : 
 Ipse jugis Cynthi graditur, mollique flu- 
 
 entem 
 Fronde premit crinem fingens, atque im- 
 
 plicat auro : 
 Tela sonant humeris. Haud illo segnior 
 
 ibat 
 -/Eneas, tantum egregio decus enitet ore. 
 
 But far above the rest in beauty shines 
 The great Mneas, when the troop he joins: 
 Like fair Apollo ^ lahen he leaves the frost 
 Of wintry XanthuSfttnd theLycian coast; 
 
 When to Ms native Delos he resorts. 
 Ordains the dances, and renews the sports : 
 Where painted Scythians^ viix'd with Cre- 
 tan bands. 
 Before the joyful altars join their hands. 
 Himself, on Cynthus walking, sees below 
 The merry madness of the sacred show. 
 Green wreaths of bays his length of hair 
 
 inclose, 
 A golden fillet binds his awful brows: 
 His quiver sounds. Not less the Prince 
 
 is seen 
 In manly presence, or in lofty mien. 
 
 Dryden. 
 
 Enituit therefore is used by the 
 Poet to express, that when a wood 
 has been grubbed up, the rude un- 
 cultivated land, where it stood, 
 appears in full beauty after it has 
 been ploughed. 
 
 212. Nam jejuna quidem, &c.] 
 Here he begins to speak of the 
 hungry soil, which abounds with 
 gravel, rotten stone, or chalk. 
 
 213. Casias.] The Kua-iec of the 
 Greek writers is not the plant of 
 which Virgil speaks in this place. 
 Theophrastus, in the fourth chapter 
 of the ninth book of his History of 
 Plants, mentions it along with 
 myrrh, frankincense, and cinnamon, 
 and says they all come from Arabia : 
 Vinrcti ^h ovv o >^iQoivo?, kxi jJ 1,f4.vp)i», 
 xtii « KccTi'oi, Koct STi TO Kmcif^a^ov, Iv rv{ 
 Tm'A^dQav %ae,^ ^l<r^. In the fifth 
 chapter he seems to describe it as a 
 sort of cinnamon, or a plant not very 
 unlike it : ITg^; ^l mvotfAa^ov sceti Kcta-i'u; 
 
 recvT itvett cv f^iyUXovi, ccXX^ jJa/xowj 
 uyvcv' TCoXvKXci^ovi; di y.x) ^vXa^its» 
 Pliny has translated great part of 
 what Theophrastus has said in this 
 chapter, in the nineteenth chapter 
 of his tv/elfth book. In the seventh 
 chapter, Theophrastus mentions it 
 amongst the spices, which are used 
 to perfume ointments: T<« dl «AA<» 
 
160 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 SoJ Z Xfk wffi ilToi! Et tophus scaber, et nigris exesa chelydris 
 
 lowed by black snakes : 
 
 i7^iv Itt) B-ecXxTTecv KstrxTcif^TriTotr rci 
 Je £| 'Ag«<€/(fl65 oiov zr^tx; tS Kivoo^afia, kx) 
 
 rt] K»cr/os. oJg f^lv ovj iig roi u^atf^xret 
 
 ^^avToii, (T^iTov rd^i STriKet<rix, kiix^co- 
 fAov, &c. The Casia, of which 
 Theophrastus speaks in these places, 
 is an aromatic bark, not much un- 
 like cinnamon, and may therefore 
 not improbably be that which we 
 call Cassia lignea. It is of this 
 bark, which Virgil speaks in ver. 
 466. of this Georgick : 
 
 Nee Casia liquid! corrumpitur usus olivi. 
 
 Columella speaks of it amongst 
 other exotics which had lately been 
 introduced into the Roman gardens ; 
 " Mysiam Lybiamque largis aiunt 
 '^ abundare frumentis, nee tamen 
 " Appulos, Campanosque agros opi- 
 " mis defici segetibus. Tmolon et 
 "^ Corycion florere croco. Judaeam 
 *' et Arabiam pretiosis odoribus il- 
 '' lustrem haberi, sed nee nostram 
 " civitatem praedictis egere stirpi- 
 " bus, quippe cum pluribus locis 
 " urbis, jam Casiam frondentem 
 '' conspicimus, jam thuream plan- 
 '' tam, florentesque hortos myrrha 
 '^ et croco." Therefore it could 
 not be so common, if at all known, 
 in Italy, in Virgil's time, as he 
 seems to make it in all the passages, 
 where he mentions it, except that 
 just now quoted. In the second 
 Eclogue Alexis the shepherd makes 
 a nosegay of Casia, with lilies, 
 violets, poppies, daffodils, dill, hya- 
 cinths, and marigolds, which are 
 all common herbs or flowers ; and 
 it is there expressly mentioned as a 
 sweet herb : 
 
 Pallentes violas et summa papavera car- 
 pens, 
 
 Narcissum et florem jungit bene olentis 
 anethi. 
 
 Turn Casia, atque aliis intexens suavibus 
 herlis, 
 
 Mollia luteola pingit vaccinia caltha. 
 
 In the fourth Georgick, it is men- 
 tioned with wild thyme and savory, 
 both common plants : 
 
 Heec circum Casice virides, et olentia 
 
 late 
 Serpylla, et graviter spirantis copia thym- 
 
 brae 
 Floreat: 
 
 and afterwards it is mentioned along 
 with thyme : 
 
 -Ramea costis 
 
 •Tibi lilia plenis 
 
 Ecce ferunt nymphae calathis ; tibi Can- 
 dida Nais 
 
 Subjiciunt fragmenta, thymum, Castas- 
 que recentes. 
 
 In the passage now under our con- 
 sideration, it seems to be men- 
 tioned as a vulgar herb. For other- 
 wise the Poet, speaking of a hungry 
 gravelly soil, would hardly have 
 said, that it was so far from being 
 fit for corn, that it can hardly afiford 
 a little Casia for the bees. Had he 
 meant the aromatic Casia, he would 
 never have let slip such an oppor- 
 tunity of telling us the advantages 
 of such a soil : that though indeed 
 it was not fit for corn, yet it might 
 glory in producing the sweet Casia 
 of Arabia, and perfuming the air of 
 Italy with Panchaean odours. The 
 Casia therefore here spoken of must 
 be some common well known herb. 
 Nor is it at all to be wondered at, 
 that the Poet should speak of two 
 different things under the same 
 name. We have seen already, that 
 there are both trees and herbs called 
 lotus and acanthus. The Romans 
 frequently made use of Greek 
 names, to express different plants, 
 which were common in their own 
 
GEORG. LIB. II. 
 
 161 
 
 Creta: negant alios aeque serpentibus agros 215 
 
 no soil is said to afford such 
 sweet food, or such 
 
 country and afterwards confounded 
 the descriptions of both together. 
 It may not be amiss also to observe 
 that we have a spice, and also a 
 common flower, both which we 
 call cloves J and that we have a 
 common herb in our gardens, which 
 we call balm of Gileadj though 
 very diflFerent from the tree, which 
 affords that precious balsam. It 
 has been supposed by some that 
 our Lavender is the CasiOf which 
 Virgil means in this place : but on 
 diligently comparing Theophrastus, 
 Pliny, and Dioscorides, it will ap- 
 pear to be a very different plant. 
 Pliny tells us, that the coronary 
 Casia is the same with what the 
 Greeks call Cneoron : "Sunt et 
 " alia genera norainibus Graecis in- 
 " dicanda, quia nostris majore ex 
 *' parte hujus nomenclaturse defuit 
 " cura. Et pleraque eorum in ex- 
 " teristerris nascuntur, nobis tamen 
 " consectanda, quoniam de natura 
 " sermo, non de Italia est: Ergo 
 " in coronamenta folio veneremelo- 
 *' thron, spireon, trigonon, cneoron, 
 ** quod casiam Hyginus voeat." This 
 therefore is the casia, which he men- 
 tions alittle afterwards,in the twelfth 
 chapter of the ninth book, as good 
 for bees : " Verum hortis corona- 
 " mentisque maximealveariaetapes 
 " conveniunt, res praecipui quaestus 
 " compendiiquecum favit. Harum 
 '' ergo causaoportetsererethymum, 
 *' apiastrum, rosam, violas, lilium, 
 '' cytisum, fabam, ervilium, cuni- 
 " lam, papaver, conyzam, casiam, 
 " melilotum, melissophyllum, ce- 
 " rinthen." In the twenty-first 
 chapter of the thirteenth book he 
 tells us, that the Thymelcea, which 
 bears the granum Gnidium, is called 
 also cneoron.; and describes it to 
 have leaves like the wild olive, but 
 
 narrower, and of a gummy taste : 
 ** Et in quo nascitur granum Gni- 
 " dium, quod aliqui linum vocant^ 
 " fruticem vero thymelceam, alii cha- 
 •' melaeam, alii pyros achnen, alii 
 *' cnestron,alii cneoron. Est similis 
 *'oleastro,foliisangustioribus,gum- 
 " mosis, si mordeantur, myrtimag- 
 *' nitudine, semine, colore, et specie 
 " farris, ad medicinae tantum usum." 
 Dioscorides, m his chapter about 
 Thymeldoa, tells us expressly that 
 the leaves of that plant, which, he 
 says also, bears granum gnidium, are 
 peculiarly called cneoron : 'Ex ruvrv^^ 
 Kvi^iiog KOKKOi xec^TTog av (TvXXiyirxi. 
 Tcc ^g <pv?i>^ct ciyn^ t^tag xxMlrxi 
 
 roV xoti U7FOTl^ia-6oti ^n^civetvrccg Iv a-KiZ. 
 Theophrastus makes no mention at 
 all of thymelcea, and seems not to 
 have known the plant which affords 
 the granum gnidium. But in the se- 
 cond chapter of his sixth book he 
 mentions two sorts of cneoron, black 
 and white ; the white one, he says, 
 has leaves something like an olive -, 
 which agrees with what Pliny has 
 said of the thymelcea. Therefore it 
 is scarce to be doubted, that the 
 white cneoron of Theophrastus is the 
 same plant with the thymelcea of 
 Pliny and Dioscorides, and conse- 
 quently the cneoron, which, accord- 
 ing to Pliny, was called casia : and 
 hence we may conclude that the 
 herb Casia of Virgil is the cneoron, 
 or thymelcea, which bears ihe granum 
 gnidium. The plant from which we 
 have the grana gnidia, or cnidia, is 
 the Thymelcea lini folii C. B. and is 
 called by Gerard spurge flax, or 
 mountain widow -waile; and grows in 
 rough mountains, and uncultivated 
 places, in the warmer climates ; and 
 may therefore very well be taken 
 for Virgil's Casia. The Germans 
 
162 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 crooked clens to serpents. 
 That land, which sends forth 
 thin mists and flying vapours, 
 and drinks in the moisture, 
 and returns it at pleasure, 
 which always clothes itself 
 with green grass, and does 
 not stain the share with scurf 
 and salt rust, will twist the 
 joyful vines about their elms : 
 that land abounds with oil: 
 that land you will find by 
 experience to be good for 
 cattle, and obedient to the 
 crooked share. Such a soil 
 is ploughed about rich Ca- 
 pua, and the country which 
 lies near mount Vesuvius, 
 
 Dulcem ferre cibum, et curvas praebere latebras. 
 Qu8etenuemexhalatnebulam,fumosquevolucres, 
 Et bibit humorem, et, cum vult, ex se ipsa re- 
 
 mittitj 
 Quseque suo viridi semper se gramine vestit. 
 Nee scabie et salsa laedit rubigine ferrum : 220 
 Ilia tibi laetis intexet vitibus ulmos : 
 Ilia ferax oleo est : illam experiere colendo, 
 Et facilem pecori, et patientem vomeris unci. 
 Talem dives arat Capua, et vicina Vesevo 
 
 have their grana cnidia from the 
 Mezereon, which is a species of Thy- 
 melcea. I have not seen the Thy- 
 melcea in any of our gardens. 
 
 Roremi} Dryden takes rorem to 
 mean dew : 
 
 The coarse lean gravel, on the mountain 
 sides. 
 
 Scarce dewy bev'rage for the bees pro- 
 vides. 
 
 But it is more probable that Virgil 
 means the Rosemary, or Ros mari- 
 nus, so called, because it was used 
 in sprinkling, as we read in the 
 Scriptures of hyssop, and grew in 
 places near the sea coast. The prose 
 authors generally write the name 
 of this plant in one word, rosmari- 
 nus, or rosmarinum : but the poets 
 commonly divide it. Thus Horace : 
 
 -— - Te nihil attinet 
 Tentare multa caede bidentium 
 Parvos coronantem marino 
 Rore deos, fragiliqae myrto : 
 
 and Ovid, who calls it ros maris: 
 
 Cultus quoque quantus in illis 
 
 Esse potest membris, ut sit coma pectine 
 
 laevis: 
 Ut modo rore maris, mode se violave ro- 
 
 save 
 Implicet. 
 
 214. Tophus scaber.^ 1 take this 
 to be what we call rotten stone. 
 pliny says it is of a crumbling na- 
 
 ture : " Nam tophus scaler naiura 
 *^ friabilis expetitur quoque ab au- 
 " toribus." 
 
 21 6. Latebras.~\ In the King's 
 manuscript it is tenebras. 
 
 217- Q«ce tenuem exhalat nebulam, 
 &c.] The soil, which the Poet here 
 describes in the last place, we are 
 told is fit for all the beforementioned 
 purposes : for vines, olives, cattle, 
 and corn. 
 
 218. Et bibit.^ In one of Dr. 
 Mead's manuscripts it is qucB bibit. 
 
 219' Quceque suo viridi, &c.] 
 Pierius observes, that in the most 
 ancient Roman manuscript this verse 
 runs thus : 
 
 Quasque suo semper viridi se gramine 
 vestit. 
 
 220. Nee] In one of Dr. Mead's 
 manuscripts it is hcBC, which must 
 be an error of the transcriber. 
 
 221. Ilia tibi Icetis.'] In one of 
 Dr. Mead's manuscripts it is Ilia tibi 
 in hjetis. 
 
 222. Oleo.'] So I read it with 
 Heinsius : and so Pierius found it 
 in the most ancient Roman manu- 
 script, and iu the Medicean, and 
 another very ancient one. The 
 common reading is oleoe. 
 
 224. Capua.~\ The capital city 
 of Campania. 
 
 Vesevo^ ** Servius is mistaken. 
 
GEORG. LIB. II. 
 
 163 
 
 Ora jiigo, et vacuis Clanius non aequus Acerris. 
 Nunc, quo c(uamque modo possis cognoscere, 
 
 dicam. 
 Rara sit, an supra morem si densa requiras, 
 Altera frumentis quoniam favet, altera Baccho, 
 Densa magis Cereri, rarissima quaeque Lyaeo, 
 Ante locum capies oculis, alteque jubebis 230 
 In solido puteum demitti, omnemque repones 
 Rursushumum, et pedibus summas aequabis are- 
 nas. 
 
 and on the banks of the CMa- 
 nias, which does not spare de- 
 
 fopulated Acerrae. JNowwill 
 tell by what means you may 
 distinguish each sort of soil. 
 If you desire to know whether 
 it is loose or hard, because one 
 is good for corn, the other for 
 vines, the hard to be chosen 
 by Ceies and the most loose 
 by Bacchus; first choose out a 
 place, and then order a pit 
 to be digged where the ground 
 is solid, tnen throw in all the 
 earth again, and tread it well 
 down. 
 
 *' when he affirms, that Vesevus is a 
 ^' mountain of Liguria, under the 
 '^ Alps : for that is called Vesulus, 
 *' and is mentioned by Virgil in an- 
 " other place : Vesulus quern pinifer 
 " affert. But the Vesevus, of which 
 " Virgil speaks in this place, is a 
 *' mountainof Campania, called also 
 *' Vesuvius and Vesvius." Pierius. 
 
 225. Om.] Aulus Gellius tells 
 us, that he had met with an ac- 
 count, that Virgil wrote at first vi- 
 cina Vesevo Nola jugo, but that 
 being afterwards not permitted, by 
 the people of that city, to bring 
 down some water to his neighbour- 
 ing farm, he altered Nola to ora. 
 Aulus Gellius seems to give no 
 great credit to this old story. 
 
 Vacuis Clanius non cequus Acerris.] 
 Acerrce is the name of a very an- 
 cient city of Campania, which was 
 almost depopulated by the frequent 
 inundations of the river Clanius. 
 
 226. Nunc, quo quamque modo, 
 &c.] The Poet having, in the pre- 
 ceding paragraph, informed us of 
 the benefits and disadvantages ^of 
 the several sorts of soil, he now 
 proceeds to instruct us how we 
 may be able to distinguish each of 
 them. 
 
 227. Rara densa.] Mr, 
 
 B translates these words lioJit 
 
 and heavy : but of these the Poet 
 speaks afterwards. Julius Grseci- 
 nus, as I find him quoted by Colu- 
 mella, sufficiently explains what is 
 the true meaning of them. Densa 
 signifies such a soil, as will not ea- 
 sily admit the rain^ is easily cracked, 
 and apt to gape, and so let in the 
 sun to the roots of the vines, and 
 in a manner to strangle the young 
 j)lants. This therefore must be a 
 hard or stiff soil. Rara, says he, 
 lets the showers quite through, and 
 is apt to be dried up with the sun. 
 Therefore this must be a loose soil. 
 '' Perdensamhumumcaelestes aquas 
 *' non sorbere, nee facile perflari, 
 *' facillime perrumpi, et praebere 
 *' rimas, quibus sol ad radices stir- 
 *' pium penetret: eademque velut 
 '' conclausa, et coarctata semina 
 '' comprimere, atque strangulare. 
 *' Raram supra modum velut per 
 " infundibulum transmittere im- 
 '' bres, et sole ac vento penitus sic- 
 '^ cari, atque exarescere." 
 
 230. Jubehis.'] Pierius says it is 
 videbis in the Medicean manuscript. 
 I find the same reading in the old 
 Nurenbergedition. 
 
 231. In^ solido.] The Poet says 
 you should dig in a solid place ; for 
 if it was hollow, the experiment 
 would be to no purpose. 
 
 Y 2 
 
164? 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 If it does not fill the pit. the 
 soil is loose, and will aonn- 
 dantly supply the cattle, and 
 fruitful vines. But if it re- 
 fuses to go into its place 
 again, and rises abo%'e the pit 
 that has been filled up, the soil 
 is thick : then expect sluggish 
 clods and stiff ridges, and 
 plough up the eanh with 
 strong bullocks. But the salt 
 earth, and tliat which is ac- 
 counted bitter, which is unfit 
 for corn, and is not meliorated 
 by ploughing, and does not 
 preserve the sort of grape, nor 
 the true names of apples, may 
 be known by the following ex- 
 periment. Take close-woven 
 baskets and the strainers 
 of the wine-presses from the 
 smoking roofs. Throw some 
 of this bad soil into them, 
 with sweet spring water, tread 
 them well together; and all 
 the water will strain out, and 
 large drops will pass through 
 the twigs. Then the taste 
 will plainly discover itself, 
 and the bitterness will distort 
 the countenances of those 
 'who take it. 
 
 Si deerunt, rarum, pecorique et vitibus almis 
 Aptius uber erit. Sin in sua posse negabunt 
 Ire loca, et scrobibus superabit terra repletis, 
 Spissus ager: glebas cunctantes, crassaque terga 
 Expecta, et validis terram proscinde juvencis. 
 Salsa autem tellus, et quae perhibetur amara, 
 Frugibus infelix : ea nee mansuescit arando, 239 
 Nee Baccho genus, aut pomis sua nomina servat : 
 Tale dabit specimen : tu spisso vimine qualos, 
 Colaque praelorum fumosis deripe tectis. 
 Hue ager ille malus, dulcesque a fontibus unda? 
 Ad plenum calcentur : aqua eluctabitur omnis 
 Scilicet, et grandes ibunt per vimina guttse. 245 
 At sapor indicium faciet manifestus, et ora 
 Tristia tentantum sensu torquebit amaror. 
 
 233. Deerunt.'] It is deerint in 
 one of Dr. Mead's manuscripts, and 
 deerit in the old Nurenberg edition : 
 but deerunt is the most received 
 reading, as Pierius found it in the 
 Medicean and other ancient manu- 
 scripts, and as I have found it in all 
 the manuscripts which I have col- 
 lated. 
 
 237. Validis terram proscinde ju- 
 vencis.'] He mentions the strength 
 of the bullocks, to signify that this 
 soil must be ploughed deep. Thus 
 we have in the first Georgick,/or/es 
 invertant iauri, in the same sense. 
 
 241. Tu spisso vimine qualos.^ In 
 one of Dr. Mead's manuscripts it is 
 tum spisso, &c. Pierius says it is 
 spissos vimine qualos, in the Lom- 
 bard manuscript J but he prefers 
 spisso vimine, as it is in the Medi- 
 cean, and other copies. 
 
 246. At.^ In one of Dr. Mead's 
 manuscripts it is sat. 
 
 247. Sensu, torquebit amaror.] 
 In one of the Arundelian manu- 
 scripts it is sensum torquebit amaror, 
 
 where sensum seems to be an error 
 of the transcriber for sensu. 
 
 '' Amaror is the style of Lucre- 
 " tins, and the true reading; though 
 " many read amaro, making it agree 
 " with sensu." Servius. 
 
 " Though Servius, and some 
 " others affirm amaror to be the 
 '' true reading, and taken from 
 ^' Lucretius, 
 
 " Cum tiii?nur misceri ahsinthiOy tangit 
 " amaror: 
 
 " and though Aulus Gellius has 
 " collected the testimonies of some 
 '' very ancient manuscripts, to sup- 
 *' port this reading j yet amaro is 
 *' not amiss, as we find it in the 
 " most ancient Roman manuscript. 
 " For sapor maybe the nominative 
 " case both to faciet and torquebit. 
 " In the Lombard and Medicean 
 " manuscripts it was written amaro, 
 " but r has been added with an- 
 " other hand and ink." Piejrius. 
 
 The passage of Aulus Gellius to 
 which Pierius alludes is the twenty- 
 
GEORG. LIB. II. 
 
 165 
 
 Pinguis item quae sit tellus, hoc denique pacto 
 Discimus ; baud unquam manibus j aetata fa- 
 
 tiscit, 249 
 
 Sed picis in morem ad digitos lentescit babendo. 
 Humida majores berbas alit, ipsaque justo 
 Laetior : ah nimium ne sit mibi fertilis ilia, 
 Neu se praevalidam primis ostendat aristis ! 
 Quae gravis est, ipso tacitam se pondere prodit : 
 Quaeque levis. Promptum est oculis prae- 
 
 discere nigram, ^55 
 
 The fat soil also mny be 
 known by this means ; it 
 never crumbles, when it is 
 squeezed by the hand, but 
 sticks to the fingers like pitch. 
 The moist soil produces rank 
 grass, and is itself too luxuri- 
 ant : oh ! let not mine be too 
 fruitful, lest it shew itself too 
 strong with early corn. The 
 heavy and the light soil dis- 
 cover themselves evidently 
 by their weight. It is easy 
 to distinguisii the black by 
 the sight ; 
 
 first chapter of the first book, where 
 he tells us, that Hyginus affirmed it 
 was amaror in the very book, which 
 belonged to the house and family of 
 Virgil himself : and that learned 
 critic is of opinion that the sense is 
 better so, than if we read amaro 
 with Pierius : *^ Versus istos ex 
 " Georgicis Virgilii plerique omnes 
 " sic legunt : 
 
 "At sapor indidumfaciet manifestus; et or a 
 *' Tristia tentantum sensu torqueUt amaro. 
 
 " Hyginus autem non hercle ignobi- 
 *' lis grammaticus, in commentariis, 
 " quae In Virgilium fecit, confirmat 
 " et perseverat non hoc a Virgilio 
 *' relictum; sed quod ipse invenerit 
 " in libro, qui fuerat ex domo atque 
 " familia Virgilii, 
 
 •et era 
 
 ** TristiatentantiimsensutorquebH amaror. 
 
 " neque id soli Hygino, sed doctis 
 " quibusdam etiam viris complaci- 
 " turn. Quoniam videtur absurde 
 *' dici : sapor sensu amaro iorquet : 
 " quura ipse, inquiunt, sapor sen- 
 '* sus sit, non alium in semetipso 
 " sensum habeat : ac inde sit quasi 
 '' dicatur, sensus sensu amaro ior- 
 *' quel. Sed enim quum Favorinus 
 " Hygini commentarium legisset : 
 " atque ei statim displicita esset in- 
 " solentia et insuavitas illius, sensu 
 
 '* iorquebii amaro: risit, et, Jovem 
 *' lapidem, inquit, quod sanctissi- 
 " mum jusjurandum est habitum, 
 " paratus sum ego jurare Virgilium 
 *' hoc nunquam scripsisse. Sed 
 " Hyginum ego dicere verum arbi- 
 *' tror. Non enim primus finxit 
 *' hoc verbum Virgilius insolenter : 
 " sed in carminibus Lucretii inven- 
 ** turn est : nee est aspernatus au- 
 '' toritatem poetae ingenio et facun- 
 " dia praecellentis. Verba ex quarto 
 *' Lucretii haec sunt. 
 
 Dilutaque contra. 
 
 *' Quum luimur misceri absinthia, tangU 
 ** amaror. 
 
 " Non verba autem sola, sed versus 
 *' prope lotos et locos quoque Lu- 
 " cretii plurimos sectatum esse Vir- 
 " gilium videmus." 
 
 It is amaro in the King's, the 
 Bodleian, and in one of the Arun- 
 delian manuscripts. 
 
 253. Neu.'] It is nee in the Ro- 
 man, the Medic'ean, and some other 
 manuscripts, and ne in others, ac- 
 cording to Pierius. I find nee in 
 one of tne Arundelian, and one of 
 Dr.Mead's manuscripts. In the otlier 
 Arundelian it is heu, which, I sup- 
 pose, is an error of the transcriber, 
 for neu, 
 
 254. Prodit:] The King's manu- 
 script and La Cerda have promit. 
 
166 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 a uh U'drdScover'tt Et quis cul color. At sceleratum exquirere frigus 
 
 pernicions cold; only pitch -rx'/r» •! 
 
 trees, and yews, or black ivy Difhcile est: Diceag tantuni, taxiquc nocentes 
 
 sometimes are au indication ' -^ T 
 
 These rSSrlmember'to p,f- Intcrdum, aut hederse pandunt. vestigia nigrae. 
 
 pare the earth a long while 
 
 His animadversis, terram multo ante memento 
 
 256. Et quis cui color. At scele- 
 ratum.'] So I read with Heinsius, 
 Schrevelius, Masvicius, and others. 
 Pierius says it is et quis cuive color. 
 Sceleratum^ in some very ancient 
 manuscripts ; and et quis cuique color 
 at in the Medicean. In one of Dr. 
 Mead's manuscripts it is et quis cui- 
 que color. Sceleratum, — in the other, 
 et quis cuique color. At sceleratum. 
 Servius approves of the common 
 reading, which is et quisquis color. 
 At sceleratum. 
 
 257. Picece.l The Picea is our 
 common Fir or Pitch-tree, or 
 Spruce-Fir. 
 
 Taxique nocentesT] The berries 
 of the Yew are said by Pliny to be 
 poisonous: '' Lethale quippe baccis 
 '* in Hispania prsecipue, venenum 
 " inest." Julius Caesar also tells 
 us that Cativulcus poisoned himself 
 with yew : " Cativulcus rex dimi- 
 " dise partis Eburonum, qui una 
 " cum Ambiorige consilium inierat, 
 '* setate jam confectus, quum la- 
 '' bo rem aut belli aut fugse ferre 
 *' non posset, omnibus precibus 
 " detestatus Ambiorigem, qui ejus 
 *' consilii auctor fiiisset, taxo, cujus 
 '' magna in Gallia Germuniaque 
 " copia est, se exanimavit.'" The 
 leaves also are said by the ancients 
 to be destructive to horses, which 
 we find to be true in England. The 
 berries have been eaten by myself 
 and many others with impunity: 
 but this may be owing to the diifer- 
 enCe of climate; for Dioscorides, 
 who says it is not alike poisonous 
 in all places, affirms that the berries 
 are poisonous in Italy, and the 
 shade hurtful in Narbonne. Per- 
 haps the species may be different ; 
 
 for there is mention of a sort of yew 
 in the Pisa garden, which is more 
 bushy than the common, and has 
 leaves more like a fir, and sends 
 forth such a poisonous smell, when 
 it is clipped, that the gardeners 
 cannot work at it above half an 
 hour at a time. 
 
 258. Hederce nigrce.'] The ber- 
 ries of our common ivy are black, 
 when ripe, and therefore we may 
 suppose it to be the ivy here spoken 
 of. There is a white Ivy mentioned 
 in the seventh Eclogue : 
 
 Candidior cycnis, hedera foimosior alba. 
 
 We find mention of it also in Theo- 
 phrastus, Pliny, and Dioscorides : 
 but we are not now acquainted with 
 any such plant. 
 
 259. His animadversis, &c.] Hav- 
 ing explained the several sorts of 
 soil, he proceeds to give some in- 
 structions concerning the planting 
 of vines: and speaks of the trenches 
 which are to be made, to receive 
 the plants out of the nursery ; of 
 taking care that the nursery and 
 the vineyard should have a like soil ; 
 and that the plants should be set 
 with the same aspect, which they 
 had in the nursery. 
 
 Multo afile] This is the very 
 expression of Theophrastus, who 
 says that " the trenches must be 
 " made a long while beforehand 
 ** and digged deep : Tov? 21 yv^ovg 
 
 " ^ti^ovg uii." In another place he 
 says it should be a year beforehand, 
 with which the other writers agree, 
 who mention any determinate time. 
 Thus Columella : " Sed et scrobes 
 " et sulci plurimum prosunt, si in 
 
GEORG. LIB. II. 
 
 167 
 
 Excoquere, et magnos scrobibus concidere 
 montes : 260 
 
 Ante supinatas aquiloni ostendere glebas, 
 Quam laetum infodias vitis genus : optima putri 
 Arva solo : id venti curant, gelidaeque pruinse, 
 Et labefacta movens robustus jugera fossor. 
 At si quos baud uUa viros vigilantia fugit ; ^65 
 Ante locum similem exquirunt, ubi prima pa- 
 retur 
 
 beforehand, and to cut the 
 great hills with trenches: and 
 to turn up the clods to the 
 northern wind, before you 
 plant the joyful vines : those 
 fields are best which have a 
 loose soil ; this is procured by 
 winds, and cold frosts, and by 
 loosening and digging the 
 ground deep. But those who 
 are completely careful, choose 
 out the same sort of soil to 
 plant the young cuttings 
 
 " locis temperatis, in quibus aestas 
 ** non est perfervida, ante annum 
 " fiant, quam vineta conserantur." 
 Virgil seems to express that itshould 
 be done a year beforehand; for he 
 says the trenches should be exposed 
 to the north wind and frosts, that 
 is, should lie at least a whole win- 
 ter. Excoquere seems to express its 
 lying a whole summer. Coquere 
 signifies to bake the earth with the 
 sun, in the first Georgick : 
 
 Pulverulenta coquat maturis solibus ae- 
 stas. 
 
 Mr. Evelyn says, " the longer you 
 ** expose the mouldy and leave the 
 ** receptacles open, (were it for two 
 '' whole winters,) it soon would re- 
 " compense your expectation." 
 
 260. Magnos scrobibus concidere 
 mo7ites.] lean hardly forbear think- 
 ing that Virgil wrote magnisy which 
 will make the sense be to cut the 
 hills with great trenches, and agrees 
 with Theophrastus, whose very 
 words Virgil has almost transcribed, 
 as was observed in the preceding 
 note. But I propose this only as a 
 conjecture, for it is magnos in all 
 the copies that I have seen. 
 
 Pierius says, it is circundare in 
 the Roman manuscript, instead of 
 concidere; and that et is left out in 
 the Medicean copyj which, in 
 truth is not very unlike Virgil's 
 style : 
 
 Terram multo ante memento 
 
 Excoquere : magnos scrobibus concidere 
 
 montes : 
 Ante supinatas aquiloni ostendere glebas 
 Quam laetum infodias vitis genus : 
 
 without any conjunction copulative. 
 
 263. Gelidceque,'] In one of the 
 Arundelian manuscripts it is geli- 
 dcBve; but I take gelidceque to be 
 the true reading. 
 
 264. Robusiusr\ I have more 
 than once observed already, that 
 when Virgil speaks of making deep 
 furrows, he expresses it by saying 
 the bullocks must be strong: so 
 here he expresses the depth of the 
 trenches by saying the labourer 
 must be strong. 
 
 266. Prima paretttr arhoribus se^ 
 ges.'] By prima seges he means the 
 seminariuni, or nursery, where the 
 cutti ngs of the v ines are first planted . 
 Dr. Trapp interprets seges, those 
 plants which spring from seed; but 
 vines are seldom, if ever, propa- 
 gated by seed. Seges is sometimes 
 used by Virgil for a crop; thus we 
 have lini seges for a crop of flax : 
 but he uses it often also for the 
 field itself; as in ver. 4?. of the 
 first Georgick : 
 
 Ilia seges demum votis respondet avari 
 Agricolae, bis quas solem, bis frigora 
 sensit : 
 
 where seges cannot signify the crop, 
 for it would be absurd to say, that 
 
168 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 fileSi^'Unhefw'aJS/fTal Arboribus segGS, et quo mox digesta feratur 
 «eV''Sotire7st"r?ngr''They Mutatam iffnoreiit subito ne semina matrem. 
 
 also mark the aspect on the *^ ... 
 
 bark, Quin etiam caeli regionem m cortice signant : 
 
 a crop of corn stands two summers 
 and two winters, as Dryden has 
 translated it : 
 
 That crop rewards the greedy peasant's 
 
 pains, 
 Which twice the sun, and twice the cold 
 
 sustains. 
 
 In ver. 129- of the fourth Georgick, 
 seges is very evidently used for land, 
 and not a crop, for it is applied to 
 cattle as well as vines : 
 
 . 'i^ecferiilis iWajuvencis, 
 
 Nee pecori opportuna seges, nee commoda 
 Baccho. 
 
 267. Q,uo mox digesta feratur.'] 
 By these words he means the vine- 
 yard, into which the young vines 
 are to be removed from the nursery, 
 and where they are to continue. 
 
 In the Bodleian manuscript it is 
 egesta, instead of digesta. 
 
 268. Mutatam ignorent subito ne 
 semina matrem.'] In the King's, the 
 Cambridge, the Bodleian, and both 
 Dr. Mead's manuscripts it is mutala. 
 I find the same reading in most of 
 the old editions, in Paul Stephens, 
 La Cerda, and several others. Both 
 the Arundelian manuscripts, Hein- 
 sius, Ruseus, Masvicius, and several 
 other good editors, read mutatam. 
 
 " Some years ago, says Pierius, 
 " all agreed universally to write 
 '' mutata, referring it to semina; 
 " though in all the ancient manu- 
 " scripts it was mutatam agreeing 
 '' with matrem, Virgil's meaning 
 *' is, that a like soil be chosen for 
 " the nursery and vineyard, lest 
 ** the young vines should fare like 
 " young children, when they are 
 " taken from the breasts of their 
 " mother and given to a strange 
 
 " nurse : for they pine and cry 
 *' after the breast to which they 
 " have been accustomed. As for 
 " their interpreting semina viulatOy 
 *' the removing of the young plants 
 " from one place to another, it is 
 *' ridiculous." 
 
 Semina does not always signify 
 what we call seeds ; but it is fre- 
 quently used by the writers of agri- 
 culture, for cuttings, slips, and 
 layers. 
 
 Matrem is here used to express 
 the earth, in which the cuttings 
 and young vines are planted. 
 
 In one of the Arundelian manu- 
 scripts we have neu, and in one of 
 Dr. Mead's nee, instead of 7je. 
 
 269. Cceli regionem in cortice sig- 
 nant.] Theophrastus says the posi- 
 tion of trees must be regarded, as 
 to north, east, or south : "Hv^rsg tl^iv 
 svta rat ^ii^^av ice, rs-^ag /Sopp«», koci ret 
 ■zF^og 'iw xeci ret zr^og f^so-rtfcZ^lxr. Co- 
 lumella also advises that all trees 
 should be marked, before they are 
 taken out of the nursfery 3 and adds , 
 that it is of great consequence to 
 preserve the same aspect, to which 
 theyhavebeen accustomed : " Hanc 
 " observationem non solum in vi- 
 '' tium positione, sed in ulmorum, 
 " ceeierarumque arborum praecipio, 
 *' et uti cum de semmario eximun- 
 " tur, rubrica notetur una pars, quae 
 ** nos admoneat, ne aliter arbores 
 '* constituamus, quam quemadmo- 
 *' dum in seminario steterint. Plu- 
 '' rimum enim refert, ut earn partem 
 " caeli spectent, cui ab tenero con- 
 " sueverunt." Pliny thinks this 
 care not to be requisite, because 
 the mention of it has been omitted 
 by Cato ; and adds that some aflfect 
 the very contrary position, in vines 
 
GEORG. LIB. II. 
 
 169 
 
 Ut, quo quaeque modo steterit, qua parte ca- 
 lores 370 
 
 Austrinos tulerit, quae terga obverterit axi, 
 Restituant : adeo in teneris consuescere multum 
 
 . est. 
 Collibus, an piano melius sit ponere vitem, 
 Quaere prius. Si pingiiis agros metabere campi, 
 Densa sere : in den so non segnior ubere Bac- 
 chus. 275 
 
 that every slip may stand the 
 same way, that it may still 
 have the same position, with 
 regard to south and north; 
 such is tlie force of custom in 
 tender years. Enquire first, 
 whether it is better to plant 
 the vine on hills or on a plain. 
 If you lay out the fields of a 
 rich plain, plant thick ; for 
 vines are not the less fruitfnl 
 for being close planted. 
 
 and figs; thinking that by this 
 means the leaves grow thicker, to 
 defend the fruit; and that it will 
 not be so ready to drop off. " Non 
 *' omisisset idem, si attineret meri- 
 *' dianam cseli partem signare in 
 " cortice, ut translata in iisdem et 
 ^' assuetis statueretur horis: ne 
 " aquiloniae meridianis oppositaeso- 
 " libus finderentur, et algerent me- 
 " ridianae aquilonibus. Quod e 
 *' diverso affectant etiam quidam in 
 *' vite ficoque, permutantes in con- 
 *' trarium. Densiores enim folio 
 " ita fieri, magisque protegere fruc- 
 *' turn, et minus amittere." This 
 rule, 1 think, is not observed by 
 our modern planters : though It 
 seems to have been laid down not 
 without some foundation. It is 
 easy to see a very great difference 
 between the north and south side 
 of a tree, after it has been felled : 
 for the annual rings are much closer 
 on the north side, than on the south. 
 Mr. Evelyn says, he '^ can confirm 
 *' this advice of the Poet from fre- 
 *' quent losses of his own, and by 
 " particular trials : having some- 
 *' times transplanted great trees at 
 [' midsummer with success, (the 
 " earth adhering to the roots,) and 
 " miscarried in others, where this 
 *' circumstance only was omitted." 
 271. QucE.'] Both the Arundelian 
 manuscripts, Servius, La Cerda, and 
 Schrevelius read qua. 
 
 Terga!] In one of Dr. Mead's 
 manuscripts it is terra, which must 
 be an error of the transcriber. 
 
 AxL] He uses axis singly for the 
 north, because that pole only is 
 visible to us. 
 
 273. Collibus y an piano, &c.] 
 Here the poet shews the different 
 way of planting a plain or a hill. 
 In a plain, the vines are to be 
 planted close, but on a hill they 
 are to be kept at greater distances. 
 He then compares a well planted 
 vineyard to an army drawn up in 
 form of battle. 
 
 Fitem.'^ The common reading is 
 vites : but I prefer vitem, as I find it 
 in the Cambridge, the Bodleian, and 
 in one of the Arundelian manu- 
 scripts. Pierius says it is vitem in 
 the Medicean, and in several other 
 ancient manuscripts. Heinsiusalso 
 reads vitem. 
 
 275. Densa.] The adjective densa 
 is put here adverbially for dense. 
 
 In den so non segnior ubere.] Denso 
 is generally thought to agree with 
 ubere : so that the construction must 
 be Bacchus non est segnior in denso 
 ubere. But then what is meant by 
 in denso ubere ? Grimoaldus explains 
 it parvis intervalUs positce in ubere 
 Icetoque et cainpestri solo : but then 
 Virgil should have said densus non 
 segnior ubere Bacchus, Ruseus inter- 
 prets it in denso agro, taking ubere 
 and agro to mean the same; which, 
 
 z 
 
170 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 ^sLg w^ui'^hiifocksf'and Sill tumulis acclive solum, coUesque supinos ; 
 
 sloping hills. 
 
 I believe, cannot be proved. Dr. 
 Trapp says *' denso ubere, i. e. dense 
 " consito, thick planted. The con- 
 ** text necessarily requires that con- 
 '* struction : though none of the 
 *' commentators but De La Cerda 
 " seem to have understood it." But 
 La Cerda does not seem to join 
 denso with ubere; for his explica- 
 tion of the words in question is 
 '' nam haec densitas, et consertio 
 '* vitium nihil impediet, quo minus 
 " fertilissimeproveniantvina." His 
 note is upon non segnior ubere Bac- 
 chus ; which he compares with 
 
 Non segnior agris 
 
 Emergitque Ceres, nee segnior ubere 
 Pallas. 
 
 Here is no mention of denso, and it 
 is plain that ubere is the ablative 
 case after the adjective segnior^ and 
 not after the preposition in. I take 
 the construction to be Bacchus non 
 est segnior ubere, in denso, where 
 denso is put as a substantive, and 
 means the same, as in denso ordine: 
 which I take to be La Cerda's 
 meaning. 
 
 Uber occurs so frequently in Vir- 
 gil, that it may not be amiss to 
 consider all the senses, in which he 
 has used it. In the fifth jEneid, it 
 is used for the breast of a woman ; 
 
 Cressa genus, Pholoe, geminique sub 
 ubere nati. 
 
 And again, in the sixth: 
 
 Infantiiraque animae flentes in limine 
 
 primo, 
 Quos dulcis vitaj exortes, et ab uhere 
 
 raptos 
 Abstulit atra dies. 
 
 The most frequent use of the word 
 is for the dug of any beast. Thus 
 it is used for that of a sheep, in the 
 second Eclogue : 
 
 Bina die siccant ovis ubera : 
 And in the third : 
 
 Cogite ovcs, pueri : si lac praeceperit 
 aestus, 
 
 Ut nuper, frusta pressabimus ubera pal- 
 mis : 
 
 And in the third Georgick : 
 
 Hinc et amant fluvios magis, et magis 
 ubera tendunt : 
 
 And again 
 
 Exhausto spumaverit ubere mul- 
 
 ctra: 
 
 And again : 
 
 Gravido spuerantvixi^Jerelimen : 
 
 And in the third ^Eneid : 
 
 Lanigeras claudit pecudes, atque ubera 
 pressat : 
 
 For that of a goat, in the fourth 
 Eclogue : 
 
 Ipsae lacte domum referent distenta ca- 
 
 pelhz 
 Ubera : 
 
 For that of a cow, in the third 
 Eclogue : 
 
 ' Ego banc vitulam, ne forte recuses. 
 Bis venit ad mulctram, binos alit tibere 
 
 foetus, 
 Depono : 
 
 And in the ninth : • 
 
 Sic cytiso pastae distentent ubera vaccce : 
 
 And in the second Georgick : 
 
 Ubera vaccee 
 
 Lactea demittunt. 
 
 And in the third Georgick : 
 
 — Nee tibi foetae 
 
 More patrum, nivea implebunt mul- 
 ctralia vaccoe ; 
 
 Sed tota in dukes consuraent ubera na- 
 tes: 
 
GEORG. LIB. II. 
 
 171 
 
 Indulge ordinibus : 
 
 nee secius omnis in unguem 
 
 spare the roves: but at the 
 same time let your trees be 
 planted exactly. 
 
 For that of a sow, in the third 
 Mne'id : 
 
 Inventa sub ilicibus sus 
 
 Alba, solo recubans, albi circum uhera 
 nati : 
 
 For that of a wolf, in the eighth 
 ^neld; 
 
 Procubiiisse lupam : getninos huic ulera 
 
 circum 
 Ludere pendentes pueros : 
 
 For that of a mare in the third 
 Georgick : 
 
 Depulsus ab ubere matris : 
 
 And in the eleventh ^neid : 
 
 Hie natam in dumis interque horrentia 
 
 lustra, 
 Armentalis equce maramis et lacte ferino 
 Nutribat, teneris imraulgens ubera labris : 
 
 And of a doe, in the seventh 
 ^neid : 
 
 — — Matris ab ubere raptum. 
 
 In the second Georgick, it is used 
 for the fruitfulness of a field : 
 
 — — Fertilis ubere campus. 
 
 And in the first and third Mneid : 
 
 Terra antiqua, potens armis, atque ubere 
 
 glebce : 
 
 And in the seventh ^neid : 
 
 — — Non vobis rege Latino, 
 Divitis uber agri, Trojasve opulent ia 
 deerit : 
 
 There are only two passages, where 
 uber can be wrested to Ruseus's 
 sense. The first is in this Georgick : 
 
 Si deerunt, rarum, pecoriqiie et vitibus 
 
 almis 
 Aptius uber erit : 
 
 Where it may as well be rendered 
 fruitfulness : " The soil is loose and 
 
 " its fruitfulness will be more fit 
 '* for cattle and vines." The other 
 is in the third ^neid ; 
 
 Quae vos a stirpe parentum 
 
 Prima tulit tellus, eadem vos ubere laeto 
 
 Accipiet reduces : 
 
 Where it may also have the same 
 signification : " that land which pro- 
 " duced your ancestors will receive 
 " you also with a joyful fruitful- 
 " ness:" and therefore the passage 
 now under consideration may be 
 rendered literally, *' Bacchus is not 
 " more backward in fruitfulness in 
 ^' a close planted vineyard." 
 
 277. Secius.'] In the Bodleian 
 manuscript it is segniiis, and in one 
 of the Arundelian copies it is serius. 
 
 Omnis in unguem arboribus po- 
 sitis secto via liniite quadret.'] This 
 passage has occasioned some diffi- 
 culty. Several of the commentators 
 think he is speaking of the Quin- 
 cunx, of which number are Gri- 
 moaldus and Ruaeus. La Cerda 
 thinks, with better reason, that he 
 means planting the vines in a 
 square, that is, in the following 
 order. 
 
 * -x- * * -x- 
 
 ***** 
 ***** 
 
 The Quincunx has its name from 
 the numeral V : three trees being 
 planted in that form are called the 
 single quincunx. The double quin- 
 cunx is the V doubled, which makes 
 an X, being four trees planted in a 
 z 2 
 
172 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 80 that every space may square 
 with that which crosses it. 
 As in a great war, when the 
 long extended legions have 
 ranged their cohorts, and the 
 sqaadroos stand raarshalled in 
 the open plain, and the armies 
 are drawn op, and the whole 
 field waves all over with 
 gleaming brass, and the hor- 
 rid battle is not yet begun. 
 
 Arboribus positis secto via limite quadret. 
 
 Ut saepe ingenti bello cum longa cohortes 279 
 
 Explicuit legio, et campo stetit agmen aperto, 
 
 Directaeque acies, ac late fluctuat omnis 
 
 ^re renidenti tellus, nee dum horrida miscent 
 
 square, with a fifth in the centre. 
 This being often repeated forms the 
 following figure : 
 
 Now as Virgil compares the dispo- 
 sition of the trees in a vineyard to 
 an army drawn up in battle array, 
 it is evident, that he must mean 
 the former figure: the latter not 
 being proper for that purpose. The 
 Romans usually allowed three feet 
 square for every common soldier to 
 manage his arms, that is, six feet 
 between each, which is a proper 
 distance for the vines in Italy, ac- 
 cording to Columella, who says the 
 rows should not be wider than ten 
 feet, nor nearer than four; '^ Sed 
 " de spatiis ordinum eatenus prae- 
 " cipiendum habemus, ut intelligant 
 '* agricolae sive aratro vineas culturi 
 *' sunt, laxiora interordinia relin- 
 *' quenda, sive bidentibus angusti- 
 " ora : sed neque spatiosiora, quam 
 *' decern pedum, neque contracti- 
 *' ora, quam quatuor." These dis- 
 tances may indeed agree very well 
 with the warmer climate of Italy 5 
 but, as Mr. Miller justly observes, 
 the dampness of our autumns re- 
 quires our vines to be planted at 
 greater distances. He advises them 
 
 to be planted so, that there may 
 be ten feet between each row, and 
 six feet iu the rows, between each 
 vine. 
 
 In ungueni is allowed by all the 
 commentators to be a metaphor 
 taken from the workers in marble, 
 who try the exactness of the joints 
 with their nails. It signifies there- 
 fore perfectly or exactly. 
 
 Via signifies the spaces or paths 
 between the rows. 
 
 Limes is the cross path, which, 
 in the square figure^ cuts the other 
 at right angles. 
 
 I take the order of the words to 
 be thus : nee secius via quadret secto 
 limite, arboribus positis in unguem ; 
 " and no less let every path, or space 
 " square with the cross path, the 
 " trees being planted exactly/' 
 
 279. Ingenti bello.'] In one of 
 the Arundelian manuscripts it is in- 
 genti in bello. 
 
 Cum longa cohortes explicuit legio.] 
 A Roman legion consisted of ten 
 cohorts. These legions marched in 
 a square -, but, in time of battle, 
 they were drawn into a longer form, 
 which Virgil beautifully expresses 
 by longa cohortes explicuit legio. 
 
 281. Ac] In one of Dr. Mead's 
 mauuscripta it is at. In several of 
 the old editions it is et, 
 
 282. Renidenti.] In the King's, 
 both the Arundelian manuscripts, 
 and in the old Nurenberg edition, 
 it is renitenti. Pierius found the 
 same reading in some old manu- 
 scripts: but renidenti in the Roman, 
 and some others. This is the only 
 simile in the second Georgick : but 
 
GEORG. LIB. II. 
 
 173 
 
 Praelia, sed dubius mediis Mars errat in armis. 
 Omnia sint paribus numeris dimensa viarum : 
 Non animum modo uti pascat prospectus inanem : 
 Sed quia non aliter vires dabit omnibus aequas 
 Terra, neque in vacuum poterunt se extendere 
 rami. 287 
 
 but doubtful Mars fluctuates 
 in the midst of arms. So let 
 your vineyard be divided by 
 an equal number of spaces ; 
 not only to delight a vain 
 mind with the prospect, but be- 
 cause the earth cannot other- 
 wise afford equal strength 
 to all, nor the branches ex- 
 tend themselves at large. 
 
 never did any poet draw one with 
 greater propriety. The rows of 
 vines are compared to the ranks 
 and files oF a Roman army, when 
 they are ranged in the most exact 
 discipline, and not yet disordered 
 by fighting. The shining beauty 
 of the clusters is finely represented 
 by the splendor of the brazen arms, 
 and not a word is used, that does 
 not serve to justify the comparison. 
 In both, the design of this order is 
 the same: not only to please the 
 eye with the beauty of so regular a 
 prospect ; but because it is most 
 proper for the use, for which they 
 are intended. 
 
 Dryden has translated cum longa 
 cohortes explicuit legio. 
 
 As legions in the field their front display : 
 
 which is the very reverse of Virgil's 
 expression : for, instead of display- 
 ing their front, they are drawn up, 
 in time of battle, with a narrower 
 front, than in their march. 
 
 And equal Mars, like an impartial lord. 
 Leaves all to fortune, and the dint of 
 sword. 
 
 This is a very bad translation of 
 dubius mediis Mars errat in armis. 
 Virgil's sense is, that Mars still 
 hovers doubtfully between the two 
 armies, not having yet determined 
 to which side to give the victory, 
 not a man has yet stirred from his 
 place to give the onset. Mr. 
 B 's translation begins : 
 
 As when two mighty armies all in sight, 
 Stretch'd on some open plain, begin the 
 fight. 
 
 But Virgil does not compare his 
 vineyard to two armies : but only 
 to that of the Romans. The design 
 of the Poet is to celebrate the exact- 
 ness of the military discipline of his 
 own country in ranging their sol- 
 diers; to which the barbarous dis- 
 cipline of their enemies was by no 
 means to be compared. Dr. Trapp's 
 translation comes much nearer the 
 sense of his author, and is almost 
 literal. 
 
 The long extended legion forms in lines 
 Its cohorts ; when the marshall'd squa- 
 drons stand 
 In the wide plain, and, the whole army 
 
 rang'd. 
 The ground all fluctuates with the brazen 
 
 gleam ; 
 Nor yet in horrid shock the battle joins. 
 But Mars uncertain, hovers o'er the field. 
 
 284. Numeris."] " The word nu- 
 '' merus in the singular, and numeri 
 *' in the plural, has a great variety 
 " of significations^ and means quan- 
 " tity as well as number; also order, 
 " regularity, exactness, &c. or if it 
 " be here taken for number -, it 
 ** means the same number of paths 
 '' crossing one another, to make an 
 *' exact square upon the whole : 
 *' which must likewise be divided 
 *' into squares, and so the distances 
 '' must be equal." Dr. Trapp. 
 
 Dimensa^ In one of the Arun- 
 delian manuscripts it is demensa. 
 
 - 287. Poterunt se extendere.'] " In 
 '' the Roman manuscript it is pote- 
 " runt extendere, without the pro- 
 " noun se; as elsewhere, /erro ac- 
 
174 
 
 P. VIRGILIl MARONIS 
 
 Perhaps you may desire to 
 know how deep the trenches 
 ought to be. For my own 
 part, I venture my vine in a 
 slight furrow. But trees must 
 be planted deep, and far in 
 the ground: chiefly the JEs- 
 culus, whose root descends 
 as low towards hell as its 
 branches rise up in the air 
 towards heaven. 
 
 Forsitan et scrobibus quae sint fastigia quaeras. 
 Ausim vel tenui vitem committere sulco. 
 Altius ac penitus terrae defigitur arbos : 290 
 JEsculus in primis, quae, quantum vertice ad 
 
 auras 
 ^therias, tantum radice in Tartara tendit. 
 
 '' cingunt and lateri adglomerant 
 '' nostra, without se. But in the 
 " Medicean, and other manuscripts, 
 '^ se is inserted." Pierius. 
 
 2S8. Forsitan et scrobibus, &c.] 
 The subject of this paragraph is 
 the depth of the trenches. He says 
 the vine may be planted in a slial- 
 low trench, but great trees require 
 a considerable depth; of these he 
 gives the JEsculus for an example, 
 and thence takes occasion to give a 
 noble description of that tree. 
 
 289. Ausim vel tenui vitem com- 
 mittere sulco.'] In one of Dr. Mead's 
 manuscripts it is ter instead oivel. 
 
 The Roman husbandmen seem 
 not to have been well agreed about 
 the depth of their trenches for 
 planting vines. Columella would 
 have them from two to three feet 
 deep, according to the goodness of 
 the soil : but we find in that author, 
 that some of his contemporaries 
 blamed him, thinking he had as- 
 signed too great a depth. Virgil 
 seems to approve of a shallow 
 trench, but he speaks of it with 
 caution. He does not lay it down as 
 an absolute rule, in which all were 
 agreed, but only says that he him- 
 self would venture so to do : in 
 which he seems to hint, that the 
 common practice of his time was 
 different. 
 
 290. Altius ac penitus terrce defi- 
 gitur arbosl] Pierius says it is al- 
 iior in some ancient manuscripts. 
 Heinsius has embraced this reading; 
 but I take it to be corrupt. Ausim 
 vitem committere ac arbos defigitur is 
 
 such a connection, as, 1 believe, 
 Virgil would not have made use of. 
 Observe how wretchedly it appears 
 in English : *' I would venture my 
 '' vine in a slight furrow, and a 
 *' taller tree is planted deep in the 
 " ground." The reading would be 
 tolerable, if it was at instead of ac: 
 but no authority is oflfered for this 
 alteration. But even, if this was 
 admitted, taller in this place, would 
 be a poor and useless epithet. I 
 take altius to have been altered to 
 altior, by some tasteless transcriber, 
 who taking a vine to be a tree, 
 thought there wanted an epithet to 
 make a distinction between vitis 
 and arbos. But vines were not ac- 
 counted trees; but shrubs, or some- 
 thing of a middle nature between 
 trees and shrubs. Thus Columella : 
 '' Nam ex surculo vel arbor pro- 
 '* cedit, ut olea: vel frutex, ut pal- 
 '^ ma campestris : vel tertium quid- 
 " dam, quod nee arhorem, nee fru- 
 " ticem proprie dixerim, ut est 
 '' vitis." 
 
 221. Msculus^] See the note on 
 ver. 15. 
 
 Quantum vertice, ad auras, &c.] 
 This very expression is used of the 
 Quercus, in the fourth ^Eneid ; 
 
 Ac velut annoso validam cum robore 
 
 qucrcum 
 Alpini Boreae, nunc hinc, nunc flatibus 
 
 illinc 
 Eruere inter se certant ; it stridor, et altae 
 Consternunt terram concusso stipite 
 
 frondes : 
 Ipsa haeret scopulis : et quantum vertice 
 
 ad auras 
 ^theriaSftanUnn radice in Tartara tendit. 
 
GEORG. LIB. II. 
 
 175 
 
 Ergo non hyemes illam, non flabra, neque im- 
 
 bres 
 Convellunt : immota manet, multosque nepotes, 
 Multa virum volvens durando saecula vincit. 295 
 Turn fortes late ramos et brachia tendens 
 Hue illuc, media ipsa ingentem sustinet umbram. 
 Neve tibi ad solem vergant vineta cadentem : 
 Neve inter vites corylum sere : neve flagella 
 
 Therefore no storms, no 
 blasts, nor showers can hurt 
 it; unshaken it stands, and 
 outlasts many descents, many 
 ages of men. it extends its 
 strong branches and arms all 
 around, and standing itself ia 
 the midst sustains the vast 
 shade. Let not your vine- 
 yards look towards the setting 
 sun; plant no hazels amongst 
 your vines; do not take the 
 upper 
 
 293. Nonjlabra.'} In one of the 
 .Arundelian manuscripts it is 7iec 
 Jlabra. 
 
 294. Multosque nepotes.'] So I 
 read with Heinsius and Masvicius. 
 The same reading is in the Roman 
 manuscript according to Pierius. 
 Others read multosque per annas. 
 
 297. Ipsa.] It is ipsam in one of 
 the Arundelian manuscripts. 
 
 298. Neve tibi ad solem, &c.] In 
 this passage are several short pre- 
 cepts relating to-vineyards^ with a 
 beautiful account of the danger of 
 intermixing wild olives with the 
 vines, lest a fire should kindle 
 among them, and destroy the vine- 
 yard. 
 
 Columella, speaking of the aspect 
 of a vineyard, tells us that the an- 
 cients were greatly divided about it. 
 He recommends a south aspect in 
 cold places, and an east aspect in 
 warm places, if they be not subject 
 to be infested with the east and 
 south winds, as on the sea coast of 
 Baetica: in which case, he says, 
 they are better opposed to the 
 
 north, or west : *' Caeli re- 
 
 *' gionem, quam spectare debeant 
 *' vineae, vetus est dissensio, Saserna 
 *' maxime probante solis ortum, 
 *' mox deinde meridiem, tum oc- 
 " casum, Tremellio Scrofa praeci- 
 ** puam positionem meridianam 
 '' censente, Virgilio de industria 
 *^ occasum sic repudiante. 
 
 *' Neve tibi ad solem vergant vineta ca- 
 " dentem. 
 
 '' Democrito etMagonelaudantibus 
 '' caeli plagam septentrionalem,quia 
 '' existiment ei subjectas feracissi- 
 " mas fieri vineas, quze tamen bo- 
 *' nitate vini superentur. Nobis in 
 ** universum praecipere optimum 
 '^ visum est, ut in locis frigidis me- 
 " ridiano vineta subjiciantur, tepidis 
 *' orient! advertantur, si tamen non 
 " infestabuntur austris, eurisque, 
 ^' velut orse maritimae in Baetica. 
 " Sin autem regionespraedictisven- 
 *•' tis fuerint obnoxiae, melius aqui- 
 " loui, vel favonio committentur, 
 " nam ferventibus provinces, ut 
 " ^gypto et Numidia, uni septen- 
 '* trioni rectius opponentur." 
 
 299- Neve inter vites corylum sere.] 
 In the King's manuscript it is cory- 
 los. The hazel has a large, spread- 
 ing root, which would therefore in- 
 jure the vines. This seems to be 
 the reason of roasting the entrails 
 of the goat on hazel spits, as we 
 find in this Georgick : 
 
 Et ductus cornu stabit sacer hircus ad 
 
 aram, 
 Pinguiaque in verubifs torrebitnus exta 
 
 colurnis. 
 
 The goat was sacrificed to Bacchus, 
 because that animal is highly in- 
 jurious to vines: and its entrails 
 were roasted on hazel spits, because 
 that plant is also destructive to a 
 
176 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 ro?r1«uini'7roV'"thf fo" Summa pete, aut summa destringe ex arbore 
 
 of a tree, so great is the love , o/m-v 
 
 of earth; do not hurt your plailtaS I 0\)\) 
 
 plants with a blunt knife ; ' 
 
 Tantus amor terras : neu ferro laede retuso 
 
 vineyard. The hazel was used to 
 bind the vines. See the note on 
 rubea, book i. ver. 9.66. 
 
 Nevejlagella summa pete.] Virgil 
 is generally understood to mean by 
 flagella summa the topmost shoots of 
 the tree ; but these are mentioned 
 in the words immediately following. 
 Most of the translators therefore 
 have blended them together. I 
 take summa jiagella to mean the 
 upper part of the shoot, which 
 ought to be cut off, and is not 
 worth planting, as Mr. Miller has 
 observed ; " You should always 
 " make choice of such shoots as 
 *' are strong and well ripened of 
 " the last year's growth. These 
 " should be cut from the old vine, 
 " just below the place where they 
 " were produced, taking a knot of 
 " the two years' wood, which should 
 '' be pruned smooth : then you 
 ** should cut off the upper part of 
 *' the shoot, so as to leave the 
 " cutting about sixteen inches long. 
 " Now in making the cuttings 
 *' after this manner, there can be 
 *' but one taken from each shoot ; 
 " whereas most persons cut them 
 " into lengths of about a foot, and 
 *' plant them all, which is very 
 ** wrong: for the upper parts of 
 ** the shoots are never so well 
 '' ripened as the lower part which 
 " was produced early in the spring; 
 *' so that if they do take root, they 
 " never make so good plants, for 
 " the wood of those cuttings being 
 '^ spungy and soft, admits the 
 " moisture too freely, whereby the 
 " plants will be luxuriant in growth, 
 *' but never so fruitful as such 
 " whose wood is closer and more 
 '^ compact." 
 
 300. Summa destringe ex arbore 
 plantas."] So I read with Heinsius : 
 the common reading is summas de- 
 fringe. Pierius says it is summas de- 
 stringe in some old manuscripts; 
 but summa in the Roman, and other 
 more ancient copies. One of Dr. 
 Mead's manuscripts has summas de- 
 stringe: the other and the Cam- 
 bridge copy have summa defringe. 
 The same reading is in the Nuren- 
 berg, and several other old editions. 
 
 Columella says the best cuttings 
 are those which are taken from the 
 body; the next from the branches; 
 and the third from the top of the 
 tree j which soonest take, and are 
 most fruitful, but soonest grow 
 old : " Optima habentur a lumbis : 
 " secunda ab humeris : tertla sum- 
 '' ma in vite lecta, quae celerrime 
 *' comprehendunt, et sunt feraciora, 
 *' sed et quam celerrime senescunt." 
 
 301. Tantus amor terra.] The 
 Poet seems by this expression to 
 insinuate, that those shoots which 
 grow nearest the earth, contract 
 such a liking to it, that they take 
 better in it. 
 
 Neu ferro Icede retuso.'] In the 
 Bodleian manuscript it is ne ferro 
 Icede retuso : in the King's it is neu 
 ferro lade vetusto : in one of Dr. 
 Mead's it is neu ferro lege recuso. 
 
 A blunt knife not only increases 
 the labour of the husbanc!:i::an, but 
 also tears the vines, and makes 
 wounds that are not so apt to heal, 
 as Columella has observed : " Super 
 *' caetera illud etiam censemus, ut 
 '* duris, tenuissimisque et acutissi- 
 '' mis ferramentis totum istud opus 
 '' exequamur : obtusa enim, et 
 *' hebes, et mollis falx putatorem 
 " moratur, eoque minus operis effi- 
 
GEORG. LIB. II. 
 
 177 
 
 Semina : neve oleae sylvestres insere truncos. 
 Nam saepe incautis pastoribus excidit ignis, 
 Qui furtim pingui primum sub cortice tectus 
 Robora comprendit, frondesque elapsus in altas 
 Insentem caelo sonitum dedit. Inde secutus 
 Per ramos victor, perque alta cacumina regnat, 
 Et totum involvit flammis nemus, et ruit atram 
 Ad caelum picea crassus caligine nubem : 
 Praesertim si tempestas a vertice sylvis 310 
 
 Incubuit, glomeratque ferens incendia ventus. 
 Hoc ubi, non a stirpe valent, caesasque reverti 
 Possunt, atque ima similes revirescere terra : 
 Infelix superat foliis oleaster amaris. 
 
 nor intermix the truncheons 
 of the wild olive. For a 
 spark often falls from the 
 unwary shepherds, which 
 being at iirst concealed under 
 the unctuous bark, lays hold 
 of the stem, and thence 
 getting up into the topmost 
 leaves, sends a great crack- 
 ling up to heaven; then 
 pursues its conquest over 
 the boughs, reigns over the 
 lofty head, and spreads its 
 tianie over the whole grove, 
 and thick with pitchy dark- 
 ness drives the black cloud 
 to heaven ; especially if a 
 tempest has descended on 
 t' • woods, and a driving wind 
 roils the tire along. When 
 this happens, they are de- 
 stroyed down to the root, and 
 can no more arise, or recover 
 themselves from the ground ; 
 but the unblestwild olive with 
 bitter leaves remains. 
 
 " cit, et plus laboris afFert vinitori. 
 " Nam sive curvatur acies, quod 
 *' accitlit molli, sive tardius pene- 
 *' trat, quod evenit in retuso et 
 *' crasso ferramento, majore nisu 
 " est opus. Turn etiam plagae as- 
 " perae, atque insequales, vites la- 
 " cerant. Neque enim uno sed 
 *' saepius repetito ictu res transigi- 
 " tur. Quo plerumque fit, ut quod 
 '* pra^cidi debeat, perfringatur, et 
 " sic vitis laniata, scabrataque pu- 
 '' trescat humoribus, nee plagae 
 " consanentur. Quare magnopere 
 '' monendus putator est, ut pro- 
 " lixet aciem ferramenti, et quan- 
 *' turn possit, novaculee similem 
 " reddat." 
 
 302. Neve olea sylvestres insere 
 truncos.'] It seems by this passage, 
 as if it had been a custom to plant 
 wild olives in the vineyards, for 
 supports to the vines. This the 
 Poet justly reprehends, because a 
 spark, ligiiting accidentally on the 
 unctuous bark of the olive, may set 
 the whole vineyard on fire. May 
 seems to understand this precept 
 of Virgil to relate to the planting of 
 wild olives, not amongst the vines. 
 
 but amongst the cultivated olives: 
 for his translation is thus : 
 
 Nor yet 
 
 Wild olive trees amongst other olives 
 
 set. 
 
 310. A vertice.] Servius, Gri- 
 moaldus, and, after them, Ruaeus, 
 think that by a vertice is meant 
 from the north ; because that pole 
 appears above our heads : hie vertex 
 nobis semper sublimis. But I rather 
 believe it means only yVom above: 
 for the most furious winds do not 
 come from the north : and in the 
 first Georgick^ we have the south 
 wind mentioned to come ab alto : 
 which if it be taken to mean from 
 high, as some understand it, cannot 
 surely be interpreted of the north 
 pole: 
 
 ' Namque urget ah alto 
 Arboribusque satisque fiotus, pecorique 
 sinister. 
 
 See the note on book i. ver. 324. 
 
 312. Non a stirpe valent.] They 
 are the vines, which he says are 
 destroyed for ever; for he men- 
 tions the wild olives immediate!) 
 afterwards, as recovering them- 
 selves. 
 
178 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 Let no man, be he ever so 
 wise, prevail upon yoa to stir 
 the hard earth, when the 
 north wind blows. Then 
 winter binds up the country 
 with frost, and does not suffer 
 the frozen root of the j'oung 
 plants to take hold of the 
 earth. The best time for 
 pianling vineyards is, when 
 in tiie glowing spring the 
 white bird appears, which is 
 hated by the long snakes: or 
 else about the first cold of 
 autumn ; when the rapid sun 
 
 fJi 
 
 Nec tibi tarn prudens quisquam persuadent 
 auctor 315 
 
 Tellurem Borea rigidam spirante moveri. 
 Rura gelu turn claudit hyems, nec semine jacto 
 Concretam patitur radicem adfigere terrae. 
 Optima vinetis satio, cum vere rubenti 
 Candida venit avis longis invisa colubris : 320 
 Prima vel autumni sub frigora, cum rapidus sol 
 
 315. Nec tibi, &c.] Here we have 
 a precept relating to the time of 
 planting vines ; which is either in 
 the spring or autumn; from which 
 the Poet beautifully slides into a 
 most noble description of the 
 spring. 
 
 31 6. Mover 1.2 So it is in the Ro- 
 man manuscript, according to Pie- 
 rius, who prefers this reading to 
 movere, as it is in the other copies. 
 Heinsius also has moveri. 
 
 319. Optima vinetis satiot cum vere 
 rubenti.'] Most of the printed edi- 
 tions have est after satio : but it is 
 wanting in the King's, the Bod- 
 leian, both the Arundelian, and both 
 Dr. Mead's manuscripts. Heinsius 
 also and Masvicius leave out est. 
 
 The epithet rufeen^i may allude to 
 the red flowers, which appear in the 
 spring: or rather, it may be put 
 for bright, or shining ; for purpureus 
 is used for any bright colour, and 
 the spring has often that epithet. 
 
 320. Candida avis.] The stork, 
 a bird of passage, which comes into 
 Italy in the spring; or in summer, 
 according to Pliny : " Ciconice 
 " quonam e loco veniant, aut quo 
 " se referant, incompertum adhuc 
 " est. E longinquo venire non du- 
 *^' bium, eodem quo grues modo : 
 *' illas hyemis, has astaiis adve- 
 ^' nas," 
 
 Longis invisa colubris.] Pliny tells 
 us, that storks are in such esteem 
 
 for destroying serpents, that, in 
 Thessaly, it is a capital crime to 
 kill them, and the punishment is 
 the same as for murder: ^' Honos 
 *' iis serpentium exitio tantus, ut 
 " in Thessalia capitale fuerit occi- 
 '^ disse, eademque legibus poena, 
 *' quae in homicidam." 
 
 321. Prima vel autumni sub fri- 
 gora.] The time which the Poet 
 means in this place, must be the 
 latter end of autumn, which the 
 Romans reckoned to begin on the 
 twelfth of August. Their winter 
 began on the ninth of November : 
 and therefore we may understand 
 the tirst cold of autumn to mean 
 the end of October, or the begin- 
 ning of Noveoiber. This agrees 
 with what Columella has said about 
 the time of planting vineyards : 
 that it is either in spring or au- 
 tumn ; in spring, if it be a cold 
 or moist climate, or the soil be fat, 
 or on a plain j and in autumn, if 
 the contrary. He says the time of 
 planting in the spring is from the 
 thirteenth of February to the vernal 
 equinox : in the autumn, from the 
 fifteenth of October to the first of 
 December; " Sequitur opus vineae 
 ^' conserendae, quae vel vere vel au- 
 ^' tumno tempestive deponitur. Vere 
 " melius, si aut pluvius, aut frigi- 
 " dus status caeli est, aut ager pin- 
 ^' guis, aut campestris, et uliginosa 
 '* planicies : rursus autumno si sic- 
 
GEORG. LIB. II. 
 
 179 
 
 Nondum liyemem contingit equis, jam praeterit 
 
 aestas. 
 Ver adeo frondi nemorum, ver utile sylvis : 
 Vere tument terrae, et genitalia semina poscunt. 
 Turn pater omnipotens foecundis imbribus 
 
 aether 325 
 
 Conjugis in gremium laetas descendit, et omnes 
 
 (Joes not yet touch the winter 
 with his horses, and the heat 
 is just gone. The spring 
 above all seasons is beneficial 
 to the verdure of the groves, 
 the spring is beneficial to the 
 woons: in the spring the 
 lands swell, and require the 
 genial seeds. Then the al- 
 mighty father iEther de- 
 scends into the bosom of his 
 joyful spouse with fruitful 
 showers, and 
 
 *' ca, si calida est acris qualitas, si 
 " exilis, atque aridus campus^, si 
 '' macerpraeruptusve collis: vernae- 
 " que position is dies fere quadra- 
 " ginta sunt ab Idibus Februariis 
 " usque in aequinoctium : rursus 
 *' autumnalis ab Idibus Octobris in 
 ** Calendas Decembres." Observe 
 that our Calendar varies a fortnight, 
 since the time it was settled by Ju- 
 lius Caisar : for the vernal equinox, 
 which is now about the tenth or 
 eleventh of March, was then about 
 the four or five and twentieth. This 
 must always be remembered, when 
 the days of the month are quoted 
 from the ancient Roman authors. 
 
 322. Nondum ht/emem contingit 
 equis.'l Ruseus interprets this the 
 tropic of Capricorn. But the sun 
 passes into Capricorn, at the time 
 of the winter solstice, which was 
 about their twenty-fourth or twen- 
 ty-fifth of December. This season 
 could not possibly be called autumn 
 by Virgil, 
 
 Jam prcEterit astas."] j^stas, sum- 
 mer, seems to be put here for warm 
 weather. See the note on ver. 312. 
 of the first Georgick. 
 
 Ver adeoi] Philargyrius looks 
 upon adeo, as an expletive. Ruaeus 
 interprets it prcecipue. See the note 
 on adeo, book i. ver. 24. 
 
 324. Vere tument terrcE.'] " The 
 " earth swells," says Theophrastus, 
 '' when it is moist and warm, and 
 ^' enjoys a temperate air: for then 
 " it is yielding, ready to burst, and 
 
 '* full of juice :" 'O^yoi ^' oru.)> mK^o? 
 
 fCiT^cc. TOTg ya^ iiidiei^vTog vi Koti iV' 
 QXctTT'^g KUt oXatg iVT^cccpiig io-ri. 
 
 ^25. Turn pater omnipotens, 5fc.] 
 The Poet calls the Mther or sky, 
 the almighty father , or Jupiter: for 
 they are the same in the heathen 
 mythology. Juno also is the earth, 
 which Virgil here calls the wife of 
 the almighty ^ther. The earth is 
 rendered fruitful by the showers 
 falling from the sky: which the 
 Poet expresses by MXher descend- 
 ing into the bosom of his wife. 
 The following verses of Lucretius 
 are not much unlike those of our 
 Poet, who seems to have had them 
 before his eye, when he wrote this 
 passage. 
 
 Postremo pereunt imbres, ubi eos pater 
 iEther 
 
 In gremium matris Terrai praecipitavit. 
 
 At nitidae surgunt fruges, ramique vires- 
 cunt 
 
 Arboribus ; crescunt ipsae, foetuque gra- 
 vantur : 
 
 Hinc alitur porro nostrum genus, atque 
 ferarum : 
 
 Hinc laetas urbes pueris florere videmus, 
 
 Frondiferasque novis avibus canere undi- 
 que sylvas, 
 
 Hinc fessae pecudes pingues per pabula 
 laeta 
 
 Corpora deponunt, et candens lacteus 
 humor 
 
 Uberibus manat distentis; hinc nova 
 proles 
 
 Artubus infirmis teneraslasciva perherbas 
 
 Ludit, lacte mero mentes percussa no- 
 vellas. 
 
 326. Lxtce.'] In one of the Arun- 
 
 2 A 2 
 
180 
 
 P. VIRGILII JMARONIS 
 
 greatly mingling witli iiei 
 
 great *bod?1foa"fshes' all her MaffHUS alit, Hiaffno commixtus coi'Dore, foetus. 
 
 offspring. TJien do the lonely 
 
 bir$!'anTTh?h'^'rdVrenew -^^^^ ^^^ resonant avibus virgulta canoris, 
 
 their love at their stated time : "o- .• , , , t i nrtrk 
 
 the teeming earth brings forth, ii<t venerem cei'tis I'epetunt ai'mcnta diebus: ^x9 
 
 and the fields open their ' 
 
 bosoms to the warm zephyrs: Parturit alinus ager, zephyrique tepentibus auris 
 
 delian, and in one of Dr. Mead's 
 manuscripts it is late: which is a 
 very elegant reading, and expresses 
 the wide extent of the spring show- 
 ers. Late is a favourite adverb with 
 Virgil, in this sense. Thus we find 
 in the first Georgick : 
 
 Amnis abundans 
 
 Exit, et obducto late tenet omnia limo : 
 
 And 
 
 Omnia ventorum concurrere praelia vidi, 
 Quae gravidam late segetem ab radicibus 
 
 imis 
 Sublime expulsam eruerent. 
 
 On the other side, it must be said, 
 that listce is here no insignificant 
 epithet: for the earth may well be 
 said to be glad, at the falling of 
 these fruitful showers. There is 
 an expression something like this 
 in the seventh Eclogue : 
 
 Jupiter et Iccto descendet plurimus imbri. 
 
 Here indeed not the earth, but the 
 shower, is called joyful : but yet this 
 epithet is added to the shower by a 
 metonymy, for the shower can no 
 otherwise be said to he joyful, than 
 as it makes the earth so. 
 
 328. Turn.'] It is oum, in the 
 Cambridge manuscript. 
 
 S29. Venerem certis repefunt ar- 
 menta diebus.'] The brute part of the 
 creation are known to have their 
 stated times of propagating their 
 species. Aristotle, from whom Vir- 
 gil probably took this observation, 
 says the general tince for this is the 
 spring. The words, which that 
 great philosopher uses on this sub- 
 ject, will, I believe, not be disagree- 
 able, in this place, to tlie learned 
 
 reader: BovMrxi fAv ovv vi (pvi^tg tm 
 zs'XiifCtiv, ■ss'ipf Tov ocvrov xpoioi zroiiia-^ai 
 T^v ofiiXlxv 'roiVTYiV, orocv he tov ^Ufiavtq 
 f>c6TetQoc,?i>iyi ZT^og to ^Ipog uvrn ^s Wiv *i 
 Toy gfiJg05 a^ei, hj to, -sTXiifoc, x-oii ToiTViva, 
 K»i TTi^u^j KUt TrXeifTu opuoiTt^cg TOV a-vvov- 
 eta-fzov. -TroiiiTXt ^l 'ivicc tkv hyjloti Kxt rev 
 roxov, Kxl f/HTOTragov kui ^UfAmog, ctov 
 rav Tg Ivv^^av UTra. yzy/i, kxi tui Trirtt- 
 vav, uv^^anog ^l f^dXi^x Troicrecv co^oiv, 
 KXi Tm <rvvxi^£^ct>7rivofAhci)v (^awv TriZfiv 
 TToXXu, dia, T9JV ahzxv ttdi tVT^o<pi»v, otrwj 
 Kotl XI Tcvi^cUg oXiyo^povixi iWiv, cioy vcg 
 Kxt Kvvog, X.XI Tm TfiTVivav ofx TrMovccKig 
 7roi6vvTxi Tovg TOKovg. We find some- 
 thing like this in Pliny: " Caeteris 
 '' animalibus stati per tempora an 
 '^ concubitus, homini omnibus ho- 
 " ris dierum noctiumque. Caeteris 
 " satietas in coitu, homini prope 
 '' nulla." Lucretius also mentions 
 the spring as the season for the 
 generation of animals 3 
 
 Nam simul ac species patefacta 'st verna 
 
 diei, 
 Et reserata viget genitalis aura Favoni ; 
 Aeriae primum volucres te. Diva, tuum- 
 
 que 
 Significant initum percussae corda tua vi : 
 Inde feras pecudes persultant pabula laeta, 
 Et rapidos tranant amnes ; ita capta le- 
 
 pore, 
 lUecebrisque tuis omnis natura animan- 
 
 tum 
 Te sequitur cupide, quo quamque indu- 
 
 cere pergis : 
 Denique per maria, ac montes, fluvios- 
 
 que rapaces, 
 Frondiferasque domos avium, camposque 
 
 virentes. 
 Omnibus' incutiens blandum per pectora 
 
 amorem, 
 Efficis ut cupide generatim saecTa propa- 
 
 gent. 
 
 330. Parturit almus ager.] In 
 
GEORG. LIB. II. 
 
 181 
 
 Laxant arva sinus: superat tener omnibus 
 
 humor : 
 Inque novos soles audent se gramina tuto 
 Credere : nee metuit surgentes pampinus austros, 
 Aut actum caelo magnis aquilonibus imbrem : 
 Sed trudit gemmas, et frondes explicat omnes. 
 Non alios prima crescentis origine mundi 336 
 Illuxisse dies, aliumve habuisse tenorem 
 Crediderim : ver illud erat : ver magnus agebat 
 Orbis, et hybernis parcebant flatibus euri : 
 Cum primas lucem pecudes hausere, virumque 
 Ferrea progenies duris caput extulit arvis : 
 Immissaeque ferae sylvis, et sidera caelo. 
 
 all abound witli gentle mois- 
 ture: and the herbs can safely 
 trust themselves to the new 
 suns : nor does tlie vine-branch 
 fear the rising south winds, 
 or the shower driven down 
 from heaven by the furious 
 north : but puts forth its buds, 
 and unfolds ail its leaves. J^o 
 other days, I believe, shone, 
 nor was it any other season, 
 at the beginning of the grow- 
 ing world : it was then the 
 spring: spring smiled over all 
 the globe, and the east winds 
 forbore their wintry blasts: 
 when cattle first drew light, 
 and the iron race of men 
 lifted up its head from the 
 hard fields; and wild beasts 
 were sent into the woods, and 
 stars into the heavens. 
 
 one of the Arundelian manuscripts 
 it is parturit alma Venus. 
 
 332. Gramina.'] In the King's 
 manuscript it is germina. 
 
 336. Non alios, &c.] I take the 
 Poet's meaning here to be, not that 
 there was a perpetual spring, at the 
 beginning of the world : but that it 
 was the spring season, when cattle 
 and men were created. He assigns 
 this reason for it ; the new created 
 beings would not have been able to 
 have sustained the extremities of 
 heat or cold j and therefore it must 
 have been spring, when they were 
 created, that they might have time 
 to grow hardy, before a more incle- 
 ment season should begin. 
 
 Dryden has greatly debased the 
 elegance of these lines, by making 
 use of vulgar, and, in this place, 
 ridiculous expressions : 
 
 In this soft season (let me dare to sing) 
 The world was hatch* d by heaven's im- 
 
 perial King 
 In prime of all the year, and holy-days of 
 
 spring. 
 
 340. Cum primce.'] In one of the 
 Arundelian manuscripts, and in an 
 
 old Paris edition, printed in 1494, 
 it is turn primum. In the Cambridge 
 manuscript, it is cum primam. Pie- 
 rius says it is cum primcB, in the 
 Roman and Medicean manuscripts. 
 Heinsius, Masvicius, and some old 
 editions, have cum primce. The 
 common reading is cwmjorimMm. 
 
 341. Ferrea.'] Some read terrea, 
 on the authority of Lactantius : 
 but it may as well be supposed, 
 that it is an error in the copy of 
 Lactantius. Virgil seems to have 
 imitated Hesiod : 
 
 Duris.] In some of the old edi- 
 tions it is durum. 
 
 Arvis.] In the Bodleian manu- 
 script it is armis. 
 
 Ruaeus thinks the Poet here al- 
 ludes to the iron age, and the resti- 
 tution of the earth by Deucalion 
 and Pyrrha, as was related in the 
 note on ver. 62. of the first Geor- 
 gick. But that learned commen- 
 tator seems to have forgotten, that 
 Virgil is here speaking of the very 
 first age of the world. 
 
182 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 Nor could the tender creation 
 have borne so great a labour, 
 if there had not been a rest 
 between cold and heal, and 
 if the indulgence of heaven 
 did not favour the earth. 
 But to proceed, what branches 
 soever yoa lay down in the 
 fields. 
 
 Nec res hunc tenerae possent perferre Jaborem, 
 Si non tanta quies iret frigusque caloremque 
 Inter, et exciperet caeli indulgentia terras. 345 
 Quod superest, quaecunque premes virgulta per 
 agros, 
 
 344. Si von tanta quies iret, &c.] 
 In the old Nurenberg edition it is 
 *' Si non tanta quies inter frigusque 
 *' caloremque iret." 
 
 345. Exciperet.'] In one of Dr. 
 Mead's manuscripts it is h(sc pa- 
 reret. 
 
 346. Quod superest, 3fc.] The 
 Poet now proceeds to give direc- 
 tions about layers; and recom- 
 mends dunging, and laying stones 
 and shells at the roots. 
 
 Premes.'] Servius interprets this 
 demerges, infodies. Hence most of 
 the commentators have agreed to 
 understand the Poet to speak of 
 
 planting in general. Mr. B is 
 
 singular in understanding virgulta 
 premere to be meant of layers: 
 
 Now, when you letid the layers to the 
 ground. 
 
 This however I take to be Virgil's 
 sense. We have seen at the begin- 
 ning of this book, that he recom- 
 mends layers, as the best way of 
 propagating vines: Propagine vites 
 respondent: to this method of pro- 
 pagating therefore it is most pro- 
 buble that he should allude. And 
 besides premere seems more proper 
 to express the laying down a branch, 
 than the planting of a cutting or 
 removing of a young tree. La 
 Cerda interprets virgulta premere, 
 infodere surculos in scrobibus, and 
 endeavours to strengthen it with 
 two quotations, neither of which 
 seem to me to answer his purpose. 
 The first is from Caius: " Quod si 
 " vicini arborem in terra presserim, 
 '^ ut in meum funduni radices ege- 
 '^ rit." Caius speaks here plainly 
 
 of layers. He says a tree is the 
 property of that person, in whose 
 ground it strikes root : and there- 
 fore if I lay it down in such a 
 manner, as to make it strike root 
 in my ground, it becomes my tree. 
 Surely this can be understood only 
 of laying down* a branch, which 
 extends itself over my ground, and 
 heaping the earth about it, which 
 is expressed by si terra presserim : 
 for I have no right to remove my 
 neighbour's tree, or to take cuttings 
 from it. See the entire passage. 
 '* Si alienam plantam in meo solo 
 '' posuero, mea erit, ex diverso 
 *' si meam plantam in alieno solo 
 " posuero, illius erit. Si modo 
 " utroque casu radices egerit: an- 
 '' tequam enim radices ageret, illius 
 " permanet, cujus et fuit. His 
 '* conveniens est, quod si vicini 
 '^ arborem ita terra presserim, ut in 
 *' meum fundum radices egerit : 
 '' meam effici arborem. Rationem 
 " enim non permittere, ut alterius 
 *' arbor intelligatur, quam cujus 
 *' fundo radices egisset. Et ideo 
 " prope confinium arbor posita, si 
 " etiam in vicinum fundum radices 
 '* egerit, communis est." The se- 
 cond is from Horace : terra preniam, 
 pro infndiam. The words of that 
 poet are, 
 
 Satis superque me benignitas tua Ditavit. 
 
 Haud paravero 
 Quod aut, avarus ut Chremes, terra pre- 
 
 mam ; 
 Discinctus aut perdam, ut nepos. 
 
 Here indeed terra premere does sig- 
 nify to bury : but the literal mean- 
 ing of the words is to press with 
 earth, which is more applicable to 
 
GEORG. LIB. II. 
 
 183 
 
 Sparge fimo pingui, et multa memor occule 
 
 terra : 
 Aut lapidem bibulum, aut squalentes infode 
 
 conchas. 
 Inter enim labentur aquae, tenuisque subibit 
 Halitus: atque animos tollent sata. Jamque 
 
 reperti, 350 
 
 Qui saxo super, atque ingenti pondere testae 
 Urgerent : hoc efFusos munimen ad imbres : 
 Hoc, ubi hiulca siti findit canis asstifer arva. 
 Seminibus positis, superest deducere terram 
 
 be careful to spread fat dung, 
 and to cover them with a 
 good deal of earth; or bury 
 spongy stones or rough shelFB 
 about their roots. By this 
 means the water will foak 
 tliroiigh, and a fine vapour 
 will penetrate them ; and the 
 plants will be vigorous. There 
 are some now, who press a 
 great weight of stones or pot- 
 sherds about thein; this is a 
 defence against pouring show- 
 ers, this when the burning 
 dog star cleaves the gaping 
 fields with thirst. When the 
 layers are planted out, it re- 
 mains to draw up the earth 
 
 layers, than to any other way of 
 planting*: because in this case a 
 branch is laid down into a trench, 
 and covered over with earth. 
 
 347. Sparge Jimo pingui, ^c] M^e 
 are informed by Columella that the 
 direction about burying stones and 
 shells is taken from Mago the Car- 
 thaginian, who also advises dung- 
 ing, but adds, that grape-stones 
 ought to be mixed with the dung. 
 " Id enim vitare facile est, per 
 " imum solum juxta di versa latera 
 ** fossariim dispositis paucis lapidi- 
 ^' bus, qui singuli non excedant 
 " quinque librale pondus. Hi vi- 
 •' dentur, ut Mago prodit, et aquas 
 *' hyemis, et vapores aestatis pro- 
 " pulsare radicibus : quem secutus 
 " Virgilius tutari semina, et muniri 
 '* sic praecipit : 
 
 " Aut lapidem bibulum, aut squallentes 
 " infode conchas : 
 
 " et paulo post : 
 
 " ■ Jamque reperti, 
 
 " Qui saxo super, atque ingenti pondere 
 
 " testae 
 " Urgerent : hoc effuses munimen ad im- 
 
 " bres 
 " Hoc ubi hiulci siti findit canis sestifer 
 
 " arva. 
 
 " Idemque Poenus autor probat vi- 
 ** nacea permista stercori depositis 
 
 '^ seminibus in scrobem vires rao- 
 " vere, quod ilia provocent, et 
 ** eliciant novas radiculas: hoc per 
 '' hyemem frigentem, et humidam 
 '^ scrobibus inferre calorem tem- 
 " pestivum, ac per aestatem viren- 
 '' tibus alimentum, et humorem 
 " praebere. Si vero solum, cui 
 " vitis committitur, videtur exile, 
 " longius accersitam pinguem hu- 
 " mum scrobibus inferre censet." 
 Mr. Evelyn after mentioning the 
 placing of potsherds, flints, or peb- 
 bles, near the root of the stem, adds 
 this caution: *' But remember you 
 " remove them after a competent 
 " time, else the vermin snails and 
 *' insects, which they produce and 
 " shelter, will gnaw, and greatly 
 '' injure their bark ; and therefore 
 " to lay a coat of moist rotten litter 
 " with a little earth upon it, will 
 " preserve it moist in summer, and 
 '^ warm in winter, enriching the 
 *' showers and dews that strain 
 *' through it." 
 
 352. Munimen.~\ In one of Dr. 
 Mead's manuscripts it is miinimine. 
 
 353. Hoc.'] In the same manu- 
 script it is atque instead of hoc. 
 
 354. Seminibus positis.] In this 
 passage the Poet mentions digging 
 the ground, propping the vines, 
 and pruning them. 
 
184 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 often about the roots, and to 
 exercise the hard drags; or 
 to turn up the soil with urg- 
 ing the plough, and to bend 
 the striving bullocks amongst 
 the very vineyards; then t« 
 prepare smooth reeds and 
 spears of peeled rods, and 
 ashen poles; and two-horned 
 forks; bj' the strength of 
 which your vines may learn 
 to rise, and contemn the 
 winds, and climb np the 
 stages to the tops of the elms. 
 Wiiilst your plants are in their 
 infant state, with young 
 branches, you should spare 
 their tender age; and whilst 
 the joyful branch spreads it- 
 self in the open air with 
 slackened reins. 
 
 Saepius ad capita, et duros jactare bidentes ; 355 
 Aut presso exercere solum sub vomere, et ipsa 
 Flectere luctantes inter vineta juvencos. 
 Turn laeves calamos, et rasae hastilia virgae, 
 Fraxineasque aptare sudes, furcasque bicornes : 
 Viribus eniti quarum, et contemnere ventos 360 
 Assuescant, summasque sequi tabulataperulmos. 
 Ac dum prima novis adolescit frondibus aetas, 
 Parcendum teneris ; et dum se laetus ad auras 
 Palmes agit, laxis per purura immissus habenis, 
 
 355. Capita.'] It is generally 
 agreed that capita means here the 
 
 root of the tree. Mr. B seems 
 
 to take it for the top : 
 
 High as your i)lant oft raise the neigh- 
 b'ring soil. 
 
 ■ Bidentes.] The bidens seems to 
 be that instrument with two hooked 
 iron teeth, which our farmers call 
 a drag. It is used to break the 
 surface of the ground, and may be 
 serviceable near the roots of the 
 vines, where the plough coming 
 too near would be apt to injure 
 them. 
 
 S59. Fraxineasque.'] The conjunc- 
 tion que is wanting in the King's 
 manuscript. 
 
 Bicornes.] Pierius says it is fur- 
 casque valentes in the Roman manu- 
 script. We find the same reading 
 in the Cambridge, and in one of 
 the Arundelian manuscripts. 
 
 36l. Tabulata.] The tabula taa.Te 
 the branches of elms extended at 
 proper distances, to sustain the 
 vines 3 as we find in Columella : 
 " Cum deinde adolescere incipient, 
 '* fake formandse, et tabulata in- 
 *' stituendasunt: hoc enim nomine 
 '' usurpant agricolae ramos truncos- 
 *' que prominentes, eosque vel pro- 
 " plus ferro compcscunt, vel lon- 
 
 " gius promittunt, ut vites laxius 
 " diffundantur : hoc in solo pingui, 
 " melius illud in gracili : tabulata 
 " inter se minus ternis pedibus 
 '' absint, atque ita formentur, ne 
 '* superior ramus in eadem linea 
 '' sit, qua inferior: nam demissum 
 '' ex eo palmitem germinantem in- 
 " ferior atteret^ et fructum de- 
 " cutiet." 
 
 363. Parcendum teneris : et dum se 
 Icetus ad auras.] In one of Dr. 
 Mead's manuscripts it is parcendum 
 est teneris ; et dum se Icetus ad auras. 
 In the other it is parcendum est tene- 
 ris : dum sese Icetus ad auras. 
 
 364. Jgii.] It is aget in the 
 Medicean manuscript, according to 
 Pierius. 
 
 Laxis.] It is lapsis in the King's 
 manuscript. 
 
 Per purum immissus habenis.] This 
 is a metaphor taken from horses. 
 '' This expression," says Dr. Trapp, 
 *' with submission to Virgil, is a 
 '^ little harsh, as applied to the 
 " growth of a tree :" but the same 
 metaphor had been used before by 
 Lucretius : 
 
 Arboribus datum 'st variis exinde per 
 
 auras 
 Crescendi magnum immissis certamen 
 
 habenis. 
 
 Per purum in Virgil signifies the 
 
GEORG. LIB. II. 
 
 185 
 
 Ipsa acies nondum falcis tentanda, sed uncis 365 
 Carpendae manibus frondes, interque legendae. 
 Inde ubi jam validis amplexae stirpibus ulmos 
 Exierint, turn stringe comas, tum brachia tonde. 
 Ante reformidant ferrum : tum denique dura 
 Exerce imperia, et ramos compesce fluentes. 370 
 Texendae sepes etiam, et pecus omne tenendum : 
 
 the edge of the pruning knife 
 is not yet to be applied; 
 bnt the young shoots should 
 be nipped with your fingers 
 here and there. But when 
 they have given the elm a 
 strong embrace, then strip 
 the shoots; then prune the 
 boughs. Before this they 
 cannot bear the knife; but 
 now exercise a severe domi- 
 nion over them, and re- 
 strain the luxuriant branches. 
 Hedges also are to be woven, 
 and all sorts of cattle to be 
 restrained ; 
 
 same as per auras in Lucretius. 
 Horace uses it also for the air: 
 
 Per purum tonantes 
 
 Egit equos. 
 
 365. Ipsa acies nondum falcis ten- 
 tanda."] Fierius reads ipsa acie falcis 
 nondum tentanda. I find the same 
 reading in one of the Arundelian 
 manuscripts, both Dr. Mead's, and 
 in several printed editions. He says 
 it is ipsa acie nondum falcis in the 
 Roman manuscript, and so it is in 
 the other Arundelian copy, and some 
 printed editions. The King's, the 
 Cambridge, and the Bodleian manu- 
 scripts, Servius, Heinsius, Ruaeus, 
 Masvicius, and several others, have 
 ipsa acies nondum falcis tentanda. 
 Quintilian alludes to this passage, in 
 the second book of his Institutions: 
 '' Ne illud quidem quod admonea- 
 " mus indignum est, ingenia puero- 
 " rum nimia interim emendatlonis 
 " severitate deficere: nam et despe- 
 *' rant, et dolent, et novissime ode- 
 *'runt: et quod maxime nocet, 
 ** dum omnia timent, nihil conan- 
 *' tur. Quod etiam rusticis notum 
 ** est, qui frond i bus teneris non 
 *' putant adhibendum esse falcem, 
 " quia reformidare ferrum videntur, 
 '' et cicatricem nondum pati posse." 
 
 Uncis carpendce manibus frondes.] 
 By uncis manibus, crooked hands, the 
 Poet means nipping the tender 
 shoots with the thumb and finger, 
 which is practised in summertime, 
 before the shoots are grown woody 
 and hard. 
 
 367. Stirpibus.] In one of Dr. 
 Mead's manuscripts it is viribus, 
 which reading Fulvius Ursinus ob- 
 served also in the old Colotian 
 manuscript. 
 
 370. Ramos compesce Jluentes.J^ 
 Pierius says it is ramos compesce va- 
 lentes in the most ancient Roman 
 manuscript; and thinks both the 
 precept and expression are taken 
 from the following passage of 
 Varro : " Vites pampinari, sed a 
 " sciente : nam id, quam putare 
 " majus; neque in arbusto, sed in 
 *' vinea fieri. Pampinare est ex 
 " sarmento coles, qui nati sunt, de 
 " iis, qui plurimum valent, pri- 
 ** mum ac secundum, nonnunquam 
 " etiam tertium relinquere, reliquos 
 " decerpere, ne relictis colibus sar- 
 ^' mentum nequeat ministrare suc- 
 '' cum." 
 
 371- Texendce sepes, Sj-c] Here 
 the Poet speaks of making hedges, 
 to keep out cattle, and especially 
 goats, whence he takes occasion 
 to digress into an account of the 
 sacrifices to Bacchus. 
 
 In one of the Arundelian manu- 
 scripts it is et jam pecus omne timen- 
 dum. In the Bodleian it is etiam 
 et pecus omne tuendum. Pierius says 
 it is tuendum in the Roman manu- 
 script. Ruaeus and most of the 
 editors have est after tenendum. 
 Pierius says est is wanting in the 
 Medicean copy. It is left out in all 
 the manuscripts I have collated, and 
 by Heinsius, La Cerda, Masvicius^ 
 and several others. 
 2 B 
 
186 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 afe^ou^iandL'ita'bfetot'ir Praecipue dum frons tenera, imprudensque 
 
 injuries : for more than cruel , , 
 winters, and powerful suns, laborUHl I 
 do the wild buffalos, and per- 
 secuting goats insult Cui, super indignas hyemes solemque potentem, 
 
 Sylvestres uri assidue capreaeque sequaces 374 
 
 This expression of weaving a 
 hedge does not seem to mean a 
 green hedge, but a fence made of 
 stakes, interwoven with dry sticks. 
 
 373. Super indignas hyemesJ] 
 Grimoaldus and Ruaeus interpret 
 super, prceter : in this sense Dr. 
 Trapp has translated it : 
 
 Besides storms. 
 
 And the sun's heat, the buffalos and 
 
 goats. 
 And sheep, and greedy heifers, hurt thy 
 
 vines. 
 
 La Cerda interprets it, that cattle 
 do more harm to the vineyards, 
 than heat and cold : " Etiamsi 
 " hyemes indignae, id est magnae, 
 *' noceant novellis vitibus, et sol, 
 '' cam potens est, id est, cum est 
 " aestivus : tamen magis nocumen- 
 " tum accipiunt ab uris, ovibus, 
 *' capreis, juvencis." In this sense 
 it is translated by May, 
 
 Wild bulls and greedy goats more harm 
 will do 
 
 Than scorching summers, and cold win- 
 ters too : 
 
 And by Dryden : 
 
 Whose leaves are not alone foul winter's 
 prey, 
 
 But oft by summer s suns are scorch'd 
 away; 
 
 And tcorse tluin both, become th* unwor- 
 thy browse 
 
 Of buffalos, salt goats, and hungry cows. 
 
 " I understand," says Mr. B- 
 
 super in this place, as it is said 
 
 super ccenam, or else it seems to 
 
 " me that there would be a disa- 
 
 '' greeable repetition of the same 
 
 " things in the following lines : 
 
 •• Frigora nee lantmn, &c." 
 
 Accordingly he translates it. 
 
 In parching summer, and in winter"! 
 
 snows, j 
 
 Wild beasts and wanton goats insult I 
 
 the boughs, f 
 
 And sheep and hungry heifers feed | 
 
 the luscious browse. J 
 
 But La Cerda has already vindi- 
 cated this passage from the impu- 
 tation of tautology. See the note 
 on ver. 376. 
 
 Indignas is generally thought to 
 signify only great, in which sense 
 it seems to have been used in the 
 tenth Eclogue : 
 
 — — Indigno cum Gallus amore periret. 
 
 374. Sylvestris uri.'] The urus, 
 as described by Julius Caesar, is a 
 wild bull of prodigious strength 
 and swiftness, being almost as big 
 as an elephant : " Tertium est 
 *' genus eorum, qui Uri appellan- 
 '^ tur. li sunt magnitudine pauUo 
 ''infra elephantosj specie, et co- 
 " lore, et figura tauri. Magna vis 
 *' est eorum, et magna velocitas. 
 *' Neque homini, neque ferae, quara 
 '* conspexerint, parcunt." He 
 speaks of it, as one of the rare 
 animals which are found in the 
 Hercynian wood, and are not seen 
 in other places : " Hujus Hercy- 
 " niae Sylvae, quae supra demon- 
 " strata est, latitudo ix dierum iter 
 " expedito patet. Non enim aliter 
 " finiri potest, neque mensuras iti- 
 '' nerum noverunt. Oritur ab Hel- 
 '* vetiorum, et Nemetum, et Rau- 
 " racorum finibus, rectaquefluminis 
 " Danubii regione pertinet ad fines 
 " Dacorum, et Anartium. Hinc 
 " se flectit sinistrorsus, diversis a 
 
GEORG. LIB. II. 
 
 187 
 
 Illudunt : pascuntur oves : avidaeque juvencae. 
 
 them; and sheep ami greedy 
 heifers browse upon them. 
 
 " fluraine regionibus, multarumque 
 *' gentium fines propter iriagnitudi- 
 *' nem attingit. Neque quisquam 
 **^ est hujus Germaniae, qui se atiisse 
 " ad initium ejus sylvae dicat, quum 
 " dierum iter lx processerit_, aut 
 *' quo ex loco oriatur, acceperit. 
 " Multa in ea genera ferarum nasci 
 *' constat, quae reliquis in locis visa 
 *' non sint: ex quibiis qusejnaxime 
 '' difFerant ab caeteris, et nmemoria 
 " prodenda videantur, haec sunt." 
 After these words Caesar describes 
 a bull shaped like a stag, the elk, 
 and the urus, as in the former quo- 
 tation. Servius thinks the uri are 
 so called utfo rm o^av, from moun- 
 tains : but it is more probable that 
 the Romans only Latinised the Ger- 
 man name Aurochs or Urochs, for 
 the ancient Germans called any 
 thing wild, vast, or strong, ur ; 
 and ochsj in their language, signifies 
 an ox. The uri therefore men- 
 tioned by Virgil cannot be the 
 urus described by Caesar, which 
 was an animal utterly unknown 
 in Italy. To solve this difficulty. 
 La Cerda would have us read tauri 
 instead of uri : but then what shall 
 we do with ver. 5S^. of the third 
 Georgick ? 
 
 Quaesitas ad sacra boves Junonis et Uris: 
 
 for here ^awm instead of uris cannot 
 stand in the verse. The same com- 
 mentator proposes another solution, 
 to read ursi instead of uri: but 
 this is a mere conjecture. Ruaeus 
 interprets sylvestres uri " Bubali 
 *' quos vulgus cum Uris confundit. 
 '' Plin.l. viii. 15." This is not a fair 
 interpretation of Pliny's words: 
 that author does not say the com- 
 mon people call the bubalus, urus ; 
 but that they call the urusy bubalus : 
 " Paucissima Scythia gignit, inopia 
 '' fruticum : pauca contermina illi 
 
 *' Germania: insignia tamen bouni 
 " ferorum genera, jubatos, bison tes, 
 '' excellentique et vi et velocitate 
 " uros, quibus imperitum vulgus 
 '' bubalorum nomen imponit, cum id 
 " gignat Africa, vitulipotius cervive 
 " quadam similitudine." The Bu- 
 balus of Pliny seems to be that 
 which Bellonius describes under the 
 name of Bos Africanus, which he 
 says is less than a stag, of a square 
 make, with reddish shining hair^ 
 and horns bending towards each 
 other, in form of a half moon. It 
 is therefore very diiFerent from the 
 Buffalo, which is common in Italy, 
 of the milk of which they make 
 those fine cheeses, which they call 
 casei di cavallo ; it is larger than 
 the common kine, has a thicker 
 body, a very hard skin, and thick, 
 bending black horns. I do not find 
 that this animal was distinguished 
 anciently by any particular name: 
 and therefore Virgil might probably 
 borrow the name of Urus, which 
 was known to signify the wild 
 bull of the Hercynian forest. La 
 Cerda quotes a passage of S. Isi- 
 dore, to shew that the Bubalus was 
 common in Italy in his time, which 
 was very ancient. The words of 
 S. Isidore are : " Boas anguis Italiae 
 " immensa mole : persequitur gre- 
 " ges armentorum et bubalos : et 
 *' plurimo lacte irriguis uberibus 
 '' se innectit, et surgens interimit, 
 " atque inde a bourn populatione 
 " boas nomen accepit." It is easy 
 to see that S. Isidore took what he 
 says, in this quotation, from the 
 following passage of Pliny: " Fh- 
 " ciunt his fidem in Italia appellatae 
 " boae : in tantam amplitudinem ex- 
 "^ euntes, ut, Divo Claudio prin- 
 " cipe, occisae in Vaticano solidus 
 '^ in alvo aspectatus sit in fans. 
 '' Aluntur primo bubuli lactis succo, 
 2 B 2 
 
188 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 Nor do the colds stiflF wiih 
 hoary frost, nor the burning 
 heats beating upon the scorch- 
 ing rocks hnrt them so much 
 as those animals, and the poi- 
 son of their cruel teeth, and 
 the scar inflicted on the bitten 
 stem. For this crime alone is 
 the goat sacrificed on all the 
 altars of Bacchus, 
 
 Frigora nee tantum cana concreta pruina, 376 
 Aut gravis incumbens scopulis arentibus aestas, 
 Quantum illi nocuere greges, durique venenuni 
 Dentis, et admorso signata in stirpe cicatrix. 
 Non aliam ob culpam Baccho caper omnibus 
 aris 380 
 
 ** unde nomen traxere." It is 
 highly probable, that the good bi- 
 shop read hubali in Pliny, instead 
 of the adjective bubuli: and there- 
 fore we can not infer that the Buffalo 
 was anciently called Bubalus. 
 
 CaprecBque sequaces.'] It is capros 
 in the Cambridge, the Bodleian, 
 both the Arundelian, and both Dr. 
 Mead's manuscripts. 
 
 Servius renders sequaces, persecu- 
 trices. It signifies pursuing with 
 desire ; thus, in the second Eclogue : 
 
 riorentem' cytisum sequitur lasciva ca- 
 
 pella, 
 Te Corydon o Alexi : trahit sua quemque 
 
 voluptas. 
 
 376. Frigora nee tantum, &c.] 
 " He now explains more fully what 
 " he had said before, and shews 
 ** what are those cruel winters, 
 *' what the powerful suns, what the 
 *' injury of beasts. As if he should 
 *' say, I said that the cattle did 
 *' more harm to vineyards than 
 " cruel winters, or scorching suns : 
 " for neither the colds stiff with 
 *^ hoary frost (here is the cruelty of 
 *' winter), nor the burning heats 
 " beating upon the scorching rocks 
 '' (here is the powerful sun), do so 
 '^ much harm as those cattle : for 
 '' their bite is full of poison, and 
 " may be called a scar, or ulcer, 
 *' rather than a bite." La Cerda. 
 
 377. Gravis incumbens scopulis 
 arentibus cestas.'] In the Cambridge 
 manuscript it is ardent ibus instead 
 of arentibus. In the King's, and 
 one of Dr. Mead's manuscripts it 
 
 is (Esius instead of cestas. See the 
 note on book i. ver. S12. and book 
 ii. ver. 322. 
 
 Servius interprets incumbens sco- 
 pulis, Etiam saxa caloribus penetrans, 
 in which sense he is followed by 
 Ruaeus and May : 
 
 And parching suns, that burn the hard- 
 est rocks : 
 
 And Dryden : 
 
 Nor dog-days' parching heat, that splits 
 the rocks : 
 
 And Mr. B : 
 
 Not raging heats that pierce through 
 thirsty rocks ; 
 
 And Dr. Trapp : 
 
 Nor summer, when it drys and burns 
 the rocks. 
 
 But what harm is it to the vineyards 
 if the rocks are split or burnt with 
 heat? I take the poet's meaning to 
 be, that vineyards planted on a 
 rocky soil, which therefore suffer 
 most in dry weather, are not so 
 much injured by the most scorching 
 heat, as by the biting of cattle. 
 The poet mentions vineyards being 
 planted in rocks, in ver. 520. 
 
 Et alte 
 
 Mitis in apricis coquitur vindemia saxis. 
 
 380. Non aliam ob culpam Baccho 
 caper omnibus aris coeditur.'] In one 
 of the Arundelian manuscripts we 
 have causam instead of culpamy but 
 culpam is more poetical. 
 
 This seems to be taken from 
 
GEORG. LIB. II. 
 
 189 
 
 Caeditur, et veteres ineunt proscenia ludi : 
 Praemiaque ingeniis pagos et compita circum 
 
 and the ancient plays come 
 upon the stage: and the 
 Athenians proposed rewards 
 for wit about the villages and 
 cross-ways ; 
 
 Varro, who tells us, that the bite 
 of goats poisons the vines and 
 olives, for which reason goats are 
 sacrificed to Bacchus, by way of 
 punishment for their crime: *' Quae- 
 ** dam enim pecudes culturse sunt 
 " inimicae, ac veneno, ut istae, quas 
 " dixisti, caprce. Eae enim omnia 
 '' novella sata carpendo corrum- 
 " punt, non minimum vites, atque 
 " oleas. Itaque propterea institu- 
 " tum diversa de causa, ut ex ca- 
 " prino genere ad alii dei aram 
 '^ hostia adduceretur, ad alii non 
 " sacrificaretur, cum ab eodem odio 
 " alter videre noUet, alter etiam 
 *' videre pereuntem vellet. Sic 
 " factum, ut Libera patri repertori 
 '' vitis hirci immolareniur , proinde 
 " ut capite darent pcenas. Contra ut 
 '' Minervae caprini generis nihil im- 
 " molarent, propter oleam, quod 
 '^ earn, quam laeserit, fieri dicunt 
 *' sterilem. Ejus enim salivam esse 
 '' fructui venenum." 
 
 381. Proscenia.] " The ancient 
 '^ theatre was a semicircular build- 
 '' ing, appropriated to the acting of 
 *' plays, the name being derived 
 *' from ^dofcxi, to behold. It was 
 " divided into the following parts, 
 " 1. The Porticus, scales, sedilia : 
 *' the rows of sedilia y or seats, were 
 " called cunei, because they were 
 " formed like wedges, growing nar- 
 " rower, as they came nearer the 
 *' centre of the theatre, and these 
 '' were all disposed about the cir- 
 " cumference of the theatre. 2. The 
 " orchestra^ so called from o^^ita-^xi, 
 *' to dance : it was the inner part, or 
 '^ centre of the theatre, and the 
 " lowest of all, and hollow, whence 
 *' the whole open space of the 
 " theatre was called cavea. Here 
 '' sat the senators, and here were 
 
 " the dancers and music. 3. The 
 " proscenium^ which was a place 
 " drawn from one horn of the 
 ** theatre to the other, between the 
 ** orchestra and the scene, being 
 *' higher than the orchestra, and 
 " lower than the scene : here the 
 '^ comic and tragic actors spoke and 
 ^' acted upon an elevated place 
 " which was called the pulpitum, or 
 " stage. 4. The scene was the op- 
 " posite part to the audience j 
 " decorated with pictures and co- 
 '* lumns, and originally with trees, 
 " to shade the actors, when they 
 " performed in the open air : so 
 " called from erxusij, a shade. 5. The 
 " poscenium, or part behind the 
 '' scenes." Ru^us. 
 
 .S82. Ingeniis.'] It is usually 
 printed ingentesy which seems to be 
 an useless epithet in this place. 
 Ruaeus refers it to Theseidae, making 
 the sense to be, *' the great Athe- 
 " nians instituted rewards about the 
 " villages and cross-ways," Servius, 
 Grimoaldus, and La Cerda take no 
 notice at all of ingentes. Mr. B — 
 joins it with pagos, and translates 
 them crowded villages. Dr. Trapp 
 in his note says, *' sure it belongs 
 *' to pagos" but he seems to omit 
 it in his translation : *' And all the 
 " roads and villages around." 
 
 I have put ingeniis instead of ingen- 
 tes on the authority of Pierius, who 
 says it is ingeniis in all the most 
 ancient manuscripts, which he had 
 seen. The poet here alludes to the 
 ancient custom amongst the Greeks 
 of proposing a goat for a prize to 
 him, who should be judged to excel 
 in satirical verse. Thus Horace : 
 
 Carmine qui tragico vilem certavit ob 
 hircum. 
 
190 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 and rejoicing in their cups 
 danced upon the greasy skins 
 in the soft meadows. The 
 Ausonian husbandmen also, 
 who derive their original from 
 Troy, jest in uncouth verses, 
 and with unbounded laugh- 
 ter; and put on horrid masks 
 made of barks of trees : and 
 invoke thee, O Bacclius, in 
 joyful strains, and hang up 
 little soft images to thee on 
 a lofty pine. 
 
 Theseidae posuere, atque inter pocula laeti 
 Mollibus in pratis unctos saluere per utres. 
 Nee non Ausonii, Troja gens missa, coloni 385 
 Versibus incomptis ludunt, risuque soluto; 
 Oraque corticibus suraunt horrenda cavatis: 
 Et te, Bacche, vocant per carmina laeta, tibique 
 Oscilla ex alta suspend unt moUia pinu. 
 
 Hence this sort of poetry came to 
 obtain the name of tragedy from 
 r^oiyog, a goat, and co^-a, a song. 
 There is a line in Horace not much 
 unlike this of Virgil : it is in his 
 first epistle : 
 
 Quis circum pagos, et circum compita 
 victor. 
 
 PagosJ] Pagus seems to be de- 
 rived from 2r«y»j, a well; because 
 where they found a well, they be- 
 gan to make their habitations. 
 
 383. TkeseidcB.'] Tragedy had its 
 beginning among the Athenians. 
 Thespis, an Athenian Poet, who 
 was contemporary with Solon, im- 
 proved it, and is commonly said to 
 have invented it : though it was 
 very rude even in his time, as we 
 find in Horace : 
 
 Ignotum Tragicae genus invenisse Ca- 
 
 moenae 
 Dicitur, et plaustris vexisse poemata 
 
 Thespis, 
 Quae caneretit agerentque peruncti fasci- 
 
 bus ora. 
 
 When Thespis Jirst exposed the Tragic 
 
 muse, 
 Rude were the actors^ and a cart the scene. 
 Where ghastly faces stained with lees of 
 
 wine 
 Frighted the children, and amused the 
 
 crowd. 
 
 Lord Roscommon. 
 
 It is even now a custom in Italy, 
 for the country people, as they 
 are carrying the grapes home, to 
 tread them in the cart, and, with 
 faces all besmeared, to throw out 
 
 uncouth jests at those who pass by. 
 This seems to bear a great resem- 
 blance to the original of tragedy, as 
 mentioned by Horace. Theseus was 
 king of Athens, and first brought 
 them out of the fields to live in 
 walled towns. Hence they are 
 called TheseidcE by Virgil. 
 
 S84. Unctos saluere per utres.^ 
 The utres were bags made of goats' 
 skins, into which they put their 
 wine, as is now practised in the 
 Levant. These skins were blown 
 up like bladders, and besmeared 
 with oil. They were set in the 
 fields, and it was the custom to 
 dance upon them with one leg, at 
 the feasts of Bacchus. The skins 
 being very slippery, the dancers 
 often fell down, which occasioned a 
 great laughter. 
 
 3S5. Ausonii Troja.'] In the 
 King's manuscript it is Ausonii et 
 Troja. 
 
 388. Focant.] La Cerda reads^ 
 ^caiiunt. 
 
 389. Oscilla.'] The learned are 
 divided about the meaning of the 
 word oscilla in this place. Some 
 have recourse to the following fable. 
 Bacchus had taught Icarius, an 
 Athenian shepherd, the use of wine, 
 which he communicated to his 
 neighbours. The country people, 
 being exceedingly delighted with 
 this noble liquor, drank of it to 
 excess, and finding themselves dis- 
 ordered, thought they had been 
 poisoned by Icarius, and killed him. 
 His dog returning home to Erigone, 
 
GEORG. LIB. II. 
 
 191 
 
 Hinc omnis largo pubescit vinea foetu : 390 
 
 Complentur vallesque cavae, saltusque profundi, 
 Et quocLinque deus circum caput egit honestum. 
 Ergo rite suum Baccho dicemus honorem 
 Carminibus patriis, lancesque et liba feremus ; 
 Et ductus cornu stabit sacer hircus ad aram, 395 
 ringuiaque in verubus torrebimus exta colurnis. 
 
 Hence every vineyard swells 
 with a large produce; and 
 the hollow valleys, and shady 
 groves are filled, wheresoever 
 the god shews his gracious 
 coniuenance. Therefore we 
 will honour Bacchus with our 
 country verses according to 
 custom, and otter chargers 
 and holy cakes ; and the sa- 
 cred goat shall be led by the 
 horns anil stand at his altar, 
 and we will roast the fat en- 
 trails on hazel spits. 
 
 the daughter of Icarius, conducted 
 her to the dead body of his master, 
 on the sight of which she hanged 
 herself. Soon after the Athenians 
 were visited with a great pestilence, 
 and their young women running 
 mad hanged themselves. On con- 
 sulting the Oracle they were told, 
 that they must appease the manes 
 ofErigone. This they performed, 
 by tying ropes to the branches of 
 trees and swinging on them, as if 
 they were hanged : and afterwards, 
 many falling down and hurting 
 themselves, they hung up little 
 images instead of themselves. May 
 thinks it alludes to these images : 
 
 And virgin's statues on the lofty pine 
 Did hang. 
 
 Mr. B understands it of the 
 
 swinging : 
 
 They ride on swings suspended in the 
 wind. 
 
 And indeed there are not wanting 
 some commentators, who tell us, it 
 was the custom, at the feasts of 
 Bacchus, to swing on ropes, and 
 play at see-saw like our children. 
 Others say the oscilla were bunches 
 of flowers in the form of phalli; 
 of this opinion is Grimoaldus : " Et 
 *' ad risus excitandos imagunculas 
 " appensas arboribus, instar mem- 
 *' brorum virilium ore lingerent." 
 Ruaeus says they were little earthen 
 images of Bacchus, which were 
 thought to bestow fertility which 
 way soever their faces turned, as 
 
 they were blown about by the 
 wind. In this he is followed by 
 Dryden : 
 
 In jolly hymns they praise the god of 
 
 wine. 
 Whose earthen images adorn the pine : 
 
 And by Dr. Trapp : 
 
 And hang thy little images aloft 
 On a tall pine. 
 
 393. Suum honorem.] Pierius says 
 it is suos honores in some ancient 
 manuscripts, which seems a more 
 grand expression. 
 
 394. Liba.l The libum was a sort 
 of holy cake, made of flour, honey, 
 and oil, or, according to sorjie, of 
 sesasum, milk, and honey. 
 
 395. Ductus comuJ] The victims 
 were led with a slack rope to the 
 altar: for if they were reluctant it 
 was thought an ill omen. Dryden 
 therefore is mistaken when he trans- 
 lates this passage, 
 
 And a guilty goat 
 
 Dragg'd by the horns be to his altars 
 brought. 
 
 And Mr. B : 
 
 And a hallow'd goat 
 
 Dragged by the horns be to his altar 
 brought. 
 
 And Dr. Trapp : 
 
 And at his altar kill the victim goat, 
 Drag^d by the horns. 
 
 396. Verubus colurnis.'} See the 
 note on ver. 299' 
 
192 
 
 r. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 There is yet another labour 
 which belongs to vines, of 
 which there is no end: for 
 the whole ground is to be 
 ploughed three or four times 
 every year, and the clods are 
 continually to be broken with 
 bended drags: all tiie grove 
 is to be lightened of its leaves. 
 The labour of husbandmen 
 comes round again, and the 
 year rolls round in the same 
 steps. And when the vine- 
 yard shall have lost its latest 
 leaves, and the cold north 
 wind shall have deprived the 
 woods of their glory, even 
 then the diligent countryman 
 extends his care to the fol- 
 lowing year, 
 
 Est etiam ille labor curandis vitibus alter, 
 
 Cui nunquam exhausti satis est : namque omne 
 
 quotannis 
 Terque quaterque solum scindendum, glebaque 
 
 versis 
 internum frangenda bidentibus: omne levandum 
 Fronde nemus. Redit agricolis labor actus in 
 
 orbem, 401 
 
 Atque in se sua per vestigia volvitur annus. 
 Ac jam olim seras posuit cum vinea frondes, 
 Frigidus et sylvis Aquilo decussit honorem ; 
 Jam turn acer curas venientem extendit in annum 
 
 397. Est etiam, &c.] He now re- 
 turns to the vineyards, and shews 
 what labour farther attends the cul- 
 ture of them, in frequent digging, 
 dressing, and pruning. 
 
 399. Versis bidentibus.'] I have 
 shewn what instrument the bidens 
 is, in the note on ver. 355. I take 
 the epithet versis in this place to 
 signify bent; for the drag is like a 
 long-tined pitchfork, with the tines 
 bent downwards, almost vrith right 
 angles. 
 
 400. Omne levandum fronde ne- 
 mus.^ It is usual to thin the leaves, 
 to give the sun a greater power to 
 ripen the fruit. 
 
 402. Inse sua per vestigia volvitur 
 annus."] Antius is said by some to 
 be derived from annulus, a ring: 
 though the contrary seems more 
 probable. The hieroglyphical re- 
 presentation of the year is a serpent 
 rolled in a circle with his tail in 
 his mouth. 
 
 403. Et:] In one of Dr. Mead's 
 manuscripts it is at : in the King's 
 and in some printed editions it is ac. 
 
 Seras posuit cum vinea frondes.] 
 Columella says the vineyard should 
 begin to be pruned about the begin- 
 ning of our October, if the weather 
 
 be fair and mild, and the equinoc- 
 tial rains have preceded, and the 
 shoots have acquired a just degree 
 of ripeness : for a dry season re- 
 quires the pruning to be later: 
 " Placet ergo, si mitis, ac tempe- 
 '^ rata permittit in ea regione, quam 
 " colimus, caeli dementia, facta vin- 
 '^ demia, secundum idus Octobris, 
 '^ auspicari putationera, cum tamen 
 " equinoctiales pluvise praecesserint, 
 " et sarmenta justam maturitatem 
 *' ceperint, nam siccitas seriorem 
 " putationem facit." 
 
 404. Frigidus et sylvis Aquilo de- 
 cussit honorem.] *' This entire line 
 '^ is taken from Varro Atacinus." 
 FuLV. Ursin. 
 
 405. Curas venientem extendit in 
 annum] This autumnal pruning is 
 really providing for the next year. 
 Thus Columella : " Quandocunque 
 " igitur vinitor hoc opus obibit, tria 
 " praecipue custodiat. Primum ut 
 *' quam maxime fructui consulat : 
 '* deinde, ut in annum sequentem 
 " quam laetissimas jam hinc eligat 
 " materias: tum etiam ut quam lon- 
 *' gissimam perennitatem stirpi ac- 
 " quirat. Nam quicquid ex his 
 ** omittitur, magnum affert domino 
 '' dispendium." 
 
GEORG. LIB. 11. 
 
 193 
 
 Rusticus, et curvo Saturni dente relictam 
 Persequitur vitem attondens, fingitque putando. 
 Primus humum fodito, primus devecta cremate 
 Sarmenta, et vallos primus sub tecta referto: 409 
 Postremus metito. Bis vitibus ingruit umbra : 
 Bis segetem densis obducunt sentibus herbae : 
 Durus uterque labor. Laudato ingentia rura : 
 
 and persecutes the naked vine 
 with Saturn's hook, and forms 
 it by pruning. Be the first to 
 dig the QTOund, be the first 
 to burn the shoots which you 
 have cut off, and be the first 
 to carry the stakes home; 
 be the last to gatlier. Twice 
 doesshadeovergrow the vines. 
 Twice do weeds and bushes 
 over-run the ground: both 
 these require great labour. 
 Commend a large farm, 
 
 406. Rusticus. ~\ Plerius says it is 
 agricola in the Roman manuscript. 
 
 Curvo Saturni dente.'] Saturn is 
 represented with a sickle in his 
 hand. The ancient pruning knife 
 seems to have been larger than 
 Avhat we use, and perhaps was the 
 very same instrument with that 
 which they used in reaping. Both 
 are called /aZ*-. 
 
 Relictam vitem.'^ I have trans- 
 lated it the naked vine; that part 
 which is left, when ail the fruit is 
 gathered, and the leaves are fallen 
 off. Servius interprets it that which 
 the husbandman had left a little be- 
 fore: '* scilicet a se paulo ante de- 
 *' sertam." In this sense Mr. B — 
 has translated it: 
 
 He 
 
 seeks the vine which he had just 
 forsook. 
 
 Ruaeus interprets it nudatam vitem, 
 in which he is followed by Dryden : 
 
 Ev'n then the naked vine he persecutes. 
 
 Dr. Trapp has not translated relic- 
 tam : but in his note he says " re- 
 '* lictams i' e. aliquandiu neglectam. 
 " Ruaeus renders it by nudatam ; 
 " which is very strange." 
 
 407. Persequitur vitem attondens, 
 Jingitque putaudo.'] In one of Dr. 
 Mead's manuscripts it is prosequitur 
 instead of persequitur. 
 
 Grimoaldus, La Cerda, Ruaeus, 
 and some others, understand this 
 verse not to mean only pruning, but 
 to consist of two parts. They inter- 
 
 pret vitem attondens to mean the 
 cutting off the roots which grow 
 near the surface of the ground, or 
 day roots, which the Romans called 
 ahlaqueatio. Columella speaks of 
 this at large, in lib. iv. c. 8. Dr. 
 Trapp translates it lops. 
 
 410. Metito.'] Messis and meto 
 are used for the gathering in of any 
 produce -, as well as for harvest and 
 reaping. Virgil applies messis, in 
 the fourth Georgick, to the taking 
 of the honey : duo tempora messis. 
 
 Bis vitibus ingruit umbra.] The 
 vines are twice overloaded with 
 leaves : therefore they must be 
 pruned twice in a year. He means 
 the summer dressing, when the 
 young shoots are to be nipped with 
 the fingers ; and the autumnal 
 pruning. 
 
 412. Laudato ingentia rura, exi- 
 guum colito.] This is an imitation 
 of the following verse of Hesiod : 
 
 NJT okiytiv uivsTv, fiiydX^ V Ivt (po^riet Bi- 
 
 The meaning of the Poet seems to 
 be, that you may admire the splen- 
 dor of a large vineyard, but that 
 you had better cultivate a small 
 one : because the labour of culti- 
 vating vines is so great, that the 
 master cannot extend his care over 
 a very large spot of ground. Colu- 
 mella relates a story from Graecinus, 
 in confirmation of this. A man had 
 two daughters, and a large vine- 
 yard, of which he gave a third part 
 2 c 
 
194 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 but cultivate a small one. The ExiffULim colito. Nec nou etiaiti Espera rusci 
 
 rough twigs also of butcher s o r 
 
 with the eldest daughter in mar- 
 riage : and yet he gathered as much 
 fruit as he did before. Afterwards 
 he married the younger daughter, 
 with another tliird fv)r her portion j 
 and still found that his remaining 
 third part produced as much as the 
 whole had done : which could arise 
 from no other cause, than that he 
 was able to cultivate a third part 
 better than the whole vineyard he- 
 fore it was divided. " Idque non 
 *' solum ratione, sed etiam exemplo 
 '•* nobis idem Grsecinus declarat eo 
 '' libro, quem de vineis scripsit, 
 " cum refert ex patre suo saepe se 
 *' audire solitum Paridium quendam 
 '' Veterensem vicinum suum duas 
 " filias, et vineis consitum habuisse 
 *' fundum, cujus partem tertiam 
 *' nubenti majori tiliae dedisse in 
 *' dotem, ac nihilo minus eeque mag- 
 *' nos fructus ex duabus partibus 
 " ejusdem fundi percipere solitum. 
 " Minorem deinde filiam nuptui 
 "^ collocasse in dimidia parte reliqui 
 " agri. Nec sic ex pristino reditu 
 *' detraxisse. Quod quid conjicit? 
 " nisi melius scilicet postea cultam 
 " esse tertiam illam fundi partem, 
 •' quam antea universam." The 
 same author mentions this precept 
 of the poet with great commenda- 
 tion, and says it was taken from a 
 saying of one of the seven wise 
 men, and that it was a proverb of 
 the Carthaginians, that ajitld ought 
 to be iceaker than the husbandman. 
 He adds, that, after the expulsion 
 of the kings, seven acres was the 
 allowance to each person, from 
 which they derived more profit, 
 than they did in his time from 
 large plantations : " Nos ad ceetera 
 " praecepta illud adjicimus, quod 
 " sapiens unus de septem in per- 
 '*^ petuum posteritati pronuntiavit, 
 
 " fAiT^of oi^tTov, adhibendum modum 
 " mensuramque rebus, idque ut non 
 " solum aliud acturls, sed et agrum 
 '^ paraturis dictum intelligatur, ne 
 '^ majorem quam ratio calculorum 
 " patiatur, emere velit : nam hue 
 " pertinet praeclara nostri poetae 
 " sententia : 
 
 Laudato ingentia rura. 
 
 " Exiguum colito. 
 
 '' Quod vir eruditissimus, ut mea 
 " fert opinio, traditum vetus prae- 
 *' ceptum numerissignavit : quippe 
 " acutissimam gentemPoenos dixisse 
 " convenit. Imbecilliorem agrum, 
 " quam agricolam esse dehere : quo- 
 " niam cum sit coUuctandum cum 
 ** eo, si fundus praevaleat, allidi do- 
 '' minum. Nec dubium quin minus 
 " reddat laxus ager non recte cul- 
 " tU5, quam angustus eximie. Ideo- 
 " que post reges exactos Liciniana 
 " ilia septena jugera, quae plebis 
 '•' tribunus viritim diviserat, majores 
 " quaestus antiquis retulere, quam 
 " nunc nobis praebent amplissima 
 '^ vervacta." 
 
 413, Aspera ruscl vimina.~\ AVe 
 learn from Pliny tliat the ruscus is 
 the same with the oxymyrsine : 
 " Castor oxymyrsineu myrti foliis 
 '' acutis, ex qua fiunt ruri scop^, 
 " ruscum vocavit." Oxymyrsine 
 signifies sharp-pointed myrtle; and 
 is therefore the same with the x.if~ 
 r^of^vji^ivTi, or prickly myrtle of 
 Theophrastus, to which he com- 
 pares the Alexandrian laurel, on ac- 
 count of the berries growing upon 
 the leaves : "l^ix ^l x.x\ rx^z tti^I thv 
 "l^jjy Ittiv, oiov T, Tg 'AA«|«»og«/flf x,xXou- 
 uiVT/i ^ei^r/i, x.xl <rvx.)i rig y,xl eiuxiXag. 
 T?? ^h ovv 2ei^vrig l» Tovra to idiof, on 
 
 ttv^pivrt. xu^oTiext yx^ rot KX^TTOt ly/iv- 
 <riv he rtsg ^ciyjag tov (pvXXev. Dios6o- 
 
GEORG. LIB. II. 
 
 195 
 
 Vimina per sylvani, et ripis fluvialis arundo 
 Caeditur, incultique exercet cura salicti. 415 
 Jam vinctaevites: jam falcem arbusta reponunt; 
 Jam canit extremes effbetus vinitor antes : 
 Sollicitanda tamen tellus, pulvisque movendus, 
 Et jam riiaturis metuendus Jupiter uvis. 419 
 Contra, non ulla est oleis cultura: neque illae 
 
 broom must be cut in the 
 woods, and the watery reed on 
 the banks, nor must you neg- 
 lect the uncultivated willows. 
 Now rhe vines are tied, now 
 the trees no longer require 
 the hook ; now the weary 
 dresser sings about the utmost 
 rows; yet the earth must be 
 turned up, and the dust stir- 
 red, and Jupiter is to be feared, 
 even when the grapes are 
 quite ripe. On the contrary, 
 the olives require no culture, 
 nor do they 
 
 rides plainly enough describes our 
 butchers broom under the name of 
 fcv^a-m (xy^i'ec, or wild myrtle. He 
 says the leaves are like those of 
 myrtle, but broader, pointed like a 
 spear, and sharp. The fruit is 
 round, growing on the middle of 
 the leaf, red when ripe, and having 
 a bony kernel. Many stalks rise 
 from the same root, a cubit high, 
 bending, hard to break, and full of 
 leaves. The root is like that of 
 dog's grass, of a sour taste and bit- 
 terish. It grows in wild and craggy 
 places: Mv^e-lvvi ky^iu. to ^it (pvXXcv 
 
 yvXev, sv f^za-a 2i ra zriTciXa •srspi^spt), 
 i^v^^ov h Tu -zriTrxtvio-B-M , i^ovret ro hrog 
 ^Toioig, KXcifvix Xvyoiidyt -ziroXXei Ix. t^g 
 p/^*j5 «yT?5 ^VT^^oiVToi ocrov -sni^iag (piiX- 
 
 yive^zva ^^v(pv^v, vTroTTiK^ov .... (pOirui 
 h r^x^za-i rcTrctg kxI K^vtfivahcrt. The 
 butcher's broom is so called, be- 
 cause our butchers make use of it 
 to sweep their stalls. It grows in 
 woods and bushy places. In Italy 
 they frequently make brooms of it. 
 I suppose it was used to bind their 
 vines in Virgil's time, by its being 
 mentioned in this place. 
 
 414. Sylvam.l J^ is sylvas in the 
 King's manuscript. 
 
 416. Jam vinctce vites, &c.] He 
 concludes this passage with shew- 
 ing that the labour of cultivating 
 vineyards is perpetual. He has al- 
 ready mentioned a frequent digging 
 
 of the ground J the summer and au- 
 tumn pruning; and the tying of 
 the vines. Now he observes, that 
 when all this is performed, and the 
 labour might seem to be ended 
 with the vintage, yet the ground is 
 still to be stirred and broken to 
 dust; and that storms are to be 
 feared even when the grapes are 
 ripe. 
 
 In the King's, and in one of Dr. 
 Mead's manuscripts, it is jundce in- 
 stead of vinctce. 
 
 417. Jam canit extremes effcetus 
 vinitor antes.'] It is effectos in the 
 Bodleian, and effectus in one of Dr. 
 Mead's manuscripts. Pierius says 
 it is 
 
 Jam canit effectos extremus vinitor antes 
 
 in the Roman manuscript ; and ca- 
 nit effcetus extremos in the Lombard, 
 and in the Medicean manuscripts. 
 
 420. Contra, non ulla est, &c.] 
 Having shewed the great labour 
 which attends the care of a vine- 
 yard ; he now opposes the olive to 
 it, which requires hardly any cul- 
 ture. He says the same of other 
 fruit trees, and mentions the wild 
 plants, which are produced abun- 
 dantly; and thence he infers, that 
 if nature affords us so many useful 
 plants, we ought not to be back- 
 ward in planting, and bestowing 
 our own labour. 
 
 In the Bodleian manuscript it is 
 720w«wZ/a. Servius mentions this read- 
 ing. But it seems to be making 
 2 c 2 
 
196 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 'Strrs';''^«£'''once Procurvam expectant falceni, rastrosque te- 
 
 they have taken root in the ^ ci-l 
 
 tields, and stood the blasts. naces 1 4<Xl 
 
 The earth itself atfords suf- "v.v-c7 , 
 
 SSVwuSe hSked L^^ Cum semel h^serunt arvis, aurasque tulerunt. 
 Ipsa satis tellus, cum dente recluditur unco, 
 
 the Poet guilty of a very poor ex- 
 pression to say. Vines require a great 
 deal of culture; but, on the contrary, 
 olives require some. 
 
 Virgil does not say in this pas- 
 sage, that olives require no culture 
 at all 3 but that they have no occa- 
 sion for any, after they have once 
 taken to the ground, and grown 
 strong. They have no occasion for 
 harrows, and pruning hooks j and 
 need only a little breaking of the 
 ground, and some ploughing. Co- 
 lumella does not greatly differ from 
 the Poet. He says no tree requires 
 so much culture as the vine, or so 
 little as the olive. *' Omnis tamen 
 *' arboris cultus simplicior, quam 
 " vinearum est, longeque ex omni- 
 " bus stirpibus minorera impensam 
 " desiderat olea, quae prima om- 
 ** nium arborum est, nam quamvis 
 " non continuis annis, sed fere al- 
 " tero quoque fructum afferat, exi- 
 " mia tamen ejus ratio est, quod 
 " levi cultu sustinetur, et cum se 
 " non induit, vix uUam impensam 
 '* poscit : sed et siquam recipit, 
 *' subinde fructus multiplicat: neg- 
 *' lecta compluribus annis non ut 
 " vinca deficit, eoque ipso tempore 
 " aliquid etiam interim patrifami- 
 " lias praestat, et cum adhibita cul- 
 '* tura est, uno anno emendatur." 
 
 423. Ipsa satis tellus, &c.] These 
 two lines have been as variously in- 
 terpreted as any passage in Virgil. 
 Servius takes satis to mean the 
 planted olives 3 vomere to be put for 
 per vomerem; and fruges for corn. 
 Thus according to him, the sense 
 will be this : An olive'i/ard, wheti it 
 is ploughed, affords both moisture to 
 
 the planted olives, and yields corn 
 also by means of the share. In this 
 he is exactly followed by Grimoal- 
 dus, except that he interprets dente 
 unco a spade, and he paraphrases it 
 thus : " Olivetum, si ligone foditur, 
 " ad oleas, caeterasque in eo satas 
 '" arbores irrigandas aptnm reddi- 
 " tur, sin aratro quoque vertatur, 
 *' nonolivarium modo, sedfrumen- 
 " tarium etiam fieri poterit." May's 
 translation is to the same purpose : 
 
 The earth itselfe, when furrow'd by Ihe 
 plough, 
 
 Doth food enough on her, and come be- 
 stow. 
 
 La Cerda takes dente unco and vo- 
 mere to be only two expressions for 
 the plough-share : he contends that 
 satis in the adverb, and that fruges 
 means the fruit of theolives: ''Nam 
 '* tellus ipsa quocunque aratro, quo- 
 " cunque voraere invertatur (adeo 
 '^ non necessarii rastri) praebet hu- 
 '* morem, qui satis ad oleas. lUud 
 " gravidce fruges sunt ipsissimae 
 
 '' oleae Male enim aliqui per 
 
 "fruges capiunt frumenta. Male 
 " etiam per vocem satis accipiunt 
 *' sata, cum hie sit adverbium." 
 Ruaeus follows Servius as to satis j 
 and Grimoaldus as to dente unco; 
 but he gives quite a new interpre- 
 tation of cum vomere : " Id est sta- 
 " tim atque aperitur vomere, sine 
 " mora, producit fructus. Exag- 
 '' geratio, quae certum et celerem 
 " proventum indicat." Dr. Trapp 
 approves of this new interpretation : 
 
 The earth itself, when by the biting 
 
 share 
 Upturned, sufficient moisture wUl supply ; 
 
GEORG. LIB. II. 
 
 ]97 
 
 Sufficit humorem, et gravidas cum vomcre 
 
 fruges : 
 Hoc pinguem et placitam paci nutritor olivam. 
 Poma quoque, ut primuin truncos sensere va- 
 
 lentes, 426 
 
 Et vires habuere suas, ad sidera raptim 
 Vi propria nituntur, opisque baud indiga nostrae. 
 Nee minus interea foetu nemus omne gravescit, 
 Sanguineisque inculta rubent aviaria baccis. 430 
 Tondentur cytisi ; tasdas sylva alta ministrat. 
 
 ami wcishty fruits when it is 
 liirned up with the share. 
 Thus do thou nurse the fat 
 and peaceful olive. Fruit- 
 trees also as soon as they are 
 ingrafted on strong trunks, 
 and have acquired their pro- 
 per strength, quickly shoot up 
 to the stars, by their own 
 force, an'l stand in no nee(l 
 of our help. At the same 
 tinie all the forests bend with 
 fruit, :ii)d Ihe uncultivated 
 liabitations of birds glow with 
 re<l berries. The Cytisiis is 
 cut, the tall wood affords 
 torches, 
 
 And full fruit, with the labour ofthepleugh 
 Coeval. 
 
 " For that," says he, " is the mean- 
 " ing of cum vomere. Hyperb. al- 
 " most, as soon as, &c." As for sa- 
 tis, 1 think the sense is much the 
 same, whether we take it to be the 
 noun or the adverb. Dento unco I 
 take to mean the bidens or drag, 
 spoken of before, which is used in 
 the culture of olives, according to 
 Columella, to break and loosen the 
 ground, that the sun may not pierce 
 through the chinks, and hurt the 
 roots : '^ Sed id minime bis anno 
 " arari debet, etbidentibus alte cir- 
 " cumfodiri. Nam post solstitium 
 ** cum terra sestibus hiat, curandnm 
 *' est, ne per rimas sol ad radices 
 " arborum penetret." I do not find 
 that it was usual to sow corn 
 amongst the olives, but ploughing 
 the ground was universally thought 
 to increase their product : therefore 
 I agree with La Cerda, that fruges 
 means the fruits of the olive, and 
 not corn. I take the sense of these 
 lines to be this ; " If you break the 
 " ground with drags, it will keep 
 " the sun from drying the roots, 
 " and the earth, being loosened, 
 *' will let as much moisture soak to 
 " them as is sufficient : and if you 
 " plough the ground you will have 
 " a greater crop of olives." Mr. 
 
 B has translated it in this 
 
 sense : 
 
 The earth herself the plants supplies 
 
 with juice. 
 If crooked teeth once make her surface 
 
 loose : 
 But floods of oil from swelling berries 
 
 flow, 
 If ploughs unlock her richer soil below. 
 
 Dryden has taken no notice of dente 
 unco in his translation : 
 
 The soil itself due nourishment supplies; 
 Plough but the furrows, and the fruits 
 arise. 
 
 425. Hoc.'] Hoc seems to relate 
 
 to vomere, as Mr. B observes : 
 
 it is usually interpreted propter hoc. 
 
 426. Poma.] I take this to belong 
 to fruit-trees in general. Colu- 
 mella, in his chapter De arboribus 
 pomiferis^ speaks of figs, pome- 
 granates, apples, pears, mulberries, 
 and several other sorts of fruits. 
 The poet says they require no care 
 but ingrafting j for that is the sense 
 of truncos sensere valentes. Ad si- 
 dera raptim vi propria nituntur is 
 much the same expression as 
 
 Exiit in caelum ramis felicibus arbos. 
 
 429. Nec minus, &c.] Here he 
 speaks of wild trees, which grow 
 in the woods. 
 
 431. Tondentur cytisi.'] A consi- 
 derable number of different plants 
 
198 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 San^%read their hS/" Pascuiiturque igncs nocturni, 
 
 dunt. 
 
 et lumina fun- 
 
 have been supposed by different 
 authors to be the cytisus here spoken 
 of: but the Cytisus MaranfhcB is 
 generally allowed to be the plant. 
 We can gather nothing certain from 
 what Virgil has said about it. He 
 mentions goats as being very fond 
 of it, in the first Eclogue : 
 
 Non me pascente capellae 
 
 Florentera cytisum, et salices carpetis 
 amaras : 
 
 And in the second : 
 
 Torva leasna lupum sequitur, lupus ipse 
 
 capeUam : 
 Florentem cytisum sequitur lasciva ca- 
 
 pella ; 
 Te Corydon, o Alexi: 
 
 which seems to be an imitation of 
 the following lines, in the tenth 
 Idyllium of Theocritus : 
 
 "A a<| TOv KVTitrov, o Xvxos tolv aJya ^tuxu, 
 "A yi^avos Tuoer^ov, lyu o iTi t)v fHfiK- 
 
 The Greek Poet also mentions the 
 goats as eating cytisus, in the fifth 
 Idyllium : 
 
 Ta/ fuv ifAKi xiriffov ?i x,a) a"ytXef aJyig 
 
 In the ninth Eclogue the cytisus is 
 mentioned as increasing milk : 
 
 Sic cytiso pastae distentent ubera vaccae : 
 
 And in the tliird Georgick : 
 
 At cui lactis amor, cytisum, lotosque 
 
 freqiientes 
 Ipse manu, salsasque ferat praesepibus 
 
 herbas. 
 
 In the tenth Eclogue it is spoken 
 of as grateful to bees : 
 
 Nee lacrymis crudelis amor, iiecgramina 
 rivis. 
 
 Nee cytiso saturantur apes, nee fronde 
 capellas. 
 
 From these passages we collect, 
 that the cytisus was grateful to bees 
 and goats, and productive of milk; 
 but nothing with regard to the 
 description of the plant itself. Let 
 us examine now, what Theophras- 
 tus has said of it, which is very 
 little. In the ninth chapter of the 
 first book of his History of Plants, 
 he says the wood of the cytisus is 
 hard and thick : Liec<pi^ova-t Ti kxi rca(i 
 fAv^r^xig .... rcvrai ^g 'in o-x-Xn^in^xi 
 icoii TsrvKVOTi^xi, K^xiletg, v^t'vov, ^gwoj, 
 KVTtFOv, trvx-etfAtvav, ISsvoy, Xarcv. He 
 says the same in the fourth chap- 
 ter of the fifth book, and adds, that 
 it comes nearest to el)ony : tvkvotxtcc 
 jKSr 0V1 ooKii Koit pxpvretrx tcvz^o^ uixt 
 3cx{ SteSKOs 6vdi yap ixt rov voxrdg tosi/t 
 IttihT, KXf yi f4,iv -srv^ig oA». t?5 ^£ eCsww 
 i} finr^x s» Yi Kxi yi rov ^^afAxrog Wi ft&- 
 >^xiix. rav J' c<A>ift)v Xurog' ■z3-'jx,rov el -^ 
 KXi vt T>j$ ^^vbg fZiir^x, >j» x.x?\.6va-i fAiXeit- fll 
 o^vov Kxi £T* fAxXXoi jj Toy KyrtTOV " 
 TTX^ofAoix yxg xvTrt doKtl t^ Soba iiixi. 
 This hardness, like ehony, agrees 
 very well with the Cytisus Maran- 
 thcB, when the plant is grown old : 
 for the Turks make the handles of 
 their sabres of it, anc! the monks 
 of Patmos their beads. In the 
 twentieth chapter of theJ'ourth book 
 he Soys it kills most other plants, 
 but that it is itself destroyed by 
 the Halinius : XxXtTog Se KXi xoTiFog, 
 XTFoXXvci yx^ TTcivB-' ag iiTTUi. ic^v^o- 
 Tg^«» ?s rcvrov to xXifZOf, xtcoXXvti yXQ 
 Tov xvTKTov. It may destroy other 
 plants by drawing away the nou- 
 rishment from them. Dioscorides 
 says it is a white shrub, like the 
 Rhamnus, with branches a cubit 
 long or longer, clothed with leaves 
 
GEORG. LIB. II. 
 
 100 
 
 Et dubitant liomines screre, atque impendere 
 
 curam 
 
 Quid majora sequar.^ salices, humilesque ge- 
 nistse, 
 
 And do men hesitate about 
 iilanliiii^, and bpst«. wing care! 
 vVliy sluinld 1 speak oC greater 
 things! willows, and iiiinible 
 hroom afford either browse 
 lor the cattle, 
 
 like those of fenugreek, or birds- 
 foot trefoil, only less, and having a 
 larger rib. When they are rubbed 
 with the fingers, they snciell like 
 rocket, and have a taste like green 
 chiches : KvTia-a-c^ ^df^vo? Iv-rt Xivxoi; 
 
 6Vg KCtt fAii^oyU.^' TTiOt OVi TOi, ^vAAflt, 
 
 ofAOisc, T«A<5<, J) XenTco Tpi^vX>\.!i) , fAix-ponpa 
 Oi xcii Dci^iv t^ovTec, fAliCfiVcc' iv n T« OlOC- 
 
 This also agrees with the Cytisus 
 MaranthcE : for the leaves are tri- 
 foliated, and smell very like rocket, 
 especially about Naples, and the 
 plant is very hoary in its native 
 soil. Colunaella speaks only of the 
 use of it, as an excellent fodder, 
 causing abundance of milk, and 
 being useful also to hens and bees. 
 Pliny tells us, that Amphilochus 
 wrote a whole book about the me- 
 dica, and the cytisus: '' Unum de 
 '' ea, et cytiso volumen Amphilo- 
 '^ chus fecit confuslm." He says it 
 is a shrub, and greatly commended 
 by Aristomachns, the Athenian, as 
 a good fodder : " Frutex est et cy- 
 '' tisus, ab Aristomacho Atheniensi 
 " miris laudibus praedicatus pabulo 
 '' ovium, aridus vero etiam suum." 
 Then he enlarges upon the uses of 
 it in increasing milk, and says it is 
 hoary, and has the appearance of 
 a shrubby trefoil, with narrower 
 leaves: *' Canus aspectu, breviter- 
 " que siquis exprimerc similitudi- 
 " nem velit, an£2;ustioris trifolii fru- 
 " tex." The Cytisus Maranthce is 
 the Cytisus incanus, siliquis falcatis 
 of C. Bauhin, and the Medicago 
 trifolia,frutescens, incana of Tourne- 
 fort. 
 
 May translates cytisi, low shrubs , 
 and Dryden, vile shrubs are shorn 
 for browse : but the cytisus was so 
 far from being accounted a vile 
 shrub, that it was in the highest 
 esteem amongst the ancients. Mr. 
 
 B paraphrases these two wortls, 
 
 tondentur cytisi : 
 
 The Cytisus, with constant verdure 
 
 crown 'd 
 Oft feels the hook, and shoots at ev'ry 
 
 wound. 
 
 Tcudas sylva alta ministrat.'] 
 Torches were made of any combus- 
 tible wood. Pliny mentions a sort 
 of pine or fir, under the name of 
 tceda, which was chiefly made use 
 of at sacrifices : " Sextum genus est 
 '^ taeda proprie dicta: abundantior 
 *' succoquam reliqua, parcior liqui- 
 " diorque quam picea, flam mis ac 
 " lumini sacrorum etiam grata." 
 
 432. Pascunturque ignes noctumi.] 
 In one of Dr. Mead's manuscripts 
 it is Tascuniur noclurni ignes. 
 
 433. Et dubitant homines serere 
 atque impendere curam.'] Fulvius 
 Ursinu's says this whole verse is 
 wanting in the old Colotian manu- 
 script. 
 
 It is euros in some editions. 
 
 434. Quid majora sequar.] Here 
 he speaks of the great use of several 
 sorts of trees; and concludes with 
 giving them the preference to the 
 vine. 
 
 Humilesque genistce.'] Mr. B — — 
 translates genistce, furze, 2Lni\ says 
 he has taken the liberty to para- 
 phrase a little upon genislce, sepem- 
 que satis et pabula melli svfficiunt, 
 because he has seen so much of 
 the use of that plant in both these 
 respects : 
 
200 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 or shade for the sheplierrts, 
 and hedges for the field?, 
 and food for bees. It is de- 
 lightful to behold Cytoriis 
 waving with box, 
 
 Aut illae pecori frondem, aut pastoribus um- 
 bras 435 
 Sufficiunt ; sepemque satis, et pabula melli. 
 Et JLivat undantem buxo spectare Cytorum, 
 
 The willow, and the furzCy an humble 
 plant 
 
 To husbandmen afford no trivial aid ; 
 
 That to the sheep gives food, to shep- 
 herds shade : 
 
 This covers with strong lines the wealthy 
 fields, 
 
 And early fother to the bee-fold yields. 
 
 It is certain that furze is frequently 
 used as a fence, and the flowers 
 are sought after by the bees : but 
 it is no less certain that the furze 
 was never called genista by any 
 ancient Latin writer. See the note 
 on lenlcsque genistce, ver. 12. 
 
 4S5. Aut nice.] Servius says 
 many read et tilice. 
 
 Umbras^ So I read with Hein- 
 sius. Pierius says it is umbras in 
 all the ancient manuscripts. I find 
 it so in all those which I have col- 
 lated. La Cerda, Ruaeus, and se- 
 veral other editors have iimhram. 
 
 4!37- Undantem buxo Cytorum.'] 
 Servius says Cytorus is a mountain 
 of Macedonia: but, according to 
 Pliny, it belongs to Paphlagonia: 
 " Ultra quem gens Paphlagonia, 
 *' quam Pyleemeniam aliqui dixe- 
 *' runt, inclusam a tergo Galatia. 
 '* Oppidum Mastya Milesiorum, 
 " deinde Cromna. Quo loco He- 
 " netos adjicit Nepos Cornelius, a 
 '' quibusin Italia ortos cognomines 
 '* eorum Venetos credi postulat. 
 " Sesamum oppidum, quod nunc 
 ** Amastris. Mons Cytorus, a Tio 
 '* Ixiii. M. pass." Ruaeus says it is 
 a city and mountain of Galatia, on 
 the borders of Paphlagonia. Strabo 
 indeed speaks of a city of that 
 name, but he places it in Paphla- 
 gonia, and neither he nor Pliny 
 mention either a town or moun- 
 
 tain of that name in their accounts 
 of Galatia. Cytorus was very fa- 
 mous for box. Thus Theophra«tus : 
 
 (pvXhOV OftOiOV 'i^il ^vpp/vft). ^ViTCCi 3' Iv 
 
 To7g "Yvy^poi^ lOTroti koci Tpai^i<ri. xxi yci^ 
 7« KvTCo^et TotovToy, ov j5 TrXiifYi yimxi. 
 
 He immediately adds that Olympus 
 of Macedonia is cold, for it grows 
 there also, though not very large, 
 but the largest and fairest trees of 
 it are in Cyrene: -^vx^a^ ^io"OXvy.- 
 wa$ M.XKidoviKog , koci yup iixctwu. yi~ 
 vovTXi. ttX^v ov fiiyoiXoi. f*'iyifoi ^e xai 
 Koixxn-oi h KygjjKjj. Perhaps Servius 
 read this passage negligently, and 
 finding Macedonia mentioned, put 
 down Cytorus, as a mountain of 
 that country. Pliny says box grows 
 in great plenty on the Pyrenean 
 hills, and on Cytorus, and on Be- 
 recynthus: " Buxus Pyrenosis, a 
 " Cytoro montibus plurima, nc Be- 
 " recynthio tractu." La Cerda 
 thinks we should read Cyrenceis or 
 Cyrenis, in Pliny, instead of Pyre- 
 noeis, according to the last quotation 
 from Theophrastus. But Robert 
 Coustantine and other learned cri- 
 tics think xygjii'ji is an error in the 
 copies of Theophrastus, and that it 
 should be x.v^va, Corsica. It is cer- 
 tain that Pliny uses Corsica, where 
 the editions of Theophrastus have 
 xv^»v*i: '' Crassissima in Corsica . . . 
 '' Haec in Olympo Macedonise gra- 
 " cilior, sed brevis." And besides, 
 it is not probable that Theophras- 
 tus, after he had said the box flou- 
 rished most in cold places, would 
 say that it grew fairest and strong- 
 est in Cyrene, a country of the 
 scorching Lybia. 
 
 \ 
 
GEORG. LIB. 11. 
 
 i^Ol 
 
 Naryciaeque picis lucos : juvat arva videre 
 Non rastris, hominum non ulli obnoxia curae. 
 Ipsse Caucaseo steriles in vertice sylvae, 440 
 Quas animosi Euri assidue franguntque ferunt- 
 
 que, 
 Dant alios aliae foetus : dant utile lignum 
 Navigiis pinos, domibus cedrumque cupressos- 
 
 que. 
 
 anrt the groves ot N:irycian 
 pitch ; it is delightful to see 
 fields that are not obli8:ed to 
 harrows, or any care oi men. 
 Even the barren woods on (lie 
 top of Caucasus, which the 
 strong east winds continually 
 tear and rend, give eacli of 
 them their different produce ; 
 gi ve pines for ships, and cedars 
 and cypresses for houses. 
 
 438. Narycupque picis lucos.'\ Na- 
 ryx or Narycium was a city of the 
 Locrians, in that part of Italy 
 which is over-against Greece. They 
 are mentioned in the third ^neid, 
 where Helenus, who reigned in 
 Epirus, advises ^Eneas to avoid that 
 part of Italy whicli is washed by 
 the Ionian sea : 
 
 Has aiitem terras, Italique banc littoris 
 Oram 
 
 Effuge: cuncta malis habilantur mcenia 
 Gratis. 
 
 Hie et Narycii posuerunt raoenia Locri. 
 
 Let not thy course to that ill coast he bent. 
 
 Which fronts from far ih* Epirian conti- 
 nent ; 
 
 Those parts are all hy Grecian foei pos- 
 sessed : 
 
 Narycian Locrians here the shores infest. 
 Dryx>en. 
 
 Servius reads Marici(E, 
 
 439- -^o" rasirisy hominum non 
 ulli obnoxia curce.'] Almost all the 
 editors point this verse thus : 
 
 Non rastris hominum, non ulli obnoxia 
 curae, 
 
 which is very strange. Fields not 
 obliged to harrows of men, or to any 
 
 care. Mr. B is the first who 
 
 places the comma after rastris, 
 which must certainly be the right 
 pointing. In one of Dr. Mead's 
 manuscripts we read non nulli. 
 
 440. Caucaseo.'l Caucasus is a 
 famous ridge of mountains running 
 from the Black Sea to the Caspian. 
 Strabo says it abounds with all sorts 
 of trees, especially those which are 
 
 used in building ships: EyWgov 5' 
 £$■/» yA»t Trxvro^tCTT^ rjj tc ct?iXr\, itcci t»j 
 
 443. Cedrumque cupressosque.'] 
 Pierius found it thus in the Roman, 
 the Medicean, and other very an- 
 cient manuscripts : but he says it is 
 cupressos in the Lombard manu- 
 script, without que, which he takes 
 to be an error of the transcriber. 
 In both the Arundelian manuscripts 
 it is cedrumque cupressumque. In 
 the King's and in one of Dr. Mead's 
 it is cedrumque cupressosque. In the 
 Bodleian, and in the other manu- 
 script of Dr. Mead's, it is cedrumque 
 cupressos. In the Cambridge manu- 
 script it is cedrosque cupressosque. 
 Heinsius reads cedrumque cupressos- 
 que: Grimoaldus, La Cerda, and 
 Ruaeus cedrosque cupressosque : and 
 Masvicius cedrumque cupressumque. 
 Most of the editions, which are 
 not here excepted, have cedrosque 
 cupressosque. 
 
 It is much to be questioned;, whe- 
 ther the cedar here spoken of is 
 that which is so frequently men- 
 tioned in the Scriptures j for that 
 has not been observed any where 
 but on mount Lebanon. It seems 
 to have been but little known by 
 the Greek and Roman writers. 
 Theophrastus seems to speak of it 
 in the ninth chapter of the fifth 
 book of his History of Plants; 
 where he says the cedars grow to 
 a great bigness in Syria, so large 
 
 2d 
 
p. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 Hence the husbandmen have 
 formed spokes for thei r wheels, 
 and coverings for their wag- 
 gons, and have fitted crooked 
 keels to ships. The willows 
 abound with twigs, the elms 
 with leaves; but the myrtle 
 with strong spears, and the 
 cornel is nseful in war; the 
 yews are bent into Ityrean 
 bows; 
 
 Hinc radios trivere rotis, hinc tympana plaustris 
 Agricolae, et pandas ratibus posuere carinas. 445 
 Viminibus salices foecundae, frondibus ulmi : 
 At myrtis validis hastilibus, et bona bello 
 Cornus : Ityraeos taxi torquentur in arcus. 
 
 that three men cannot encompass 
 them : 'E^sts-Jl ^s i?? vMg, acnri^ icxi 
 "ZS-pOTipov iXi^B-Yi, '^ix(p'i^ii Kurk lovg T3- 
 TTOvg. 'ivB-ei f4£v y«g Aft/TO?, ivB'x 21 Kg- 
 2^og ylviToii ^xv(AX<rv), KX^XTri^ kxi -z^i^i 
 'Zvpi'xv. 'Ev YiVpioi. y«g svTg roi^ oqia-i 
 dix^ipovrx ylvirxi rx oivo^x tjij kzo^ov 
 Kx] T* v^u Kxt rZ -zirxYJii' ttihiKXVTx 
 ydip Wiv, a'^ (vkic (aIv ^vj ouvxirB-xi T^iT^ 
 xv^^xg -s^i^iXx^Qxniv . These large 
 Syrian trees ar6 probably the ce- 
 dars of Lebanon, which I believe 
 Theophrastus had only heard of, 
 and took to be the same with the 
 Lycian cedars, only larger : for in 
 the twelfth chapter of the third 
 book, where he describes the cedar 
 particularly, he says the leaves are 
 like those of Juniper, but more 
 prickly : and adds that the berries 
 are much alike. Therefore the ce- 
 dar described by Theophrastus can- 
 not be that of Lebanon, which 
 bears cones, and not berries. I 
 take it rather to be a sort of Juni- 
 per, which is called Juniperus major 
 bacca rufescente by Caspar Bauhin, 
 Oxycedrus by Parkinson, and Oxy- 
 cedrus Phcenicea by Gerard. What 
 Pliny and Dioscorides have said of 
 the cedar is very confused. 
 
 446". Viminibus salices Jcecundce.] 
 The twigs of the willows are used 
 to bind the vines, and to make all 
 sorts of wicker works. 
 
 Frondibus ulmi.~\ The cattle were 
 fed with leaves of elms. Thus Co- 
 lumella: '' Est autem ulmus longe 
 '^ laetior et procerior, quam nostras, 
 " frondemque jucundiorem bubus 
 *' praebet: qua cum assidue pecus 
 " alueris, et postea generis alterius 
 
 " frondem dare institueris, fastidi- 
 '' um bubus affert." This use of elm 
 leaves is confirmed by Mr. Evelyn, 
 who says, '' The use of the very 
 " leaves of this tree, especially of 
 '' the female, is not to be despised ; 
 -' for being suffered to dry in the 
 ^' sun upon the branches, and the 
 " spray stripped off about the de- 
 *' crease in August, (as also where 
 '' the suckers and stolones are su- 
 " pernumerary, and hinder the 
 " thrivingof their nurses,) they will 
 '^ prove a great relief to cattle in 
 " winter, and scorching summers, 
 " when hay and fodder is dear, they 
 ^' will eat them before oats, and 
 " thrive exceedingly well with 
 ''-them J remember only to lay 
 " your boughs up in some dry and 
 '' sweet corner of your barn. It 
 '' was for this the Poet praised 
 *' them, and the epithet was ad- 
 '^ vised. Fruitful in leaves the elm. 
 " In some parts of Herefordshire 
 " they gather them in sacks for 
 " their swine and other cattle, ac- 
 '^ cording to this husbandry." 
 
 4-47. Myrtus validis hastilibus, et 
 bona bello cornus.] Their spears and 
 darts were anciently made of myr- 
 tle and cornel : but Pliny prefers 
 the ash for these uses: " Obedien- 
 " tissima quocunque in opere fraxi- 
 " nus, eademque hastis corylo me- 
 " lior, corno levior, sorbo lentior." 
 
 In one of Dr. Mead's manuscripts 
 it is at bona bello cornus. 
 
 448. Ityroeos taxi torquentur in 
 arcusr\ The Ityrcei or Iturcei were 
 a people of Coele Syria, famous for 
 shooting with a bow. 
 
GEORG. LIB. II. 
 
 203 
 
 Nee tiliae laeves, aut torno rasile buxum 449 
 Non formam accipiunt, ferroque cavantur acuto. 
 Nee non et torrentem undam levis innatat alnus 
 Missa Pado : nee non et apes examina condunt 
 Corticibusque cavis, vitiosaeque illieis alveo. 
 Quid memorandum aeque Baeeheia dona tu- 
 lerunt ? 454 
 
 the smooth limes also, and 
 the turner's box are shaped, 
 and hollowed with sharp 
 tools. The light alder swims 
 also on the rough flood, when 
 it is launched on the Po; and 
 bees conceal their young in 
 hollow barks, and in the body 
 of a rotten holm-oak. VJUnt 
 have the ait'ts of Bacchus 
 produced in comparison of 
 these? 
 
 Pierius says that in some ancient 
 manuscripts it is curvuntur instead 
 of torquentur. Servius, and some 
 of the old editors, and Schrevelius, 
 have curvantur. 
 
 449. Tilice loeves.'] Pliny says 
 moUissima tUice, and tilice ad mille 
 usus pelendce. 
 
 Torno rasile buxum.'\ Box is well 
 known to be turned into a great 
 variety of utensils. 
 
 451. Alnus.'] See the note on 
 ver. 136. of the first Georgick. 
 
 452. Missa Pado.] The Po is a 
 famous river of Italy. Alders are 
 said to grow in abundance on its 
 banks. 
 
 453. Ilicis.] Mr. Evelyn asserts, 
 that the Esculus of the ancients was 
 a species of Ilex : " The acorns of 
 " the coccigera, or dwarf -oak, yield 
 *' excellent nourishment for rustics, 
 " sweet, and little, if at all, inferior 
 *' to the chesnut, and this, and not 
 *' the fagus, was doubtless the true 
 " Esculus of the ancients, the food 
 " of the golden age." But it is 
 plain, that the very tree of which 
 this learned gentleman speaks was 
 called Ilex by Pliny ; for this author 
 says expressly that the Ilex bears 
 the coccus or chermes berry : " Om- 
 " nes tamen has ejus dotes ilex solo 
 *' provocat cocco." The same au- 
 thor says the leaves of the Esculus 
 are sinuated, whereas those of the 
 Ilex are not sinuated: " Folia prae- 
 '' ler ilicem gravia, carnosa, pro- 
 
 *' cera, sinuosa lateribus." Besides 
 the very name of dwarf-oak shews 
 this sort of Ilex cannot be the an- 
 cient Esculus, which is described as 
 a very large tree. Mr. Evelyn seems 
 to have thought the dwarf-oak or 
 scarlet-oak to be the Esculus, be- 
 cause its acorns are so good to eat: 
 but this is no good proof neither: 
 for Pliny says the acorns of the Es- 
 culus are inferior to those of the 
 common oak : '' Glans optima in 
 '' quercu atque grandissima, mox 
 '' esculo." 
 
 Alveo.] Servius reads alvo. Pie- 
 rius found alveo in the Roman ma- 
 nuscript, with which he was greatly 
 delighted : " In Romano codice le- 
 " gitur alveo, quod mirifice placet." 
 Alveo is now generally received. 
 
 454. Quid memorandum oeqite, &c.] 
 Having spoken of the great uses of 
 forest trees, he falls into an excla- 
 mation against the vine, which is 
 not Only less useful than those trees 
 which nature bestows on us with- 
 out our care ; but is also the cause 
 of quarrels and murders. He pro- 
 duces a noted instance of the quar- 
 rel between the Centaurs and La- 
 pithae. Ovid has described it at 
 large in tiie twelfth book of the 
 Metamorphosis. Pirithous, king 
 of the Lapithae, had married Hip- 
 podamia. At these nuptials Eury- 
 tus, a Centaur, being inflamed 
 with lust and wine, attempted to 
 ravish the bride: which example 
 '2 D 2 
 
204 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 So"5f 'crfmes; "he overcame Bacchus ct ad culpaiii causHS dcdit : ille furcntcs 
 
 the Centaurs raging with mur- ,, i i i . -r»i -i-»i 
 
 der, RhtEtiis, Phojns, and Lciitauros letho domuit, Khoetumque Fho- 
 
 Hylaeus threatening the La- ' T. 
 
 pith« with a huge goblet. lumque, 456 
 
 Et magno Hylaeum Lapithis cratere minantem. 
 
 was followed by the rest^ wiio en- 
 deavoured each to seize upon such 
 young ladies as they chose. The- 
 seus rising in defence of the bride 
 slew Eurytus, and, the other guests 
 assisting, all the Centaurs were 
 either slain or put to flight. 
 
 455. Culpam.'] In one of Dr. 
 Mead's manuscripts it is culpas. 
 
 Furentes Centauros letho domuit.'] 
 *' This passage is generally ex- 
 *' plained by joining letho with do- 
 *' muit. But it seems to me that 
 ** it should be joined with furentes, 
 *' as it is said furens ira, invidia, 
 " amore, &c. and as Virgil himself 
 " says in the second ^neid : 
 
 Vidi ipse furentem 
 
 " Coede Neoptolemum, 
 
 ** And then the meaning is, domuit^ 
 " he ouercame,in the common sense, 
 " as wine is said to overcome any 
 '* one, and made them mad to death. 
 " In the other sense Virgil would 
 " contradict what he said before. 
 " Bacchus et ad culpam causas dedit. 
 " How would Bacchus have been 
 " to blame, for having punished 
 " with death profligate wretches 
 •' that would have ravished the 
 " bride from her husband ? This 
 " was a just, and not a blameable 
 '* action, but his blame was his 
 " overcoming their reason, and ex- 
 " citing them to that outrage.'* 
 
 Mr. B . 
 
 We find in Virgil sternere letho 
 and dejicere lethoy and therefore I 
 do not doubt but domare letho 
 might be used. But what seems 
 to me the strongest confirmation of 
 Mr. B ^"s opinion is, that we find 
 
 in Ovid, that neither Rhoetus nor 
 Pholus were slain, but that they 
 both fled : 
 
 Assidue successu caedis ovantem. 
 
 Qua juncta est humero cervix, sude figis 
 
 obusta. 
 Ingemuit, duroque sudem vix osse re- 
 
 vellit 
 Khcetus ; et ipse suo raadefacius sanguine 
 
 fugit. 
 Fugit et Orneus, Lycabasque, et saucius 
 
 armo 
 Dexteriore Medon et cum Pisenore 
 
 Thaumas : 
 Quique pedum nuper certamine vicerat 
 
 oranes 
 Mermeros ; accepto nunc vulnere tardias 
 
 ibat: 
 Et Pholus, et Melaneus, et Abas praeda- 
 
 tor aprorum. 
 
 For through his shoulder, leho had tri- 
 umphed long 
 In daily slaughter, Dryasfix*d his prong. 
 Who groning, tugs it out "with all his 
 
 might : 
 And soil'd with blood, converts his heels to 
 
 flight. 
 So Lycidas, Arnceus, Medon, (sped 
 In his right arme) Pisenor, Caumas fled : 
 Wound-tardy Mermerus, late swift of 
 
 pa£e : 
 Menelem, Pholus, Abas, us*d to chase 
 The bore. 
 
 Sandys. 
 
 457. Cratere minantem.'] Ovid 
 tells us they began to fight with 
 drinking vessels, which is not un- 
 usual in drunken quarrels : 
 
 Forte fuit juxta signis extantibus asper 
 Antiquus crater, quern vastum vastier 
 
 ipse 
 Sustulit iEgides; adversaque misit iu 
 
 ora. 
 
 Hard by there stood an antique gobletf 
 
 wrought 
 With extant figures : this JEgides caught : 
 HurVd at the face of Eurytus. 
 
 Sandys. 
 
GEORG. LIB. II. 
 
 205 
 
 O fortunatos nimium, sua si bona norint, 
 Agricolas ! quibus ipsa, procul discordibus armis, 
 Fiindit homo facilem victum justissima tellus. 
 Si non ingentem foribus domus alta superbis 
 Mane salutantum totis vomit aedibus undam; 
 Nee varios inhiant pulchra testudine postes, 
 Illusasque auro vestes, Ephyreiaque aera ; 
 Alba neque Assyrio fuscatur lana veneno, 465 
 
 O too happy Lusbanrtmen, did 
 tbey but know tlieir own fe- 
 licity! to wliom me earth 
 herselfi far from cunteiKting 
 arms, most justly pours forth 
 an easy sustenance. If they 
 have no lofiy palace with 
 proud gates, to vomit forth 
 from every part a vast tide of 
 morning visitors ; if they do 
 not gape atier pillars adorned 
 wiih tottoiseshell, or gar- 
 ments embroidered with gold, 
 or Corinthian brass; if their 
 white wool is not sullied with 
 Assyrian dye, 
 
 And 
 
 Vina dabant aniinos : et prima pocula 
 
 piigna 
 Missa volant, fragilesque cadi, curvique 
 
 lebetes : 
 Res epulis quondam, nunc belle et cae- 
 
 dibus aptse. 
 Wine courage gives. At first an uncouth. 
 
 flight 
 Of flaggonSf pots., and bozcls, began the 
 
 fight: 
 Late fit for banquets, now for hlood and 
 
 broils. 
 
 Sandys. 
 
 458. fortunatos, &c.] The Poet, 
 having just mentioned a scene of 
 war and confusion^ changes the 
 subject to a wonderfully beautiful 
 description of the innocent and 
 peaceful pleasures of a country 
 life. He begins with shewing, that 
 the pomp and splendor of courts 
 and cities are neither to be met 
 with in the country, nor in them- 
 selves desirable. He then proceeds 
 to mention the real satisfactions 
 which are to be found in the coun- 
 try : quiet, integrity, plenty, diver- 
 sions, exercise, piety, and religion. 
 
 Cicero, in his defence of Sextus 
 Roscius, says, that all sorts of wick- 
 edness proceed from the luxury of 
 cities ; but that the country life is 
 the mistress of frugality, diligence, 
 and justice; "In urbe luxuries 
 " creatur : ex luxuria existat avari- 
 *' tia necesse est : ex avaritia erum- 
 '* pat audacia: inde omnia scelera, 
 *' ac maleficia gignuntur. Vitaau- 
 
 " tern haec rustica, quam tu agres- 
 '' tem vocas, parsimoniae, diligen- 
 ** tiae, justitiae magistra est." 
 
 462. Mane salutantum^ It was 
 the custom amongst the Romans, 
 for the clients to attend the levees 
 of their patrons. 
 
 Totis.'\ In the King's manuscript 
 it is notis. 
 
 Vomit.'] Pierius says, that in the 
 Medicean manuscript it is vomai, 
 which he thinks sounds more ele- 
 gantly. 
 
 463. Testudine.'] Some think 
 that testudine is here used for an 
 arch supported by the pillars, or 
 the shell of a door. But I rather 
 believe it alludes to that custom of 
 the rich Romans, of covering their 
 bed-posts and other partsof their fur- 
 niture with plates of tortoiseshell. 
 
 464. lllusas.] In the Cambridge 
 and Bodleian manuscripts it is in- 
 clusas. Pierius says it is inclusas in 
 some manuscripts, but illusas in 
 the most ancient. Servius takes 
 notice, that some read inclusas ^ but 
 he condemns it. 
 
 Ephyreiaque (Era.] Corinth is 
 sometimes called Ephyre, from 
 Ephyre, the daughter of Epime- 
 theus. It is well known that the 
 Corinthian brass was very famous 
 amongst the ancients. 
 
 465. Neque.] Servius and some 
 others read nee. Pierius says it is 
 neque in the Medicean and some 
 other ancient manuscripts. 
 
p. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 nor the ase of the pure oil 
 tainted with perfumes; yet 
 there is no want of secure rest, 
 and a life ignorant of fraud, 
 and rich in various worl<s; 
 nor of ease in large farms, 
 caves and living lakes; nor of 
 cool valleys, and the lowing 
 of oxen, and soft sleep under 
 trees. There are lawns, and 
 habitations of wild beasts, and 
 a youth patient of labour, and 
 contented with a little, altars 
 of gods, and honoured parents : 
 
 Nec casia liquidi corrumpitur usus olivi ; 
 At secura quies, et nescia fallere vita, 
 Dives opum variarum : at latis otia fundis, 
 Speluncae, vivique lacus : at frigida Tempe, 469 
 Mugitusque bourn, mollesque sub arbore somni 
 Non absunt. Illic saltus, ac lustra ferarum, 
 Et patiens operum, exiguoque assueta juventus. 
 Sacra deum, sanctique patres : extrema per illos 
 
 Assyria veneno.'] He means the 
 Tyrian purple, which was obtained 
 from a sort of shell-fish. Tyre was 
 in Coele Syria. The Poet seems to 
 use Assyria for Syria. 
 
 Fuscalur.'] So I read with the 
 King's, one of the Arundelian^ both 
 Dr. Mead's manuscripts, and Hein- 
 sius. The common reading is fu- 
 catur, which signifies barley is 
 coloured: but fuscatur signifies is 
 obscured, imbrowned, or sullied, 
 which I take to be the Poet's 
 meaning. He shews his contempt 
 of spoiling the native whiteness of 
 wool with that expensive colour ; 
 as, in the next verse, he speaks of 
 the pure oil being tainted with per- 
 fumes. 
 
 466. Casia. ^ See the note on 
 ver. 213. 
 
 467. ^t secura quies.'] Pier i us 
 says it is ac in the Lombard manu- 
 script. But surely the Poet wrote 
 at: for he is here opposing the 
 real, innocent, untainted pleasures 
 of a country life to the noise and 
 luxury of courts, and cities. 
 
 Nescia fallere vita.] Pierius says 
 it is vitam in the Roman manu- 
 script, which must make nescia 
 agree with quies, but it is vita in all 
 the rest, which is better. 
 
 468. At.] It is ac in the King's 
 manuscript. Pierius also found ac. 
 
 469- At.] Here again it is ac in 
 the Lombard manuscript, according 
 to Pierius. I find ac also in the 
 
 King's and both Dr. Mead's ma- 
 nuscripts: but at seems to be 
 much better in all these places. 
 
 Frigida Tempe.] Tempe is the 
 name of a very pleasant valley in 
 Thessaly. Hence it is not unusual 
 to find Tempe used by the poets 
 for any pleasant place though not 
 in Thessaly. Thus I take it to be 
 used in this place for cool valleys in 
 general. 
 
 471. Illic] It is illis in the 
 Cambridge manuscript, and in some 
 printed editions. Pierius says it is 
 illic in all the ancient manuscripts 
 he had seen. 
 
 Sallus.] Saltus properly signifies 
 open places in the midst of woods, 
 which aflford room for cattle to 
 feed. Thus we have in the third 
 Georgick : 
 
 Saltibus in vacuis pascunt. 
 
 Lustra ferarum.'] By the habi- 
 tations of dens or wild beasts the 
 Poet means the diversion of hunt- 
 ing : thus May j 
 
 And pleasant huntings want not. 
 
 472. Exiguo!] Pierius says it is 
 exiguo in the Roman manuscript: 
 Heinsius and Masvicius also read 
 exiguo. The common reading is 
 parvo. 
 
 473. Sanctique patres.] By these 
 words the Poet designs to exf*ress, 
 that amongst the uncorrupted coun- 
 trymen their fathers are treated with 
 reverence. Thus Mr. B 
 
GEORG. LIB. II 
 
 J^O" 
 
 Justitia excedens terris vestigia fecit. 
 Me vero primum dulces ante omnia Musas, 475 
 Quarum sacra fero ingenti percussus amore, 
 Accipiant ; caelique vias, et sidera monstrent : 
 Defectus solis varios, lunaeque labores : 
 Unde tremor terris : qua vi maria alta tumescant 
 Objicibus ruptis, rursusque in se ipsa residant : 
 Quid tantum Oceano properent se tingere soles 
 Hyberni,velquagtardis moranoctibus obstet. 482 
 Sin, has ne possim naturae accedere partes, 
 Frigidus obstiterit circum praecordia sanguis ; 
 Rura mihi et rigui placeant in vallibus amnes ; 
 Fluraina amem, sylvasque inglorius : O ! ubi 
 
 when Justice iet( the earth, she 
 took her last step from amongi'f 
 these people. But in llie first 
 place, above all things, may 
 the sweet Mnses, whose priest 
 I am, being smitten with great 
 love of poesy, receive me, and 
 shew me the paths ot heaven, 
 and the stars, the various 
 eclipses of the sun, and labours 
 of the moon : what causes the 
 earth to tremble; by what 
 force the deep seas swell, and 
 break their banks, and then 
 again fall back; why the 
 winter suns make such haste 
 to dip themselves in the ocean : 
 or what delay retards the slow 
 nights. £ut if the chill blood 
 about my; heart hinders me 
 from attaining to these parts 
 of nature; may fields and 
 streams gliding in valleys de- 
 light me; n:ay I love rivers 
 and woods inglorious; oh! 
 where there a;e plains, 
 
 cam pi, 
 
 486 
 
 And aged sires rever'd. 
 
 I have chosen to make use of the 
 word honoured, because,, in our reli- 
 gion, this duty to parents is styled 
 honour. 
 
 Exirema per illos Justitia excfdevs 
 terris vestigia fecit.] In the Cam- 
 bridge manuscript it is /igit. 
 
 Astraea or Justice was feigned by 
 the poets to have descended from 
 heaven in the golden age. She 
 continued upon earth till the wick- 
 edness of the brazen age gave her 
 such offence, that she left mankind 
 and flew up to heaven. Aratus 
 says, she retired first from cities 
 into the country, so that this was 
 the last place she left. The Greek 
 Poet speaks largely on this subject. 
 
 475. Me vero primum, &c.] The 
 Poet here declares his natural in- 
 clination to be towards philoso- 
 phy and poetry. He declares him- 
 self to be the priest of the Muses ; 
 and prays them to instruct him in 
 astronomy : to teach him the causes 
 of eclipses, earthquakes, the flux 
 and reflux of the sea, and of the 
 
 unequal length of days and nights. 
 The next wish is, that, if he cannot 
 obtain this, he may enjoy a quiet 
 retirement in the country. 
 
 476. Quorum sacra fero'] It is 
 usual with the poets to call them- 
 selves priests of the Muses: thus 
 Horace ; 
 
 Carmina non prius 
 
 Audita Musarum Sacerdos 
 Viiginibus puerisque canto : 
 
 And Ovid: 
 
 llie ego Musarum purus, Phoebiquc Sa^ 
 cerdos. 
 
 479. Tumescant.'] It is iumescunt 
 in the Lombard manuscript, ac- 
 cording to Pierius: thus I find 
 residunt in the next verse instead 
 of residant, in some of the old 
 editions. 
 
 485. Rigui.] Pierius says it is 
 rigidi in the Roman manuscript. 
 
 486. Inglorius.'] Philosophy, in 
 Virgil's time, was in great reputa- 
 tion amongst the Romans. Our 
 Poet seems to have had Lucretius 
 in his eye, when he wrote this 
 
208 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 wh^ere^e'&pamn vi?Sfr'e: Spercliiusque, ct virginibus bacchata Lacaenis 
 
 vel! oh! that any one would . ,. ,. . „., -_ 
 
 Ssmns^ '" ^^^ *^*^°' '""^^^ "*" ^yS^^^ • ^5 R^^i ^^""^ gelidis in vallibus Haemi 
 
 passage. He entreats the Muses to 
 teach him the heights of philoso- 
 phy, which that Poet had described 
 with so much elegance. But if he 
 cannot reach so far, he begs, in the 
 next place, that he may have a 
 secure, quiet retirement in the 
 country, though destitute of that 
 glory, which he seeks in the first 
 place. Cowley observes upon this 
 passage, that '' the first wish of 
 'f Virgil was to be a good philoso- 
 '*^ pher ; the second, a good hus- 
 " bandman ; and God, whom he 
 '^ seemed to understand hetter than 
 '' most of the learned heathens, 
 " dealt with him just as he did 
 " with Solomon : because he prayed 
 '' for wisdom in the first place, he 
 '' added all things else which were 
 '' subordinately to be desired. He 
 " made him one of the best phi- 
 *' losophers, and the best husband- 
 " man, and to adorn and communi- 
 " cate both those faculties, the best 
 "poet: he made him besides all 
 " this a rich man, and a man who 
 " desired to be no richer. for- 
 " tunatus nimium, et bona qui sua 
 " novit." 
 
 ! uhi campi.'] I do not take 
 the Poet's meaning to be, that he 
 is enquiring where these places are ; 
 which he surely knew. He ex- 
 presses his delight to be in such 
 valleys, rivers, and woods, as are to 
 be met with in Thessaly, Laconia, 
 and Thrace. May is the only 
 translator, who has not supposed 
 this to be a question : 
 
 Then let me (fameless) love the fields 
 
 and woods, 
 The fruitful water'd vales, and running 
 
 floods. 
 
 Those plains, where clear Sperchius runs, 
 
 that mount 
 Where Spartan virgins to great Bacchus 
 
 wont 
 "o sacrifice, or shady vales that lie 
 Under high Haemus, let my dwelling be. 
 
 Dryden has so paraphrased these 
 lines, that he has rather imitated 
 than translated Virgil : 
 
 My next desire is, void of care and strife, 
 To lead a soft, secure, inglorious life. 
 A country cottage near a crystal flood, 
 A winding valley and a lofty wood. 
 Some god conduct me to the sacred 
 
 shades. 
 Where Bacchanals are sung by Spartan 
 
 maids. 
 Or lift me high to Haemus' hilly crown : 
 Or on the plains of Tempe lay me down : 
 Or lead me to some solitary place, 
 And cover my retreat from human race. 
 
 Mr. B— represents the Poet as 
 asking the question where these 
 places are : 
 
 O! where Taygeta are thy sacred shades, 
 Resounding with the songs of Spartan 
 maids ? 
 
 And Dr. Trapp : 
 
 ■ O ! where are the plains, 
 Sperchius, and Taygeta, by the dames 
 Of Sparta, swoln with Bacchanalian rage. 
 Frequented ? 
 
 487. Sperchius.'] Sperchius is a 
 famous river of Thessaly rising 
 from mount Pindus. 
 
 Virginibus bacchata LaccBuis Tay- 
 geta.'] Taygetus, in the plural 
 number Taygeta, is a mountain of 
 Laconia near Sparta : it was sa- 
 cred to Bacchus J and his orpes 
 were celebrated upon it by the La- 
 cedaemonian women. 
 
 488. Gelidis in vallibus Hcemi.'] 
 Haemus is a mountain of Thrace. 
 
GEORG. LIB. II. 
 
 209 
 
 Sistat, et ingenti raraorum protegat umbra ! 
 Felix, qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas : 490 
 Atque metus omnes, et inexorabile fatum 
 
 and shelter me with a va&t 
 shade of branches! Happy 
 was the man, who was able 
 to know the causes of things ; 
 and could cast all fears, and 
 inexorable fate, 
 
 Servius calls it a mountain of Tl»es- 
 saly: " Hcemi: montis Tliessaliae : 
 *' in qua etiam sunt Tempe." See 
 the note on ver. 412. of the first 
 Georgick. It is strange that Dry- 
 den should write 
 
 Or lift me high to Haemus' hilly crown. 
 
 for the cool valleys of Hcemus. 
 
 In one of Dr. Mead's manuscripts 
 it is gelidis convallibiis instead of 
 gelidis in vallibus. 
 
 490. Felix, qui potuit, &c.] The 
 commentators generally understand 
 this to be a repetition of what he 
 had said before: only that as he 
 had then given the preference to 
 philosophy ; now he seems to make 
 the philosopher and the country- 
 man equal ; for he pronounces them 
 both happy. I take the Poet's 
 meaning to be this. In the para- 
 graph beginning with O fortunatos, 
 &c. he had shewn the happiness of 
 the country live, in opposition to 
 living in courts and cities. In the 
 next paragraph, beginning with me 
 vera, he. he expressed his earnest 
 desire to become a natural philo- 
 sopher ; or, if he could not attain 
 that, a good husbandman. In the 
 paragraph now under consideration, 
 he shews the happiness of the 
 countryman to be like that which 
 was sought after by the Epicurean 
 philosophy. Epicurus was happy 
 in overcoming all fears, especially 
 the fear of death : the countryman 
 is happy in conversing with the 
 rural deities, in being free from 
 troubles, and the uneasy passions 
 of the mind. He lives on the fruits 
 of his own trees, without being 
 troubled with contentions, or law- 
 suits. 
 
 Rerum cognoscere causas.'\ Epi- 
 curus wrote thirty-seven books of 
 Natural Philosophy, which Dioge- 
 nes Laertius says were excellent: 
 Koti TO, (rvyy^df^uocTcc. fJt.iv 'E.TFix.ov^a ro- 
 c-ocvru, Koii rt/iXiKuvTct, uv ret /i'zXri^et jW 
 T«^s. Tli^t (pvcrwq, A^', &C. 
 
 491. ^tque metus omnes j &c.] 
 Epicurus, in his epistle to Menoe- 
 ceus, exhorts his friend to accus- 
 tom himself not to be concerned at 
 the thoughts of death: seeing all 
 good and evil consists in sensation 5 
 and death is a privation of sense: 
 
 ilvcci rov B'dvarov. iTTit zaSiv eiyu^ov KXt 
 
 a-iui, ^cimTog. In another place of 
 the same epistle he asks him who 
 can be a better man, than he that 
 thinks worthily of the gods, and 
 bears death without terror: 'Etts/, 
 rtvoi vof4,it,%i(; tivoti x^tirrevot rov )cxi "Tn^l 
 S-jSv oarioc do^ci^ovTog, xcii TTi^i ^etvciTOV 
 
 die&'^xvTos cc^oZwg i^ovTog. Lucretius 
 extols Epicurus for dispelling the 
 terrors of the mind, and removing 
 the fears of Acheron : 
 
 Tu pater, et rerum inventor : tu patria 
 
 nobis 
 Suppeditas praecepta : tuisque ex, inclute, 
 
 chartis, 
 Floriferis ut apes in saltibus omnia li- 
 
 mant. 
 Omnia nos itidem depascimur aurea 
 
 dicta, 
 Aurea perpetua semper dignissima vita. 
 Nam simul ac Ratio tua coepit vociferari 
 Naturam rerum haud Divina mente 
 
 coortam, 
 Diffugmnt Aiiimi terrores ; moenia mundi 
 Discedunt, totum video per inane geri 
 
 res. 
 Apparet divum numen,sedesque quietae : 
 Quas neque concutiunt venti, neque nu- 
 
 bila nimbis 
 Adspergunt, neque nix acri concrela 
 
 pruina 
 !2 E 
 
no 
 
 p. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 and the noise of greedy A- 
 Hap- 
 
 Subjecit pedibus, 
 avari ! 
 
 strepitumque Acherontis 
 
 » gr 
 chcron beneath his feet 
 py also is he, wlio has known 
 the rural gods, Pan, and old 
 i>yivanas, and the sister -^ -n i • • 
 
 nymphs! Him neither the Jj OrtUliatUS Ct lilc, deOS QUI HOVlt ao^resteS, 
 rods of the people, nor the ' T, E3 ' 
 
 purple of kings PanaquG, Sylvanumque senem, Nymphasque 
 
 sorores 
 
 Ilium non populi fasces, non purpura regum 495 
 
 Cana cadens violat ; sempeique innubilis 
 
 ffilher 
 Integit, et large difFuso lumine ridet. 
 Omnia suppeditat porro natura, neque 
 
 ulla 
 Res animi pacem delibrat tempore in 
 
 uUo. 
 At contra nusquam apparent Achcrusia 
 
 templa. 
 
 Thou, parent of philosophy ^ hast shown 
 The way to truth hy precepts of thy otvn : 
 For as from sweetest Jlow'rs the lab'ring 
 
 bee 
 Extracts her precious sweets, threat soul ! 
 
 from thee 
 We all our golden sentences derive; 
 Golden, and ft eternally to live. 
 For when I hear thy mighty reasons prove 
 This world was made without the pow'ra 
 
 alove ; 
 All fears and terrors waste, and fly apace; 
 Thro' parted heav'ns I see the mighty 
 
 space. 
 The rise of things, the gods, and happy 
 
 seats. 
 Which storm or vi'lent tempest never 
 
 beats, 
 Nor snow invades, hit with the purest air, 
 And gaudy light diffusd look gay and 
 
 fair: 
 There bounteous Nature makes supplies 
 
 for ease. 
 Their minds enjoy uninterrupted peace : 
 But that which senseless we so grossly 
 
 fear. 
 No hell, no sulph'rous lakes, no pools ap. 
 
 pear. 
 
 Creech. 
 
 Inexorahile.'] Pierius says it is 
 ineluctabile in the Roman manu- 
 script. 
 
 492. Strepitumque Acherontis 
 fli'orz.] In the King's and one 
 of Dr. Mead's manuscripts it is 
 sirepitusque. 
 
 Acheron is fabled to be one of 
 
 the rivers of hell ; and is put for 
 hell itself. 
 
 493. Fortunatus ei UIce.'] Here the 
 Poet compares the happiness, which 
 results from the innocence of a 
 country life, to that which is ob- 
 tained by philosophy. Cicero in 
 his treatise on old age says the 
 life of a husbandman approaches 
 very near to that of a philosopher : 
 " Mihi ad sapientis vitam proxime 
 '' videtur accedere." Columella 
 says it is nearly related to philoso- 
 phy : '^ Res rustica sine dubitatione 
 " proxima, et quasi consanguinea 
 *' sapientise est." 
 
 494. Panaque.'] Pan is the chief 
 of the rural deities. 
 
 Sylvanumque senemr\ See the 
 note on book i. ver. 20. 
 
 Nymphasque sorores.'] There were 
 several sorts of nymphs : the Naiads 
 presided over rivers j the Nereids 
 over seas ; the Oreads over moun- 
 tains ; the Dryads over woods, &c. 
 
 495. Populi fasces.'] The fasces 
 were bundles of birchen rods, in 
 the midst of which was placed an 
 axe, with the head appearing at the 
 top. They were the ensigns of au- 
 thority, and were carried before 
 the Roman magistrates. We learn 
 from Diogenes Laertius, that Epi- 
 curus avoided public offices out 
 of modesty : 'T5r«g€oA? y«g ixiuttuas, 
 611^1 TrehiTiUg Jj4'«to. Cicero also 
 seems to insinuate, that the Epi- 
 curean philosophy persuaded men 
 not to engage in public business: 
 " Nee ulla tamen ei philosophise 
 
jG^EORG. LIB. II. 
 
 211 
 
 Plexit, et infidos agitans discordia fratres ; 
 Aut conjurato descendeiis Dacus ab Istro: 
 Non res Romanae, perituraque regna : neque ille 
 
 has moved, iior the discord 
 that reigns between faithless 
 brothers; nor the Dacian de- 
 scending from the conspiring; 
 Ister; nor the affairs of Rome, 
 nor kingdoms doomed to 
 perish : nor has he 
 
 "' fiet injuria a nobis. Non enim 
 '' repelletur intle, quo aggredi cu- 
 '•^piet: sed in hortulis quiescet 
 *' suis, ubi vult ; ubi etiam recu- 
 ^* bans, molliter, et delicate, nos 
 *' avocat a rostrls, ajudiciis, a curia : 
 *' fortasse sapienter, hac praesertim 
 *' republica." Virgil observes, tiiat, 
 if this retirement from public af- 
 fairs is to be accounted a part of 
 happiness, the countryman enjoys 
 it abundantly. He does not seek 
 after mj'gistracies, nor courts; he 
 has nothing to do with discord, nor 
 concerns himself about foreign con- 
 spiracies. 
 
 497. Conjurato descendens Dacus 
 ab Istro.'l The Danube or Ister is 
 the largest river in Europe : several 
 different nations dwelling on its 
 banks. The ancients called this 
 river Danubius at its beginning, 
 and till it reaches lUyricum; but 
 below that, Ister. Virgil therefore 
 calls it the Ister with great pro- 
 priety, because the Dacians inhabit 
 the lower parts of it, not far from 
 its falling into the Euxine sea. 
 
 The Dacinns inhabited those 
 parts which are now called Tran- 
 sylvania, Moldavia, and Waliachia. 
 It is said, they had a custom of 
 filling their mouths with the water 
 of this river, before they undertook 
 any war, and swearing that they 
 would not return into their own 
 country, till they had slain their 
 enemies. Therefore Virgil calls it 
 the conspiring Ister, because the 
 Dacians were accustomed to con- 
 spire after this manner on the 
 banks of the river Ister. 
 
 498. Neque ille aut doluit miserans 
 inopem, aut invidit habenti.'\ Epicu- 
 rus placed a great happiness in 
 
 being free from perturbations of 
 the mind, of which pity and envy 
 are not the least. This happiness 
 the husbandman enjoys, for, in the 
 country, nature produces so many 
 necessaries of life, that there can 
 be no objects of pity; and his life 
 is so happy in itself, that he has no 
 temptation to envy any one. Ser- 
 vius, and after him most of the 
 commentators, take Virgil to speak 
 here of a Stoical apathy, in which 
 sense Dryden seems to have trans- 
 lated him : 
 
 Nor envies he the rich their heapy 
 store, 
 
 Nor his own peace distm-bs with pity 
 for the poor. 
 
 Virgil had no such ill-natured 
 meaning, nor Epicurus neither. 
 Epicurus might be against pity, so 
 far as it ruffled the mind and made 
 it uneasy: but he was far from 
 condemning it in the sense we fre- 
 quently use it, of relieving the 
 wants and necessities of our neigh- 
 bours. Diogenes Laertius tells us 
 that he was remarkable for piety 
 to his parents, kindness to his bro- 
 thers, gentleness to his servants, 
 and the best natured man in the 
 world : Ilgos revs yoviocg iv^ec^mct, ««' 
 ij zr^og rdvg ci^tX^ovg tVTFcitcc, -ss-^og r& 
 roifg otKiTxg *i^i^iTng .... Koe^lXtv ds « 
 -TcAg •TcdvTet.g etVTov ^iXecvB'^aTrici. It IS 
 not to be supposed that a man of 
 such a character could be backward 
 in supporting those who wanted 
 his assistance: nay the very con- 
 trary appears from the whole tenor 
 of his life. Seneca distinguishes 
 pity from clemency and good-na- 
 ture, and says it differs from them, 
 as superstition does from religion, 
 and is a mark of a vulgar mind : 
 2 E 2 
 
212 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 thTpooVf nm- SV^'envfed Aut dolult miserans inopem, aut invidit habenti. 
 
 the rich. He has gathered 
 
 suchasts^wnwiiiS"™ ^^^^ ^^^^ fiuctus, quos ipsa voleiitia rura 500 
 
 " Quemadmodum religiodeos colit, 
 '* superstitioviolat; ita cleinentiam 
 '^ mansuetudinemque omnes boni 
 " praestabunt, misericordiam autem 
 " vitabunt. Est enim vitiuni pu- 
 '' silli animi, ad speciem alienorum 
 '" malorum succidentis. Itaque pes- 
 *' simo cuique familiarissima est." 
 Thus Virgil does not suppose iiis 
 countryman obdurate to the cries 
 of the poor, but so happy as not to 
 see any of his neighbours so mise- 
 rable, as to be objects of con)pas- 
 sion. May has very justly trans- 
 lated this passage : 
 
 He sees no poor, whose miserable state 
 He suffers for. 
 
 Cowley speaks much to the same 
 purpose in his discourse of agri- 
 culture : '' There are as many ways 
 '* to be rich, and, which is better^ 
 " there is no possibility to be poor, 
 '' without such negligence as can 
 " have neither excuse nor pity ; 
 ** for a little ground will without 
 " question feed a little family, and 
 " the superfluities of life, which are 
 '' now in some cases by custom 
 '' made almost necessary, must be 
 " supplied out of the superabim- 
 *' dance of art and industry, or con- 
 '' temned by as great a degree of 
 " philosophy." 
 
 500. Quos ramifructus, &c.] No 
 man's memory has been more tra- 
 duced than that of Epicurus. He 
 has been represented as a person 
 wholly given up to luxury and in- 
 temperance. His name is become 
 a proverb, to express a voluptuous 
 person, whose whole pleasure was 
 in eating and drinking. And yet it 
 is certain that he was a great pr»t- 
 tern of temperance, and recom- 
 mended it to his followers. Dio- 
 
 genes Laertius informs us that he 
 was contented with bread and wa- 
 ter, and, when he had a mind to 
 gratify his appetite, he added a 
 piece of cheese : Ayro; ts (p/jr*!* ev rxig 
 
 KV^^idl6V, iV oTeiv (iovXcifAXi, TToXVTlXi- 
 
 G-xahcci dvva^xi. Epicurus iiimself, 
 in his epistle to Menoeceus, says, 
 that when he speaks of pleasure he 
 does not mean the pleasures of the 
 voluptuous and intemperate, as 
 some have misinterpreted him : 
 but tranquillity of mind and a body 
 void of pain. Not eating, says he, 
 and drinking, not venereal enjoy- 
 ments, not a luxurious table, procure 
 a pleasant life, but sober reasoning, 
 which searches into the causes why 
 somethingsare to be chosen, others to 
 be rejected, and explodes those opi- 
 nionswhich tend todisturbthe mind: 
 
 "Otccv evv Xiya>fCi9 iiddvh TeAa? V'^ee^^m, 
 Of rag tcov oia'anon nioovceg, kui Totg rat iv 
 aTToXxva-ii mi^iyxg hiyouiv, ag ring uy- 
 voovirig y.ai ov^ ofioXoyovvra it x-xxag 
 hc^t^i^ivoi vof^i^ovo-d, uXXa to f4))Ts u.X- 
 yuv y.cx.ra (rafAcc, ^Y,ri rcc^ccrres-B^xi Kccru, 
 '4^y%>5*'- *y y^S. "^oroi y.xi x,afioi a-vmpoi- 
 riq, ciy uToXxi/a-iig vai'huv xmi yvixiKtUr, 
 ov^ i^^vui x.xi rZv (ih'hcav 'o(rx ^'i^u 
 TCoXvTiXhg r^XTit,cA, rov »i2v> yivtec ^of, 
 ecX>^ec, v>i(pai Xcyia-fMg, icxi rxg ulrixg 
 i%l^ivmi 7rci(rr,g xl^i<ri6)g x.xi (Pvytig, kx] 
 rag 2o^xg l^iXxvuofr, el<p' &>v TtXu^og rxg 
 "^v^^ug x.xrxXxuox*u ^d^vZcg. \ Irgil 
 savs his countryman enjoys these 
 frugal blessings of temperance: he 
 live^ upon the fruits of his own 
 trees, and what nature produces all 
 around him. This Cowley calls 
 being a true Epicure : 
 
 When Epicurus to the world had taught. 
 That pleasure was the chiefest good. 
 
GEORG. LIB. II. 
 
 Sponte tulere sua, carpsit : nee ferrea jura, 
 Insanumque forum, aut populi tabularia vidit. 
 SoUicitant alii remis treta caeca, ruuntque 
 In ferrum ; penetrant aulas et limina regum : 
 Hie petit exeidiis urbem, miserosque Penates, 
 Ut gemma bibat, et Sarrano indormiat ostro. 506 
 
 '2Vi 
 
 have yielded spontaneously : 
 nor has he seen the hardships 
 of the law, and the mad 
 Forum, or the courts of the 
 people. Some trouble tiie 
 blind seas with oars, rush into 
 war, and penetrate the courts 
 and palaces of kings. One 
 seeks to ruin cities and mise- 
 rable families, that he may 
 drink in gems, and sleep on 
 Sarran scarlet. 
 
 And was perhaps i' th' right, if rightly 
 
 understood. 
 His life he to his doctrine brought. 
 And in a garden's shade that sovereign 
 
 pleasure sought. 
 Whoever a tnie Epictcre vtrould be. 
 May there find cheap, and virtuous lux- 
 
 urie. 
 
 502. Tabularia?^ The Tahula- 
 rium was a place at Rome, where 
 the public records were kept. 
 
 503. SoUicitant alii, &c.] In this 
 passage the Poet shews the prefer- 
 ence of agriculture to the several 
 employments and desires of men. 
 
 506. Sarrano.'] Tyre was an- 
 ciently called Sarra. Servius says 
 it had its name from the fish Sar, 
 with which it abounds. " Sarrano 
 '^ dormiat ostro. Tyria purpura. 
 " Quae enim nunc Tyros dicitur, 
 " olim Sarra vocabatur, a pisce 
 " quodam, qui illic abundat ; quem 
 " lingua sua Sar appellant." Bo- 
 chart observes, that Servius is ge- 
 nerally mistaken in his Phoenician 
 etymologies. He derives Sarra from 
 the Hebrew name "njf Tsor, by 
 which Tyre is called in the holy 
 Scriptures. He thinks Servius had 
 read in Trogus, that Sidon had its 
 name from a fish, and, by a slip of 
 his memory, had said that of Tyre, 
 which he had read of Sidon : " Vir- 
 *' giliivetusScholiastes scholiis suis 
 *' Punica quaedam interspergit, sed 
 '' pleraque pessimse notae. Tale 
 " illud in lib. 2. Georg. Quce nunc 
 " Tyrus dicitur, olim Sarra vocaba- 
 " tur, a pisce quodam qui illic abun- 
 " dai, quem lingua sua Sar appellant. 
 " Verum quidem est Romanos ve- 
 
 teres pro Tyro dixisse Sarram. 
 Ita in Gellio legitur, et in Festo, 
 et in Paulo : et in Fragmentis 
 lE,nnu, Pcenos Sarra oriundos. Un- 
 de est quod pro Tyrio poeta dixit 
 Sarranum ostrum ; et Juvenalis 
 SarraHa aulcEa ; et Silius, lib. 6. 
 Sarranam Junonem, et Sarranam 
 ccedem; et lib. J. Sarranum navi- 
 tarn ; et lib. 8. Sarrana numina ; 
 et lib. 9- Sarranum fiomen, et Sar- 
 ranam manum; etlib. 11. Sarrana 
 castra ; et lib. 15. Sarranum muri- 
 cem ; et lib. 3. Sarranam Leptin ; 
 et Columella Sarranam violam, id 
 est purpuream, quia purpura e 
 Tyro ; et fortasse apud Stepha- 
 num <^oivimg TriXig 'Zd^ec, unde 
 gentile llai^uvog, id ipsum erat 
 Graecis quod Romanis Sarra et 
 Sarranus. ILa^u saltern plurimum 
 accedit ad Hebraeum ^iljf Tsar, 
 quo nomine Tyrum appellant sa- 
 cri Scriptores, sed piscis &ar, unde 
 Sarra, si quidem Servio fides, non 
 extat ullibi gentium, Et Sarrae 
 nomen deduci notum est ex He- 
 braeo Tyri nomine ydL Tsor ; in 
 quo literam tsade, quae medii 
 ' est soni inter T et S Graeci in T 
 mutarunt et Romani in S. Ita 
 factum ut ex eodem ^IIK et Tyga^ 
 nasceretur et Sarra. Sed Ser- 
 vium verisimile est, cum alicubi 
 legisset quod in Trogo habetur, 
 Sidonem a pisce dici, titubante 
 memoria id de Tyro scripsisse 
 quod de Sidone legerat. Non 
 ' dispari errore Origenes Tyrus, 
 ' inquit, apud Hebrceos sonat idem 
 ' quod nobis venantes. Imo Tyrus 
 
214 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 Another hides his riches, and 
 broods over buried gold. An- 
 other is struck with astonish- 
 ment at the rostra: another 
 is smitten with tiie double ap- 
 plause of senators and ple- 
 beians in the theatre: others 
 rejoice in spilling their bro- 
 ther's blood. 
 
 Condit opes alius, defossoque incubat auro. 
 
 Hie stupet attonitus rostris : hunc plausus hi- 
 
 antem 
 Per cuneos, geminatus 
 
 trumque 
 
 Corripuit : gaudent perfusi sanguine fratrum, 
 
 enim, plebisque, pa- 
 509 
 
 " rupem sonat; sed Sidon vel a 
 ^' venatione vel a piscatione dici- 
 '• tur." 
 
 Indormiat.^ I follow Heinsius, 
 Ruseus, and Masvicius. All the 
 manuscripts whicli I have collated, 
 Servius, La Cerda, Schrevelius, and 
 most of the editors, read dormiat. 
 
 538. Hie stupet attonitus rostris.'] 
 This seems not to be spoken of the 
 orators themselves, but of their 
 hearers, who are struck with asto- 
 nishment at the force of their elo- 
 quence. Though the Poet may 
 mean also, that this admiring of 
 eloquence may stir up in them a 
 vehement desire of becoming ora- 
 tors. Dryden has made Virgil use 
 abusive language on this occasion : 
 
 Some patriot fools to popular praise 
 
 aspire 
 Of public speeches which worse fools 
 
 admire. 
 
 Mr. B- 
 
 makes the astonishment 
 relate wholly to the orator himself: 
 
 He in the Rostrum lifts to heaven his 
 
 eyes, 
 Amaz'd, confounded, speechless with 
 
 surprise. 
 
 But why the orator should be af- 
 fected in such a manner, I must 
 own myself at a loss to compre- 
 hend. Dr. Trnpp seems to under- 
 stand this expression of the Poet in 
 the same sense with me : 
 
 That doats with fondness on the Ros- 
 trum's fame. 
 
 Hunc plausus, &c.] This is ge- 
 nerally understood to be meant of 
 
 dramatic Poets, who are ambitious 
 of a general applause of the whole 
 audience. The Patricians and Ple- 
 beians had their different seats nr 
 boxes in the Roman theatre, which, 
 being extended from the centre to 
 the circumference, wereconsequent- 
 ly narrower at the centre, like so 
 many wedges, whence they were 
 called cunei. See the note on ver. 
 381. Virgil's expression seems to 
 mean the same as if we should now 
 say, others are fond of a general 
 applause from the pit, boxes, and 
 galleries. 
 
 509" Geminatus.'] Pierius found 
 geminatus in the Roman, Medicean, 
 Lombard, and other ancient manu- 
 scripts. It is the same in all the 
 manuscripts, which I have collated, 
 and in most printed editions. Some 
 read geminatur ; others gem'mantur. 
 510. Gaudent perfusi sanguine 
 fratrum.] In the old Nurenberg 
 edition it is patrum. 
 
 We have a passage not much 
 unlike this in Lucretius; 
 
 Sanguine civili rem conflant: divitias- 
 
 que 
 Conduplicant avidi, caedem caedi accu- 
 
 mulantes : 
 Crudeles gaudent in tristi funere fratris : 
 Et consanguineum mensas odere, ti- 
 
 mentque. 
 By civil wars endeavour to get more ,• 
 And, doubling murders, double their vast 
 
 store ; 
 Laugh o'er their brothers* grareSf and 
 
 tirn'rous guests 
 All hate, and dread iJieir nearest kinsmen^s 
 
 feasts. 
 
 Creech. 
 
GEORG. LIB. II. 
 
 215 
 
 Exilioque domos et dulcia limina mutant ; 
 Atque alio patriam quaerunt sub sole jacentem. 
 Agricola incurvo terram dimovit aratro : 
 Hinc anni labor : hinc patriam, parvosque nc- 
 
 potes 
 Sustinet ; hinc armenta bourn, nieritosque ju-. 
 
 vencos. 515 
 
 Nee requies, quin aut pomis exuberet annus, 
 Aut foetu pecorum, aut Cerealis mergite culmi: 
 Proventuque oneret sulcos, atque horrea vincat. 
 Venit hyems, teritur Sicyonia bacca trapetis, 
 Glande sues laeti redunt, dant arbuta sylvge : 520 
 Et varios ponit foetus autumnus, et alte 
 Mitis in apricis coquitur vindemia saxis. 
 Interea dulces pendent circum oscula nati : 
 
 and change tlicir habitations 
 ami dear houses for txile, and 
 seek countries lying under 
 anotlier sun. The husband- 
 man stirs the earth with his 
 crooked plough; hence the 
 labour of the year, hence he 
 sustains his country and small 
 family ; hence his herds of 
 kine, and deserving bullocks. 
 Nor is there any intermission, 
 but the stason abounds either 
 with fruit, or young cattle, 
 or sheaves of corn ; and loads 
 the furrows v^iih increase; 
 and bursts the barns. Win- 
 ter comes; and the Sicyonian 
 berry is pounded in mills, the 
 swine come home full of mast, 
 the woods yield arbutes; and 
 autumn supplies various fruits, 
 and the mild vintage is ripen- 
 ed on the open hills. In the 
 mean time his sweet children 
 hang about his neck ; 
 
 513. Agricola incurvo, &c.] In 
 opposition to all these vexations 
 and solicitudes the Poet tells us 
 thehusbandnaan has only the labour 
 of ploughing, which supports his 
 country and his own family. And, 
 to recompense his labours, there is 
 no part of the year which does not 
 produce something to his benefit. 
 To crown all, he tells us he is happy 
 in a virtuous wife and dear chil- 
 dren ; he is delighted with the sight 
 of his cattle; and diverts himself 
 with rural sports on holy-days. 
 
 514. Nepotes.'] La Cerda reads 
 Penates. 
 
 519. ^enit hyems.'] Mr. B 
 
 will have hyems, in this place, not 
 to signify the winter, but a storm. 
 The time of gathering olives is in 
 winter. Columella says the middle 
 time of gathering them is the 
 beginning of December: '* Media 
 *' est olivitas plerumque initium 
 " mensis Decembris." The same 
 author places the beginning of win- 
 ter on the ninth of November : 
 " Quinto Idus Novembris hyemis 
 
 " initium." Palladius places the 
 making of oil under November. 
 
 Sicyonia bacca.'^ Sicyon was a 
 city of Achaia, not far from the 
 Peloponnesian Isthmus. It was 
 famous for olives : whence he calls 
 the olive the Sicyonian berry. Thus 
 Ovid : 
 
 Quot Sicyon baccas, quot parit Hybla 
 favos : 
 
 And 
 
 Aut ut olivifera quondam Sicyone fu- 
 gato. 
 
 Trapetisr\ The olive mill is de- 
 scribed by Cato, in the twentieth 
 and twenty-second chapters of his 
 book of Husbandry. 
 
 520. Arbuta.'] See the note on 
 ver. 148. of the first Georgick. 
 
 522, Apricis saxis.] See the note 
 on ver. 377- 
 
 523. Interea pendent dulces circum 
 oscula nati] This seems to be put 
 in opposition to those, whom he 
 mentioned before to be punished 
 with banishment from their fami- 
 lies: 
 
216 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 his chaste family preserve 
 their Diodesty; his cows trail 
 their milky udders; and his 
 fat kids butt at each other 
 with their horns on the ver- 
 dant gtiiss. The farmer him- 
 self celebrates the festivai 
 days, and extended on the 
 grass, whilst the fire burns in 
 the midst, and his companions 
 crown the goblet, makes the 
 libation, and invokes thee, O 
 Leneus, and places a mark on 
 an elm, for the herdsmen to 
 throw their swiit javelins; and 
 strips their hardy bodies, for 
 wresllinjr in the rustic ring. 
 This life the ancient Sabines 
 formerly led, this Remus and 
 his brotlier led ; thus strong 
 Etrnria grew, 
 
 Casta pudicitiam servat domus : ubera vaccae 
 Lactea demittunt ; pinguesque in gramine laeto 
 Inter se adversis luctantur cornibus hoedi. 526 
 Ipse dies agitat festos ; fususque per herbam, 
 Ignis ubi in medio, et socii cratera coronant, 
 Te libans, Lenaee, vocat, pecorisque magistris 
 Velocis jaculi certamina ponit in ulmo ; 530 
 Corporaque agresti nudat praedura palaestra. 
 Hanc olim veteres vitam coluere Sabini ; 
 Hanc Remus et frater: sic fortis Etruria crevit; 
 
 Exilioque domos, et dulcia limina mu- 
 tant. 
 
 Lucretius has something like this, 
 in his third book : 
 
 At jam non domus accipiet te laeta, ne- 
 
 que uxor 
 Optima, nee dulces occurrent oscula nati 
 Prseripere, et tacita pectus dulcedine 
 
 tangent. 
 
 524. Casta pudiciliam servat do- 
 mus.'] This is opposed to the fre- 
 quent adulteries, which are com- 
 mitted in cities. 
 
 525. Pinguesque.'] In one of Dr. 
 Mearl's manuscripts que is left out. 
 
 528. Cratera coronal.] This may 
 be understood either of crowning 
 the goblet with flowers, or filling 
 it with wine to the briai. This is 
 plainly meant by Virgil as a solemn 
 adoration of Bacchus : but Dryden 
 represents them as drinking the 
 farmer's health : 
 
 The hearth is in the midst ; the herds- 
 men round 
 
 The cheerful fire, provoke his health in 
 goblets crown'd. 
 
 531. NudaL] Pierius says it is 
 nudant in the Roman, the Medi- 
 cean, and other very ancient manu- 
 scripts. It is nudant in the King's, 
 the Bodleian, and in one of Dr. 
 jMead's manuscripts: but nudat is 
 more generally received. 
 
 532. Hanc olim, &c.] Having 
 shewn the advantages and delights 
 of husbandry; he concludes this se- 
 cond Georgick, with observing that 
 this was the life which their glo- 
 rious ancestors led ; that this was 
 the employment of Saturn, in the 
 golden age, before mankind were 
 grown wicked, and had learned the 
 art of war. 
 
 Veteres Sabini.] The Sabines 
 were an ancient people of Italy, 
 near Rome. They were famous 
 for religion anti virtue : and are 
 thought by some to derive their 
 name «7ro t» oiQio-^xi, from rt'orship- 
 ping. Thus Pliny: "Sabini, ut 
 " quidam existimavere, a religione 
 " et deorum cultu Sebini appellati." 
 It is customary with the Poets to 
 compare a chaste, virtuous, matron, 
 to the Sabine women. Thus Ho- 
 race: 
 
 Quod si pudica mulier in partem juvans 
 Domum, atque dulces liberos; 
 
 Sabina qualis, aut perusta solibus 
 Pernicis uxor Appuli. 
 
 But if a wife, more chaste than fair ^ 
 Such as t/ie ancient Sabines tcerc. 
 Such as the broiien Apulian dame, 
 Of mocf rate face, and hoiiat fume. 
 
 Creech. 
 
 523. Hanc Bevius etfraier.] Ro- 
 mulus and Remus, when they un- 
 dertook to found their new city. 
 
GEOHG. LIB. II. 
 
 ^217 
 
 Scilicet et rerum facta est pulcherrima Roma, '^•"* '""* '^^^"'^ ^^^""'^ '^^ 
 
 most glorious of things, 
 
 Rome, were joined by a great num- 
 ber of shepherds, according to Livy: 
 '* Ita Numitori Albana permissa re, 
 *' Romulum Remumque cupido 
 *' cepit, in lis locis ubi expositi, 
 " ubique educati erant, urbis con- 
 *' dendae : et supererat multitudo 
 *' Albanorum Latinorumque : ad id 
 " pastores quoque accesserant, qui 
 " omnes facile spern facerent, par- 
 *' vam Albam, parvum Lavinium, 
 " prse ea urbe quae conderetur fore." 
 They were educated themselves 
 amongst the shepherds, and were 
 employed in tending the sheep, 
 according to the same author: 
 " Tenet fama, cumN fluitantem al- 
 " veum, quo expositi erant pueri, 
 *' tenuis in sicco aqua destituisset, 
 "' lupam sitientem, ex montibus qui 
 " circa sunt, ad puerilem vagitum 
 *' cursum flexisse : earn summissas 
 " infantibus adeo mitem praebuisse 
 '' mammas, ut lingua lambentem 
 '^ pueros magister regii pecoris in- 
 '^ venerit. Faustulo fuisse nomen 
 *^ferunt5 ab eo ad stabula Lau- 
 *' rentise uxori educandos datos . . . 
 " Cum primum adolevit aetas, nee 
 " in stabulis, nee ad pecora segnes, 
 " venando peragrare circa saltus, 
 *' hinc robore et corporibus animis- 
 " quesumto,jam non feras tantum 
 " subsistere, sed in latrones praeda 
 *' onustos impetum facere, pastori- 
 " busque rapta dividere." 
 
 Sic fortis Etruria crevit.'] Etru- 
 ria, or Tuscany, was bounded on 
 the north and west by the Apen- 
 nines, by the mare inferum, or 
 Tyrrhene sea, on the south, and by 
 the river Tyber on the east. The 
 Etrurians are said to have extended 
 their dominion from the Alps to the 
 Sicilian sea, whence the sea, wliich 
 washes that coast of Italy, obtained 
 the name of the Tyrrhene, or Tus- 
 can sea. 
 
 534!. Facta est pulcherrima Roma.] 
 The ancient Romans were greatly 
 addicted to husbandry, and are 
 known to have had that art in the 
 greatest esteem. Cato mentions, 
 as an instance of this, that they 
 thought they could not bestow a 
 greater praise on any good man, 
 than calling him a good husband- 
 man : '' Et virum bonum cum lau- 
 '' dabant, ita laudabant, bonum 
 " Agricolam, bonumque colonum. 
 " Amplissime laudari existimaba- 
 " tur, qui ita laudabatur." Cicero, 
 in his oration for Sextus Roscius, 
 observes, that their ancestors, by 
 diligently following agriculture, 
 brought the Commonwealth to the 
 flourishing condition in which it 
 then was: " Etenim, qui praeesse 
 " agro colendoflagitiumputes, pro- 
 " fecto ilium Atilium, quem sua 
 " manu spargentem semen, qui 
 " missi erant, convenerunt, homi- 
 '' nem turpissimum, atque inhones- 
 " tissimura judicares. At h rcule 
 " majores nostri longe aliter et de 
 " illo, et de caeteris talibus viris 
 " existimabant. Itaque ex mifiima, 
 " tenuissimaque Republica maximam 
 *' et jlorentissimam nobis reliquerunt. 
 '' Suos enim agros studiose cole- 
 " bant : non alienos cupide appe- 
 '* tebant: quibus rebus, et agris, et 
 " urbibus, et nationibus, rempub- 
 " licam atque hoc imperiwji, et 
 '" Populi Romani nomen auxeruntJ* 
 Columella observes, that Quintius 
 Cincinnatus, who was called from 
 the plough to the Dictatorship, laid 
 down his ensigns of authority with 
 greater joy than he took them up, 
 and returned to his bullocks, and 
 little hereditary farm of four acres : 
 that C- Fabritius, and Curius Den- 
 tatus, of whom one had driven 
 Pyrrhus out of Italy, and the other 
 had subdued the Sabines, cultivated 
 2f 
 
218 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 hufs^uhTS^^A^fo before Septemque una sibi muro circumdedit arces. 
 
 the reign of the Dictaean king, a / >• , t-v ,•-!-»• 
 
 and before the impious age Ante ctiam sceptrum Jjictaii Keffis, et ante 
 
 feasted upon slain bullocks, , ■" _ ° 
 
 Impia quam caesis gens est epulata juvencis, 
 
 the seven acres, which they shared 
 with the rest of the people, with a 
 diligence, equal to the valour by 
 which they had obtained them : 
 that the true offspring of Romulus 
 were hardened by rural labour, to 
 bear the fatigues of war, when their 
 country called for their aid j and 
 that they chose their soldiers out 
 of the country rather than out of 
 the city : " Verum cum plurimis 
 '' monumentis scriptorum admo- 
 *' near, apud antiquos nostros fuisse 
 " gloriae curam rusticationis, ex qua 
 " Quintius Cincinnatus, obsessi 
 " Consulis et exercitus liberator, ab 
 '' aratro vocatus ad Dictaturam 
 " venerit, ac rursus, fascibus de- 
 *' positis, quos festinantius victor 
 " reddiderat, quam sumpserat Im- 
 " perator, ad eosdem juvencos, et 
 " quatuorjugerum avitum haeredio- 
 ** lum redierit. Itemque C. Fabri- 
 ^' cius, et Curius Dentatus, alter 
 '' Pyrrho finibus Italiae pulso, do- 
 " mitis alter Sabinis, accepta quae 
 *' viritim dividebantur captivi agri, 
 '^ septem jugera non minus indus- 
 " trie coluerit, quam fortiter armis 
 '' quaesierat .... At mehercule vera 
 " ilia Romuli proles assiduis vena- 
 " tibus, nee minus agrestibus operi- 
 " bus exercitata,firmissimis praeva- 
 *^ luit corporibus, ac militiam belli, 
 "^ cum res postulavit, facile susti- 
 *' nuit, durata pacis laboribus, sem- 
 •' perquerusticaraplebem praeposuit 
 '' urbanae." Pliny observes that 
 Italy produced a greater quantity 
 of corn in former ages, which he 
 ascribes to the lands being culti- 
 vated by the hands of generals ; 
 and ploughmen who had triumphed: 
 *' Quaenam ergo tantae ubertatis 
 '' causa erat? Ipsorum tunc mani- 
 
 *' bus Imperatorumcolebantur agri, 
 " ut fas est credere, gaudente terra 
 '' vomere laureate, et triumphali 
 " aratore : sive illi eadem cura se- 
 " mina tractabant, qua bella, ea- 
 '' demque diligentia arva dispone- 
 " bant, qua castra : sive honestis 
 '* mani bus omnia laetius proveniunt, 
 " quoniam et curtosius fiunt." 
 
 535. Septemque una sibi muro cir- 
 cumdedit arcesf\ In some editions 
 it is septem quce. 
 
 '' The seven hills of Rome, which 
 '* were inclosed within one wall, 
 " were, the Palatinus, now Palazzo 
 " maggiore; the Quirinalis, now 
 " monte Cavallo ; the Coelius, now 
 " monte di S. Giovanni Later ano j 
 " the Capitolinus, now Campidoglio ; 
 '' the Aventinus, now monte di S. 
 '' Sahina ; the Esquilinus, now mon- 
 '' te di S. Maria maggiore; and the 
 " Viminalis ; to which seven were 
 '' added the Janiculus, now Monto- 
 '' rio, and the Vatican.'' Ru^us. 
 
 5SQ, DictcEi Regis.'] Dicte is the 
 name of a mountain of Crete, where 
 Jupiter was educated, and on which 
 a temple was built in honour of 
 him. Hence the Poet calls Jupiter 
 the Dictaean king. 
 
 537. CcEsis juvencis.] In the first 
 ages it was thought unlawful to slay 
 their oxen, because they assisted 
 mankind in tilling the ground. 
 Thus Cicero : " Quid de bobus lo- 
 " quar ? quibus cum terras subige- 
 '^ rentur fissione glebarum, ab illo 
 " aureo genere, ut Poetae loquuntur, 
 " vis nunquam uUa afferebatur/' 
 Varro says it was anciently made 
 a capital crime to kill an ox : " Hie 
 '' socius hominum in rustico opere, 
 " et Cereris minister. Ab hoc an- 
 '' tiqui man us ita abstineri volue- 
 
GEORG. LIB. II. 
 
 219 
 
 Aureus banc vitam in terris Saturnus agebat. 
 Necdum etiam audierant inflari classica, necdum 
 Impositos duris crepitare incudibus enses. 540 
 Sed nos immensum spatiis confecimus aequor ; 
 Et jam tempus equum fumantia solvere colla. 
 
 golden Saturn led this life 
 upon earth. They had not 
 then heard the warlike sound 
 of the trumpet, nor the clat- 
 tering of swords upon hard 
 anvils. But we have now run 
 our course over a vast plain, 
 and it is now time to release 
 the smoking necks of our 
 horses. 
 
 " runt ut capite sanxerint, siquis 
 " occidisset :" and Columella also 
 says that oxen Were so esteemed 
 among the ancients, that it was 
 held as capital a crime to kill an 
 ox, as to slay a citizen: " Cujus 
 " tanta fuit apud antiquos venera- 
 *' tio, ut tarn capitale esset bovem 
 " necasse, quam civem." Virgil 
 seems in this place to have imitated 
 Aratus, who says that in the brazen 
 age men first began to form the 
 mischievous sword, and to eat the 
 labouring oxen : 
 
 AXX' on Jm xaKiiivot iTi9-vecfa,v, 0/ S* tycytfyr*, 
 KakKtin ytvti), zf^ori^uv oXourt^ei cLv^ptSt 
 Ot 'Sf^uTOi KKKei^yov i;^eiX;^iViravTo fitty^eti- 
 
 "EhoVtm, zst^urei Ti (ioav i^dffavr a^orfi^ui. 
 
 538. Aureus Saturnus.'] The 
 golden age was fabled to have 
 been under the government of Sa- 
 turn. This age terminated with the 
 expulsion of Saturn by Jupiter. 
 
 541. Spatiis.'] See the note on 
 book i. ver. 513. 
 
 542. Fumantia.] Pierius says it 
 is spumantia in the Roman, and 
 other manuscripts. 
 
 2f2 
 
p. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 GEORGICORUM 
 
 LIBER TERTIUS 
 
 J. E quoque, mafftia Pales, et te memorande, Thee also, o great Paies.wiii 
 
 T^ tL ' o ' I sing, and thee O shepherd 
 
 „„^^,„„^ ' memorable by Amphrysus : 
 
 CanemUS, ye woods and rivers of Ly- 
 
 c£ens. Other poems, which 
 
 Pastor ab Amphryso: vos, sylvae, amnesque have employed idle minds, 
 
 Lycaei. 
 Caetera, quae vacuas tenuissent carmina mentes, 
 
 1. Te quoqtie, &c.] The Poet, 
 intending to make cattle the subject 
 of his third book, unfolds his de- 
 sign, by saying he will sing of 
 Pales, the goddess of shepherds 3 of 
 Apollo, who fed the herds of Ad- 
 metus on the banks of Amphrysus ; 
 and of the woods and rivers of Ly- 
 caeus, a mountain of Arcadia, famous 
 for sheep. He then shews a con- 
 tempt of the fabulous Poems, the 
 subjects of which he says are all 
 trite and vulgar, and hopes to soar 
 above the Greek Poets. 
 
 Pales is the goddess of shepherds. 
 The feast called Palllia, in which 
 milk was offered to her, was cele- 
 brated on the twentieth of April, 
 on which day also Rome was 
 founded by Romulus. 
 
 2. Pastor ah Amphryso.'] Am- 
 phrysus is a river of Thessaly, 
 where Apollo fed the herds of 
 kini^ Admetus. 
 
 Lyco'i.'] Lycaeus is a mountain 
 
 of Arcadia, famous for sheep, and 
 sacred to Pan, being accounted one 
 of his habitations. 
 
 3. Caetera, quce vacuas tenuissent 
 carmina mentes, omnia jam vulgata.'] 
 " Though I do not dislike carmina, 
 " yet in some manuscripts it is car- 
 '* mine, in the ablative case. For 
 " he does not mean that other 
 ^' poems are now grown common, 
 '' but all other subjects, which 
 " might be treated in verse, and 
 '^ are the usual themes of poets. 
 " What these are he immediately 
 '■' recites." Pierius. 
 
 Fulvius Ursinus observes, that 
 Virgil alludes to particular authors, 
 who had treated severally of these 
 fables. Homer has related the fa- 
 ble of Eurystheus in the eighteenth 
 Iliad. The Busiris of Mnesima- 
 chus is quoted in the ninth book of 
 Athenaeus. Theocritus has spoken 
 of Hylas; Callimachus is referred 
 to in Latonia Deles, and the first 
 
p. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 are now all become common. Omnia inm viilcflta 
 Who js unacquainted with V^Hinia jam VUJgaia. 
 
 durum, 
 Aut illaudati nescit Busiridis aras ? 
 
 cruel Euryslheus, or does not 
 know the altars of the ex- 
 ecrable Busiris! 
 
 Quis^ aut Eurysthea 
 
 Olympic ode of Pindar is to be un- 
 derstood by the mention of Hippo- 
 damia and Pelops. 
 
 4. Omnia jam vulgata.'] In the 
 Bodleian, and in one of Dr. Mead's 
 manuscripts, it is omnia sunt vul- 
 gata, 
 
 Eurysthea durum.'] Pierius says 
 some would read dirum, but durum 
 is the true reading. Dr. Trapp 
 however has translated these words, 
 Eurystheus dire. 
 
 Eurystheus the son of Sthenekis 
 was king of Mycenae, and, at the 
 instigation of Juno, imposed on 
 Hercules his twelve famous labours, 
 which he hoped would have over- 
 powered him. 
 
 5. Illaudati Busiridis aras,] Bu- 
 siris is generally said to have been 
 the son of Neptune, king of Egypt, 
 and a most cruel tyrant. He used 
 to sacrifice strangers, but Hercules 
 overcame him, and sacrificed both 
 him and his son on the same altars. 
 Diodorus Siculus tells us, that this 
 cruelty of Busiris was a fable in- 
 vented by the Greeks, but grounded 
 on a custom practised by the Egyp- 
 tians of sacrificing red-haired people 
 to the manes of that king, because 
 Typhon, who slew him, was of that 
 colour. Sir Isaac Newton makes 
 Busiris to be the same with Sesac, 
 Sesostris, and the great Bacchus ; 
 and adds, that " the Egyptians be- 
 " fore his reign called him their 
 " Hero or Hercules: and after his 
 " death, by reason of his great 
 " works done to the river Nile, de- 
 *' dicated that river to him, and 
 " deified him by its names Sihor, 
 " Nilus, and Egyplusj and the 
 " Greeks hearing them lament 
 " JSihor, Bou Sihor, called him Osi- 
 
 '* ris and Busiris.*' The same great 
 author places the end of his reign 
 upon the fifth year of Asa, Q56 years 
 before Christ. Eratosthenes, as he 
 is quoted by Strabo, affirms not only 
 that this sacrificing of strangers was 
 a fable, but that there never was a 
 king or tyrant named Busiris. 
 
 In the next place let us consider 
 the objection which the ancient 
 grammarians have made to the use 
 of the word illaudati in this place. 
 Aulus Gellius tells us they said it 
 was a very improper word, and not 
 strong enough to express the detest- 
 ation of so wicked a person, who, 
 because he used to sacrifice strangers 
 of all nations, was not only unwor- 
 thy of praise, but ought to be de- 
 tested and cursed by all mankind : 
 '' Nonnulli Grammatici aetatis su- 
 '^ perioris, in quibus est Cornutus 
 '' Annaeus, baud sane indocti neque 
 " ignobiles, qui commentaria in Vir- 
 '* gilium composuerunt, .... illau- 
 " dati parum idoneum esse verbum 
 " dicunt, neque id satis esse ad fa- 
 " ciendam scelerati hominis detes- 
 " tationem : qui quod hospites om- 
 '' nium gentium immolare solitus 
 '' fuit, non laude indignus, sed de- 
 " testatione, execrationeque totius 
 '' generis humani dignus esset." 
 Aulus Gellius vindicates the use of 
 this word two different ways. In 
 the first place he says, hardly any 
 man is so profligate, as not some- 
 times to do or say something which 
 is praiseworthy : and therefore one 
 who cannot be praised at all must 
 be a most wicked wretch. He adds, 
 that, as to be without blame is the 
 highest pitch of virtue, so to be 
 without praise is the greatest degree 
 of wickedness. He proves from 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 223 
 
 Cui non dictus Hylas puer, et Latonia Delos? Ks^an^L^ry^foS?^ 
 
 Homer, that the greatest praises 
 are contained in words exclusive of 
 imperfection, and therefore that a 
 term which excludes praise is the 
 most proper that can be found for 
 blaming or censuring. He observes 
 also, that Epicurus expressed the 
 greatest pleasure by a privation of 
 pain, and that Virgil in like man- 
 ner called the Stygian lake inama- 
 bilis : for as illaudalus signifies a 
 privation of all praise, so inamabilis 
 expresses a privation of all love. 
 *' De illaudato autem duo videntur 
 '' responderi posse. Unum est ejus- 
 " modi ; nemo quisquam tam eiFeris 
 *' est moribus, quin faciat aut dicat 
 " nonnunquam aliquid quod lau- 
 " dari queat. Unde hie antiquis- 
 '' simus versus vice proverbii cele- 
 '* bratus est, 
 
 " itvrty. 
 
 " sed enim qui omni in re atque 
 *' omni tempore laude omni vacat, 
 '' is illaudatus est : isque omnium 
 *' pessimus deterrimusque est : sic- 
 '' uti omnis culpae privatio incul- 
 *' patum facit. Inculpatus autem 
 " instar est absolutae virtutis : illau- 
 *' datus igitur quoque finis est cx- 
 *' tremae malitiae. Itaque Homerus 
 *' non virtutibus appellandis, sed 
 *' vitiis detrahendislaudareampliter 
 *' solet. Hoc enIm est 
 
 " — — Tu V oiiK cixovn Zifsriff^iiv. 
 
 *' Et item illud, 
 
 *' "EvS* evK av (ipt^evTx i'Saij 'Ayu/ukifivovu 
 " Qy^s xuretVTaffffovTi °"^' oux IB'iXovTa 
 
 *' Epicurus quoque simili modo 
 " raaximam voluptatem detractio- 
 " nem privationemque omnis dolo- 
 
 *' ris definivit his verbis : <jga$ rev 
 *' fAtyi^ovg rm «^ovai>, t) -a-ecvrog rov elx- 
 " yovvrog vTrilxi^itrig. Eadem ratione 
 '* idem Virgilius inamabilem dixit 
 *' Stygiam paludem. Nam sicut 
 ** illaudatum xxret amoris a-Ts^na-tf 
 " detestatus est." In the second 
 place he says that laudare signified 
 anciently to name; therefore illauda- 
 tus or illaudabilis signifies one who 
 ought not to be named, as it was 
 formerly decreed by the Asiatic 
 states, that none should ever name 
 the man who had set fire to the 
 temple of Diana at Ephesus. " Al- 
 " tero modo illaudatus ita defen- 
 " ditur. Laudare significat prisca 
 ** lingua nominare appellareque. 
 " Sic in actionibus civilibus auctor 
 " laudari dicitur, quod est nominari. 
 '' Illaudatus enim est quasi illauda- 
 " bills, qui neque mentione aut me- 
 ** raoria ulla dignus, neque unquam 
 " nominandusest. Sicuti quondam 
 " a communi consilio Asiae decre- 
 " tum est, uti nomen ejus, qui 
 ** templum Dianae Ephesiae incen- 
 " derat, ne quis uUo in tempore 
 " nominaret." Some are of opinion 
 that Virgil here reflects on Iso- 
 crates, who composed an Oration 
 in praise of Busiris. But the Ora- 
 tion of Isocrates does not seem so 
 much to be designed in praise of 
 Busiris, as to expose one Polycrates, 
 who had undertaken to praise him, 
 and yet had not said any one thing 
 of him, which deserved commend- 
 ation. Quintilian thinks Poly- 
 crates composed this Oration, ra- 
 ther to shew his wit, than for any 
 other purpose : " Equideni illos qui 
 " contra disputarunt, non tam id 
 " sensisse quod dicerent, quam ex- 
 " ercere ingenia materia; diflficul- 
 " tate credo voluisse; sicut Poly- 
 *' cratem cum Busirim laudaret, et 
 " Clytemnestram : quanquam is. 
 
p. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 and Hippodame, ami Pelops TTir»r»nrliiTiP>rmP 
 lamous for bis ivory shoulder, J^ippiJUttllieque, 
 
 eburno, 
 
 bumeroque Pelops insignis 
 
 " quod his dissimile non esset, com- 
 ** posuisse orationem, quae est habita 
 ** contra Socratem,dicitur/' There- 
 fore if Virgil designed to reflect on 
 any orator, it must rather have 
 been on Poly crates than on Iso- 
 crates. After all, I believe Virgil 
 intended to express a great abhor- 
 rence of the cruelties ascribed to 
 Busiris, by this negative of praise, 
 as he ha6 called the Stygian lake 
 inamabilis in two different places. 
 The first is in the fourth Georgick: 
 
 Tardaque pains inamabilis unda. 
 
 The other is in the sixth ^Eneid: 
 
 — — Tristique palus inamabilis unda. 
 
 And in the twelfth ^neid he uses 
 in like manner illcetabile, to express 
 the horid murmur of a distracted 
 city : 
 
 Attulit hunc illi coecis terroribus aura 
 Commixtum clamorem, arrectasque im- 
 
 pulit aures 
 Confusae sonus urbis, et illcetabile mur- 
 mur. 
 
 Nor are examples of this way of 
 speaking wanting among other au- 
 thors. Cicero seems to be speaking 
 in praise of Quintus Pompeius, when 
 he calls him a not contemptible 
 orator: *' Q. enim Pompeius, non 
 *' contemptus orator, temporibus illis 
 " fuit, qui summos honores, homo 
 *' persecognitus, sineullacommen- 
 ''^ datione majorum est adeptus." 
 Livy commends Polybius by calling 
 hirn an author not to be despised : 
 " Hunc regem in triumpho ductum 
 " Polybius, haudquaquam spernen- 
 '*^ dus auctor tradit." Longinus 
 also, when he extols the sublimity 
 of the style of Moses, calls him no 
 vulgar author : Tetvrvi xett o rm 'loy- 
 
 g5r£<^^ rhv rov B'iiov ^i/vxf^iy x-ocra t«v 
 a|/«v lyva^iOii, Kx^iCpviViv, iv^vz h t»i iit- 
 /SoAJj y^oi'^oc^ Tm vef^uv, Eiyriv o ©sej, 
 (pno'i. ri i yma-^a (pZg, KXt lyhiTO. ytv- 
 i<r^a y«, koi] lyiviTo. Dr. Trapp, in 
 his note on this passage, justly ob- 
 serves that it " is a figure of which 
 *' we have frequent instances; espe- 
 "^ cially in the holy Scriptures. 
 " Thus Gen. xxxiv. 7. Which thing 
 " ought not to be done ; speaking of 
 " a great wickedness. And Rom.^ii. 
 " 28. The most flagrant vices are 
 " called things which are not con- 
 " venient." 
 
 6. Hylas puer.~\ Hylas was be- 
 loved by Hercules, and accompa- 
 nied him in the Argonautic expe- 
 dition. But going to draw water 
 he fell in, which gave occasion to 
 the fable of his being carried away 
 by the nymphs. Ke is mentioned 
 in the sixth Eclogue : 
 
 His adjungit, Hylan nautae quo fonte 
 
 relictum 
 Clamassent : ut littus Hyla, Hyla, omne 
 
 sonaret. 
 
 He nani'd the nymph {for -who but gods 
 
 cou'dtell?) 
 Into whose arms the lovely Hylas fell; 
 Alcides wept in vain for Hylas lost, 
 Hylas in vain resounds through all the 
 
 coast. 
 
 Lord Roscommox. 
 
 The loss of Hylas is the subject 
 of the thirteenth Idyllium of Theo- 
 critus. 
 
 Latonia Delos.'] Delos is one of 
 the islands in the ^gean sea, called 
 Cyclades. It is fabled that this 
 island floated till Latona brought 
 forth Apollo and Diana there, after 
 which time it became fixed. 
 
 7- Hippodameque humeroque Pe- 
 lops insignis eburno^ acer equis.'] 
 Hippodame or Hippodamia was 
 
GEOHG. LIB. III. 
 
 2^5 
 
 Acer equis ? Tentanda via est, qua me quoque £ Suy to .aise .nyjeii 
 
 from tlie ground, nnd having; 
 
 possim 
 
 Tollere humo, victorque virum volitare per ora. 
 Primus ego in patriam mecum, modo vita su- 
 
 persit, 
 
 10 
 
 gained Ijifc victory lo be cele- 
 brated in the mouths of men. 
 I first of all, if my life does 
 bi\t last, returning into my 
 own country, 
 
 the (laughter of CEnomaus, king; of 
 Elis and Pisa. She was a princess 
 of exceeding great beauty^ and had 
 many lovers. But it being foretold 
 by an oracle, that CEnomaus should 
 be slain by Ins son-in-law, he of- 
 fered his daughter to him who 
 should overcome tlie king in a 
 chariot-race, his own horses being 
 begotten by the winds, and pro- 
 digiously swift. But on the other 
 side, if the unfortunate lover lost 
 the race he was to be put to death. 
 In this manner thirty lost their 
 lives. But this did not discourage 
 Pelops the son of Tantalus, who 
 was greatly in love with her. He 
 accepted the danH;erous conditions, 
 and contended with the father. In 
 this race the king's chariot broke, 
 by which accident he lost his life, 
 and Pelops gained the victory and 
 his beauteous prize. 
 
 Tantalus, the father of Pelops, 
 had invited the gods to a banquet, 
 at which, having a mind to try 
 their divinity, he dressed his son, 
 and set his flesh before them. All 
 the gods abstained from this horrid 
 food, except Ceres, who eat the 
 shoulder. Jupiter afterwards re- 
 stored Pelops to life, and gave him 
 an ivory shoulder, instead of that 
 which had been eaten. 
 
 9- Victorque virum volitare per 
 ora.'] Thus Ennius : 
 
 Volito docta per ora virum. 
 
 10. Primus ego in patriam, &c.] 
 The Poet, having in the preceding 
 paragraph expressed his contempl: 
 of the fabulous subjects of the Greek 
 
 Poets, and shewn a desire of sur- 
 passing them, now proceeds to pro- 
 pose to himself a subject worthy of 
 his genius, not founded on fables, 
 but on true history. The historical 
 facts which he designs to celebrate 
 are the victories of the Romans, 
 under the influence of Augustus 
 Caesar. He poetically describes this 
 victory of his over the Greek Poets, 
 by a design of building a temple to 
 Augustus, on the banks of the 
 Mincius, and officiating himself as 
 priest. In the mean time he says 
 he will proceed in the present work, 
 and speak of cattle. 
 
 This boast of Virgil, that he will 
 be the first, who brings the Muses 
 from Helicon into his own country, 
 must be understood of Mantua, not 
 of Italy in general; for this glory 
 belongs to Ennius, who first wrote 
 an epic Poem, after the manner of 
 Homer. Thus Lucretius : 
 
 Ennius ut noster cecinit, qui primus 
 
 amceno 
 Detulit ex Helicone perenni fronde coro- 
 
 nam 
 Per gentes Italas hominum quae clara 
 
 ciueret. 
 
 Though perhaps our Poet might 
 not think Ennius to have succeeded 
 .so well, as to be thought to have 
 gained the favour of the Muses j 
 and therefore flattered himself that 
 he might be the first Roman, who 
 obtained that glory. It must not 
 be omitted in this place, that Virgil 
 designed a journey into Greece, a 
 little before his death. This part 
 therefore probably was written after 
 the Georgicks were finished. 
 2 G 
 
226 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 will bring with ine llie Muses 
 from the top of the Aonian 
 mountain: I first will bring 
 to thee, O Mantua, the Idu- 
 meau palms: and will erect 
 a marble temple on the green 
 plain, near the water, where 
 Mincius wanders with slow 
 windings, and covers the 
 banks with tender reeds. In 
 the midst shall Caesar stand, 
 and be the god of the temple. 
 In honour of him, will I, be- 
 ing conqueror, and adorned 
 with Tyrian purple, 
 
 Aonio rediens deducam vertice Musas : 
 Primus Idumaeas referam tibi, Mantua, palmas : 
 Et viridi in campo templum de marmore ponam 
 Propter aquam, tardis ingens ubi flexibus errat 
 Mincius, et tenera praetexit arundine rigas. 15 
 In medio mihi Coesar erit, templumque tenebit. 
 lUi victor ego, et Tyrio conspectus in ostro 
 
 11. Aonio vertice.'] Aonia was 
 the name of the mountainous part 
 of Boeotia, whence all Boeotia came 
 to be called Aonia. In this country 
 was the famous mountain Helicon, 
 sacred to the Muses. 
 
 12. Idumceas palmas.'] Idumsea, 
 or the land of Edom, was famous for 
 palms. He therefore uses Idumaean 
 palms for palms in general, as is 
 common in poetry. Palms were 
 used for crowns in all the games, 
 as we find in the fourth question 
 of the eighth book of Plutarch's 
 Symposiacs: where he enquires 
 why the sacred games had each 
 their peculiar crown, but the palm 
 was common to all. 
 
 In the King's manuscript it is 
 Primus et Idumeas. 
 
 16. In medio mihi Ccesar erit, 
 templumque tenebit,] It was the 
 custom to place the statue of that 
 god, to whom the temple was de- 
 dicated, in the middle of it. The 
 other statues, which he mentions, 
 are to adorn the temple. 
 
 17. Illi.] " \. e, in illius honorem. 
 " So in the next verse but one, mihi 
 " for in meiim honorem." Dr. Trapp. 
 
 In the Cambridge, and in one of 
 the Arundelian manuscripts it is illic 
 instead of illi. Pierius found the 
 same reading in the Roman, Medi- 
 cean, and other very ancient manu- 
 scripts. He says that in the Lom- 
 bard manuscript the c has been 
 erased, which he greatly condemns. 
 He interprets illic to mean Mantua: 
 
 " illic, hoc est Mantuas, in patria 
 '^ mea, quo primus ego Musas ab 
 *' Aonia deduxero." He thinks 
 however that illi may be put for 
 illic, as in the second iEneid : Illi 
 mea tristia facta : which the ancient 
 grammarians have observed to be 
 put for illic. But notwithstanding 
 the opinion of these ancient gram- 
 marians, I cannot but think that 
 even in that passage of the ^neid 
 illi signifies not there, but to him. 
 Priamus had just reproached Pyr- 
 rhus, as being of a less generous 
 teaiper than his father Achilles : to 
 which Pyrrhus replies : " Then 
 " you shall go on this errand to 
 " my father Achilles ; and be sure 
 " you tell him of my sad actions, 
 " and how Pyrrhus degenerates 
 '' from him : 
 
 " • Beferes ergo haec, et nuncius ibis 
 
 " Pelidae genitori : illi mea tristia facta, 
 " Degeneretnque Neoptolemum narrare 
 " memento." 
 
 Surely illi relates to Achilles, tell 
 him of my sad actions, not tell there 
 my sad actions, for no place has 
 been mentioned. 
 
 Tyrio conspectus in ostro.] Those 
 who oflFered sacrifice, amongst the 
 Romans, on account of any victory, 
 were clothed in the Tyrian colour. 
 It is not certain what colour this 
 was. Some call it purple, and others 
 scarlet. Perhaps it was a deep 
 crimson ; for human blood is com- 
 monly called purple by the Poets. 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 
 
 227 
 
 Centum quadrijugos agitabo ad flumina currus. ^£Lu aS'The SvenTor 
 
 „..-, ,. - ^- me all Greece shall leave A I- 
 
 Cuncta mini, Alpheum Imquens, lucosque Mo- fo^j-Xramf^contofd '-^ ?!°' 
 
 1 „„i • ning, and with the hard 
 
 lorcni, capitis. 
 
 Cursibus, et crudo decernet Graecia caestu. 20 
 
 18. Centum quadrijug-os agitabo ab 
 Jiumina currus.] Varro, as he is 
 quoted by Servius, tells us, that 
 in the Circensian games, it was 
 anciently the custom to send out 
 twenty-five missus or matches of 
 chariots in a day, and that each 
 match consisted of four chariots: 
 that tile twenty-fifth match was set 
 out at the charge of the people, by 
 a collection made amongst them, 
 and was therefore called cerarius: 
 and that when this custom was laid 
 aside, the last match still retained 
 the name of cerarius. It is likewise 
 to the ancient custom of celebrating 
 these games on the banks of rivers, 
 that the Poet alludes by the words 
 adjlumina. 
 
 19. Cunctamihi, Alpheum linquens, 
 lucosque Molorchi.'] The Poet here 
 prophesies that the games which 
 he shall institute, in honour of 
 Augustus, will be so famous, that 
 the Greeks will come to them, and 
 forsake their own Olympic and Ne- 
 mesean games. 
 
 Alpheus is the name of a river of 
 Peloponnesus, arising in Arcadia, 
 passing through the country of Elis, 
 and falling into the sea below the 
 city Olympia, which was famous 
 for the Olympic games, instituted 
 by Hercules in honour of Jupiter. 
 The victors at these games were 
 crowned with wild olive. 
 
 Molorchus was a shepherd of 
 Cleone, a town in Peloponnesus, 
 between Corinth and Argos, near 
 Mantinea. Hercules having been 
 hospitably received by this shep- 
 herd, in gratitude slewthe Nemeaean 
 orCleonean lion, which infested that 
 
 country ; and the Nemeaean games 
 were therefore instituted in honour 
 of Hercules. The victors were 
 crowned with parsley, or perhaps 
 smallage, a-lxmv. 
 
 20. Cursibus.] Running was one 
 of the five Olympic games, called 
 the Pentathlum. The others were 
 wrestling, leaping, throwing the 
 quoit, and fighting with the ccestus. 
 
 Decernet.] Pierius says it is de- 
 certet in the Lombard, and some 
 other manuscripts. I find decertet 
 in the King's, one of the Arunde- 
 lian, in both Dr. Mead's manu- 
 scripts, and in some old printed 
 copies. 
 
 Castu.] The ccestus was com- 
 posed of leathern thongs fastened to 
 the hands, and filled with lead and 
 iron, to add force and weight to the 
 blow. Thus Theocritus : 
 
 JLatrropex, xa) (po^ipov HoXv^ivxsK -rv^ l^i^i- 
 Xsr^fltf l!r/^sy|«vTa fiiffots fioioKTiv tf^da'tv 
 
 0/ Vy I'Tii eZv tr^ei^uiffiv ixa^ruvavro P>oiiats 
 ILiT^as, xai zift^i yvTa (/.ax^evs ilXt^av Iftecv- 
 
 ras 
 'Ej (/.zffffov cuvayoVf (pivov aXXdXoKTi zfnov- 
 
 ris. 
 
 And Virgil, in his fifth .Eneid ; 
 
 Tantorum ingentia septem 
 
 Terga bourn plumbo insiito, ferroque ri- 
 gebant. 
 
 Turn satus Anchisa caestus pater extulit 
 
 aequos, 
 Et paribus palmas amborum innexuit 
 
 armis. 
 
 Those who desire to know the man- 
 ner of fighting with this weapon, 
 2 o 2 
 
2^ 
 
 P. VIRGILTI MARONIS 
 
 1 myself, having my head 
 adorned with leaves of the 
 shorn olive, will bring pre- 
 sents. Even now I rejoice to 
 lead the solemn pomps to the 
 temple, and to see the oxen 
 slain: or how the scene shifts 
 •with a changing face, and 
 how the interwoven Britons 
 lift np the purple tapestrj'. 
 On the doors will I describe 
 the battle of the Gangarides, 
 and the arms of conanering 
 Romnlus, in gold and solid 
 ivory : 
 
 Ipse caput tonsae foliis omatus olivae 
 Dona feram. Jam nunc solemnes ducere pompas 
 Ad delubra juvat, caesosque videre juvencos : 
 Vel scena ut versis discedat frontibus ; utque 
 Purpurea intexti toUant aulaea Britanni. 25 
 In foribus pugnam ex auro solidoque elephanto 
 Gangaridum faciam, victorisque arm a Quirini : 
 
 may find it described at large, in 
 the twenty-second Idyllium of The- 
 ocritus, and in the fifth ^neid. 
 
 21. OUvcE.'] Olivce seems to be 
 put here for the wild olive, with 
 which the victors at the Olympic 
 games used to be crowned. 
 
 22. Solemnes ducere pompas.] The 
 pomps were images of the gods, 
 carried in procession to the circus. 
 Thus Ovid : 
 
 Sed jam pompa venit : linguis animisque 
 favete. 
 Tempus adest plausus : aurea pompa 
 venit. 
 Prima loco fertur passis Victoria pennis : 
 Hue ades ; et meus hie fac, Dea, vineat 
 amor, 
 Plaudite Neptuno, nimium qui credifis 
 undis: 
 Nil mihi cum pelago : me mea terra 
 capit. 
 Plaude tuo, miles, Marti : nos odimus 
 arma. 
 Paxjuvat,et media pace repertus amor. 
 Auguribus Phcebus : PhcEbe venantibus 
 adsit ; 
 Artifices in te verte, Minerva, manus. 
 Ruricolse Cereri, teneroque adsurgite 
 Baccho : 
 Pollucetn pugiles : Camera practet cques. 
 Nos tibi, blanda Venus, puerisque po- 
 tentibus arcu 
 Plaudimus : ineeptis annue,Diva,meis. 
 
 25. Purpurea intexti tollanl aulcea 
 Britanni.'] This is understood by 
 some to mean, that real Britons 
 held up the tapestry in which the 
 figures of their countrymen were 
 interwoven- Thus May: 
 
 Or how the Britaines raise 
 
 That purple curtaine which themselves 
 displaies. 
 
 Dryden understands it only of Bri- 
 tish figures, which seem to hold 
 it up: 
 
 Which interwoven Britons seem to raise. 
 And shew the triumph which their shame 
 displays. 
 
 And Dr. Trapp : 
 
 And how th' inwoven Britons there suj>- 
 
 port 
 The purple figur'd tapestry they grace. 
 
 27- Gangaridum.'] The Ganga- 
 rides were Indians living near the 
 Ganges. These people were not 
 subdued at the time, when Virgil 
 wrote his Georgicks. Catrou justly 
 observes, that Virgil must have 
 added this and the preceding verse 
 long after he had first published 
 the Georgicks. This whole alle- 
 gory of the temple seems to have 
 been added by the Poet in the year 
 of Rome 734, when history informs 
 us, that Augustus subdued the In- 
 dians, and the Parthians, and re- 
 covered the eagles which had been 
 lost by Crassus. This was the year 
 before the death of Virgil : whence 
 we may observe, that he continued 
 to correct and improve this noble 
 Poem, till the time of his death. 
 
 Victorisque arma Quirini.] Ruaeus 
 allows that it was debated in the 
 Senate, whether Augustus or Ro- 
 mulus should be the name of him, 
 who before was called Octavianus. 
 But he observes that this happenetl 
 in the year of Rome 727, three 
 years after the publication of the 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 
 
 229 
 
 Atque hie undantem bello, magnumque fluen- 
 
 tem 
 Nilum, ac navali surgentes aere columnas. 
 Addam urbes Asiae domitas, pulsumque Nipha- 
 
 ten, 30 
 
 Fidentemque fuga Parthum, versisque sagittis, 
 Et duo rapta manu diverse ex hoste trophaea ; 
 
 and here will I represent the 
 ]Sille waving with war, and 
 greatly flowing, and cohimns 
 rising with naval brass. I 
 will add the conquered cities 
 of Asia, and subdued Ni- 
 phates, and the Parthian trust- 
 ing in flight, and in arrows 
 shot backward: and the two 
 trophies snatched with his 
 own hand from two different 
 enemies: 
 
 Georgicks. Hence he concludes 
 that it was a private flattery of 
 Virgil, and had no relation to what 
 was debated in the Senate. But if 
 we agree with Catrou, that this 
 verse was inserted in the year 734> 
 we can have no doubt, but that Vir- 
 gil alluded to the debate already 
 mentioned. 
 
 28. Undantetii bello, magnumque 
 Jiuentem Nilum.'] This relates to 
 the victory obtained over the Egyp- 
 tians and their allies, commanded 
 by Anthony and Cleopatra, in the 
 year of Rome 724, 
 
 29. Navali surgentes cere colum- 
 nas.] Servius tells us, that Augus- 
 tus, having conquered all Egypt, 
 took abundance of beaks of ships, 
 and made four columns of them, 
 which were afterwards placed by 
 Domitian in the Capitol, and were 
 to be seen in his time. 
 
 SO. Pulsumque Niphaten.] Ni- 
 phates is the name of a mountain 
 and river of Armenia. The people 
 of this country were subdued after 
 the decree of the Senate, by which 
 the name Augustus was given to 
 Octavianus: for Horace mentions 
 this as a new victory, and at the 
 same time gives him the name of 
 Augustus : 
 
 Potius nova 
 
 Cantemus August! trophaea 
 Caesaris, et rigidum Niphaten, 
 
 Medumque flumen gentibus additum 
 Victis, minores volvere vortices. 
 
 31. Fidentemque fuga Parthum, 
 
 versisque sagiitis.] The Parthians 
 used to fly from their enemies, and 
 at the same time to shoot their ar- 
 rows behind them. Thus Ovid : 
 
 Tergaque Parthorum, Homanaque pec- 
 
 tora dicarn ; 
 Telaque, ab averso quae jacit hostis equo. 
 Quid fugis ut vincas ; quid victo, Parthe 
 
 relinques ? 
 
 The manner of the Parthians fight- 
 ing is excellently described by Mil- 
 ton : 
 
 Now the Parthian king 
 
 In Ctesiphon hath gathered all his host 
 Against the Scythian, whose incursions 
 
 , wild 
 Have wasted Sogdiana ; to her aid 
 He marches now in haste; see, though 
 
 from far. 
 His thousands, in what martial equipage 
 They issue forth, steel bows, and shafts 
 
 their arms : 
 Of equal dread \xi flight, or in pursuit ; 
 All horsemen, in which fight th6y most 
 
 excel. 
 
 He saw them in their forms of battle 
 rang'd. 
 
 How quick they wheePd, and flying he- 
 hind them shot 
 • Sharp sleet of arrowy show'r against the 
 face 
 
 Of their pursuers, and overcame by 
 flight. 
 
 32. Duo rapta manu diverso ex 
 hoste trophcear] Servius will have 
 this to mean the Gangarides in the 
 east, and the Britons in the west : 
 but it does not appear from history 
 that Augustus ever triumphed over 
 the Britons, or even made war 
 upon them. La Cerda proposes 
 
230 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 and the nations twice tri- 
 umphed overfrom both shores. 
 There shall stand also the sta- 
 tues breathing in Parian mar- 
 ble, the offspring of Assaracus, 
 and the name of the race de- 
 scended from Jupiter, 
 
 Bisque, triumphatas utroque ab littore gentes. 
 Stabunt et Parii lapides, spirantia signa, 
 Assaraci proles, demissaeque ab Jove gentis 35 
 
 another interpretation. He ob- 
 serves, that rapta manu expresses 
 Augustus Caesar's having obtained 
 these victories in person. Now it 
 appears from Suetonius, that he 
 managed only two foreign wars in 
 person, the Dalmatian and the 
 Cantabrian : ** Externa bella duo 
 *' omnino per se gessit, Dalmati- 
 ** cum adolescens adhuc, et, Anto- 
 *' nio devicto, Cantabricum, Re- 
 *' liqua per legatos administravit." 
 Ruseus understands the Poet to 
 speak of the two victories obtained 
 over Anthony, the first at Actium, 
 a promontory of Epirus, on the 
 European shore : the other at Alex- 
 andria, on the African shore ; and 
 that this is meant by utroque ab 
 littore, in the next verse. Catrou 
 thinks this solution of Ruseus a 
 very judicious one : but yet he 
 thinks he can give a more solid 
 explication of this passage, from 
 Dion Cassius. This author relates 
 that Augustus made war twice on 
 the Cantabrians, and on the Astu- 
 rians, and twice in Asia. He went 
 in person against the Spaniards 
 the first time they revolted, and 
 they were subdued the second time 
 by his lieutenant Carisius. He 
 twice subdued the Parthians, and 
 both times commanded his armies in 
 person. Here, says Catrou, are the 
 two trophies obtained by the hand 
 of Augustus, making war in person 
 on two different nations, the Spani- 
 ards and the Parthians. 
 
 33, Bisque triumphatas utroque ab 
 littore gentes.~\ In several of the 
 old printed editions it is a instead 
 of ab. 
 
 Servius, Ruaeus, and Catrou, un- 
 
 derstand this to relate to the vic- 
 tories mentioned in the preceding 
 verse. La Cerda thinks the Poet 
 here introduces another picture ; 
 and proposes to paint the triumphs 
 of Csesar, after he had made an 
 universal peace. The two shores 
 therefore mean the whole extent 
 of the Roman dominions, from 
 east to west. 
 
 34. Parii lapidesr\ Paros is an 
 island in the iEgean sea, famous 
 for the finest marble. Hence, in the 
 third iEneid, he calls this Island the 
 snow-white Paros, *' niveamque Pa- 
 ^' ron." 
 
 3^. Assaraci proles, demisscBque ab 
 Jove gentis nomina.'] Here he com- 
 pliments Augustus, with adorning 
 his temple with the statues of the 
 Trojan ancestors, from whom he 
 was fond of being thought to have 
 descended. The genealogy of this 
 family, according to Homer, from 
 Jupiter to -^Eneas is thus : 
 
 Jupiter 
 
 I 
 
 Dardanus 
 
 I 
 
 Ericthonius 
 
 I 
 
 Tros 
 
 I 
 
 llus Assaracus Ganymedes 
 
 Laomedon 
 
 Capys 
 
 I 
 
 Anchises — Venus 
 
 i 
 
 ^neas 
 
 TjtboDus Priamus Lainpns Clytion Hicetaon 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 
 
 231 
 
 Nomina, Trosque parens, et Trojae Cynthius «h"trth?V«'l"Xv\"?fi;: 
 
 Detested envy shall fear the 
 aUCtor. furies, and the dismal river 
 
 Cocytus, and the twisted 
 
 Invidia infelix Furias, amnemque severum ["I'^Xdl'aS'theVv'r^oS: 
 
 , . ing stone. 
 
 Cocyti metuet, tortosque Ixionis angues, 
 Immanemque rotam; et non exuperabile saxum. 
 
 Zsvs, 
 Krifffi Ti AafSavijjy, Wi) ou^u"Wto? t^h 
 
 •ruv, 
 'AXX' 'iff v'Ttti^iias uxiov ^okvTi^uxov "iSjjj 
 Au^ecvos ecu rixiff vihv 'E^t^Smov Buffikm. 
 
 T^uas 3' au r^iTs ^uihis ufivfjcom l^iyivovro, 
 Ikes T, 'AfffK^axos rt, xeii avrihos Tavu- 
 
 "Oj ^h xdkkufTos yiViTo hviruv avS^u^m. 
 "thv xa) a,vYi^tl-^a.vro hot Ail' oUo^aivav. 
 K«XXe0; uviKU 010, 'Iv aSavaronri f^trtin. 
 ^Ikos S* av r'txiff vibv kft,xtfjua\a. \aofjt.i^ovroi, 
 Aaofiti^tuv V ci^a liduvhv Tixtro, Upiuf^cov re, 
 
 AoifiTOV T£, KkVriOV ff, 'iXiTBiOVK T O^OV 
 
 "A^yies. 
 ' A.ffffei^uxoi Ti Kei^vv, o S* ag' 'Ay^i<r>jv rixt 
 
 hhrag 'ifA 'Ay^tffm, n^iec/nof S' 'inx' "Ex- 
 To^a oTov. 
 
 The son of ^neas was called Asca- 
 nius, or lulus, from whence the 
 Julian family derived their name. 
 
 36. Trojce Cynihius auctorr\ A- 
 pollo was born in Delos, where is 
 the mountain Cynthus. He is said 
 to have built Troy, in the reign of 
 Laomedon. In the sixth ^neid 
 he calls Dardanus the founder of 
 Troy: 
 
 Ilusque, Assaracusque, et Troja Darda^ 
 nus anctor. 
 
 And in the eighth: 
 
 DardanuSf Iliacce primus pater urlis et 
 auctor. 
 
 37. Invidia infelix, &c.] Servius 
 seems to understand the Poet's 
 meaning to be, that he will write 
 such great things as to deserve 
 
 envy; but at the same time that 
 the envious shall forbear detract- 
 ing, for fear of punishment in the 
 other world. I rather believe with 
 La Cerda and others, that he speaks 
 of those who envy the glories of 
 Augustus Csesar, of whom there 
 must have been many at that time 
 in Rome. 
 
 This and the two following verses 
 are wanting in one of Dr. Mead's 
 manuscripts, 
 
 38. Cocyti.^ Cocytus is the name 
 of one of the five rivers of hell. 
 
 Tortosque Ixionis angues, imma' 
 nemque rotam.'] Ixion attempted to 
 violate Juno, for which crime he 
 was cast into hell, and bound, with 
 twisted snakes, to a wheel which is 
 continually turning. 
 
 Pierius says it is orbes in the Ro- 
 man manuscript, instead of angues: 
 but this reading would be a tauto- 
 logy, for the wheel is mentioned in 
 the very next verse. 
 
 39. Non exuperabile saxmn."] Si- 
 syphus infested Attica with robbe- 
 ries, for which he was slain by 
 Theseus, and condemned in hell 
 to roll a stone to the top of a hill, 
 which always turns back again, be- 
 fore it reaches the top. This punish- 
 ment of Sisyphus is beautifully 
 described by Homer : 
 
 K 
 
 fAiv '^itv(pov iltriitov x^ari^' eikyi 
 
 'i^ovra, 
 Aaav ficiO'TCi^ov-ra -nka^iov afi^oTipria-dv. 
 "^Kroi fjbhy <rx>}^i7rrofAivos ;^sgo'<» re rofflv 
 
 «> 
 Aa«y &va uhifxi ^ort ko<por «XX' on (Akkot 
 "Ax^ov uTTi^SoikiuVf roT a'^roirT^iii'oifKi 
 
 x^etrnits. 
 
p. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 In the mean while, let us pui- 
 sne the untouched woods and 
 lawns, the hard task which 
 you, Maecenas, have com- 
 manded nie to undertake. 
 "Without thee my mind b»gins 
 nothing that is lofty; be?in 
 then, break slow delays; Cj'- 
 thaeron calls with loud cla- 
 mours, and the dogs of Tay- 
 getus, and Epidaurus the 
 tamer of horses, and the voice 
 doubled by the assenting wood 
 re-echoes. But afterwards I 
 will attempt to sing the ar- 
 dent fights of 
 
 Interea Dryadum sylvas, saltusque sequamur 
 Iiitactos, tua, Maecenas, baud mollia jussa. 41 
 Te sine nil altum mens inchoat : en age segnes 
 Rumpe moras: vocat ingenti clamore Cythaeron, 
 Taygetique canes, domitrixque Epidaurus equo- 
 
 rum: 
 Et vox assensu nemorum ingeminata remugit. 45 
 Mox tamen ardentes accingar dicere pugnas 
 
 AvTis %<tura <ffii»vhi xukivSero XZas avat- 
 Ahra,^ oy a-\p uffoafKi nraivo/jdves' xetrec, 
 "Efpi6v Ik ftiksuv, xovivt V l» x^etros i^u^u. 
 
 I turn'd my eye, and, as I turned, sur- 
 vey* d 
 
 A mournful vision ! the Sisyphyan shade; 
 
 With many a weary step, and many a 
 groan. 
 
 Up the high hill he heaves a huge round 
 stone : 
 
 The huge round stone, resulting with a 
 bound. 
 
 Thunders impetuous down, and smokes 
 along the ground. 
 
 Again the restless orb his toil renews. 
 
 Dust mounts in clouds, and sweat de- 
 scends in dews. 
 
 Mk. Pope. 
 
 43. Vocat ingenti clamore CythoB>- 
 ron.'] Virgil poetically expresses 
 his earnestness to engage in the 
 subject of the present book, by say- 
 ing he is loudly called upon by the 
 places famous for the cattle of which 
 he intends to treat. 
 
 Cythaeron is a mountain of Boeo- 
 tia, a country famous for cattle. 
 Servius says it is a part of Par- 
 nassus, from which however it is 
 thirty miles distant. 
 
 44. Taygetique canesJ] See book 
 il. ver. 488. This mountain was 
 famous for hunting. 
 
 Domitrixque Epidaurus equorum.^ 
 Servius places Epidaurus in Epirus ; 
 for which he has been censured by 
 several authors, who place it in Pe- 
 loponnesus. But La Cerda vindi- 
 
 cates Servius, and observes that 
 there was an Epidaurus also in 
 Epirus ; which he takes to be the 
 place designed by the Poet, because 
 he has celebrated Epirus, in other 
 passages, as breeding fine horses : 
 
 Et patriam Epirum referat : 
 
 And 
 
 Eliadum palmas Epirus equarum. 
 
 Ruaeus contends that the Pelopon- 
 nesiaii Epidaurus is here meant, 
 and affirms that ail Argia, of which 
 Epidaurus was a city, was famous 
 for horses. He confirms this by a 
 line in this very Georgick, of which 
 La Cerda has quoted but the half 
 part, where Mycense, a city also of 
 Argia, is celebrated equally with 
 Epirus ; 
 
 Et patriam Epirum referat, fortesque 
 Mycenas. 
 
 I am persuaded that Ruaeus is in 
 the right, by a passage in Strabo, 
 where he says Epidaurus is famous 
 for hordes: 'A^x.etdix 5' la-rif h (azo-u 
 
 Tjjj HiXoTcovvyiffov BoG-Kii^xtri S' 
 
 iiTt vef^ccf ^eC'^iMTg, xxi fid,Xi<rrx ovoig, xxt 
 'iTCTcaiq ro7q tTrTTolixroiii. Etrrt dl xxi to 
 y'lvog lav 'iTTTrav cl^ittcv to 'A^xocoixov, »«- 
 ^«eVeg xcit ro 'AgyoA<«oy, xxi ro *Ez-i^ecv- 
 ^lov. Strabo cannot well be under- 
 stood to speak in this place of any 
 other, than the Peloponnesian Epi- 
 daurus. 
 
 46. Mox tamen ardentes accingar, 
 &c.] In the King's manuscript it 
 is etiam instead of tamen. 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 
 
 233 
 
 Caesaris, et nomen fama tot ferre per annos, 
 
 Caesar, and to transmit the 
 
 glory of bis name through a> 
 
 ... many years as Caesar is dig- 
 
 Tithoni prima quot abest ab origine Caesar. 48 SJ^^ulnpL^^^ 
 Seu quis Olympiacse miratus praemia palmae, °^ *'**' Olympian paim 
 
 Here he is generally understood 
 to mean, that he intends, as soon 
 as he has finished the Georgicks, 
 to describe the wars of Augustus, 
 under the character of ^neas. Mr. 
 
 B is quite of another opinion : 
 
 *' This passage," he says, " the 
 " commentators understand of the 
 *' ^neid ; but it is plainly meant 
 " of the fourth Georgick. 'J'here 
 " he describes the ardentes pugnas, 
 " the civil wars betwixt the same 
 " people for the sake of rival kings. 
 *' In this sense the passage is very 
 " sublime, to pri)mise to introduce 
 '' such a matter in talking of bees j 
 " but in one poem to promise an- 
 " other is low, and unworthy of 
 *' Virgil, and what never entered 
 ** into his imagination." But 
 
 surely Mr. B must be mistaken 
 
 in this piece of criticism, for the 
 whole introduction to this Georgick 
 is a prelude to the -dineid : and I 
 do not see how the fights of the 
 bees can be understood to be a 
 description of the wars of Caesar 3 
 which the Poet expressly says he 
 designs to sing. 
 
 48. Tithoni prima quot abest ab 
 origine CcEsar."] Servius interprets 
 this passage, that the fame of Au- 
 gustus shall last as many years, as 
 were from the beginning of the 
 world to his time. He thinks Ti- 
 thonus is put for the sun, that is, 
 for Tithan. Others understand 
 the Poet to mean that the fame of 
 Augustus shall last as many years, 
 as were from Tithonus, the son of 
 Laomedon, to Augustus. But to 
 this is objected, that this is too 
 small a duration for the Poet to 
 promise, being no more than a 
 
 thousand years. And indeed the 
 fame of Virgil's Poem, and of Au- 
 gustus, has lasted much longer al- 
 ready. Servius seems to have no 
 authority for makmg Tithonus sig- 
 nify the sun : nor can we imagine 
 Virgil means the sun, unless we 
 suppose Tithoni to be an erroneous 
 reading for Titani, or Titan'is. But 
 I do not know that so much as 
 one manuscript countenances this 
 alteration. It must therefore be 
 Tithonus, the son of Laomedon, 
 and elder brother of Priamus, that 
 is meant. I must own it seems 
 something strange that he should 
 choose to mention Tithonus, from 
 whom Augustus was not descended, 
 when Anchises or Assaracus would 
 have stood as well in the verse. I be- 
 lieve the true reason of this choice 
 was, that Tithonus was the most 
 famous of all the Dardan family. 
 It is said that Aurora fell in love 
 with this Tithonus, and carried him 
 in her chariot into Etinopia, where 
 she had Memnon by him. As for 
 the short space of tinie between the 
 ages of Tithonus and Augustus, it 
 may be observed that the Poet does 
 not say as many years as Ccesar is 
 distant from Tithonus, but as many 
 years as Ccesar is distant from the 
 first origin of Tithonus, that is, from 
 Jupiter, the author of the Dardan 
 race, which is going as far back as 
 the Poet well could. 
 
 4.9. Seu quis, &c.] Here the 
 Poet enters upon the subject of 
 this book ; and in the first place 
 describes the marks of a good cow. 
 
 OlympiaccE palmce.'] The Olympic 
 games were thought the most ho- 
 nourable : and the victors carried 
 
 2 H 
 
234 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 breeds horses, or if any one 
 breeds strong bullocks tor the 
 plough, let Mm chiefly con- 
 sider the bodies of the mothers. 
 The best form for a cow is 
 to have a roDfi;h look, a great 
 bead, a long brawny neck, 
 and dewlaps hanging down 
 from her chin to her very 
 knees. Her side should be 
 exceeding long: all her parts 
 large: her feet also, and her 
 ears should be hairy, under 
 her crooked horns. 
 
 Pascit equos ; seu quis fortes ad aratra ju- 
 
 vencos ; 50 
 
 Corpora prsecipue matrum legat. Optima torvae 
 
 Forma bovis, cui turpe caput, cui plurima 
 
 cervix, 
 Et crurum tenus a mento palearia pendent. 
 Tum longo nullus lateri modus: omnia magna: 
 Pes etiam, et camuris hirtae sub comibus aures. 
 
 palms in their hands, which was 
 esteemed the noblest trophy of their 
 victory. Thus Horace : 
 
 Sunt quos curriculo pulverem Olympi- 
 
 cum 
 Collegisse juvat, metaque fervidis 
 Evitata roti?, palmaque nobilis. 
 
 50. Pascit equos.'\ The ancients 
 were exceedingly curious in breed- 
 ing horses for the Olympic games : 
 and it was thought a great com- 
 mendation to excel in that skill. 
 
 51. Optima torvcE formcE bovis.'] 
 Pliny says they are not to be de- 
 spised for having an unsightly look : 
 *' Non degeneres existimandi etiam 
 " minus laudato aspectu:" and Co- 
 lumella says the strongest cattle 
 for labour are unsightly j *^^ Apen- 
 '' ninus durissimos, omnemque 
 "^ difficultatem tolerantes, nee ab 
 *' aspectu decoros." 
 
 52. Turpe caput.'] Fulvius Ursi- 
 nus obser\TS that Homer has used 
 uvxi^icc for great. Servius says turpe 
 signifies great. Grimoaldus also in- 
 terprets it magnum et grande caput. 
 May translates turpe caput also great 
 head. Ruaeus interprets it deforme 
 propter magnitudinem. Dryden has 
 sour headed; and Dr. Trapp, 
 
 Her head unshap'd and large. 
 
 The prose writers recommend the 
 largeness of a cow's forehead. 
 Thus Varro, latis frontihus • and 
 Columella, frontihus latissimis: and 
 
 Palladius, alia fronte, oculis nigris 
 et grandihus. 
 
 Plurima cervix.'] Plurima signi- 
 fies much or plentiful, that is^ in 
 this place, long and large. See the 
 note on plurima, ver. 187- of the 
 first Georgick. Varro says cervici- 
 bus crassis ac longis. 
 
 53. Crurum tenus a menio palea- 
 ria pendent.] The low hanging of 
 the dewlaps is mentioned also by 
 the prose writers. Thus Varro, 
 a colln palearibus demissis : and Co- 
 lumella, palearibus et caudis am- 
 plissimis : and Palladius, palearibus 
 et caudis maximis. Dryden, instead 
 of knees, has thighs, which I believe 
 are understood to belong only to 
 the hinder legs : 
 
 Her double dew-lap from her chin de- 
 scends : 
 
 And at her thighs the pond'rous burden 
 ends. 
 
 54. Longo nullus lateri modus: 
 omnia magna.] This length of the 
 body and largeness of all the limbs 
 is commended also by Varro ; " Ut 
 " sint bene compositas, ut integris 
 '' membris oblongse, amplae . . . 
 *' corpore amplo, bene costatos, la- 
 '* tis humeris, bonis clunibus:" and 
 by Columella J '' Vaccae quoque 
 *' probantur altissimae formae lon- 
 '' gaeque, maximis uteris." 
 
 5b. Pes etiam, et camuris hirtce 
 sub comibus aures.] It has been 
 generally understood that the Poet 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 
 
 235 
 
 Nee mihi displiceat raaculis insignis et albo, 56 s'JoaeTJitStSr.' if''she'rS 
 
 fuses the yoke, and is some- 
 
 Aut juga detrectans, interdumque aspera cornu, t'^es unlucky wuii her hom, 
 
 means the foot should be large 
 and the verses are pointed thus : 
 
 Omnia magna 
 
 Pes etiam : et camuris hirtae sub corni- 
 bus aures. 
 
 Thus May translates: 
 
 All must be great : yea even her feet, 
 
 her eare 
 Under her crooked homes must rough 
 
 appeare : 
 
 And Dryden : 
 
 Rough are her ears, and broad her horny 
 feet. 
 
 And Dr, Trapp: 
 
 All parts huge; 
 
 Her feet too ; and beneath her crankled 
 
 horns 
 Her ears uncouth and rough. 
 
 But La Cerda justly observes that 
 Virgil, who follows Varro in all 
 the other parts of this description, 
 is not to be supposed absolutely to 
 contradict him in this one particu- 
 lar. Besides, no one writer speaks 
 of broad feet as any excellence in 
 a cow J and indeed the smallness 
 of this creature's foot, in proportion 
 to the bulk of her whole body, is a 
 great advantage in treading in a 
 deep soil. Varro says expressly the 
 foot must not be broad: " Pedibus 
 " non latis, neque ingredientibus 
 " qui displodantur, nee cujus un- 
 " gulae divaricent, et cujus ungues 
 '^ sint leves et pares." And Co- 
 lumella says, " Ungulis modicis, et 
 " modicis cruribus." 
 
 The hairiness of the ears is men- 
 tioned by the other authors. Varro 
 and Columella say pilosis auribus. 
 Palladius says the ears should be 
 bristly : aure setosa. 
 
 56. Maculis insignis et albo.'] Some 
 take this to signify a white cow 
 spotted with other colours; but 
 the best commentators understand 
 these words to mean a cow spotted 
 with white. May has translated 
 this passage : 
 
 I like the colour spotted, partly white. 
 
 Dryden has. 
 
 Her colour shining black, but fleck'dwith 
 white. 
 
 Dr. Trapp translates it. 
 
 Nor shall her form 
 
 Be disapproved, whose skin with spots of 
 
 white 
 Is vary'd. 
 
 Varro gives the first place to a 
 black cow, the second to a red one, 
 the third to a dun, the fourth to a 
 white: " Colore potissimum nigro, 
 " dein rubeo, tertio heluo, quarto 
 ** albo ; moUissimus enim hie, ut 
 *' durissimus primus." He says also 
 the red is better than the dun, 
 but either of them is better than 
 black and white ; that is, as I take 
 it, a mixture of black and white : 
 " De mediis duobus prior quam 
 " posterior melior, utrique pluris 
 *' quam nigri et albi." Columella 
 says the best colour is re<:l or brown: 
 " Colore rubeo vel fusco." Virgil's 
 meaning seems to be, that though 
 white is not esteemed the best 
 colour, yet he does not disapprove 
 a cow that has some white spots 
 in her. 
 
 57. Detrectans.'] Pierius says it 
 is detractans in the Roman, the 
 Medicean, and in most of the an- 
 cient manuscripts. I find detractans 
 in the King's and in both Dr. 
 Mead's manuscripts. 
 2 h2 
 
p. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 and resembles a bull; and if 
 she is tall, and sweeps the 
 ground with her tail, as she 
 
 goes along. The proper age 
 for love, and just conniibials, 
 begins after four years, and 
 
 ends before ten. The rest of 
 their time is neither fit for 
 breeding, nor strong enough 
 
 for the plough. In the mean 
 
 vhilst yoi 
 the flower of youth, let loose 
 
 time, whilst your herds are in 
 
 the males: be early to give 
 your cattle the enjoyment of 
 love, 
 
 Et faciem tauro propior; quaeque ardua tota, 
 Et gradiens ima verrit vestigia cauda. 
 Mtsis Lucinam, justosque pati Hymenaeos 60 
 Desinit ante decern, post quatuor incipit annos: 
 Caetera nee foeturae habilis, nee fortis aratris. 
 Interea, superat gregibus dum laeta juventas, 
 Solve mares: mitte in Venerem pecuaria primus, 
 
 58. Quceque ardua iota.'] Thus 
 Columella; '' Vaccae quoque pro- 
 *' bantur altissimae formae :" and 
 Palladius ; " Sed eligernus forma 
 '* altissima." 
 
 59. Et gradiens ima verrit vestigia 
 Cauda,'] The length of the tail is 
 mentioned by Varro ; " Caudam 
 *' profusam usque ad calces :" and 
 by Columella J *' Caudis amplissi- 
 " mis:" and by Palladius J " Caudis 
 '' maximis." 
 
 61. Desinit ante decern, post qua- 
 tuor incipit annos^ Varro says it 
 is better for the cow not to admit 
 the bull till she is four years old; 
 and that they are fruitful till ten, 
 and sometimes longer: '^ Non 
 " minores oportet inire bimas, ut 
 *' trimoe pariant, eo melius si qua- 
 " drimae. Pleraeque pariunt, in 
 " decern annos, quaedam etiam in 
 *^ plures." Columella says they 
 are not fit for breeding after ten, 
 nor before two : " Cum excesserint 
 '' annos decem, foetibus inutiles 
 " sunt. Rursus minores bimis iniri 
 " non oportet. Si ante tamen con- 
 *' ceperint, partum earum removeri 
 *' placet, ac per triduum, ne la- 
 " borent, ubera exprimi, postea 
 " mulctra prohiberi." Palladius 
 says they breed from three to ten: 
 *' iEtatis maxime tiimae, quia usque 
 *' addecennium foeturaex his proce- 
 *' det utilior. Nee ante aetatem tri- 
 *' mam tauros his oportet admitti." 
 
 63, Superat gregibus dum Iceta ju- 
 
 ventas, solve mares,'] Pierius says 
 it is juventas in the Medicean, and 
 in most of the ancient manuscripts. 
 The common reading is juventus. 
 
 Servius takes this passage to 
 relate to the females ; but the Poet 
 speaks here of putting them early 
 to breed, whereas he had before 
 said that a cow should not breed 
 before she was four years old, 
 which is rather a later age than 
 is generally prescribed. 1 take the 
 Iceia juventas, and the mitle in Ve- 
 nerem pecuaria primus to relate to 
 the males, which he would have 
 early admitted to the females. Pal- 
 ladius says the bulls should be 
 very young, and gives the marks 
 of such as are good : " Nunc tauros 
 " quoque, qui bus cordi est armenta 
 '' construere, comparabit, aut his 
 " signis a tenera setate summittet. 
 " Uc sint alti, atque ingentibu? 
 *' membris, aetatis mediae, et magis 
 " quae juventute minor est, quam 
 *' quae declinet in senium. Torva 
 '* facie, parvis cornibus, torosa, 
 " vastaque cervice, ventre sub- 
 " stricto." Columella says a bull 
 ought not to be less than four, or 
 more than twelve years old : '' Ex 
 *' his qui quadrimis minores sunt, 
 " majoresque quam duodecim an- 
 *' norum, prohibentur admissura : 
 " illi quoniam quasi puerili aetate 
 " seminandis armentis parum ha- 
 '' bentur idonei : hi, quia senio 
 '' sunt effoeti." 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 
 
 237 
 
 Atque aliam ex alia generando suffice prolem. 
 Optima quaeque dies miseris mortalibus aevi 66 
 Prima fugit: subeunt morbi, tristisque senectus: 
 Et labor et durae rapit inclementia mortis. 
 Semper erunt, quarum mutari corpora raalis. 
 Semper enim refice : ac, ne post amissa requiras, 
 Anteveni, et sobolem armento sortire quotannis. 
 Nee non et pecori est idem delectus equino. 
 Tu modo, quos in spem statues summittere 
 
 gentis, 
 Praecipuum jam inde a teneris impende laborem. 
 Continuo pecoris generosi pullus in arvis 75 
 
 and secure a succession of 
 them by geneiaiion. The 
 best tiaie of life flies first 
 away from miserable mortals; 
 diseases succeed, and sad old 
 age; and labour, and the in- 
 clemency of severe death car- 
 ries them away. There will 
 always be some, whose bodies 
 yon will clioose to l)ave 
 changed. Therefore conti- 
 nually repair them: and, 
 that you may not be at a loss 
 when it is too late, be before- 
 hand; and provide a new 
 otJspring for the herd every 
 year. Nor does it require 
 less care to choose a good 
 breed of horses. But bestow 
 your principal diligence, from 
 the very beginning, on those 
 which you are to depend upon 
 for tlie increase of their spe- 
 cies. The colt of a generous 
 breed from the very first 
 
 65. Suffice.'] In one of the 
 Arundelian manuscripts it is con/ice. 
 
 6d' Semper erunt, quarum mutari 
 corpora malis.'] In one of Dr. 
 Mead's manuscripts it is enim in- 
 stead of erunt. In the same manu- 
 script, as also in the King's and in 
 the Cambridge manuscripts, and in 
 some of the old printed editions, it 
 is mavis instead of malis. Pierius 
 reads mavis ; but he says it is malis 
 in the ancient copies, and thinks 
 this reading more elegant. 
 
 Columella says the best breeders 
 are to be picked out every year, and 
 the old and barren cows are to be 
 removed, and applied to the labour 
 of the plough: " Sed et curandum 
 " est omnibus annis in hoc aeque, 
 " atque in reliquis gregibus pecoris, 
 " ut delectus habeatur : nam et 
 *' enixse, et vetustae, quae gignere 
 " desierunt, summovendse sunt, et 
 " utique taurae, quae locum fcEcun- 
 " darum occupant, ablegandae, vel 
 '' aratro domandae, quoniam la- 
 " boris, et operis non minus, quam 
 " juvenci, propter uteri sterilitatem 
 " patientes sunt." 
 
 70. Semper enim.] " For semper 
 " itaque/' Servius. 
 
 71. Anteveni, et sobolem.] " In 
 " the Medicean, and in the Lom- 
 " bard manuscripts it is ante veni 
 " sobolem, without ei. In some 
 " copies it is antevenij in one word." 
 Pierius. 
 
 72. Nee non, &c.] The Poet now 
 proceeds to speak of horses, and 
 begins with describing the charac- 
 ters of a colt, which is to be chosen 
 to make a good stallion. 
 
 73. Statues.] So it is in the Ro- 
 man, and some other manuscripts, 
 according to Pierius. Grimoaldus, 
 La Cerda, and others read staluis. 
 
 75. Continuo.] It signifies jTrom 
 the very beginning. Thus in the first 
 Georgick : 
 
 Continuo has leges, aeternaque fcedera 
 
 certis 
 Imposuit natura locis, quo tempore pri- 
 
 raum 
 Deucalion vacuum lapides jactavit in 
 
 orbem. 
 
 That is, immediately from the very 
 time that Deucalion threw the stones: 
 and 
 
 Continuo in sylvis magna vi flexa do- 
 
 matur 
 In burim, et curvi formam accipit ulmus 
 
 aratri. 
 
p. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 ufids''ifen*^?\t'?endlr Altius iflgreditur, et mollia crura reponit. 
 
 pasterns. He is Ihe first that _^ . . n ' 
 
 ?enfare%Kgh%hTfate.ring P^i^us et ire viam, ct fluvios tentarc mmaces 
 
 streams. 
 
 That is, at the very first, whilst it is 
 young, the elm is bent: and 
 
 Continuo ventis surgentibus aut freta 
 
 ponti 
 Incipiunt agitata tumescere. 
 
 That is, immediately, as soon as the 
 winds are beginning to rise. In like 
 manner it signifies in this place 
 that a good horse is to be known 
 from the very first, as soon almost 
 as he is foaled. Virgil follows 
 Varrointhis: *'Qualis futurus sit 
 '^ equus, e pullo conjectari potest." 
 
 Generosi.'] La Cerda reads gene- 
 rosus, in which he seems to be sin- 
 gular. 
 
 76. Altius ingreditur.] Servius in- 
 terprets this " cum exultatione qua- 
 *' dam incedit." Thus also Gri- 
 moaldus paraphrases it : " Primum 
 "' omnium pulli animus ferox, et 
 '' excelsus existimabitur ab incessu 
 *' sublimi, videlicet, si cum exulta- 
 " tione quadam excursitet." In this 
 they are followed by May, who 
 translates it walke proudly : and by 
 Dr. Trapp, who renders it rvifk 
 lofty port prances. Dryden has pa- 
 raphrased it in a strange manner: 
 
 Of able body, sound of limb and wind, 
 Upright he Avalks, on pasterns firm and 
 
 straight ; 
 His motions easy, prancing in his gait. 
 
 I rather believe the Poet means 
 only that the colt ought to have 
 long, straight legs, whence he must 
 necessarily look tall as he walks. 
 Thus Columella : " aequalibus, at- 
 " que altis, rectisque cruribus." 
 
 Mollia crura r€pojiit.~\ In the 
 Cambridge manuscript it is reflectii 
 instead of repojiit. 
 
 I believe the Poet means by repo- 
 nit the alternate motion of the legs. 
 The epithet mollia may signify ei- 
 
 ther the tenderness of the young 
 colt's joints, as May has translated 
 it: 
 
 — Their soft joynts scarce knit : 
 
 or that those which are naturally 
 most flexible are best; which Dry- 
 den seems to express by his motions 
 easy ; and Dr. Trapp by his pliant 
 limbs. Ennius has used the same 
 words to express the walking of 
 cranes : 
 
 Perque fabam repunt, et mollia crura re- 
 ponunt. 
 
 Grimoaldus has paraphrased it thus: 
 " Deinde, si non dure, non inepte, 
 " non crebra crurum jactatione 
 ^^procurrat: sed qui alterno, et 
 " recte disposito crurum explicatu 
 " faciles, apteque flexibiles tibias 
 " reponat." 
 
 77. Primus et ire viam, &c.] 
 Servius understands this of the 
 colt's walking before his dam : but 
 it seems a better interpretation, 
 that he is the first, amongst other 
 colts, to lead the way. Thus Gri- 
 moaldus paraphrases it : " Tum 
 " etiam, si praeire caeteros, viaeque 
 '' palustris dux, et anteambulo fieri 
 '' gestiat." Most of the commen- 
 tators understand this passsage in 
 the same sense. 
 
 Varro says it is a sign that a 
 colt will prove a good horse, if he 
 contends Avith his companions, and 
 is the first amongst them to pass 
 a river: '^ Equi boni futuri signa 
 " sunt, si cum gregalibus in pabulo 
 '' contendit, in currendo, aliave 
 '' qua re, quo potior sit : si cum 
 " flumen transvehundum est, gregi 
 " in primis praegreditur, ac non 
 " respectat alios." Columella 
 speaks much to the same pur- 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 
 
 239 
 
 and trust himself on an un- 
 known bridge: nor is he 
 ^^ , . . •, TIT 1 • afraid of vain noises. His 
 
 Nec vanos horret strepitus. Illi arclua cervix, "eck is lofty. 
 
 Audet, et ignoto sese committere ponti : 
 
 pose: '* Si ante gregem procurrit, 
 " si lascivia et alacritate interdum 
 '' et cursu certans aequales exupe- 
 " rat, si fossam sine cunctatione 
 " transilit,pontem,flumenque trans- 
 " cendit." 
 
 78. Ponii.^ " Fonto. In the Ro- 
 ** man, the Lombard, and in some 
 " other manuscripts it is ponti : for 
 " what have horses to do v/ith the 
 ** sea ? but with rivers and bridges 
 ** they are often concerned. Though 
 '' in Calabria and Apulia they try 
 '' the mettle of their horses, by 
 '* driving them down to the sea, 
 " and observing whether they look 
 " intrepid at the coming in of the 
 " tide, and therefore accustom the 
 " colts to swim. It is ponto how- 
 '' ever in the Medicean copy." 
 
 PlERIUS. 
 
 I find ponto in the King's, the 
 Cambridge, one of the Arundelian, 
 and in one of Dr. Mead's manu- 
 scripts ; in the old Nurenberg edi- 
 tion, and in an old edition printed 
 at Paris in 1494. But ponti is ge- 
 nerally received. Columella, who 
 follows our Poet, mentions a bridge, 
 not the sea, in the quotation at the 
 end of the note on the preceding 
 verse. May reads ponto : 
 
 And dare themselves on unknowne seas 
 to venture. 
 
 Dryden reads pofiti : 
 
 To pass the bridge unknown : 
 And Dr. Trapp : 
 
 Unknown bridges pass. 
 
 79- -^ec vanos horret strepitus.'] 
 In the King's and in one of Dr. 
 Mead's manuscripts it is varios in- 
 stead of vanos. I find the same 
 
 reading also in some of the old 
 printed editions. 
 
 Columella says a good colt is in- 
 trepid, and is not affrighted at any 
 unusual sight or noise : ^' Cum vero 
 " natus est puUus, confestim licet 
 ** indolem aestimare, si hilaris, si in- 
 " trepidus, si neque conspectu, no- 
 " vaeque rei auditu terretur." 
 
 1 Hi ardua cervix.] Quintilian cen- 
 sures V^irgil for interrupting the 
 sense with a long parenthesis: 
 " Etiam interjectione, qua et Ora- 
 " tores et Historici frequenter utun- 
 " tur, ut medio sermone aliquem 
 '' inserant sensum., impediri solet 
 " intellectus, nisi quod interponitur, 
 " breve est. Nam Virgilius illo 
 " loco quo pullum equinum descri- 
 " bit, cum dixisset, Nec vanos horret 
 *' strepitus compluribus insertis, alia 
 '' figura quinto demum versu redit, 
 
 ♦• — — Turn siqua sotnim procul arma de- 
 
 " dcre, 
 " Stare loco nescit,'" 
 
 But I do not see that the sense is 
 here interrupted. By nec vanos 
 horret strepitus, the Poet means that 
 a good colt is not apt to start at the 
 rustling of every leaf, at every little 
 noise, that portends no danger. 
 But by turn si qua sonum, &c. he 
 means that the colt shews his mettle 
 by exulting at a military noise, at 
 which he erects his ears, bounds, 
 paws, and is scarce able to contain 
 himself. It not only is unnecessary, 
 but would even be dull poetry, to 
 give a regular, orderly description 
 of a horse from head to tail. Pal- 
 ladius is very methodical in what 
 he says on this subject: '^In ad- 
 " missaria quatuor spectanda sunt, 
 " forma, color, meritum, pulchri- 
 '' tudo." This is very well in prose. 
 
1I40 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 and his bead is small, his belly 
 short, and his back broad : and 
 his spritely breast swells luxu- 
 riantly with rolls of brawn : 
 the best colour is a bright 
 bay, and beautiful grey ; the 
 worst is white 
 
 Argutumque caput, brevis alvus, obesaque 
 terga : 80 
 
 Luxuriatque toris animosum pectus : honesti 
 Spadices, glaucique ; color deterrimus albis, 
 
 but had Virgil proceeded in the 
 same manner, we might perhaps 
 have commended his exactness, but 
 should never have admired his poe- 
 try. Dr. Trapp says, " These words 
 *' illi urdua cervix to glaucique 
 " should be in a parenthesis 3" but, 
 as his translation is printed, the pa- 
 renthesis includes only what is said 
 of the colour. 
 
 By ardua is meant that the colt 
 carries his head well, not letting it 
 hang down. Horace has the same 
 epithet, when he describes a good 
 horse : 
 
 Regibus hie mos est ; ubi equos mercan- 
 
 tur, apertos 
 Inspiciunl : ne si facies, ut saspe, decora 
 Molli fulta pede est, emptorem inducat 
 
 hiantem, 
 Quod pulchrae dunes, breve quod caput, 
 
 ardua cervix. 
 
 80. Argutmnque caput.'] May 
 translates this short-headed, Dryden 
 sharp-headed, Dr. Trapp his head 
 acute. I have rendered it his head 
 is small, which agrees with what 
 Varro has said, ** caput habet non 
 **magnum:" and Columella, ^'Cor- 
 '' poris vero forma constabit exiguo 
 "capite;'* and Palladius, " Pul- 
 " chritudinis partes hae sunt, ut sit 
 " exiguum caput et siccum." Ho- 
 race commends a short head: " breve 
 '' quod caput." 
 
 81. Luxuriatque toris aniniosum 
 pectus.'] The tori are brawny swell- 
 ings of the muscles. Varro says 
 the breast should be broad and full : 
 *^* pectus latum et plenum." Colu- 
 mella says it should be full of 
 brawny swelling? of the muscles : 
 ** musculorum toris numeroso pec- 
 
 '' tore." Palladius says it should 
 be broad : " pectus late patens." 
 Virgil's description of the breast is 
 more expressive than any other, 
 and he adds the epithet animosum 
 to shew that this luxuriance of 
 brawn in the muscles denotes the 
 spirit and fire of the horse. But 
 the translators have unhappily 
 agreed to leave out this noble epi- 
 thet. May has only hroad and full 
 breasted: Dryden only, brawny his 
 chest, and deep: and Dr. Trapp, his 
 chest with swelling knots luxuriant. 
 
 82. Spadices.] It is very difficult 
 to come to an exact knowledge of 
 the signification of those words, by 
 which the ancients expressed their 
 colours. Spadix signified a branch 
 of a palm, as we find it used by 
 Plutarch in the fourth question of 
 the eighth book of his Symposiacs : 
 K«/ T«« ^«xS ^a< fA,vnfAonviiv h roTg 'At- 
 TiKolg uviyiUKaq ivocy^og, ort v^arog li 
 A!i?ia Qyia-ivg aymoe, froiZv, ecxia-^x<rt 
 xXci^ov TcXi it^ov ^oiinKog, ^ Kxi 'Z'7roioi% 
 atofAUTdn- We learn from Aulus 
 Gellius, that the Dorians called a 
 branch of a palm plucked off with 
 the fruit, Spadix; and that the 
 fruits of the palm being of a shining 
 red, that colour came to be called 
 phceniceus and spadix : " Phoeni- 
 '^ ceus quem tu Graece (potmch dix- 
 *' isti, noster est, et rutilus, et spa- 
 " dix phcEuicei o-vmyvfAo;, qui factus 
 " Graece noster est, exuberantiam 
 " splendoremque significat ruboris, 
 " quales sunt fructus palmae arboris 
 " non admodum sole incocti, unde 
 '' spadicis et phcenicei nomen est : 
 " spadica enira Dorici vocant avul- 
 " sum e palma termitem cum fruc- 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 
 
 241 
 
 Etgilvo. Tumsiquasonumprocularmadedere, nofseSfamsls^hei'liLmfi'* 
 
 " tu." Plutarch also, in the place 
 just now cited, gives us to under- 
 stand that the colour in question 
 was like the beautiful redness of a 
 human face : 'O yovv /i<£<rtXiv?, ag (px~ 
 <riv, uyxTTKO-ecg dix^e^ovrei)^ rh Ui^iTrurn- 
 riKOi (pi^^oero^ov NtKoXecov yXvKVV ovtcc tu 
 n^iiy ox^ivov di TA> fii^Kii TAv <ra)f/.ct,rcq , 
 dictTTMav M TO w^oa-UTrov l7ri^civi<r(rovTog 
 l^vB^^uocro^, TUi fciylo-Tct^ Kxi KxXXia-rxg 
 tav <poivtKoQxXdvav HiKoXdovi avofAucrs. 
 Hence it appears plainly that the co- 
 lour which the ancients called phoe- 
 niceus, or spadix, was a bright red, 
 but we do not know that any horses 
 are exactly of such a colour : though 
 the ancients might as well apply red 
 to horses, as we to deer. The co- 
 lours which come nearest to it seem 
 to be the bay, the chesnut, and the 
 sorrel. Perhaps all these might be 
 contained under the same name, for 
 the ancients do not seem to have 
 been so accurate in distinguishing 
 such a variety of colours, as the 
 moderns. I have translated the 
 word spadix, bay, in this place, be- 
 cause it seems to approach to the 
 colour of the spadix, as the ancients 
 have described it, and because the 
 word bay seems to be derived from 
 /ixU, or /ixfov, which is sometimes 
 also used for a branch of a palm, as 
 we find in the twelfth chapter of 
 St. John's Gospel: "EXx/iov ra, /iatx 
 rav (potviK&fv, xxi l|?Ad'0V iig vxxvrwiv 
 uvtSj xecf SK^x^ov, 'Q,rxvvcc. BxU and 
 fixtcv are interpreted by Hesychius 
 fxZ^oi (poivtxog. 
 
 Glauci.'] The commentators are 
 not agreed about the interpretation 
 of this word. I do not well under- 
 stand what Servius means by 
 " Glauci autem sunt felineis oculis, 
 " idestquodam splendoreperfusis." 
 Surely he cannot think the Poet is 
 speaking of the colour of a horse's 
 
 eye. Grimoaldus puts rutili for 
 glauci. But rutilus is reckoned 
 among the red colours by Aulus 
 Gellius: " Fulvus enim, et flavus, 
 *' et rubidus, et phoeniceus, et ruti- 
 " lus, et Inteus, et spadix appella- 
 '^ tiones sunt ruji coloris, aut acuen- 
 "" tes eum quasi incendentes, aut 
 " cum colore viridi miscentes, aut 
 '' nigro infuscantes aut virenti sen- 
 '' sim albo illuminantes." And in- 
 deed our Poet himself has added it 
 as an epithet to fire in the first 
 Georgick : 
 
 Sin maculae incipient rutilo immiscerier 
 igni. 
 
 And in the eighth yEneid : 
 
 His informatum manibus, jam parte po- 
 lita 
 
 Fulmen erat, toto genitor quae plurima 
 caelo 
 
 Dejicit in terras, pars imperfecta mane- 
 bat. 
 
 Tres imbris torti radios, tres nubis aquosae 
 
 Addiderant, rutili tres ignis et alitis 
 Austri. 
 
 Thus rutilus seems to be much the 
 same colour with spadix : but I be- 
 lieve it cannot be proved that glau- 
 cus was ever used to express any 
 sort of red colour. La Cerda says, 
 that as spadix signifies a bright bay, 
 so glaucus signifies darker bay, such 
 as the leaves of willows have. But 
 if he means by baius the same co- 
 lour that we call bay, I cannot ima- 
 gine by what strength of fancy that 
 learned commentator can imagine 
 the leaves of willows to be of any 
 sort of bay. Ruaeus concludes from 
 what Aulus Gellius has said con- 
 cerning glaucus, that it means what 
 the French call pommele ardois, that 
 is, a dappled grey. May translates 
 this passage ; 
 
 Let his colour be 
 
 Bright bay or grey : 
 2l 
 
24S 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 st!ii,''he erec"ts hi?errs,'and'2fi StOTe loco ncsclt : micat auHbus, et tremit artus ; 
 
 his joints quiver. 
 
 And Dryden : 
 
 his colour grey, 
 
 For beauty dappled, or the brightest bay : 
 And Dr. Trapp: 
 
 Best for coFour is the bay, 
 
 And dappled. 
 
 But I am afraid dappled determines 
 no colour ; but may be applied to 
 bay, as well as to grey. Let us 
 now examine what is to be found 
 in the ancient writers concerning 
 this colour. Homer's common epi- 
 thet for Minerva is blue-eyed : y'htx.v- 
 KUTrig 'A%vn. In this case glaucus 
 seems to be used for a bluish grey. 
 Virgil himself uses it to express the 
 colour of willow-leaves, in the se- 
 cond Georgick : 
 
 Gluuca canentia fronde salicta. 
 
 And in the fourth Georgick : 
 
 Et glancas salices : 
 
 And of reeds, in the tenth ^Eneid : 
 
 Quos patre Benaco, velatus arundine 
 
 glanca 
 Mincius infesta ducebat in aequora pinu. 
 
 The colour of willows and reeds is 
 a bluish green, approaching to grey. 
 Much of the same colour are the 
 leaves of the greater Celandine, 
 which Dioscorides calls vTroyXocvKu,: 
 "X-iT^iooinov [jcfi.yce, xaJwXoy uyiTio-i TfTft^vxTov , 
 
 (pvXy^U)! fCKrreii' (phxXx ofAoioc, ^cctqccyjia, 
 r^v(pi^aTi^x fjciv rci ra, rev ^iM^eviov kcc} 
 v7roy?^etvKx riiy x^oetv. Plutarch speak- 
 ing of the different colours of the 
 moon in an eclipse, according to 
 the different times of the night, 
 says that about day-break it is of a 
 bluish colour : which occasioned 
 the Poets and Empedocles to call 
 the moon yXccvxaTrt^ I 'AAA' ovk 'isTiv^ 
 
 6VJ0fg 01 fittB-nf^eCTlKOt KOtTCt p^^OVOV KXl 
 
 (pxmron ftihotivx duvag a.)(,^i r^'iTng a^ccg 
 XMi Vifjcia-iloti' »v ^£ ffcScTj), rovro 5^ to Itci- 
 (potyi<r<rev tn<ri, iccci ttvp xeci Trv^UTrev' 
 cItto ^l sZ^ifMig a^ot^ Kxi vifiia-iUg , dvia-rcc- 
 rott TO l^v^ni/zci. Kcu riXog >j^ Trgo? Se* 
 
 oi<P^ ^5 ^vi KoCi fAclhi'^ai, yXxvKaTTiv xvTViy el 
 
 The colour which Plutarch means 
 in this passage seems to be a bluish 
 grey. Aulus Gellius seems to con- 
 found green and blue together, for 
 he says that when Virgil mentioned 
 the green colour of a horse, he might 
 as well have expressed it by the 
 Latin word cceruleus, as by the 
 Greek word glaucus. '' Sed ne vi- 
 *' ridis quidem color pluribus ab 
 " illis, quam a nobis, vocabulis di- 
 " citur. Neque non potuit Virgi- 
 " lius colorem equi significare viri- 
 *' dem volens, caeruleum magis di- 
 *' cere equum quam glaucum : sed 
 " maluit verbo uti notiore Graeco, 
 '' quam inusitato Latino. Nostris 
 '^ autem Latinis veteribus caesia 
 *' dicta est quae a Graecis yXccvKu^i^, 
 " ut Nigidius ait de colore caeli 
 '' quasi caelia." From all these 
 quotations I think it appears, that 
 the ancients meant by glaucus a 
 colour which had a faint green 
 or blue cast. Now as no horse 
 can be properly said to be either 
 blue or green, we may conclude 
 that the colour meant by Virgil is 
 a fine grey, which has a bluish 
 cast. But I do not see how Ruaeus 
 could gather from Aulus Gellius, 
 whose words I have related at 
 length, that this grey was dappled. 
 It must however be allowed that 
 the dappled grey is the most beau- 
 tiful. 
 
 Albis.] S. Isidore, informs us 
 
Collectumque 
 ignem : 
 
 premens 
 
 GEORG. LIB. III. 
 
 volvit sub 
 
 243 
 
 nni'i'hiic ^"^ snorting he rolls the col- 
 iiaiiuua iccted fire under his nostrils. 
 
 85 
 
 that albus and candidus are very 
 different: candidus signifying a 
 bright whiteness, like snow: and 
 albus a pale or dirty white: " Can- 
 '' didus autem et albus invicem sibi 
 '^ differunt. Nam albus cum quo- 
 " dam pallore est, candidus vero, 
 " niveus et pura luce perfusus." 
 I am not perfectly satisfied with 
 this distinction : for Virgil himself 
 frequently uses albus exactly in the 
 same sense as he uses candidus. In 
 the second Georgick he uses it for 
 the whiteness of the finest wool : 
 
 Albaneque Assyrio fuscatur lana veneno. 
 And again in the same Georgick : 
 
 Hinc albi, Clitumne, greges. 
 And in the third Georgick : 
 
 Continuoque greges villis lege mollibus 
 albos. 
 
 And in the third ^neid : 
 
 Nigram hyemi pecudem, Zephyris felici- 
 bus albam. 
 
 In the seventh ^neid it is used for 
 the whiteness of the teeth of a lion : 
 
 lUe pedes teginen torqueus immane le- 
 
 onis, 
 Terribili impexura seta, cum dentibus 
 
 albis 
 Indutus capiti. 
 
 And of a wolf in the eleventh : 
 
 Caput ingens oris hiatus 
 
 Et malae texere lupi cum dentibus albis. 
 
 In the fifth iEneid it is used for the 
 whiteness of bones blanched on a 
 rock: 
 
 Jamque adeo scopulos advecta subibat, 
 Difficiles quondam, muitorumque ossibus 
 albos. 
 
 In the seventh ^neid, for the 
 whiteness of hairs in old age: 
 
 In vultus sese iransformat aniles, 
 
 Et frontem obsccenam rugis arat : induit 
 
 albos 
 Cum vitta crines. 
 
 And again in the ninth : 
 
 Omnia longaevo similis, vocemque, colo- 
 
 remque 
 Et crines albos. 
 
 In the second Eclogue we have 
 both candidus and albus in the sameT 
 signification : 
 
 Quamvis ille niger, quamvis tu candidus 
 
 esses : 
 O formose puer, nimium ne crede colori. 
 Alba ligustra cadunt, vaccinia nigra le- 
 
 guntur. 
 
 In the fourth Georgick lilies are 
 called alba; and surely no one will 
 say that flower is of a dirty white, 
 or not sufficiently bright, to deserve 
 the epithet of candidus. 
 
 Lilia. 
 
 Albaque circum 
 
 And in the twelfth iEneid the 
 blushes of the beautiful Laviniaare 
 compared to ivory stained with 
 crimson, or lilies mixed with roses. 
 And here the lilies are called alba, 
 which being compared to the fair 
 complexion of this lady, I hope will 
 not be supposed to be of a dirty 
 white: 
 
 Accepit vocem lacrymis Lavinia matris, 
 Flagrantes perfusa genas : cui plurimus 
 
 ignem 
 Subjecit rubor, et calefacta per^^ora cu- 
 
 currit. 
 Indum sanguineo veluti violaverit ostro 
 Si quis ebur, vel mixta rubent ubi lilia. 
 
 multa 
 Alba rosa : tales virgo dabat ore colores, 
 2 I 2 
 
244 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 ?n"hbri|hViKi/ilr.'* '''"''' Densa juba, et dextro j aetata recumbit in armo. 
 
 But what I think will put it past 
 all dispute, that Virgil made no 
 difference of colour between albus 
 and candidus, is that, in the eighth 
 iEneid, the very same white sow, 
 which in ver. 45. he called alba, 
 is called Candida in ver. 82. and is 
 said also in this last verse to be of 
 the same colour with her pigs, to 
 which the epithet albo is applied : 
 
 Littoreis ingens inventa sub ilicibus sus, 
 Triginta capitum foetus enixa, jacebit; 
 ^Iha, solo recubans, albi circum ubera 
 nati. 
 
 Ecce autem subitum, atque oculis mira- 
 
 bile monstrum ; 
 Candida per sylvam aim foetu concolor 
 
 albo 
 Procubult, viridique in littore conspicitur 
 
 !US. 
 
 I have dwelt so long on this sub- 
 ject, because almost all the com- 
 mentators have agreed to approve 
 of this distinction, which I believe 
 I have sufficiently shewn to be 
 made without any good foundation. 
 What led them into this error seems 
 to be, that it would otherwise ap- 
 pear an absurdity in Virgil, to dis- 
 praise a white horse in his Geor- 
 gicks, and in his twelfth ^neid, to 
 mention it as a beauty in the horses, 
 which drew the chariot of Turnus, 
 that they were whiter than snow : 
 
 Poscit equos, gaudetque tuens ante ora 
 f rem antes, 
 
 Pilumno quos ipsa decus dedit Orithyia ; 
 
 Qui candore nives anteirent, cursibus au- 
 ras. 
 
 But they did not observe one parti- 
 cular, which might have saved them 
 the trouble of making this distinc- 
 tion. These very horses, which 
 are said to be whiter than snow, 
 have the epithet albis bestowed on 
 them, a few lines after : 
 
 ' Bigis it Turnus in albis. 
 
 Virgil however does not contradict 
 himself ; for though he admires the 
 beauty of these snowy horses, yet 
 there was no necessity, that he 
 should approve the same colour in 
 a stallion. White was esteemed by 
 the ancients as a sign of less na- 
 tural strength, than was discovered 
 by other colours. 
 
 83. Gilvo.l S. Isidore explains 
 gilvus, to be the colour of honey, 
 but whitish : *' Gilvus autem meli- 
 " nus color est subalbidus." I take 
 this to be what sve call dun. May 
 translates it flesh-colour : Dryden 
 dun : and Dr. Trapp sorrel. 
 
 Turn si qua sonum procul arma 
 dedere, stare loco nescit^ We find 
 some expressions like this of Virgil, 
 in that noble description of a horse, 
 in the book of Job : " He paweth 
 " in the valley, and rejoiceth in his 
 " strength : . . . . heswallovveth the 
 " ground with fierceness and rage: 
 " neither believeth he that it is the 
 " sound of the trumpet. He saith 
 '' among the trumpets. Ha, ha ; and 
 '' he smelleth the battle afar off, 
 " the thunder of the captains, and 
 " the shouting." 
 
 84. Micat auribus."^ Pliny says 
 the ears discover tlie spirit of a 
 horse, as the tail does that of a 
 lion : '' Leonum animi index cauda, 
 '' sicut et equorum aures: namque 
 ** et has notasgenerosissimo cuique 
 *' natura tribuit." 
 
 85. Collectutnque premens volvit 
 sub naribus ignemJ] It is fremens 
 instead o^ premens in the Cambridge 
 manuscript. Pierius says it has 
 been altered to fremens in the Me- 
 dicean copy, but it was premens 
 before, as he finds it also in other 
 copies which he looks upon to be 
 the most correct. 
 
 Wide nostrils and frequent snort- 
 ings are great signs of mettle in a 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 
 
 245 
 
 At duplex agitur per lumbos spina, cavatque 
 Tellurem, et solido graviter sonat ungula cornii. 
 Talis Amyclaei domitus Pollucis habenis 
 
 A double spine runs along his 
 loins; and his hoof turns np 
 the ground, and sounds deep 
 with solid horn. Such was 
 Cyllarus, who w;is tamed by 
 (he reins of Amyclean Pollux ; 
 
 horse. Thus it is expressed in the 
 book of Job : '' The glory of his 
 " nostrils is terrible." Varro says 
 the nostrils should not be narrow : 
 " Naribus non angustis." Colu- 
 mella says they should he open ; 
 " naribus apertis :" with which 
 Palladius also agrees, who says, 
 " naribus patulis." 
 
 86. Densa juba, et dextro jactata 
 recumbit in armo.'] Thus Varro; 
 " Non angusta juba, crebra, fusca, 
 " subcrispa, subtenuibus setis im- 
 ^' plicatain dexteriorem partem cer- 
 '* vicis :" and Columella; ''Densa 
 " juba, et per dextram partem pro- 
 ** fusa." 
 
 87. Duplex spina.'] In a horse, 
 that is in good case, the back is 
 broad, and the spine does not stick 
 up like a ridge, but forms a kind 
 of furrow on the back. This seems 
 to be what is meant by duplex spina, 
 which is also mentioned by Varro ; 
 " Spina maxime duplici, sin minus 
 " non extanti :" and by Columella; 
 *' Spina duplici." 
 
 88. Sonat.'] It is quatit in the 
 Roman manuscript, according to 
 Pierius. 
 
 Sp. Talis AmyclcEi domitus Pollu- 
 cis habenis Cyllarus.] Amyclae was 
 a city of Laconia, where Castor 
 and Pollux were educated. 
 
 Servius thinks that Pollux is put 
 here for Castor, by a poetical li- 
 cence. Pollux being famous for 
 fighting with the cestus, not for the 
 management of horses, which was 
 Castor's province. Most of the 
 commentators give up this passage 
 as a slip of the Poet's memory, 
 Pollux being allowed to be the 
 horseman by the general consent of 
 
 antiquity. Thus Homer in the ele- 
 venth Odyssey: 
 
 K«< fi^^tjv iT$ov Tfiv Tuv^ec^ieu zfa^dKoinv. 
 "H 'p vto Tvv^d^iM x^ars^oip^av' iyiivxre 
 
 Kecfro^a B-' i^r-Te^ufAov ku,) -au^ kya^ov Ho- 
 Xv^iuxia. 
 
 With graceful port advancing now I 
 
 spied 
 Leda the fair, the god-like Tyndar's 
 
 bride : 
 Hence Pollux sprung, who wields with 
 
 furious sway 
 The deathful gauntlet, matchless in the 
 
 fray; 
 And Castor glorious on th' embattled 
 
 plain 
 Curbs the proud steed, reluctant to the 
 
 rein. 
 
 Mr. Pope. 
 
 To the same purpose Theocritus is 
 quoted in his Aioo-kcv^oi. 
 
 'TfAviofiiS tir^as Ti xa) alyiop^a Aios w», 
 Kds-e^a xa) <po€s^ev HeKv^tvxia -zru^ i^s^i' 
 
 "Si Tt, Kdffro^, kiKfu 
 
 Here Theocritus does not seem 
 however to make any distinction 
 between the two brothers as fight- 
 ing, the one on horseback, the 
 other on foot. The difference he 
 seems to make is taken from their 
 weapons, Pollux using the cestus, 
 and Castor the spear. Indeed he 
 calls Castor f»yju'7ca>^ii but he im- 
 mediately introduces him fighting 
 on foot, as well as his brother. 
 Creech, in his translation of the two 
 first verses, represents them both as 
 horsemen, and using the cestus : 
 
 Fair Leda's sons, and mighty Jove's I 
 
 sing, 
 Castor and Pollux, glories of the rmg. 
 
M6 
 
 R VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 and those which the Greek 
 Poets mention, the brace of 
 
 Cyllarus, et quorum Graii meminere poetae, 
 
 None toss their whirlbats with so brave 
 
 a force, 
 None guide so well the fury of their 
 
 horse. 
 
 Horace also is quoted in opposition 
 to Virgil J for he plainly says, that 
 Castor delighted in horses, but Pol- 
 lux in the cestus : 
 
 Castor gaudet equis : ovo prognatus eo- 
 
 dem 
 Pugnis. 
 
 But here Horace seems to have for- 
 gotten the story ; for, according to 
 the old fable. Castor and Pollux 
 did not come out of the same egg, 
 but Castor and Clytemnestra out of 
 one, and Pollux and Hellen out of 
 the other. Seneca also, in his Hip- 
 polytus, expressly declares Cyllarus 
 to be the horse of Castor : 
 
 Si dorso libeat cornipedis vehi, 
 Fraenis Castorea nobilior manu 
 Spartanum poteris flectere Cyllarum : 
 
 As does Valerius Flaccus, 
 first book of Argonautics : 
 
 his 
 
 Castor dum quaereret Hellen, 
 
 Passus Amyclaea pinguescere Cyllaron 
 herba : 
 
 And Claudian, in his fourth Con- 
 sulship of Honorius : 
 
 Si dominus legeretur equis, tua posceret 
 ultro 
 
 Verbera Nereidum stabulis nutritus 
 Arion. 
 
 Serviretque tuis contempto Castore frae- 
 nis 
 
 Cyllarus : 
 
 And Martial, in the twenty-first 
 Epigram of the eighth book : 
 
 Ledaeo poteras abducere Cyllaron astro : 
 Ipse suo cedet nunc tibi Castor equo. 
 
 These are all the passages, which I 
 remember to have seen produced 
 
 against Virgil, to prove that Cyl- 
 larus was the horse, not of Pollux, 
 but of Castor. But there are not 
 wanting some testimonies to prove 
 that both the brothers were horse- 
 men. Pindar, in his third Olympic 
 ode, calls them iviTr^m Tw^ec^t^af. 
 It is related by several historians, 
 that in the war between the Ro- 
 mans and the Latins, who endea- 
 voured to restore Tarquin the 
 Proud, Castor and Pollux both 
 assisted the Romans on horseback. 
 Florus says the battle was so fierce, 
 that the gods are reported to have 
 come down to see itj but that it 
 was looked upon as a certain truth, 
 that Castor and Pollux were there, 
 on white horses, and that the ge- 
 neral vowed a temple to them for 
 their service : '* Ea demum atro- 
 *' citas fuit praelii, ut interfuisse 
 '* spectaculo deos fama tradiderit, 
 " duos in candidis equis Castorem 
 *' atque Pollucem nemo dubitarit. 
 " Itaque et Imperator veneratus est, 
 " nactusque victoriam templa pro- 
 *' misit : et reddidit plane quasi 
 " commilitonibus deis stipendium." 
 Thus we see it was an article of 
 faith, among the ancient Romans, 
 that they both fought on horseback. 
 In like manner Ovid also represents 
 them both mounted on white horses, 
 and both using spears at the hunt- 
 ing of the Calydonian boar : 
 
 At gemini, nondum caelestia sidera, fra- 
 
 tres, 
 Ambo conspicui nive candidioribus alba 
 Vectabantur equis : ambo vibrata per 
 
 auras 
 Hastarum tremulo quatiebant spicula 
 
 motu : 
 
 Though he had a little before, ac- 
 cording to the received opinion, 
 said one was famous for the cestus, 
 and the other for horses : 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 247 
 
 Martis equi bijuges, et magni currus Achillis. Achfiies"'^ "'^ ''*'''""* "^^"^^^^ 
 
 Tyndaridae gemini, 
 
 alter. 
 Alter equo. 
 
 spectatus caestibus 
 
 Statins, in his poem on Doraitian's 
 horse, mentions Cyllarus, as serving 
 the two brothers alternately : 
 
 Hunc et Adrastaeus visum extimuisset 
 
 Arion. 
 Et pavet aspiciens Ledaeus ab aede pro- 
 
 pinqua 
 Cyllarus : hie domini nunquam mutabit 
 
 habenas; 
 Perpetuis frasnis, atque uni serviet astro. 
 
 Stesichorus also, according to Sui- 
 das, says, that Mercury gave Phlo- 
 geus and Harpagus, and Cyllarus 
 to Castor and Pollux: 'Zrwt^o^os 
 ^yiart Tov 'Egf4?v h^tuKivxi rolg Aiot-kov- 
 ^oig ^Xoyiov, xx("A^-7retyov aiKieig, rixvov 
 
 Hodci^yxg Kxt KvXXx^ov. Pliny men- 
 tions the charioteers of both the 
 brothers : '' Sunt qui conditam earn 
 " ab Amphito et Telchio, Castoris 
 " ac Pollucis aurigis piitent." From 
 these quotations I think it appears, 
 that those are in the wrong, who 
 suppose Cyllarus to belong only to 
 Castor. It seems to me, that both 
 the brothers had an equal property 
 in the horses, and therefore, that 
 they might as well be ascribed to 
 Pollux as to Castor. Propertius 
 speaks of the horse of Pollux, 
 without any mention of Castor: 
 
 Potaque Pollucis nympha salubris equo. 
 
 91. Martis equi bijuges.'} Servius 
 and others say the horses of Mars 
 are Fear and Terror, Others con- 
 tend that these are the companions, 
 and not the horses, of that deity. 
 Those who think they are the 
 horses of Mars, seem to have fallen 
 into that error, by misunderstand- 
 ing the following passage in the 
 fifteenth Iliad: 
 
 "fl; <pciro' xcci 'p 'Ifjeeuf Kiktro AtTfAov n 
 
 ^o'fiov re 
 Zivyvv/4,iv. 
 
 I believe they took Ai7(>cov and <Po/3ov 
 to be joined with 'iTTTrovg, whereas 
 they are certainly the names of the 
 persons whom Mars commanded to 
 harness the horaes, as Mr. Pope 
 has justly translated it: 
 
 With that, he gives command to Fear 
 
 and Flight 
 To join his rapid coursers for the fight. 
 
 Besides, in the thirteenth Iliad, Ho- 
 mer mentions <p<j/3oj, or terror, not 
 only as the companion, but as the 
 son of Mars ; 
 
 OTos ^l fi^oroXoiyos"Aqt]s ^oXt/xov^i fiirtKrif 
 Tuj Tt ^ofios (p'iXos vlos a,fjt,a x^an^os xai 
 
 "Effffiro, offT \<p'o^riffi vaXd<p^ovd jrsg a'aXi- 
 fAiffrnv, 
 
 So Mars armipotent invades the plain, 
 (The wide destroyer of the race of man,) 
 Terror, his best-lov'd son, attends his 
 
 course 
 Arm'd with stern boldness, and enor- 
 mous force : 
 The pride of haughty warriors to con- 
 found. 
 And lay the strength of tyrants on the 
 ground. 
 
 Mn. Pope. 
 
 Hesiod, in his GioymeCj mentions 
 both /ear and terror, as the sons of 
 Mars and Venus: 
 
 Aura^ "A^n't' 
 
 'Vivoro^u Kv^e^iia ^ofiov xai AsTfjcov 'irixrtv, 
 Aiivovs, eiT av\Zv ^vxtvag xkoviouffs <pet- 
 
 Xayyois, 
 'Ev VoXiftM x^uoivrif ffi/v "A^ti'i TroXitri^^ijt, 
 'A^fiievitiv ff , nv K-ci^fios ifsr'i^dvfios Sir 
 
 UxoiTiv. 
 
 In the 'Ao-ttU 'HgaacAsoy^, of which 
 Hesiod is supposed to be the au- 
 thor, we find i\\e golden, swift -footed 
 horses of Mars mentioned, and /ear 
 
248 
 
 P. VIRGILIT MARONIS 
 
 SSt^pTead'ar's^lr^^e Talis et ipse jubaoi cervice efFudit equina 
 
 over his neck, and fled swiftly r-^ • • i • r- 
 
 and'^fiireTiofty Peik,'n I'ith ^oiijugis adveiitu pemix Satumus, et ahum 
 
 'a""i?or"e'?hS bf oppressed PelioD hinnitu fugleus implevit acuto. 
 
 with a sickness, or grow slug- ^ 
 
 gish with years, Hunc quoque, ubi aut morbo gravis, aut jam 
 
 segnior annis 
 
 95 
 
 and terror besides, standing by his 
 chariot : 
 
 *Ev y "A^tos fiXefu^oTo ^re^aKSis 'ierraffav 
 K^vtTioi' Iv Ts xou avres ha^(po^os evXios 
 Ai;;^fthv |y ^tl^ifffft* e;^aiv, ^^vXiiffffi xt- 
 
 XiVUV, 
 
 A'ifiuri (poiviKoitf, uffi) ^aovs iva^i^uv, 
 Ai<PQu Ifi^i^ctus' vra^a ^\ Atifies Tt defies 
 
 VI 
 
 "EffraffaVf lifAivat TeXifiov xaTK^Vfiivat a»- 
 
 And at the latter end of the same 
 book, they are represented lifting 
 Mars into his chariot, after Hercules 
 had wounded him, and whijjping 
 the horses : 
 
 Ta) ^£ ^e'fios xat AtTfiog iv'r^o^ov ei^fia, xui 
 "KKacav cu-^* lyyvf, xa) airo ^Soves tv^vo- 
 *Es ^i(pQov ^iixuv ^oXu^ai^aXat' ou'^a ^ 
 "ifrovs fJcccffriiTtirf "xevro }\ fiax^h "OXv/Jt,- 
 
 TOV. 
 
 Magni currus Achillis.'\ It is 
 Jlchilli in one of Dr. Mead's manu- 
 scripts, which reading is received 
 also by Heinsius and Masvicius, 
 Homer celebrates Xanthus and Ba- 
 lius, the horses of Achilles, as im- 
 mortal, and makes them born of 
 the Harj)y Podarge, by the West 
 wind : 
 
 Twht xat AvrefAiiui vtrayt ^vyov uxias 
 
 %av6ov xui BaXio¥, rat afta trvei^fi Tiri- 
 
 ffSnv. 
 Tov; tnxt Zi^v^o! avifiai''A^9rvtet Ho^a^ynt 
 BefxofAivi} XufjLuvt crei^a fee» axtuveTo. 
 
 Then brave Automedon (an honour'd 
 
 name) 
 The second to his lord in love and fame, 
 
 In peace his friend, and partner of the 
 
 war. 
 The winged coursers harness'd to the 
 
 car. 
 Xanthius and Balius, of immortal breed. 
 Sprung from the wind, and like the wind 
 
 in speed. 
 Whom the wing'd Harpy e, swift Podarge 
 
 bore. 
 By Zephyr pregnant on the breezy shore. 
 Mk. Pope. 
 
 92. Talis et ipse juham, &c.] 
 Philyra was the mistress of Saturn, 
 who, to avoid being discovered by 
 his wife Ops, coming upon them 
 unexpectedly, turned himself into 
 a fine horse. The consequence of 
 this amour was, that Philyra was 
 delivered of Chiron, half a man 
 and half a horse, 
 
 Effudit.'] It is effundit in the 
 King's and in both the Arundelian 
 manuscripts. Hein?ius also and 
 Masvidus read effundit. Pierius 
 says it is effundit in tiie Roman 
 and some other nianustripts. In 
 others it is fudit. But he justly 
 prefers effudit in the preterperfect 
 tense, because the order of the nar- 
 ration seems to require that tense, 
 for the next verb is implevit. 
 
 94. Pelion.'] It is the name of a 
 mountain of Thessaly, where Chiron 
 dwelt. 
 
 ^5. Hunc quoque, &c.] Having 
 given this beautiful description of 
 the characters of a good stallion, 
 the Poet now observes, that if the 
 horse happens to be sick, or if he 
 grows old, he is to be confined at 
 home, and restrained from the com- 
 pany of the mares. The age there- 
 fore and spirit of the horse is to be 
 diligently considered. Hence the 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 
 
 249 
 
 Deficit, abde domo ; nee turpi ignosce senectae. Jtf^'rinJSus 'oiV^e! 
 
 ..,.-, . f, , , The old horse is cold in love, 
 
 Frigidus m Venerem senior, irustraque laborem and vainiyjtugs at the an- 
 
 Poet slides into a fine description 
 of a chariot race, and an account 
 of the inventors of chariots, and 
 riding on horseback. 
 
 Jam segnior annis.] Jam is want- 
 ing in the King's manuscript. Pi- 
 erius says it is segnior (Etas in the 
 Roman manuscript, but he justly 
 prefers annis. In the old Nuren- 
 berg edition it is annus. 
 
 96. Abde domo.'] " For in domo; 
 *' for, if he had intended to speak 
 '^ adverbially, he would have said 
 *' domi. Thus he says, in the 
 " fourth ^Eneid, Nan Libyce, non 
 ^' ante Tyro.'' Servius. 
 
 Nee turpi ignosce senectce.'] *'^ Ci- 
 " cero, in his Caio major, both 
 *' praises and dispraises old age. 
 *' Wherefore this passage may be 
 " understood in two senses : either 
 '' do not spare his base old age, or 
 '* spare his not base old age, that is, 
 -'* hide him and spare his old age, 
 '* which is not base, because it eomes 
 '^naturally.'' Servius. 
 
 The latter of these interpreta- 
 tions is generally received, because 
 it is more agreeable to the practice 
 of the ancients, and the good tem- 
 per of Virgil, to use an old horse 
 well, in regard to the services he 
 has done in his youth. Ennius, as 
 he is quoted by Cicero, in his Cato 
 major, compares himself to a good 
 horse, who has often won the prize 
 at the Olympic games, but being 
 worn down with age, enjoys his 
 rest : 
 
 Sicut fortis equus, spatio qui saepe su- 
 premo 
 
 Vicit Olympia, nunc senio confectu' 
 quiescit. 
 
 Plutarch condemns Cato for selling 
 his old worn-out servants, and 
 urges against him the contrary 
 
 practice of treating horses. Ho- 
 race, when he prays to Apollo, 
 that he may enjoy a not inglorious 
 old age, uses the very words of 
 Virgil, in this passage : 
 
 Frui paratis, et '^alido mihi, 
 Latoe, dones: et precor, Integra 
 Cum mente, nee turpem senectam 
 Degere, nee cithara carentem. 
 
 Ovid, lamenting the misfortunes 
 which attended his old age, says it 
 fares otherwise with an old victo- 
 rious horse, who is suffered to 
 graze quietly in the meadows : 
 
 Ne cadat, et multas palmas inhonestet 
 adeptas, 
 Languidus in pratis gramina carpit 
 equus. 
 
 May's translation is according to 
 the first interpretation : 
 
 Yet when disease or age have brought 
 
 to nought 
 This horse's spirit, let him at home be 
 
 WTOUght, 
 
 Nor spare his base old age. 
 
 Dryden follows the latter inter- 
 pretation, and adds a large para- 
 phrase: 
 
 But worn with years, when dire diseases 
 
 come. 
 Then hide his not ignoble age at home : 
 In peace t' enjoy his former palms and 
 
 pains, 
 And gratefully be kind to his remains. 
 
 Dr. Trapp also follows the latter 
 interpretation :x 
 
 When weaken'd by disease, or years, he 
 
 fails. 
 Indulge him, hous'd ; and mindful of 
 
 the past. 
 Excuse his not dishonourable age. 
 
 97. Frigidus in Venerem senior.'] 
 In the King's manuscript it is/n- 
 gidus in Venerem est senior. 
 
250 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 engagi, hi ra|es hipStiy, Ingratum trahit : et, si quando ad proelia ven- 
 
 as a great fire sometimes rages 
 
 without force, amongst the tum esf Qo 
 
 stubble. Therefore chiefly Ob- *'""* ^^^' ^^ 
 
 eir spirit an jj^ quondam in stipulis magnus sine viribus ignis 
 
 Incassum furit. Ergo animos aevumque notabis 
 
 98. Proelia.'] La Cerda thinks 
 the Poet speaks of the horse's 
 unfitness for war: l)ut surely he 
 means the battles of Venus, not 
 those of Mars. In the same sense 
 he uses bella in the eleventh 
 ^neid. 
 
 At non in Venerem segnes, nocturuaque 
 bella. 
 
 99- Quondam.'] It is not always 
 used to signify any determinate 
 time. Here I take it to mean only 
 sometimes, as it is used also in the 
 fourth Georgick : 
 
 Frigidus ut quondam sylvis immurmurat 
 Auster; 
 
 And in the second ^neid: 
 
 Nee soli poenas dant sanguine Teu- 
 
 cri : 
 Quondam etiam victis redit in prascordia 
 
 virtus, 
 Victoresque cadunt Danai. 
 
 And again : 
 
 Adversi rupto seu quondam turbine venti 
 Confligunt. 
 
 And in the fifth ^nerd : 
 
 Entellus vires in ventum efFudit, et ultro 
 Ipse gravis graviterque ad terra m pon- 
 
 dere vasto 
 Concidit : ut quondam cava concidit, aut 
 
 Erymantho, 
 Aut Ida in magna, radicibus eiuta pinus. 
 
 And in the seventh : 
 
 Ceu quondam torto volitans sub verbere 
 turbo. 
 
 And again : 
 
 Ceu quondam nivei liquida inter nubila 
 
 cygni 
 Cum sese a pastu referunt : 
 
 And in the ninth : 
 
 Qualis in Euboico Baiarum littore quon- 
 dam 
 Saxea pila cadit : 
 
 And in the twelfth: 
 
 Postquam acies videt Iliacas, atque ag- 
 
 mina Turni, 
 Alitis in parvas subito colJecta figuram : 
 Quae quondam in bustis aut culminibus 
 
 desertis 
 Nocte sedens, serum canitimportuna per 
 
 umbras. 
 
 99. Stipulis.'] Pierius says it is 
 stipula in the Roman manuscript. 
 
 100. JEvum.] Aristotle says the 
 best age of a horse is from three 
 years old to twenty : though both 
 horse and mare will begin to couple 
 at two, and the horse will continue 
 to thirty-three and the mare to 
 above forty : "l-^'^og 21 o^ivnv u^^erxi 
 
 oiiTiig, Kxi o^tv£TU(, atrn x.ect yivvoiv . roc 
 fAivroi ix.yovoc x-xrct rovrovg 7ovg y^povcvg., 
 IXctrro) xdi ac-6iHKaTe^xc, cog W Itt] to 
 TcXua-rov, r^iiriig o^ii/u kccI hy^ivirui. 
 Kxt avcc^i^aa-i 2i »ki itfi to I^iXticotxtoi 
 rx vcyovx yinxv f^iXt^g Irm zUctriv. 
 (j^fivii oi iTTTTOg xppviv f^ixpig iTa» 
 r^ieix,09rx x.xi r^iav. *i 2i 6iiXsix oxivzrxi 
 i^XV' ^-roiv Ti(rffx^XK6VTX, am <rvy.Zxint 
 o-pjjsdai' 2ix (Biov yin<r&x'. T«y oxiiet*. Zrj 
 yx^ ag bti to ttoXv o f^lv csppjjv Trspi 
 
 T^iXX.OVTX TnVTi £T» , JJ ^6 6^XilX TtMIu 
 
 tZv Ticra-xpxKovrx. lida ds rig IZi'&itri* 
 
 iTTTTOg KXt i'oOOf/.lflKOVTX TTiVTi £T>J. V arrO 
 
 says they should not be younger 
 than three, nor older than ten. 
 '' Horum equorum, et equarum 
 " greges qui habere voluerunt, ut 
 " habent aliqui in Peloponneso, et 
 '' in Appulia, primum spectare 
 " oportet aetatem, quam praecipi- 
 " unt. Videndum ne sint minores 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 
 
 251 
 
 Praecipue : hinc alias artes, prolemque parentum, 
 Et quis cuique dolor victo, quae gloria palmae. 
 Nonne vides, cum praecipiti certamine campum 
 Corripuere, ruuntque efFusi carcere currus, 
 Cum spes arrectag juvenum, exultantiaque 
 haurit 105 
 
 Corda pavor pulsans : illi instant verbere torto, 
 Et proni dant lora : volat vi fervidus axis. 
 
 age: and then (heir other qua- 
 lities, and their otfspring, and 
 how they lament being over- 
 come, and how they rejoice 
 at victory. Do not you see in 
 the rapid race, when the cha- 
 riots have seized the plain, 
 and pouring from the barriers 
 rush along, when the hopes 
 of the young men are ele- 
 vated, and thrilling fear rends 
 their beating hearts: they ply 
 the twisted lash, and hang 
 over their horses with slack- 
 ened reins: the fervid axle 
 flies swift along. 
 
 " trimse, majores decem annorum." 
 Columella says the best a^e of a 
 horse is from three to twenty; of 
 a mare from two till ten: " Marem 
 '* putant minorem trimo non esse 
 " idoneum admissurae : posse vero 
 " usque ad vigesimum annum pro- 
 *' generare, foeminam bimani recte 
 " concipere, utposttertium annum 
 *' enixa foetum educel, eamque post 
 " decimum non esse utilem, quod 
 *' ex annosa matre tarda sit, atque 
 " iners proles." 
 
 101. Prolemque parentum.'] I have 
 ventured to differ from the general 
 interpretation of these words. They 
 are understood to mean, that you 
 are to consider the sire of the colt, 
 that you may know whether he is 
 of a good breed. Thus Grimoaldus 
 paraphrases them: " Post, parentes 
 " cujusmodi sint, considerabis, ut- 
 '* potequos plerumque sequitur sua 
 " soboles." La Cerda explains 
 them " quibus parentibus geniti :" 
 and Ruseus, " quorum parentum 
 *' sint soboles." Dryden translates 
 them " note his father's virtues:" 
 and Dr. Trapp '' their lineage." I 
 believe the Poet means by prolem 
 parentum, that we are to observe 
 what colts the horse produces. May 
 seems to have understood the pas- 
 sage in this sense, for he translates 
 it '^ his brood." 
 
 102. Dolor.'] In one of the 
 Arundelian manuscripts it is color. 
 
 103. Nonne vides, &c.] It is 
 
 easy to see that Virgil had Homer's 
 chariot race in his view. He has 
 not indeed adorned his description 
 with a variety of incidents, which 
 are so justly admired in the Greek 
 poet. They would have been use- 
 less ornaments in this place, where 
 only the force and swiftness of the 
 horses at that game require to be 
 described. It is not any particular 
 race but a general description of 
 that exercise which the Poet here 
 intends : and the noble and poeti- 
 cal manner in which he relates it, 
 can never be too much admired. 
 
 Prcecipiii certamine.] Pierius 
 found conamine, instead of certa- 
 mine, in some ancient manuscripts : 
 but he thinks it had been written 
 at first as a paraphrase, and had 
 afterwards slipped into the text. 
 
 We find the same words repeated 
 in the fifth ^neid : 
 
 Non lam praecipites bijugo certamine 
 campum 
 
 Corripuere, ruuntque effusi carcere cur- 
 rus, 
 
 105. Exultantiaque haurit corda 
 pavor pulsans.] These words are 
 also repeated in the fifth ^Eneid, 
 ver. 137, 138. They are much more 
 expressive than those which Homer 
 has used on the same occasion : 
 
 ■ Tlaraffffi ^i 6v{jt,os iKuffTou 
 
 107. Proni dant lora.] Thus in 
 the fifth ^neid : 
 2 k2 
 
252 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 Now low, now aloft, they 
 seem to bie carried on high 
 through the plains of air, and 
 to mount up to the skies. No 
 stop, no stay, but a cloud of 
 yellow sand arises; and they 
 are wet with the foam and 
 breath of those which lollow. 
 
 Jamque humiles, jamque elati sublime videntur 
 A era per vacuum ferri, atque adsurgere in 
 auras. 109 
 
 Nee mora, nee requies : at fulvae nimbus arenae 
 Tollitur : humescunt spumisjflatuquesequentum. 
 
 Nee sic immissis aurigse undantia lora 
 Concussere jugis, pronique in verbera 
 pendent. 
 
 107. Fervidus axis.'] Thus Ho- 
 race; 
 
 Metaque ferv'idis 
 
 Evitata rotis. 
 
 108. Jamque humiles, hcJ] Thus 
 Homer : 
 
 "A^fieiTa V eiXkari ftly ^^ov) TiXvaro tou- 
 XvfioTii^ri, 
 
 110. FulvcE nimbus arena tollitur.'] 
 Thus Homer: 
 
 "ifrar uii^o(iUri u<rrs n(pos m 6vi\Xet : 
 
 And again : 
 
 ■ 0/ ^' WtTovTo xoviovTis ift^ieio. 
 
 111. Hiimescunt spumis, flatuque 
 sequentum] Thus also Homer : 
 
 Mr. Pope, in his translation of the 
 passage in Homer, which Virgil 
 here imitates, has greatly improved 
 his author's original by borrow- 
 ing beauties from the copy. 
 
 At once the][coursers from the barriers 
 
 bound. 
 The lifted scourges all at once resound ; 
 Their heart, their eyes, their voice they 
 
 send before ; 
 And up the champain thunder from the 
 
 shore. 
 Thick, where they drive, the dusty 
 
 clouds arise. 
 And the lost courser in the whirlwind 
 
 flies: 
 
 Loose on their shoulders the long manes 
 
 reclin'd. 
 Float in their speed, and dance upon the 
 
 wind : 
 The smoking chariots rapid as they 
 
 bound. 
 Now seem to touch the sky, and now 
 
 the ground. 
 While hot for fame, and conquest all 
 
 their care, 
 (Each o'er his flying courser hung in air,) 
 Erect with ardour, pois'd upon the rein, 
 They pant, they stretch, they shout along 
 
 the plain. 
 
 The smoking chariots rapid as they 
 bound, is taken from volat vi fervi- 
 dus axis ; for Homer says no more 
 than simply the chariots. Each o'er 
 his flying courser hung in air, and 
 poisd upon the rein, are not in the 
 Greek, but are taken from proni 
 dant lora. Erect with ardour is 
 taken from spes arrectce juvenum, 
 for Homer only says, the charioteers 
 stood upon their seats. Had Mr. 
 Pope favoured us with a translation 
 of this passage of Virgil, I believe 
 every impartial reader would have 
 given the preference to the Latin 
 Poet. But as we cannot shew 
 Virgil in the English language 
 with equal advantage 3 I shall re- 
 present the passage in Homer, 
 under the same disadvantages of a 
 literal translation : " They all at 
 " once lifted up their whips over 
 " the horses, and lashed them with 
 " their reins, and earnestly encou- 
 " raged them with words. They 
 " run swiftly over the plain, and 
 " are soon distant from the ships. 
 " The scattered dust rises under 
 " their breasts, like a cloud or 
 " storm, and their manes float wav- 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 
 
 253 
 
 Tantus amor laudum, tantae est victoria curae. 
 Primus Ericthonius currus et quatuor ausus IIS 
 Jungere equos, rapidisque rotis insistere victor. 
 Fraena Pelethronii Lapithae, gyrosque dedere 
 
 So great is the love of praise, 
 BO great is the desire of vic- 
 tory. Ericthonius was the first 
 who dared to join tour horses 
 to a chariot, and to sit victo- 
 rious over the rapid wheels. 
 The Pelethronian Lapithas 
 mounting the horses' backs, 
 invented bridles and manag- 
 ing* 
 
 *' ing in the wind. The chariots 
 *' now approach the foodful earth, 
 " and now leap up on high, and 
 *' the drivers stand upon their seats, 
 ** and every one's heart beats with 
 '* desire of victory, each encou- 
 " rages his horses, and they fly 
 " along the plain, raising up the 
 '' dust." The reader will now 
 easily observe how much more 
 animated Virgil's description is, 
 than that of Homer. The chariots 
 do not barely run over the plain, 
 but they seize it, they pour from the 
 harriers and rush along, and the 
 fervid axle flies. They do not only 
 leap zip on high, but seem to be 
 carried on high through the plains of 
 air, and to mount up to the skies. 
 The drivers do not only stand upon 
 their seats, but their hopes are ele- 
 vated, and they hang over their 
 horses with slackened reins. Nor do 
 their hearts merely beat with desire 
 of victory, but thrilling fear rends 
 their beating hearts. 
 
 113. Ericthonius.'] The first in- 
 ventors of things are very doubt- 
 fully delivered down to us by the 
 ancients. Cicero, in his third book 
 de Natura Deorum, ascribes the 
 invention of the quadrigce to the 
 fourth Minerva ; " Minerva prima 
 '' quam Apollinis matrem supra 
 ''diximus: secunda orta Nilo, 
 •' quam ^Egyptii Saitae colunt : 
 '* tertia ilia quam Jove generatam 
 " supra dixiinus : quarta Jove nata 
 *' et Coryphe, Oceani filia, quam 
 " Arcades Coriam nominant, et 
 *' quadrigarum inventricem ferunt." 
 Ericthonius however is generally 
 allowed to have been the inventor 
 
 of chariots, to hide the deformity 
 of his feet. The commentators 
 tell a ridiculous story of his being 
 produced by a vain endeavour of 
 Vulcan to enjoy Minerva, who 
 resisted his attempts: and derive 
 his name from gg;? strife, and y,^av 
 the earth. They make him the 
 fourth king of the Athenians. But 
 Sir Isaac Newton suspects this 
 Ericthonius to be no other than 
 Erectheus, and to be falsely added 
 as a different king of Athens, to 
 lengthen their chronology. I ra- 
 ther believe the Ericthonius here 
 meant is the son of Dardanus and 
 father of Tros; because Pliny men- 
 tions him with the Phrygians, to 
 whom he ascribes the invention of 
 putting two horses to a chariot, as 
 Ericthonius invented the putting 
 four. " Bigas primum junxit 
 '* Phrygum natio, quadrigas Eric- 
 '' thonius." 
 
 114. Rapidis-I Pierius says it is 
 rapidus in the Roman manuscript. 
 I find the same reading in one of 
 the Arundellan manuscripts. Ser- 
 vius also and Heinsius read rapidus.. 
 
 115. Frcena Pelethronii Lapithce, 
 gyrosque dedere.'^ Servius says Pe- 
 letronium is the name of a town 
 of Thessaly, where the breaking 
 of horses was first invented. This 
 interpretation is generally received, 
 and therefore I have adhered to it 
 in my translation. But Pliny 
 makes Pelethronius the name of a 
 man, and says Bellerophon invented 
 the backing of horses, Pelethronius 
 bridles and the furniture of horses, 
 and the Centaurs of Thessaly the 
 fighting on horseback : '' Equo 
 
S54 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 an«sTo^5aw^h^g1Sl'd Impositl doFso, atquG equitem docuere sub armis 
 
 curvet and prance proudlj'. x l i 
 
 Alike are these labours, alike Insultare solo, ct ffressus fflomerare superbos. 
 
 do the masters require a young ^ o o r 
 
 *^°"^' JEquus uterque labor ; aeque juvenemque ma- 
 
 gistri 
 
 *' vehi Bellerophontem, fraenos et 
 '' strata equorum Pelethronium, 
 *' pugnare ex equo Thessalos, qui 
 *' Centauri appellati sunt, habi- 
 " tantes secundum Pelium mon- 
 " tem." Ovid however plainly uses 
 Pelethronium in the sense which 
 Servius has given it : 
 
 Vecte Pelelhronium Macareus in pectus 
 
 adacto 
 Stravit Erigdupum. 
 
 Gyrus signifies properly a ivheeling 
 about. Tlius it is used, in the 
 seventh ^neid, for the wheeling 
 round of a top : 
 
 Ceu quondam torto volitans sub verbere 
 
 turbo, 
 Quem pueri magno in gyro vacua atria 
 
 circum 
 Intenti ludo exercent. 
 
 In the tenth ^neid, when Mezen- 
 tius throws several darts at iEneas, 
 and then takes a great round, as it 
 is expressed by volat ingenti gyro. 
 
 Dixit, telumque intorsit in hostem 
 
 Inde aliud super atque aliud figitque vo- 
 lat qtie 
 Ingenti gyro. 
 
 It is used in the same manner, in 
 the eleventh iEneid, to express 
 Camilla's flying from Orsilochus, 
 and wheeling round, till she comes 
 behind him : 
 
 Orsilochum fugiens, magnumque agitata 
 
 per orhcm 
 Eludit^i/70 interior, sequiturque sequen- 
 
 tem. 
 
 In this place therefore it signifies 
 the managing a horse, and teaching 
 all the proper rounds and turns. 
 May has translated this passage. 
 
 The Peletronian Lapithes first found 
 
 The use of backing horses, taught them 
 bound, 
 
 And run the ring ; taught riders t' exer- 
 cise 
 
 In martial ranks. 
 
 Diyden's translation is. 
 
 The Lapithae to chariots, add the state 
 Of bits and bridles; taught the steed to 
 
 bound, 
 To run the ring, and trace the mazy 
 
 round. 
 To stop, to fly, the riJles of war to 
 
 know: 
 T' obey the rider ; and to dare the foe. 
 
 Dr. Trapp's is. 
 
 The Lapithas first, mounting on their 
 backs. 
 
 Added the reins ; and taught them un- 
 der arms, 
 
 Graceful to form their steps, to wheel, 
 and turn. 
 
 Insult the ground, and proudly jiace the 
 plain. 
 
 Il6. Equilem.'] Aulus Gellius 
 contends that eques signifies the 
 same with equus, and quotes a verse 
 of Ennius where eques was evi- 
 dently used for a horse : 
 
 Denique vi magna quadrupes eques atque 
 
 elephanti 
 Projiciunt sese. 
 
 Without doubt, it is the horse, that 
 paws, curvets, and prances, but the 
 Poet might very well apply these 
 actions to the man who rides the 
 horse, and makes him perform 
 them. 
 
 118. JEquus uterque labor.'] That 
 is, the labours of driving chariots, 
 and managing the single horse, are 
 equal. 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 
 
 ^5 
 
 Exquirunt, calidumque animis, et cursibus 
 
 acrem. 
 
 Quamvis saepe fuga versos ille egerit hostes, 120 
 Et patriam Epirum referat, fortesque Mycenas ; 
 Neptunique ipsa deducat origine gentem. 
 
 one that is full of tnetlle, ami 
 eager in running. Though 
 he may often have turned his 
 enemies to flight; and may 
 boast of Epirus or strong My- 
 cenae for his country; and 
 may derive his family from 
 the very original of Neptune. 
 
 119. Calidum.'] In one of the 
 Arundelian manuscripts it is calidis. 
 
 120. Quamvis sape fuga, &c.] 
 That is, let the horse's qualifica- 
 tions have been ever so good, let 
 him have come from the best coun- 
 try in the world, let him be de- 
 scended from the noblest race, yet 
 he must still be in the flower of his 
 age J or else good judges will never 
 make choice of him, eitlier for 
 riding, or racing. In like manner 
 must we be careful, not to choose 
 an old horse for a stallion. 
 
 121. Epirum.'] In one of Dr. 
 Mead's manuscripts it is Cyprum, 
 Epirus was famous for horses. See 
 note on book i. ver. 5Q. 
 
 Fortesque Mycenas.'] Mycenas was 
 a city of Argia, a region of Pelo- 
 ponnesus, in which Agamemnon 
 reigned. This country was famous 
 for good horses. Thus Horace : 
 
 ■ Plurimus in Junonis honorem 
 
 Aptum dicit equis Argos, ditesque My- 
 
 122. Neptunique ipsa deducat ori- 
 gine gentem.] In both the Arunde- 
 lian manuscripts it is ipsam instead 
 of ipsa. Pierius says it is nomen 
 instead of gentem in the Roman 
 manuscript. I have found meniem 
 in an old edition, printed at Venice, 
 in 1475. 
 
 Neptune is said to have smitten 
 the earth with his trident, and 
 thereby to have produced a fine 
 horse, to which the Poet alludes, 
 in the first book : 
 
 Tuque o, cui prima frementem 
 
 Fudit equum tellus, magno percussa tri- 
 
 denti, 
 Neptune. 
 
 There is another fable, that Ceres, 
 to avoid the addresses of Neptune, 
 took upon her the form of a mare : 
 but Neptune discovering her, turned 
 himself into a horse, and enjoyed 
 her: after which she was delivered 
 of a fine horse, which some say 
 was the famous Arion, Dryden, in 
 his translation, seems to make Vir- 
 gil allude to both fables : 
 
 But once again thebatter'd horse beware. 
 The weak old stallion will deceive thy 
 
 care : 
 Though famous in his youth for force ^ 
 
 and speed, | 
 
 Or was of Argos or Epirian breed, S. 
 
 Or did from Neptune's race or from | 
 
 himself TproceeA. J 
 
 I suppose by himself he must mean 
 Neptune himself, who was the na- 
 tural father of the horse, according 
 to the latter fable. May adheres 
 to the former : 
 
 Though nere so nobly born, though oft 
 in g^ime 
 
 They won the prize, and for their coun- 
 try claime 
 
 Epire, or faui'd Mycenae, or else tooke 
 
 Their birth at first from Neptune's tri- 
 dent's stroke : 
 
 And Dr. Trapp : 
 
 If youth and strength he want, th' at- 
 tempt is vain ; 
 
 Though oft victorious he has turn'd the 
 foes 
 
 To flight, and boasts Epirus, fam*d for 
 steeds. 
 
 Or brave Mycenae, as his native soil. 
 
 And ev'n from Neptune's hreed his race 
 derives. 
 
256 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 Sv^d.^'hefa.e^vely'dliigeS't His animadversis, instant sub tempus et omnes 
 
 about the time of generation, 
 aud ' 
 
 123. His animadversis, &c.] The 
 Poet having already described the 
 excellency of those two noble 
 creatures, the bull and the horse, 
 now acquaints us with the method 
 of preparing them, for the propa- 
 gation of their species ; the male 
 is to be well fed, to make him 
 plump and lusty, but the female is 
 to be kept lean, by a spare diet, 
 and much exercise. 
 
 This passage is commonly under- 
 stood to relate only to horses and 
 mares. Thus Grimoaldus para- 
 phrases it : " Postquam mores equo- 
 *' rum, et annos deprehenderint 
 
 *' agricolae Insuper armen- 
 
 '' tarii diligentes dedita opera et de 
 "^ industria equas emacerabunt." 
 Thus also May translates it : 
 
 These things observ'd, at covering time, 
 
 they care 
 To make their stallion strongly fat and 
 
 faire. 
 
 And Dryden : 
 
 These things premis'd, when now the 
 
 nuptial tinae 
 Approaches for the stately steed to climb ; 
 
 Instructed thus, produce him to the fair; 
 And join in wedlock to the longing mare. 
 
 But La Cerda contends, that this 
 whole passage relates to hulls and 
 cows, which opinion he confirms by 
 the Poet's mentioning the asihis and 
 the calves soon after. To me it 
 appears that this precept relates to 
 both species, for, at ver. 49- where 
 Virgil begins his subject, he pro- 
 fesses to treat of horses and bullocks 
 together : 
 
 Seu quis, Olympiacae miratus praemia 
 
 palmae, 
 Pascit equos, seu quis fortes ad aratra 
 
 juvencos 
 Corpora prsecipue matrum legat. 
 
 He then proceeds to describe the 
 good qualities of a cow : 
 
 Optima torvae 
 
 Forma bovis : 
 
 i\nd immediately afterwards sub- 
 joins those of a horse : 
 
 Nee non et pecori est idem delectus 
 
 equino. 
 Tu modo quos in spem statues submit- 
 
 tere gentis, 
 Praecipuum jam inde a teneris impende 
 
 laborem. 
 
 After his long description of the 
 good qualities of a horse, he now 
 comes to consider the generation 
 of these animals, and seems to me 
 to blend both species together. In 
 the passage now under considera- 
 tion, the fatiguing the females 
 with running before copulation, 
 and in the next passage, the re- 
 straining them from leaping, seems 
 most applicable to mares ; and the 
 mention of the calves, and the asi- 
 lus soon after, and the time as- 
 signed for the copulation, evidently 
 belong to cows. 
 
 123. Instant sub tempus, &c.] 
 Varro says he used to feed his bulls 
 well for two months before the 
 time : '' Tauros duobus mensibus 
 '' ante admissuram herba, et palea, 
 " ac foeno facio pleniores, et a foe- 
 " minis secerno." Columella also 
 says the f)ull should be well fed : 
 " Pabulum .... tauris adjicitur, 
 " quo fortius ineant." He says 
 the same of horses : '' Eoque tem- 
 " pore, quo vocatur a fosminis, ro- 
 '' borandus est largo cibo, et ap- 
 " propinquante vere ordeo, ervoque 
 " saginandus, ut veneri supersit, 
 '^ quantoque fortior inierit, firmiora 
 " semina praebeat futurae stirpi:" 
 and Palladius also: " Hoc mense 
 *' [Martio] saginati, ac pasti ante 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 
 
 257 
 
 Jmpendunt curas denso distendere pingui, 124 
 Queni legere ducem, et pecori dixere maritum : 
 Pubentesque secant herbas, fluviosque minis- 
 
 trant, 
 Farraque, ne blando nequeat superesse labori, 
 Invalidique patrum referant jejunia nati. 
 Ipsa autem macie tenuant armenta volentes: 129 
 Atque ubi concubitus primos jam nota voluptas 
 
 bestow all their care id 
 plumping the leader and has- 
 band of the herd with firm 
 fat : and cut tender grass for 
 him, and give him plenty of 
 water, and corn; lest he should 
 be dehcient in his pleasing 
 labour, and lest the puny race 
 should betray the weakness of 
 their fathers. But as for the 
 females, they purposely make 
 them lean: and when now 
 the new known desire solicits 
 their first enjoyment, 
 
 " admissarii generosis equabus ad- 
 " mittendi sunt." 
 
 1.25. 'Dixere^ It is duxere in the 
 Cambridge manuscript, and in an 
 old edition, printed at Venice, in 
 1482. 
 
 1*26. Pubentes.'] The King's, the 
 Cambridge, the Bodleian, one of 
 the Arundelian, and both Dr. 
 Mead's manuscripts, have Jiorentes. 
 Most of the old editions have the 
 same reading. Pierius says it is 
 pubentes in some ancient manu- 
 scripts J which reading is admitted 
 also by Heinsius, Masvicius, Ruaeus, 
 and several other good editors. La 
 Cerda has florenieSf but he thinks 
 pubentes better : '* Melius legas 
 " pubentes. Nam prata magis con- 
 " veniunt, quae delicatis et mollibus 
 *^ herbis abundant, quam proceris." 
 This agrees with what Columella 
 says of the feeding of horses, who 
 recommends tender grass, rather 
 than that which is ripe: " Gregi- 
 " bus autem spatiosa et palustria, 
 " nee non montana pascua eligen- 
 " da sunt, rigua, nee unquam sic- 
 " canea, vacua ve magis, quam stir- 
 " pibus impedita, frequenter mo/Zi- 
 " bus potius quam proceris herbis 
 '^ abundantia." 
 
 127. Nequeat.'] Pierius says it is 
 nequeat in the Roman and other 
 most ancient manuscripts. The 
 King's, one of the Arundelian, and 
 one of Dr. Mead's manuscripts have 
 
 nequeant. The same reading is ad- 
 mitted by Paul Stephens, Schreve- 
 lius, and several of the old editors, 
 but nequeat is generally received. 
 
 129. Made tenuant armenta.'] 
 This precept of making the females 
 lean, is delivered also by the prose 
 writers. Varro says he fed his 
 cows sparingly for a month : 
 " Propter foeturam haec servare so- 
 '^ leo, ante admissuram mensem 
 " unum, ne cibo, et potione se im- 
 '^ pleant, quod existimantur facilius 
 " macrae concipere." Columella 
 says the cows are fed sparingly, 
 lest too great fatness should make 
 them barren : '* Sed et pabulum 
 " circa tempus adraissurae subtra- 
 " hitur foeminis, ne eas steriles red* 
 *' dat nimia corporis obesitas." 
 
 130. Ubi concubitus primos jam 
 nota voluptas sollicitat.] The critics 
 are not agreed about the sense of 
 this passage. Servius says that the 
 word nota is put to signify that the 
 mares had been covered before, be- 
 cause the first time a young mare 
 is covered she ought not to be lean : 
 " Dicendo nota per transitum tetigit 
 *' rem ab aliis diligenterexpressam. 
 " Nam equae pullae cum primum 
 " coeunt, si macrae sunt, et debili- 
 '* tantur, et debiles creant; post 
 " primum autem partum tenues 
 " esse debent." But I do not find 
 this distinction made by the writers 
 on husbandry. Ruaeus savs primos 
 
 2l 
 
258 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 tl d^t'Th'em'from'the Sollicitat, frondesquG negant, et fontibus ar- 
 
 springs. 
 
 cent. 
 
 and jam nota are inconsistent, un- 
 less primos relates, not to the first 
 covering, but to the beginning of 
 the year; **^ Pugnant haec verba, 
 "primos et Jam nota. Nisi juxta 
 *' alios intelligamus primos, non 
 " omnino de primo concubituj sed 
 " tantum de prinao et novo anni 
 " cujusque redeuntis." Accord- 
 ingly his interpretation is, " Et 
 *' cum voluptas prius cognita suadet 
 '' novum coitum." Dr. Trapp 
 translates Ruaeus's note, and adds 
 " and that is very untoward." Gri- 
 moaldus interprets it, " ubi primum 
 " coire cupient :" and La Cerda, 
 *' ubi jam sollicitantur voluptate ad 
 '*" coitum," taking no notice either 
 of primos or Jam nota. Thus also 
 May translates it : 
 
 And when they have an appetite 
 
 To venery. 
 
 Dryden follows Ruaeus: 
 
 When conscious of their past delight, 
 
 and keen 
 To take the leap, and prove the sport 
 
 agen. 
 
 Dr. Trapp translates jam nota, but 
 takes no notice of concubitus pri- 
 mes : 
 
 — — When now the known delight 
 Solicits their desires. 
 
 Mr. B , in his preface to the 
 
 Georgicks, prefixed to the second 
 book, gives quite a new interpreta- 
 tion of this passage. " Mr. Dryden," 
 says he, " very unlearnedly applies 
 ** 7iota voluptas to the mare, not 
 '* considering that Virgil speaks 
 *' here in the person of a groom or 
 " farmer, very well acquainted with 
 " the passion those creatures are 
 " most subject to ; and therefore 
 
 " nota voluptas relates to the far- 
 " mer's knowledge, beyond all 
 " manner of doubt; and it is worth 
 ^' observation, through all the 
 " Georgicks, that though the piece 
 " is what the grammarians call 
 '' Didactic, yet the style is generally 
 '' Epic." He then gives his own 
 translation of the passage now be- 
 fore us, in the following words : 
 
 As for the herd, they strive to keep them 
 
 bare, 
 And pinch, and draw them down with 
 
 scanty fare -, 
 And when the well Jcnown passion of their 
 
 race 
 Solicits instantly the first embrace. 
 Then they forbid them wandering in the 
 
 woods. 
 Cropping the browse, and haunting 
 
 lonely floods : 
 Oft in the scorching sun they waste their 
 
 force. 
 And urge them panting in the furious 
 
 course : 
 Then groans the floor, to pouoded sheaves 
 
 resign'd. 
 And empty straws are spurn *d against 
 
 the wind. 
 
 The whole difficulty, about inter- 
 preting this passage, seems to have 
 risen from not considering, that 
 voluptas signifies not only what we 
 call pleasure, but also a desire of en- 
 joying. In this sense it is plainly 
 used in the second Eclogue : 
 
 Torva leaena lupum sequitur, lupus ipse 
 
 capellam : 
 Florentem cytisum sequitur lasciva ca- 
 
 pella : 
 Te Coridon, o Alexi : trahit sua quern- 
 
 que voluptas : 
 
 And in the tenth .^neid : 
 
 Tantane me tenuit vivendi, nate, vo- 
 luptas ? 
 
 where Ruaeus interprets vivendi vo- 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 
 
 Saepe etiam cursu quatiunt, et sole fatigantj 
 
 They often shake them also 
 with running, and fatigue 
 them in the sun, when the 
 
 Cum graviter tunsis gemit area frugibus, et cum f,°,«/3,,ie^^«^"„'d Sn'^ "^'"^ 
 
 luptas, cupido vita ; and Dryden 
 translates it j 
 
 What joys, alas ! could this frail being 
 
 give. 
 That I have been so covetous to live ? 
 
 Voluptas therefore, in the passage 
 now under consideration, signifies 
 the desire which now first begins 
 to be known by the young mare, 
 and requires the care of the farmer, 
 to keep her from growing fat. 
 This would still be more evidently 
 the sense of the passage, if we were 
 to read nata instead of nota, as it 
 is in the Cambridge manuscript. 
 
 131. Frondesque negant, et fonti- 
 bus arcent.'] This is put in opposi- 
 tion to 
 
 Puhentesqice secant herhas,Jluviosque mi- 
 nistrant. 
 
 Pierius ?ays that in some ancient 
 manuscripts it is frovdibus, instead 
 of fontibus ; which he justly con- 
 demns, 
 
 133, Cum graviter tunsis, &c.] 
 Pierius found tonsis in some manu- 
 scripts : I find the same reading in 
 the Cambridge manuscript, and in 
 some of the oldest printed editions. 
 
 The time here mentioned agrees 
 better with cows than with mares. 
 The beginning of the Roman har- 
 vest was about the latter end of 
 their June ; and therefore we can- 
 not suppose their threshing time to 
 have been earlier than July. Now 
 this was the very time, when they 
 allowed the bull to be admitted to 
 the cows. Varro says the time for 
 this was from the rising of the 
 Dolphin to about forty, days after- 
 wards : " Maxime idoneum tempus 
 " ad concipiendum a Delphini ex- 
 '^ ortu, usque ad dies quadraginta, 
 
 " aut paulo plus. Quae enim ita 
 " conceperunt, teraperatissimo anni 
 '^ tempore pariunt. Vaccae enim 
 " mensi bus decern sunt praegnantes." 
 This rising of the Dolphin men- 
 tioned by Varro, cannot be the 
 morning rising, which began on 
 the twenty-seventh of December, 
 according to Columella ; '' Sexto 
 '' Calendas Januarias Delphi nus in- 
 " cipit oriri mane:" or on the 
 fourth of January according to 
 Pliny: '' Pridie Nonas Delphinus 
 " matutino exoritur." It must be 
 the evening rising, which was on 
 the tenth of June, according to both 
 Columella and Pliny: '* Quarto 
 '' Idus Delphinus vespere exoritur." 
 Therefore the time allotted by 
 Varro is from the tenth of June to 
 about the twentieth of July. The 
 barley harvest was reckoned to be- 
 gin about the latter end of June, 
 or the beginning of July. Thus 
 the cows might be employed in 
 treading out the barley, before the 
 bull was admitted to them. Colu- 
 mella expressly mentions July as 
 the proper time : '' Mense Julio 
 " foeminae maribus plerumque per- 
 '' mittendae, ut eo tempore concep- 
 '' tos proximo vere adultis jam pa- 
 " bulls edant. Nam decem men- 
 '' sibus ventrem perferunt." Pal- 
 laciius also assigns the month of 
 July as the proper season : " Hoc 
 " tempore maxime tauris submit- 
 ** tendae sunt vaccae, quia decern 
 '^'mensium partus sic poterit ma- 
 " turo vere concludi." But the 
 time for covering mares is much 
 earlier, and by no means agrees 
 with the time of harvest. Accord- 
 ing to Varro, it is from the vernal 
 equinox to the solstice, that is, 
 from the twenty-fourth or twenty- 
 2 l2 
 
^60 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 the empty chaff is tossed to 
 the rising zephyrs. This they 
 do that the use of the genial 
 field may not be blunted with 
 too much indulgence, and 
 overspread the sruggish fur- 
 rows; but that it may gree- 
 dily devour the joy, and re- 
 ceive it into the inmost re- 
 cesses. Again the care of the 
 sires begins to cease, and 
 that of the dams to begin. 
 When they rove about, in a 
 state of pregnancy, and are 
 near their time, let no one 
 suffer them to draw the yokes 
 of the heavy waggons, or 
 leap across the way, and run 
 swiftly 
 
 Surgentem ad zephyrum paleae jactantur inanes. 
 Hoc faciunt, nimio ne luxu obtusior usus 135 
 Sit genitali arvo, et sulcos oblimet inertes : 
 Sed rapiat sitiens Venerem, interiusque recondat. 
 Rursus cura patrum cadere, et succedere ma- 
 
 trum 
 Incipit. Exactis gravidae cum mensibus errant, 
 Non illas gravibus quisquam juga ducere 
 
 plaustris, 1'^ 
 
 Non saltu superare viam sit passus, et acri 
 
 fifth of their March to the twenty- 
 fourth or twenty-fifth of June: 
 *' Horum foeturae initium admis- 
 " sionis facere oportet, ab aequi- 
 " noctio verno ad solstitiura, ut 
 *' partus idoneo tempore fiat. Duo- 
 '' decimo enim mense, die decirao 
 '' aiunt nasci." According to Co- 
 lumella, the time is about the ver- 
 nal equinox: '' Generosis circa 
 " vernum aequinoctium mares jun- 
 '' gentur, ut eodem tempore, quo 
 *^ conceperint, jam Icetis et her- 
 " bidis campis post anni messem 
 " parvo cum labore foetum educent. 
 *' Nam mense duodecimo partum 
 " edunt." Palladius sets down 
 March as the season : *' Hoc mense 
 *' saginati, ac pasti ante admissarii 
 " generosis equabus admittendi 
 " sunt." 
 
 135. Hoc faciunt, &c.] In these 
 lines the modesty of the Poet is 
 very remarkable. His expressions 
 are glowing and poetical; and at 
 the same time not offensive to the 
 chastest ear. Some of his com- 
 mentators however have been care- 
 ful to explain in the clearest manner 
 what their author took care to veil 
 decently with figures. Dryden's 
 translation is abominably obscene, 
 for which he has been justly cor- 
 rected by Mr. B . Dr. Trapp, 
 
 through fear of offending in the 
 same manner, has comprised these 
 three in two very dull lines : 
 
 Lest too much luxury and ease should 
 
 close 
 The pores, and dull the hymeneal soil. 
 
 136. Sit.'] In one of Dr. Mead's 
 manuscripts it is sint, which cannot 
 be right. 
 
 Arvo.'] In an old edition, printed 
 at Venice, in 1475, it is auro. 
 
 Et sulcos.'] In the Basil edition 
 of 1586, it is sulcosque. 
 
 137. Rapiat Venerem.] Thus 
 Horace : 
 
 i Venerem incertara rapientis. 
 
 138. Rursus cura patrum, &c.] 
 The Poet having given us full 
 instructions about the care of the 
 male, now tells us that after con- 
 ception, the whole care is to be 
 transferred to the female. He then 
 takes occasion to mention the Asi- 
 lus, which is a terrible plague to 
 the cows in Italy. 
 
 140. Non illas gravibus quisquam 
 Juga ducere plaustris . . . sit passus.] 
 Tiius Varro: " Cum concejierunt 
 '' equae, videndum ne aut laborent 
 " plusculura, &c." 
 
 In one of Dr.iNIead's manuscripts 
 it is gravidis instead of gravibus. 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 
 
 S^ 
 
 Carpere prata fuga, fluviosque innare rapaces. 
 Saltibus in vacuis pascant, et plena secundum 
 Flumina,muscus ubi, et viridissma gramine ripa: 
 Speluncaeque tegant, et saxea procubet umbra. 
 Est lucos Silari circa, ilicibusque virentem 146 
 Plurimus Alburnum volitans, cui nomen asilo 
 Roman um est, CEstron Graii vertere vocantes ; 
 
 over the meadows, and swim 
 the rapid streams. Let them 
 feed in open lawns, and near 
 full rivers; where the banks 
 are mossy, and green with 
 grass ; and let there be caves 
 ti) shelter, and rocks to shade 
 them. About the groves of 
 Silarus, and Alburnus, green 
 with holm-oaks, there is great 
 plentj' of a sort of flying in- 
 sects, which the Romans call 
 Asilus, but the Greeks have 
 formed the name CEstros for 
 it: 
 
 143. Saltibvs.'} See the note on 
 verse 471. of the second Georgick. 
 
 Pascant."] In one of the Arunde- 
 lian manuscripts it is pascunt. 
 
 Plena secundum fiuminu.'] The 
 Poet recommends full rivers, that 
 the pregnant cattle may not strain 
 themselves with stooping to drink. 
 
 144. Viridissima gramine ripa."] 
 Thus Varro, speaking of cows, 
 " Eas pasci oportet in locis viri- 
 " dibus, et aquosis." 
 
 In one of Dr. Mead's manuscripts 
 it is germirie instead of gramine. 
 
 146. Est lucos.'] Seneca reads 
 Et lucum. 
 
 Silari.] Silarus was the name 
 of a river, which divided the coun- 
 try of the Picentini, from that of 
 the Lucani. Is now called Selo. 
 
 Circa.] Seneca resuls juxia. 
 
 Ilicibusque virentem.] The epithet 
 virentem is very proper j for the 
 holm-oak, or ilex, is an evergreen. 
 
 147. Plurimus] '^This plurimus," 
 says Dr. Trapp, " may seem odd : 
 " for Asilus is plainly understood 
 ** as agreeing with it. And then 
 " Asilus, cui nomen Asilo looks 
 *' strange. But we must recur to 
 '* the sense J which is the same, as 
 *' if it had been Plurima musca cui 
 '" nomen Asilo.'' Asilus cui nomen 
 Asilo is La Cerda's interpretation, 
 which, I must acknowledge, seems 
 a little strange. But surely pluri- 
 mus agrees with volitans, which 
 is used here as a noun substantive. 
 Thus Servius interprets this pas- 
 
 sage ; ** Ordo talis est, circa lucos 
 *' Silari Jluminis Lucanias, et Alhur- 
 " num ejus montem est plurimus vo- 
 " litans: ac si diceret, est multa 
 " musca. Volitans autem modo 
 " nomen est, non participium." 
 
 147. Alburnum.] Alburnus was 
 the name of a mountain near the 
 river Silarus. 
 
 Cui nomen Asilo.] Asilo is here 
 put in the dative case, after the 
 manner of the Greeks. Thus we 
 fit^d in the fourth Georgick : 
 
 Est etiam flos in pratis, cui noynen Amelia 
 Fecere Agricolae : 
 
 And in the first ^neid : 
 
 At puer Ascanius, cui nunc cognomen 
 
 lillo 
 Additur : 
 
 And in the ninth : 
 
 Fortemque manu fudisse Numa- 
 
 num 
 Cui Remulo cognomen erat. 
 
 148. Romanum est.] Est is left 
 out in the King's, in one of the 
 Arundelian, and in one of Dr. 
 Mead's manuscripts. 
 
 CEstron Graii vertere vocantes.] 
 Servius understands these words to 
 mean, that the Greeks called this 
 insect cla-r^og, from its whizzing 
 noise : for he thinks it cannot be 
 the Poet's meaning, that the Greeks 
 translated it from the Latin, be- 
 cause the Greek is the more ancient 
 language : '' Vertere ex soni si- 
 " militudine, onomatopoieam fe- 
 
262 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 it stings, and makes 
 zing noise; with whi( 
 herds bein^ terrified fly out 
 of the woods : 
 
 with which wh'ljre Asper, acerba sonans; quo tota exterrita sylvis 
 
 "cere. Non enim possumus acci- 
 " pere, ex Latina lingua mutavere, 
 '' cum constet Graecam primam 
 " fuisse." It is probable, however, 
 that this insect might have been 
 first taken notice of by the ancient 
 inhabitants of Italy. For that 
 country was anciently celebrated 
 for the finest kine: and Timaeus, 
 as he is quoted by Varro, informs 
 us, that the ancient Greeks called 
 bulls hocXiv?, and thence called the 
 country Italy, because it abounded 
 with the finest bulls and calves : 
 " Vide quid agas, inquam, Vacci. 
 " Nam bos in pecuaria, maxima 
 '' debet esse auctoritate: praesertim 
 " in Italia, quae a bubus nomen 
 *' habere sit existimata. Graecia 
 " enim antiqua, ut scribit Ti- 
 " maeus, tauros vocabant hecXovg, a 
 '^ quorum multitudine, et pulchri- 
 *' tudine, et foetu vitulorum Italiam 
 *' dixerunt." 'J'o this we may add, 
 that Seneca understood the Poet to 
 mean, that Asilus was the ancient 
 name, but that the Greek name 
 oestrus or cestrum was then received 
 instead of it: *' Hunc quem Graeci 
 " oestrum vocant, pecora peragen- 
 " tern, et totis saltibus dissipantem, 
 *' asilum nostri vocabant. Hoc 
 «f Virgilio licet credas: 
 
 " Et lucum Silari juxta, iHcibusque vi- 
 
 " rentem 
 " Pluri7nus Alhurnum volitans , ctii nomen 
 
 " asilo 
 " Romanum est, a strum Grceci verier e 
 
 " vocantes, 
 " Asper, acerba sonans, quo tota exterrita 
 
 " sylvis 
 " Diffugiunt armenta. 
 " Puto intelligi istud verbum interisse." 
 
 Varro calls this insect Tabanus : 
 '' Itaque quod eas aestnte tahani 
 *' concitare solent, et bestiolae quae- 
 " dam minutae sub cauda, ne con- 
 
 *' citentur, aliqui solent includere 
 '' septis." And Pliny informs us, 
 that it is called both Tabanus and 
 Asilus: " Reliquorum quibusdam 
 " aculeus in ore, ut asilo, sive ta- 
 " barium dici placet." 
 
 The history of this insect has 
 been delivered in so confused a 
 manner by authors, that I could 
 meet with no satisfaction about it, 
 till I was favoured by Sir Hans 
 Sloane, Bart, with the perusal of 
 a book in titled Esperienze, ed Osser- 
 vazioni intorno all Origine, Sviluppi, 
 e Costumi di varj Insetti, con altre 
 spettanti alia Naturale, e Medica 
 Storia,fatte da Antonio Vallisnieri, 
 Publico Professore primario di Me- 
 dicina Teorica nelV Universitd di 
 Padoa: printed at Padua, in 1723, 
 in 4to. This curious author informs 
 us, from his own observation, that 
 the Assillo, as he calls it, is a flying 
 insect, in shape somewhat resem- 
 bling a wild bee or wasp, without 
 any sting, or proboscis in the 
 mouth. It has two membranace- 
 ous wings, with which it makes 
 a most horrible whizzing. The 
 belly is terminated by three long 
 rings, one less than another, from 
 the last of which proceeds a for- 
 midable sting. This sting is com- 
 posed of a tube, through which the 
 Ggg is emitted, and of two augers, 
 which make way for the tube to 
 penetrate into the skin of the 
 cattle. These augers are armed 
 with little knives, which prick 
 with their points, and cut with 
 their edges, causing intolerable pain 
 to the animal, that is wounded by 
 them. But this pain is not all ; 
 for at the end of the sting, as at 
 the end of a viper's tooth, and of 
 the sting of wasps, bees, and hor- 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 26S 
 
 Diffugiunt armenta ; furit mugitibus asther 150 SethelyT'"^* ^"""""^ 
 
 nets, issues forth a venomous li- 
 quor, which irritates, and inflames 
 the fibres of the wounded nerves, 
 and causes the wound to become 
 fistulous. This fistula seems to be 
 kept open by the egg, after the 
 manner of an issue. 
 
 The egg is hatched within the 
 fistula, and the worm continues 
 there, till it is ready to turn to a 
 chrysalis, receiving its nourishment 
 from the juice, which flows from 
 the wounded fibres. These worms 
 remain nine or ten months under 
 the skin, and then being arrived 
 almost to perfection, they come 
 out of their own accord, and creep 
 into some hole, or under some 
 stone, and there enter into the 
 state of a chrysalis, in which con- 
 dition they lie quiet for some time, 
 and at last come forth in the form 
 of the parent fly. 
 
 149. Asper.'] I take this word 
 to be designed to express the sharp- 
 ness of the sting. 
 
 Acerba sonans.'] This relates to 
 the horrible whizzing of this ani- 
 mal. 
 
 Qjuo tota exterrita sylvis, &c.] 
 Homer represents the suitors, who 
 had long fought with Ulysses, on 
 Minerva's raising up her shield, 
 flying like oxen from the oestrus. 
 
 Ah TOT 'A^avait) (p^Kftfifi^oTos Aiyt^' ay- 
 
 'T-^o'hv l| fl^fl^Jjs* ruv Ss (p^ins lifTeirihv. 
 OJ V i^sfiovTt fiiTo. fiiya^iv (iois as otyi- 
 
 XuTut, 
 Taff fAtv T aloXos ^uTT^os i<po^(Jt.i^6i)i ttovtierii 
 ' Sl^n Iv iloc^ivij, oTi T ijfiUTK fAKx^a jrs- 
 
 XOVTUI. 
 
 Now Pallas shines confcss'd ; aloft she 
 
 The arm of vengeance o'er their guilty- 
 heads ; 
 The dreadful -^gis blazes in their eye ; 
 
 Aniaz'd they see, they tremble, and they 
 
 fly; 
 Confus'd, distracted, thro* the rooms 
 
 they fling. 
 Like oxen madded by the breeze's 
 
 sting, 
 When sultry days, and long, succeed 
 
 the gentle spring. 
 
 Mr. Pope. 
 
 Vallisnieri relates, that as four 
 oxen were drawing a very heavy 
 carriage, one of them being stricken 
 in the back by an Assillo, all four 
 ran so furiously, that being come to 
 a river's side, they threw them- 
 selves in headlong. The same 
 author tells us, that in a fair of 
 cattle, on the mountains of Reggio, 
 the oxen hearing the noise of 
 some of these animals, though 
 they were tied, and had their 
 keepers by them, began first to 
 roar, then to toss, and wreathe 
 themselves about in a strange man- 
 ner: at last they broke loose, did 
 a vast deal of mischief, drove all 
 the people out of the fair, and fled 
 away themselves with horrid bel- 
 lowings. 
 
 He observes that these insects 
 sometimes infest horses, that live 
 in mountainous places, and feed at 
 large in the groves and fields : 
 but not those which are kept in 
 stables and curried. This confirms 
 what Varro relates, that some keep 
 their oxen in the stalls, to preserve 
 them from these insects. Rubbing 
 the cattle well preserves them from 
 this plague : for, as Vallisnieri tells 
 us, they are never found in the 
 legs, or other parts, where the 
 cattle can reach with their tongue 
 or their tail j but on the back and 
 flanks, and sometimes about the 
 shoulders and on the neck. 
 
264 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 and the woods, and the banks 
 of drj' Tanagrns. With this 
 monster did Juno formerly 
 exercise severe wrath, when 
 she studied a plague for the 
 Inachian heifer. Do j'ou also 
 take care to drive it from the 
 pregnant cattle, and feed 
 your herds, when the sun is 
 newly risen, or when the 
 stars lead on the night; for it 
 is most severe in the noon- 
 day heat. After the cow has 
 brought forth, all the care is 
 transferred to the calves : and 
 first they mark them with 
 burning irons, to distinguish 
 their sorts; which they choose 
 to keep for breeding, which 
 they keep consecrated to the 
 altars, and which to cleave 
 the ground, 
 
 Concussus, silvaeque, et sicci ripa Tanagri. 
 Hoc quondam monstro horribiles exercuit iras 
 Inachiag Juno pestem meditata juvencae. 
 Hunc quoque, nam mediis fervoribus acrior 
 
 instat, 
 Arcebis gravido pecori, armentaque pasces 155 
 Sole recens orto, aut noctem ducentibus astris. 
 Post partum, cura in Vitulos traducitur omnis : 
 Continuoque notas, et nomina gentis inurunt : 
 Et quos aut pecori raalint submittere habendo, 
 Aut aris servare sacros, aut scindere terram, 160 
 
 151. Sicci ripa Tanagri.'] The 
 Tanagrus or Tanager, now called 
 Negro, is a river of Lucania, rising 
 from the mountain Alburnus. 
 
 Dryden's translation makes these 
 words an extravagant rant: 
 
 Tanagrus hastens thence : and leaves 
 his channel dry. 
 
 152. Hoc quondam monstro, &c.] 
 lo the daughter of Inachus was be- 
 loved by Jupiter, who, to conceal 
 her from Juno, turned her into a 
 cow. But Juno discovering the 
 deceit sent an cestrus to torment lo, 
 with which being stung she fled 
 into Egypt, where being restored 
 to her former shape, she was mar- 
 ried to king Osiris, and after her 
 death was worshipped as a goddess, 
 under the name of Isis. 
 
 155. Pecori^ In both Dr. Mead's 
 manuscripts it is pecorique : but 
 the que is injudiciously added, to 
 avoid a synaloepha. See the note 
 on book i. ver. 4. 
 
 156. Astris.'] In the Cambridge 
 manuscript, and in some of the old 
 printed editions, it is austris. 
 
 157. Post partum, &c.] The 
 Poet having first described the care 
 that is to be taken of the sire be- 
 fore copulation, then of the dam 
 
 during her pregnancy, now tells us, 
 that all our care is to be bestowed 
 on the young ones, as soon as 
 they are brought into the world, 
 and begins with the calves. PieriuS" 
 reads 
 
 Post partum in vitulos cura traducitur 
 omnis : 
 
 but he says it is 
 
 Post partum cura in vitulos traducitur 
 omnis 
 
 in the Roman, the Medicean, the 
 Lombard, and some other manu- 
 scripts. He says also, that in the 
 oblong manuscript, which Pompo- 
 nius Lsetus called his delici(E, it is 
 rfeflfMcfiur, instead oi traducitur ; but 
 he thinks the common reading is 
 best. 
 
 158. Continuo^ See the note on 
 ver. 75. 
 
 Notas et nomina gentis inurunt.] 
 The burning marks upon cattle is 
 a very ancient custom, to which 
 we find frequent allusions. 
 
 159. Malint.] In one of Dr. 
 Mead's manuscripts it is malit ; in 
 the other it is malunt. 
 
 160. Sacros:] The King's, the 
 Bodleian, one of the Arundelian 
 manuscripts, most of the old edi- 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 
 
 5^65 
 
 Et campum horrentem fractis invertere glebis. w"?h'broC cio'ds"^!1?e r«l 
 
 • • 1 , of the herd graze in the green 
 
 Caetera pascuntur virides arnienta per herbas : meadows: 
 
 tions, and Paul Stephens, have sa- 
 cris. Pierius reads sacris; but he 
 says it is sacros in the Roman and 
 Mediceau manuscripts, which he 
 thinks a good reading. He adds, 
 that it was sacros in the Lombard 
 manuscript, but had been altered 
 to sacris. Sacros is generally re- 
 ceived, and is more poetical. 
 
 162. Caetera pascuntur virides ar- 
 menta per herbas.'] This is gene- 
 rally understood to mean, that the 
 cattle which are not designed either 
 for breeding, sacrifices, or labour, 
 have no mark set upon them, and 
 so are sufiFered to graze undis- 
 tinguished. Thus Grimoaldus pa- 
 raphrases it: ''At haee quidem 
 " animalia domi, et ad manum 
 " servant, et custodiunt, caetera, 
 '* quae neque sunt admissurae ido- 
 " nea, nee sacrificiis apta, nee agri- 
 " culturae accommodata, in agris, 
 " pratiscfue, sine ulla doniandi cura, 
 '* libere vagari sinant.'^ Thus also 
 Dryden translates it : 
 
 The rest for whom no lot is yet decreed, 
 May run in pastures, and at pleasure 
 feed: 
 
 and Dr. Trapp: 
 
 The rest promiscuous, and unnoted feed 
 On the green meadows. 
 
 " Unnoted,'' says he, " for that is 
 " manifestly implied; though not 
 " expressed. C(Etera pascuntur , &c. 
 " subaud. indiscriminatim. Those 
 " of which he was speaking before 
 *' were to have marks set upon 
 *' them : and these by the word 
 " caetera are set in opposition to 
 " them." La Cerda observes, that 
 this is the general interpretation 
 received by all the commentators 3 
 with which however he declares 
 
 himself not to be satisfied. He is 
 at a loss to understand, what 
 fourth sort is meant, that is not 
 intended either for breeding, sacri- 
 fice, or labour; unless any one 
 should pretend it is designed for 
 the shamble. But then, says he, 
 these are bred at home, and not 
 sufiFered to feed at large. He then 
 proposes a new interpretation, that 
 by armenta the Poet means cow- 
 calves. This he confirms by a pre- 
 ceding passage in this Georgick, 
 where we are told that the bull is 
 to be well fed, but the cow to be 
 kept lean : 
 
 Ipsa autem macie tenuant armenta vo- 
 lentes. 
 
 Here, says he, the cows are called 
 armenta, as distinct from the bulls. 
 It is therefore this learned com- 
 mentator's opinion, that the Poet 
 would have the bull-calves kept at 
 home, and brought up with great 
 care, but that he has no regard for 
 the cow-calves, and allows them to 
 ramble at large in the meadows. 
 I take neither of these interpreta- 
 tions to be the Poet's meaning. 
 The first is suflficiently refuted al- 
 ready by La Cerda : and the other 
 seems to labour under some diffi- 
 culties. The cow-calves are surely 
 as much to be preserved for breed- 
 ing, as the bull-calves : and our 
 Poet himself seems, in another 
 place, to think the greatest regard 
 is to be had to the cows : 
 
 Seu quis fortes ad aratra juvencos ; 
 
 Corpora prascipue matrum legat. 
 
 I have thought therefore of an- 
 other interpretation, which seems 
 to me to express the Poet's true 
 meaning. He has just told us, the 
 2 M 
 
966 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 bot those which you would 
 form for the design and use of 
 agricnituie, you must teach 
 whilst ihey are yet but calves; 
 and begin to tame them, 
 whilst their youn^ minds are 
 tractable, whilst their age is 
 governable. And first hang 
 loose collars of slender twigs 
 about their necks; and when 
 their free necks have been ac- 
 customed to servitude, match 
 bullocks of 
 
 Tu quos ad studium, atque usum formabis 
 
 agrestem, 
 Jam vitulos hortare, viamque insiste domandi, 
 Dum faciles animi juvenum, dum mobilis aetas. 
 Ac primum laxos tenui de vimine circles 166 
 Cervici subnecte ; dehinc, ubi libera colla 
 Servitio assuerint, ipsis e torquibus aptos 
 
 calves are to be distinguished into 
 three classes, in ver. 159, 1^0, and 
 161. I take a new sentence to be- 
 gin with ver. l62. Ccetera pascuniur, 
 &c. The rest of the herd, tliat is, 
 those which are designed for breed- 
 ing, or sacrifice, viay feed at large 
 in the meadows, for they need no 
 other care, than to furnish them 
 with sufficient nourishment, till 
 they arrive at their due age. But 
 those, which are designed for agricul- 
 ture, require more care : they must 
 be tamed, whilst they are but calves, 
 and tractable in their tender years. 
 According to this interpretation, 
 the Poet has mentioned how all 
 the three sorts are to be treated, 
 and has not omitted two of them, 
 as La Cerda imagines: ''Dixit 
 " destinandos alios ad sobolem, 
 " alios ad sacra, alios ad agricul- 
 " turam : nunc, omissis priniis et 
 " mediis, loquitur de extremis, qui 
 " servantur ad agricuUuram." 
 
 l63. Tu quos ad studium, &c.] 
 Dryden's translation represents the 
 Poet speaking after a manner most 
 strangely figurative. He talks of 
 sending the calf to school, keeping 
 him from seeing the bad examples 
 of the world, and instructing him 
 with moral precepts. For all this 
 he has not the least countenance 
 from his author, except it be in the 
 words studium and juvenum : 
 
 Set him betimes to school; and let him 
 
 be 
 Instructed there in rides of husbandry : 
 
 While yet his youth is flexible and green ; 
 Nor had examples of the world Jias seen. 
 Early begin the stubborn child to break ; 
 
 Thy flattering method on the youth pur- 
 sue: 
 
 Join'd with his school-fellows by two and 
 two. 
 
 E'er the licentious youth be thus re- 
 
 strain'd. 
 Or moral precepts on their ?ninds luive 
 
 gain'd. 
 
 l64. Jam vitulos hortare.'] Colu- 
 mella says they ought not to be 
 younger than three, or older than five 
 years: '' Verum neque ante ter- 
 " tium, neque post quintum annum 
 " juvencos domari placet, quoniam 
 "ilia aetas adhuc tenera est, haec 
 " jam praedura." That author gives 
 a particular account of the manner 
 in which the ancients tamed their 
 bullocks, too long to be here in- 
 serted. Thereadermay consult the 
 second chapter of the sixth book. 
 
 166. Laxos] In the King's ma- 
 nuscript it is lapsos. 
 
 167. Dehinc] In one of Dr. 
 Mead's manuscripts it is deinde. 
 
 168. Ipsis e torquibus.] This 
 particular instruction, of fastening 
 the bullocks by the collars, may 
 seem superfluous to those, who are 
 not informed, that it was a custom 
 among the ancients, to yoke the 
 bullocks together by the horns. 
 This is mentioned by Columella, as 
 being in use in his days, in some 
 of the provinces ; though, he says, 
 it was justly condemned by most 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 
 
 261 
 
 Junge pares, et coge gradum conferre juvencos. 
 Atque illis jam saepe rotae ducantur inanes 170 
 Post terram, et summo vestigia pulvere signent. 
 Post valido nitens sub pondere faginus axis 
 Instrepat, et junctos temo trahat aereus orbes. 
 
 equal strength together, and 
 take care to fasten them by 
 the collars, and make them 
 step together. And now let 
 them otten draw empty wheels 
 along the ground, and mark 
 the top of the <lu?t wiili their 
 footsteps. Afterwards let the 
 beechen axle labonring groan 
 under a heavy load, and let 
 the brazen pole draw the join- 
 ed wheels. 
 
 writers of agriculture: "Nam illud, 
 *' quod in quibusdam provinciis 
 " usurpatur, ut cornibus illigetur 
 *'jugum, fere repudiatum est ab 
 ** omnibus, qui praecepta rusticis 
 *' conscripserunt, neque immerito : 
 " plus enim queunt pecudes collo 
 '' et pectore conari, quam cornibus. 
 " Atque hoc modo tota mole cor- 
 '* poris, totoque pondere nituntur : 
 " at ilia, retractis et resupinis capi- 
 *• tibus excruciantur, eegreque terras 
 *' summam partem levi admodum 
 '* vomere sauciant." 
 
 " In the most ancient oblong 
 *' manuscript, it is de torquibus ; in 
 *^ the Lombard manuscript, it is 
 " ipsis et torquibus aptos." Pierius. 
 In the King's manuscript it is ex 
 torquibus, and in one of Dr. Mead's 
 it is cum torquibus. 
 
 Aptos.'] The critics agree, that 
 aptos, m this place, signifies the 
 same as aptatos or ligatos ; for it is 
 derived from otxTu, to bind. 
 
 169. Junge pares.'] Varro says 
 you must yoke bullocks of equal 
 strength, lest the stronger should 
 wear out the weaker: " Ut viribus 
 " magnis sint, ac pares, ne in opere 
 *' firmior imbecilliorem conficiat." 
 Columella also delivers the same 
 precept : " Item custodiendum est, 
 " ne in corporatione, vel statura, 
 *' vel viribus impar cum valentiore 
 **jungatur: nam utraque res in- 
 *' feriori celeriter affert exitium." 
 
 170. Rotce ducantur inanes.'] In 
 one of Dr. Mead's manuscripts it 
 is ducuntur. 
 
 By empty wheels is meant either 
 empty carriages, or wheels without 
 
 any carriage laid upon them. Varro 
 mentions drawing empty carts : 
 '* Quos ad vecturas item instituen- 
 " dum, ut inania primum ducant 
 " plaustra." Columella advises, 
 that they should first draw only 
 a branch of a tree, with sometimes 
 a weight added to it, then be put 
 to a cart, and, when they are quite 
 tame, to a plough : '' Per hsec 
 " blandimentatriduo fere mansues- 
 " cunt, jugumque quarto die acci- 
 '* piunt, cui ramus illigatur, et 
 " temonis yice trahitur : interdum 
 " et pondus aliquod injungitur, ut 
 " majore nisu laboris exploretur 
 *" patientia, post ejusmodi experi- 
 " menta vacuo plostro subjungendi, 
 '' et paulatim longius cum oneribus 
 *' producendi sunt. Sic perdomiti 
 " mox ad aratrum instituantur, sed 
 " in subactoagro, nestatim difficul- 
 '" tatem operis reformident, neve 
 '* adhuc tenera coUa dura proscis- 
 " sione terrae contundant." 
 
 171. Summo vestigia pulvere sig- 
 nent.] These words are used to ex- 
 press the lightness of the carriage, 
 which the untamed bullocks are 
 first put to draw. The weight is 
 to be so inconsiderable, that it will 
 not cause them to make deep im- 
 pressions in the dust. 
 
 172. Valido nitens sub pondere,] 
 After they have been tried with 
 empty carriages, they are to be put 
 to. draw such as are heavy, as we 
 have seen just now, in the quota- 
 tion from Columella. 
 
 173. Junctos temo trahat cereus or- 
 bes.] Pierius found vinctos, in the an- 
 cient manuscripts,instead oi junctos 
 
 2 M 2 
 
p. VIRGILIT MARONIS 
 
 Jamed baiiU's^ndf^niy "be Intcrca puH indomitae non gramina tantum, 
 
 fed witb grass, or the tender t /» i i i 
 
 sedT°*^^""**'^^'°'^ '"""''^ ^^ vescas salicum irondes, ulvamque palus- 
 
 trem, 
 
 175 
 
 Brazen is frequently used to sig- 
 nify strong. Dr. Trapp translates 
 cereus, hound with brass: 
 
 Then let the beachen axis, bound with 
 
 brass, 
 Move slow, and groan beneath the pon- 
 
 d'rous load. 
 
 175. Ulvamque palustrem.'] " It 
 '* is sylvam in the Roman manu- 
 " script : but ulvam is generally 
 " received." Pierius. 
 
 It is not certain what plant is 
 the iilva of the ancients : I have 
 interpreted it sedge; which is a ge- 
 neral name for large weeds, that 
 grow in marshes, and near the 
 banks of rivers. Most writers sup- 
 pose the ulva to be much like the 
 alga, or sea-wrack; and that they 
 differ chiefly in this j that the alga 
 grows in salt water, and the ulva 
 in fresh. But this, I think, is cer- 
 tain j that there is no fresh-water 
 plant, which resembles the sea- 
 wrack, and at the same time agrees 
 with what the ancients have said 
 of their ulva. Caesalpinus supposes, 
 and not without reason, that the 
 ulva is the same with the typha, 
 which we call caVs-tail, or reed- 
 mace. It is a very common weed 
 with us, and in Italy also, in stag- 
 nant waters: it grows to a consi- 
 derable height, and bears a head 
 at the top of the stalk, which when 
 ripe aflfords a great deal of down. 
 In the passage now under consi- 
 deration, it is called a marshy plant, 
 " ulvamque palustrem.'* In the 
 eighth Eclogue it is described as 
 growing near a rivulet : 
 
 Propter aquee rivum viridi procumbit in 
 ulva. 
 
 In the second ^Eneid Sinon men- 
 
 tions his lying hid amongst the 
 ulva, in a muddy lake : 
 
 Llmosoque lacu, per noctem, obscurus in 
 
 ulva, 
 Delitui. 
 
 The cat's-tail grows only where 
 there is mud, and is tall enough 
 to conceal any person. In the 
 sixth iEneid it is represented as 
 growing by a muddy river's side, 
 and the colour is said to be glau- 
 cous, or bluish green, which agrees 
 also with the cat's-tail : 
 
 Tandem trans Jluvium incolumes vatem- 
 
 que virumque 
 Informi limo, glaucaque exponit in ulva. 
 
 Ovid makes frequent mention of 
 the ulva, as a marshy plant. In the 
 fourth book of the Metamorphosis, 
 a pool is described as being re- 
 markably clear, by the negative 
 quality of not having any ulva 
 in it: 
 
 . Videt hie stagnum lucentis ad 
 
 imum 
 Usque solum lymphae : non illic canna 
 
 palustris. 
 Nee steriles ulvce, nee acuta cuspide 
 
 junci. 
 
 In the sixth book, it is called de- 
 lightful to the marshes : 
 
 Agrestes illic fruticosa legebant 
 
 Vimina cum juncis, gratamque paludibus 
 ulvam. 
 
 We find it mentioned also as a 
 water plant, in the eighth book : 
 
 Tenet ima lacunae 
 
 Lenta salix, ulvceque leves : 
 
 And in the fourteenth : 
 
 Ljeva de parte canori 
 
 JEolidae tumulum, et loca foeta palustri- 
 hus ulvis 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 
 
 269 
 
 Sed frumenta manu carpes sata : nee tibi foetae, i"ih^ySrhandTand'ie!''nS 
 
 TIC . • 'It. ^ , • your fruitful cows, as in the 
 
 More patrum, nivea implebunt mulctraria daya of our fathers, tiii me 
 
 * Pitils with snowy milk; bat 
 
 Vflff»»> • let them spend all their ndfiers 
 
 va,v,v.«7, ^jj ,jjj,j^ beloved offspring. 
 
 O J X i • J 1 .1 "BatK your study bends rather 
 
 feed tota in dulces consument ubera natos. w war, and fierce troops. 
 Sin ad bella magis studium, turmasque feroces, 
 
 Littora Cumarum, vivacisque antra Si- 
 
 bylJae 
 Intrat. 
 
 In the eighth book, he speaks of a 
 bed being made of the ulva: 
 
 In medio torus est de mollibus 
 
 ulvis 
 Impositus lecto, sponda, pedibusque 
 
 salignis. 
 
 This agrees with what Matthiolus 
 tells us, that the poorer people in 
 Italy make their beds of the down 
 of the cat's-tail, instead of feathers : 
 and the same author informs us, 
 that there is hardly a standing 
 water in Italy, which does not 
 abound with cat's-tail. 
 
 176. Frumenta vianu carpes sata.] 
 Servius interprets this/arraoo, that 
 is, a mixed provender of wheat bran, 
 and barley meal. Grimoaldus also 
 paraphrases it farra svppeditabis et 
 ordea. La Cerda is of the same 
 opinion : which he strengthens by 
 a quotation from Varro, where he 
 tells us, a calf of six months old 
 is to be fed with wheat bran, bar- 
 ley meal, and tender grass : *' Se- 
 " mestribus vitulis objiciunt fur- 
 '* fures triticeos, et farinam ordea- 
 ** ceam, et teneram herbam." Ruaeus 
 differs from the other commenta- 
 tors: he understands the Poet to 
 mean young corn. This he con- 
 firms by the words carpes sata, 
 which plainly express the gather- 
 ing of the tender blade j and by 
 ver. 205, where he forbids giving 
 farrago to the cattle before they are 
 tamed. Hence he concludes, either 
 that Virgil contradicts Varro, or 
 
 else that he means that the farrago 
 should be given sparingly to the 
 cattle, before they are tamed, and 
 plentifully afterwards. Dryden fol- 
 lows Ruaeus : 
 
 Their wanton appetites not only feed 
 With delicates of leaves, and marshy 
 
 weed. 
 But with thy sipkle reap the rankest land. 
 And minister the blade, with bounteous 
 
 hand. . 
 
 Dr. Trapp is of the same opinion : 
 
 Meanwhile with grass alone, and leaves, 
 
 and sedge 
 Feed not thy untam'd bullocks; but 
 
 with com 
 Cropp'din the blade. 
 
 Nec tibifcetoB, &c.] The people 
 in the earliest ages lived much 
 upon milk j and therefore defrauded 
 their calves of great part of their 
 natural nourishment. This practice 
 Virgil condemns, and advises those, 
 who breed calves, to let them suck 
 their fill. 
 
 177. Mulctraria.] So I read with 
 Heinsius, and some of the oldest 
 editors. I find the same reading 
 in the King's, the Cambridge, and 
 both Dr. Mead's manuscripts. Pi- 
 erius found mulctraria also in the 
 Roman, the oblong, and some other 
 manuscripts. In theMedicean and 
 some others he found multralia. He 
 found rnulgaria also in some of the 
 most ancient copies -, and observes, 
 that in the Lombard manuscript 
 multraria had been slightly erased, 
 and rnulgaria substituted for it. 
 
 179. Sin ad bella, &c.] The 
 
270 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 or to whirl along the Al- 
 phcan streams of Pisa, and to 
 drive the flying chariots in 
 the grove of Jupiter; the first 
 labour of the horse is to see 
 the spirit and arms of war- 
 riors, and to endure the trum- 
 pets, and to bear the rattling 
 wheel, and to hear the sound- 
 ing bridles in the stable; then 
 lo rejoice more and more at 
 the kind applauses of his mas- 
 ter, and to love the sound of 
 clapping his neck. Let him 
 hear these, when he is first of 
 all weaned from his dam, and 
 let him 3'ield his mouth to 
 soft bits, whilst he is weak, 
 and yet trembling, and yet 
 of tender years. But when 
 three summers are past and 
 the fourth is t>eguD, 
 
 Aut Alphea rotis praelabi flumina Pisae, 180 
 Et Jovis in luco currus agitare volantes ; 
 Primus equi labor est, animos atque arma videre 
 Bellantum, lituosque pati, tractuque gementem 
 Ferre rotam, et stabulo frsenos audire sonantes. 
 Turn magis atque magis blandis gaudere ma- 
 gistri 185 
 
 Laudibus, et plausae sonitum cervicis amare. 
 Atque haec jam primo depulsus ab ubere matris 
 Audiat, inque vicem det mollibus ora capistris 
 Invalidus, et jamque tremens, et jam inscius aev i 
 At, tribus exactis, ubi quarta accesserit asstas, 
 
 Poet now proceeds to give an ac- 
 count of the breeding of horses. 
 
 180. Alphea.] See ver. I9. 
 Pises.'] Strabo tells us, that it 
 
 has been questioned, whether there 
 ever was such a city as Pisa, affirm- 
 ing it to have been the name only 
 of a fountain: Tivlg 21 Trixtv filv ev- 
 
 2ifJt.leAV yiyov'iveii Uia-xv (px<rli. uvxt yup 
 »e6M7(r6xi BJ<rxv, KvKVirlov ttAjj^ov tto- 
 
 Mag (Aiyia-tvig tZv oktco. It is con- 
 fessed however, that it was an- 
 ciently the name of a country in 
 that part of Elis, through which 
 the river Alpheus flowed, and in 
 which stood the famous temple of 
 Jupiter Olympius. 
 
 181. Et Jovis in luco.] In one 
 of Dr. Mead's manuscripts it is si 
 instead of et. 
 
 The commentators seem to have 
 passed over this grove of Jupiter in 
 silence. We learn however from 
 Strabo, that it belonged to the tem- 
 ple of Jupiter Olympius. He says 
 the Olympian temple is in the Pisean 
 region, not quite three hundred 
 stadia from the city Elis; that it 
 has a grove of wild olives before it, 
 in which is a place for races: AeiTrev 
 
 ^ le-TlV ilTTlTv TTi^i T?5 'OXv^TTiXg XUi rifi 
 iU TCV? HXUOVg UTiCCVTUV (^iTXTTToia-ieOi. 
 
 1^5 ' HX<oo5 IXciT'tovg 73 rpiXKOTtovg ot- 
 xxoiug fiuv itg rhv T^t^v>^ix«.li¥ daXxvcxi 
 
 l*iTX%V 2vTlUg, XXt fiiTT^fi/B^lXg. 
 
 185. Lituos.] I have translated 
 lituos trumpets for want of a proper 
 English word. The tuba is gene- 
 rally thought to have been the same 
 instrunient with our trumpet: but 
 the lituus was diflferent from it, 
 being almost straight, only turning 
 a little in at the end: the cornu 
 and the buccinum were bent almost 
 round. 
 
 184. Stabulo frcenos audire so- 
 nantes.] In one of Dr. Mead's ma- 
 nuscripts it is stabulis. 
 
 Varro also says the colts should 
 be accustomed to the sight and 
 sound of bridles: " Eademque 
 '* causa ibi fraenos suspendendum, 
 " ut equuli consuescant et videre 
 " eorum faciem, et e motu audire 
 " crepitus." 
 
 189. Invalidus.] In the King's 
 manuscript it is invalidusque. 
 
 El jam.'2 So I read with Hein- 
 sius. Pierius found the same read- 
 ing in some ancient copies. The 
 common reading is eliam. 
 
 190. At tribus exactis.] In the 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 
 
 271 
 
 Carpere mox gyrum incipiat, gradibusque sonare rl*"{L'rund?'an''ci^p'ranie 
 
 wiih regular steps. 
 
 King's manuscript it is ac instead 
 of at. 
 
 Varro says some would break a 
 horse at a year and half old : but 
 he thinks it is better to stay till he 
 is three years of age : " Cum jam 
 " ad manus accedere consuerint, 
 " interdum imponere iis puerum 
 " bis, aut ter pronum in ventrera, 
 '' postea jam sedentem, haec facere 
 " cum sit trimus : turn enim maxi- 
 " me crescere, ac lacertosum fieri. 
 '* Sunt qui dicant post annum et 
 '* sex menses equulum domari posse, 
 " sed melius post trimiim, a quo 
 " tempore farrago dari solet." Co- 
 lumella makes a distinction between 
 those which are bred for domestic 
 labour, and those which are bred 
 for races 5 he says the former should 
 be tamed at two years, and the lat- 
 ter not till he is past three : " Equus 
 " bimus ad usum domesticum recte 
 " domatur, certaminibus autem ex- 
 " pleto triennio, sic tamen ut post 
 " quartum demum annum labori 
 *' committatur." 
 
 Ubi quarla accesserit cestas.] " Al- 
 " most all the ancient manuscripts 
 *' have cetas, except only that most 
 " ancient one, which we call the 
 " Roman, in which we find ubi 
 " qitarta acceperit cesias. But Ser- 
 *' vius acknowledges cBtas, and ex- 
 
 *' plains it quartus annus But 
 
 •' for my part I neither dislike ac- 
 " ceperit nor cestas, as we have the 
 *' testimony of so ancient a manu- 
 '' script, which I think may be de- 
 " pended upon in whole words, 
 ** though it is often very corrupt in 
 *' letters." Pierius. 
 
 The King's, the Cambridge, the 
 Bodleian manuscripts, and the old 
 Nurenberg edition, have celas. Both 
 the Arundelian, both Dr. Mead's 
 manuscripts, several of the old edi- 
 tions, Heinsius, Masvicius, Ruseus, 
 
 and most of the later editors, read 
 cestas. La Cerda reads (Etas; but 
 he thinks cestas not amiss, which he 
 says is a phrase used by Virgil, 
 twice in the first ^neid, and once 
 in the fifth. The first of these pas- 
 sages is not to our purpose, for he 
 does not use (Estas for a year, but 
 only for a summer : 
 
 Tertia dum Latio regnantem viderit 
 
 aestas, 
 Ternaque transierint Rutulis hyberna 
 
 subactis. 
 
 Here three summers are joined to 
 three winters, in order to express 
 three years. The second and third 
 passages appear to me to come up 
 to the point: though some critics 
 contend that they mean only the 
 summer season : 
 
 Nam te jam septima portat 
 
 Omnibus errantem terris et fluctibus 
 aestas : 
 
 And 
 
 Septima post Trojae excidium jam vertitur 
 
 Here (Estas cannot, without great 
 violence, be construed to signify 
 the summer season. It was winter 
 when ^neas was at Carthage : 
 
 Indulge hospicio, causasque innecte mo- 
 randi : 
 
 Dum pelago destsvit hyems, et aquosua 
 Orion ; 
 
 Quassatasque rates, et non tractabile cae- 
 lum. 
 
 And 
 
 Nunchyemem inter seluxu, quam longa, 
 fovere. 
 
 And 
 
 Quin etiam hylerno moliris sidere clas- 
 
 sem, 
 Et mediis properas aquilonibus ire per 
 
 altum. 
 
272 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 and let bim bend the alter- 
 nate foldings of his legs; and 
 let him seem to labour; (hen 
 let him rival the winds in 
 swiftness; and flying through 
 the plains, as if uiibridled, let 
 bim scarce print his footsteps 
 on the top of the sand. As 
 when the strong north wind 
 rushes from the Hyperborean 
 coasts, and dissipates 
 
 Compositis, sinuetque alterna volumina crurum ; 
 Sitque laboranti similis : turn cursibus auras 
 Provocet, ac per aperta volans, ceu liber ha- 
 
 benis, 
 ^quora, vix summa vestigia ponat arena. 195 
 Qualis Hyperboreis Aquilo cum densus ab oris 
 
 The passage from Carthage to Sicily 
 is very short, and the games in 
 honour of Anchises, were cele- 
 brated on the tenth day after the 
 arrival of ^neas in Sicily. Iris 
 therefore, in the form of Beroe, 
 could not mean it was the summer 
 season, when these games were ce- 
 lebrated; since it has been evi- 
 dently proved that it was the winter 
 season, or, at most, early in the 
 spring. 
 
 JEstas however, in the passage 
 now under consideration, may mean 
 only the summer, which is the very 
 same, as if he had said annus. The 
 time for covering mares, according 
 to Varro, as I have quoted him, in 
 the note on ver. 133, is from the 
 vernal equinox to the summer sol- 
 stice : and the mares, according to 
 the same author, bring forth in 
 eleven months and ten days. The 
 time therefore of a colt's coming 
 into the world is from the beginning 
 of March to the beginning of June. 
 The summer was reckoned to begin 
 a little before the middle of May. 
 Thus the fourth summer of a colt's 
 life will be when he is completely 
 three years, old. 
 
 191. Gyrum.'2 See the note on 
 ver. 115. 
 
 193. Cursibus.'\ In the old Nu- 
 renberg edition it is cruribus. 
 
 194!. Provocet.'] In one of the 
 Arundelian manuscripts it is ad- 
 vocet. 
 
 196. Hyperboreis.'] The Hyper- 
 boreans are a people of whom not 
 
 only the seat, but even the existence 
 is called in question. The mention 
 of them is very ancient, for we find 
 Herodotus denying that there were 
 any such people ; and not without 
 reason, if by Hyperborean be meant, 
 as he understands the word, a peo- 
 ple who lived beyond the rising of 
 the north wind. But others, as 
 Strabo tells us in his first book, 
 call those Hyperboreans, who live 
 in the most northern parts of the 
 world : Toy yu^ 'H^o^oroy fAvihhoc^ 
 
 TTTi^Zo^iOVi illUl ^t)Vflt»T95 . ... El 5' 
 
 d^oc, rov H^ooorov rovr iXt^'^v ahicta-^xi 
 oTi rovg tTTi^Zo^iovg ToyTflyj VTCtXetZt As- 
 yis-B^xi, 'TTCt^ eig o Be^zxg ov 7rm. Keci 
 ya.^ it 01 TTOiYiTcc} uv^iKaTSp6y ol/Ta (peca-'tv, 
 01 T l^yiyovf4.svoi TO vyiig otv ux-ova-xut , 
 '^TTi^Zo^Uvg Bo^uoreiTovg (pxtri hiylT^xi. 
 In his seventh book he treats them 
 as fabulous : ^ix ^l riiv uyioixv rav 
 roTTUV TovTai, oi tx ^VittxTx agjj, KXi tevg 
 'XTTt^Zo^iiovg fiv^OTTOiovvTig. In his 
 eleventh book he tells us that the 
 ancient Grecians called all the 
 northern nations Scythians and 
 Celto-Scythians J but that the 
 most ancient of all called those 
 which lie to the north of the Black 
 Sea, the Danube, and the Gulph of 
 Venice, Hyperboreans, Sanromatce, 
 and Arimaspians : "ATxyrxg ftli Jij 
 Toy? TT^oa^eppovg, xoivag oi TCxXxioi T*r 
 'EAA>iy&»» a-vyy^x^iig, Hxv^xg x,xi KsA- 
 Tdc-xiiB-xg hcxXovi. Oi J' 'in T^on^ov 
 ^teXiiTig, revg fih vtI^ rev Ev^utov, KXt 
 "irr^tv, Kxi 'A^piov KXTOiKovrrxg. Ttti^- 
 Soggow? gAgyov, Kxi 'Lecv^ofcxrxg, kxi 
 ^A^ifAua-xwg. Pliny mentions the 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 273 
 
 Incubuit, Scythiaeque hyemes atque arida differt the scythian storms and dry 
 
 Hyperboreans as fabulous, and 
 places their supposed habitation at 
 the very pole; " At per oram ad 
 *' Tanaim usque Maeotai, a quibus 
 " lacus nomen accepit : ultimique 
 *' a tergo eorum Arimaspi, Mox 
 *^ Riphasi montes, et assiduo nivis 
 " casu pinnarum similitudine, Pte- 
 *' rophoros appellata regio : pars 
 " mundi damnata a natura rerum^ 
 " et densji niersa caligine : neque in 
 ** alio quam rigoris operegelidisque 
 *' Aquilonis conceptaculis. Pone eos 
 ** monies, ultraque Aquilonem, gens 
 *' felix, si credimus, quos Hyperbo- 
 ** fQos appellavere, annoso degit 
 *' aevojfabulosiscelebrata miraculis. 
 '* Ibi creduntur esse cardines mun- 
 *' di, extremique sideruiii ambitus, 
 '^ semestri luce et una diesolis aver- 
 *' si : non, ut imperiti dixere, ab 
 " aequinoctio verno in autumnum. 
 '* Semel in anno solstitio oriuntur 
 *Mis soles; brumaque semel occi- 
 *' dunt." We find here that the 
 Arimaspians lived to the northward 
 of the river Tanais, and the lake 
 Maeotis. They inhabited therefore 
 the country which is now called 
 Muscovy, On the north part of 
 this country were situated the Ri- 
 phsean mountains, where the snow 
 is continually falling, in the shape 
 of feathers, by which perhaps were 
 meant the mountains of Lapland, 
 on the north side of which the Hy- 
 perboreans were supposed to inha- 
 bit. Virgil also mentions the Hy- 
 perboreans and the Tanais together, 
 in the fourth Georgick : 
 
 Solus Hyperloreas glacies, Tanaimque 
 
 nivalem 
 Arvaque Riphaeis nunquam viduata pru- 
 
 inis 
 Luslrabat. 
 
 We find in the foregoing passage of 
 Pliny, that the Riphsean mountains 
 
 were imagined to be the source of 
 the north wind, and that the Hy- 
 perboreans dwelt still farther north- 
 ward : which opinion, however ab- 
 surd, seems to have been the origin 
 of their name. These Hyperbo- 
 reans were said to live to a great 
 age, in wonderful felicity, and to 
 dwell in woods and groves, without 
 diseases or discord. This is true of 
 the Laplanders, as all travellers tes- 
 tify. I shall content myself with 
 quoting the authority of my learned 
 friend Dr. Linnaeus of Upsal, who 
 travelled thither in 1732, and was 
 pleased to send me an excellent ac- 
 count of the plants of that country, 
 under the title of Flora Lapoiiica, 
 printed at Amsterdam, in 1737, in 
 8vo. Speaking of a dwarf sort of 
 birch, which is greatly used in the 
 Lapland oeconomy, he takes occa- 
 sion to extol the felicity of the Lap- 
 landers. He says they are free from 
 cares, contentions, and quarrels, and 
 are unacquainted with envy. They 
 lead an innocent life, continued to 
 a great age, free fiom myriads of 
 diseases, with which we are afflicted. 
 They dwell in woods, like the birds,, 
 and neither reap nor sow: " O fe- 
 " lix Lappo, qui in ultimo angulo 
 " mundi sic bene lates contentus et 
 " innocens. Tu nee times annonae 
 " charitatem, nee Martis prtelia, 
 *' quae ad tuas oras pervenire ne- 
 " queunt, sed florentissimasEuropae 
 " provincias et urbes, unico nio- 
 " mento, saepe dejiciunt, delent. 
 '^ Tu dormis hie sub tua pelle ab 
 "■ omnibus curis, contentionibus, 
 " rixis liber, ignorans quid sit in- 
 " vidia. Tu nulla nosti, nisi to- 
 *' nantis Jovis fulmina. Tu ducis 
 " innocentissimos tuos annos ultra 
 " centenarium numerum cum facili 
 " senectute et sum ma sanitate. Te 
 2 N 
 
QT4 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 clouds; then the tall corn, 
 and waving fields shake with 
 gentle blasts, and the tops of 
 the woods rustle, and the long 
 waves press towardstlie shore ; 
 the wind flies swift along, 
 sweeping the fields and seas 
 at the same time in his flight. 
 Such a horse will either sweat 
 M the goals and largest rings 
 of the Elean plain, 
 
 Nubila : turn segetes altae, campique natantes 
 Lenibus horrescunt flabris, summaeque sonorem 
 Dant sylvae, longique urgent ad littora fluctus. 
 lUe volat, simul arva fuga, simul aequora verrens. 
 Hie vel ad Elei metas et maxima campi 202 
 
 '• latent myriades morborum nobis 
 '' Europaeis communes. Ta vivis 
 *' in sylvis^ avisistar, nee sementem 
 '^ facis, nee metis, tamen alit te 
 '' Deus optimus optime. Tua or- 
 " namenta sunt tremula arborum 
 *' folia, graminosique luci. Tuus 
 " potus aqua chrystallinse pelluci- 
 *' ditatis, quse nee cerebrum insania 
 '' adficit, nee strumas in Alpibus 
 ^' tuis producit. Cibus tuus est vel 
 *' verno tempore piscis recens, vel 
 '' sestivo serum lactis, vel autum- 
 " nali tetrao, vel hyemali caro re- 
 *' cens rangiferina absque sale et 
 " pane, singula vice unico constans 
 *' ferculo, edis dum securus e lecto 
 '^ surgis, dumque eum petis, nee 
 *' nosti venena nostra, quae latent 
 " sub dulci melle. Te non obruit 
 '' scorbutus, nee febris intermittens, 
 " nee obesitasj nee podagra, fibroso 
 " gaudes corpore et alacri, animo- 
 *' que libero. O sancta innocentia, 
 " estne hie tuus tiironus inter Fau- 
 *' nos in summo septentrione, inque 
 '* vilissima habita terra? numne 
 '' sic praefers stragula haec betulina 
 *'* mollibus serico tectis plumis ? 
 '^ Sic etiam credidere veteres, nee 
 '" male." The learned reader will 
 compare this with the latter part of 
 the twelfth chapter of the fourth 
 book of Pliny's Natural History. 
 
 197. Sci/thice.'] See the note on 
 book i. ver. 240. 
 
 Arida differ t nubila.] Thus Lu- 
 cretius : 
 
 — Venti vis verberat incita pontum 
 Ingentesque ruit naves et n?ibila differ t. 
 
 In the most northern countries the 
 mists hang about the tops of the 
 
 mountains, till they are dispelled 
 by the north wind. Thus M. de 
 Maupertuis observed under the 
 arctic circle: '* Je ne scai si c'est 
 " parce que la presence continuelle 
 " du soleil sur I'horizon, fait elever 
 '* des vapeurs qu' aucune nuit ne 
 " fait descendre 5 mais pendant les 
 " deux mois que nous avons passe 
 "^ sur les montagnes, le ciel etoit 
 " toujours charge, jusqu' a ce que 
 "^ le vent de Nord vint dissiper les 
 " brouillards." 
 
 198. Turn.'] In the King's ma- 
 nuscript it is cum; in one of the 
 Arundelian, and in one of Dr. 
 Mead's manuscripts it is dum, 
 
 200. Lougi.] Pierius says it is 
 longe in the Medicean and some 
 other ancient manuscripts. 
 
 201. Ille.'] In one of the Arun- 
 delian manuscripts it is ipse. 
 
 Arva.] It is arma in the King's 
 manuscript; which must be an 
 error of the transcriber. 
 
 202. Hie vel ad.] " In the Lora- 
 " bard manuscript, and in another 
 " very ancient one, it is hie vel ad, 
 " as we read in the common copies. 
 ^' In the Roman manuscript it is 
 " hinc et ad Elei. In the oblong 
 " manuscript also it is et, not veV 
 Pierius. 
 
 Elei campi.] Servius tells us, 
 that Elis is a city of Arcadia, where 
 the chariot-races were celebrated : 
 but it is certain that the Olympic 
 games were celebrated, not at Elis, 
 but at Olympia. The Pisaeans, in 
 whose country Olympia was situ- 
 ated, had many contentions with 
 the Eleans, about the government 
 of the Olympic games: but at last. 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 
 
 ^75- 
 
 Sudabit spatia, et spumas aget ore cruentas : 
 Belgica vel molli melius feret esseda collo. 
 
 and will champ the bloody 
 foam; or will belter bear the 
 Bdgic chariots with his obe- 
 dient neck. 
 
 the Eleans prevailing, the whole 
 country between Achaia, Messenia, 
 and Arcadia, came to be called 
 Elis. The reader will find a long 
 account of this in the eighth book 
 of Strabo's Geography. The plains 
 of Elis therefore are not the plains 
 about the city of Elis, as Servius 
 erroneously imagines, but the plains 
 about Olympia, in the region of 
 Elis. 
 
 203. Spatia.^ See the note on 
 book i. ver. 513. 
 
 204. Belgica vel molli melius feret 
 esseda collo.^ This is generally un- 
 derstood to mean, that the horse 
 will be better for drawing common 
 carriages : thus Dryden translates 
 it: 
 
 Or, bred to Belgian waggons, lead the 
 
 way; 
 UntirM at night, and cheerful all the 
 
 day. 
 
 But I think it is plain that the 
 Poet speaks only of the generous 
 horse, which is fit either for the 
 races or war : 
 
 Sin ad bella magis studium, turmasque 
 
 feroces, 
 Aut Alphaea rotis praelabi flumina Pisae, 
 Et Jovis in luco currus agitare volantes. 
 
 Here is no mention of domestic 
 labour, but only of chariots and 
 war. La Cerda observes that the 
 esseda were used by private per- 
 sons, in travelling, as well as in 
 war; as appears from one of Ci- 
 cero's Epistles : " Hie Vedius venit 
 *' mihi obviam cum duobus essedis, 
 " et rheda equis juncta, et lectica, 
 " et familia magna." There is an- 
 other passage of the same kind in 
 the second Philippic oration : " Ve- 
 '' hebatur in essedo tribunus plebis." 
 But Virgil shews that he does not 
 
 mean the common chariots, or esserfa, 
 by adding the epithet Belgica, or 
 perhaps bellica, as it is in one of 
 Dr. Mead's manuscripts, for we 
 do not find the chariots of war 
 ascribed to the Gauls, but to the 
 Britons. Cicero mentions them in 
 some of his Epistles to Trebatius, 
 who was in Britain with Caesar t 
 '' Tu qui cseteris cavere didicisti, 
 " in Britannia ne ab essedariis de- 
 " cipiaris, caveto:" and " In Britan- 
 " nia nihil esse audio, neque auri, 
 " neque argenti. Id si ita est, 
 '^ essedum aliquod suadeo rapias, et 
 ^' ad nos quam primum recurras:" 
 and '' Sed tu in re militari mullo 
 " es cautior, quam in advocationi- 
 '^ bus : qui neque in oceano natare 
 " volueris, studiosissimus homo na- 
 '' tandi, neque spectare essedariosS' 
 Cajsar does not once mention the 
 essedum,, in his war with the Belgce: 
 but we find them taken notice of, 
 as soon as he approaches the Bri- 
 tish shore: " At barbaric consilio 
 " Romanorum cognito, prsemisso 
 '' equitatu, et essedariis, quo ple- 
 " rumque genere in praeliis uti con- 
 " suerunt, reliquis copiis subsecuti, 
 '' nostros navibus egredi prohibe- 
 '^ bant." A little afterwards we 
 find him describing the manner in 
 which the Britons fought with these 
 esseda, as if he had not met with 
 them in his other wars. I must 
 therefore confess, I do not under- 
 stand why Virgil calls them Belgica; 
 and would willingly read Bellica, 
 according to Dr. Mead's manuscript, 
 if I did not think it too presump- 
 tuous to alter the text^ which has 
 been generally received, upon the 
 authority of a single manuscript. 
 
 Molli.] " Dom'ito : utmollia colla 
 " reflectunt." Servius. 
 
 " 1 take molli for domilo, in op- 
 2 n2 
 
S76 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 Then at last when they aie 
 tamed, let their ample bodies 
 be distended with plenty of 
 mixd provender; for it ihey 
 are liisjh fed before they are 
 tamed, ihey will be too fnlt 
 of meitle, and refuse to bear 
 the toii^h whips, and to obey 
 the bitinc cm bs. But no in- 
 dustry, that > ou can use, more 
 confnms Iht-ir 5treng;tfi, ihaii 
 to keep them from venery, 
 and the stiniiS of blind lust: 
 ^\hetlleryoll delight more in 
 bulis or in horses: and there- 
 fore the bulls are removed to 
 a distance, and into solitary 
 pistiiies, behind the obstacle 
 of a mountain, and beyond 
 broad rivers; or are kept shut 
 up within at full siall.-. Por 
 the lemale by being seen 
 consuiries their strensjth, and 
 wastes them by degrees. 
 
 Turn demum crassa magnum farragine corpus 
 Crescere jam domitis sinito : nam que ante do- 
 
 mandum 206 
 
 Ingentes tollent animos, prensique negabunt 
 Verbera lenta pati, et duris parere lupatis. 
 Sed non ulla magis vires industria firmat, 
 Quam Venerem et caeci stimulos avertere 
 
 amoris : 210 
 
 Sive bourn, sive est cui gratior usus equorum. 
 Atque ideo taurus procul, atque in sola relegant 
 Pascua, post montem oppositum, et trans flu- 
 
 mina lata : 
 Aut intus clausos satura ad praesepia servant. 
 Carpit enim vires pauUatim, uritque videndo 
 
 ^' position to reluctanti,'* &c. Dr. 
 Trapp. 
 
 205. Tum^ It is tu in the King's 
 manuscript. 
 
 208. Lentai^ In the King's ma- 
 nuscript it is dura. 
 
 Lupatis.'] The curb is said to 
 have been called lupatum, because 
 it had unequal iron teeth, like the 
 teeth of wolves. This strongly ex- 
 presses the mettle of a headstrong 
 horse, that he cannot be governed 
 by such severe curbs, as we find 
 used by the ancients. It is here 
 put in opposition to mollibus capis- 
 iris, mentioned before, by which 
 perhaps is meant what we call a 
 snaffle bit, as Dryden translates it : 
 
 /ind then betimes in a soft snojle wrought. 
 
 209. Sed non ulla magis, &c.] 
 Having.] ust mentioned the strength- 
 ening of horses with rich food, the 
 Poet takes occasion to tell us that 
 nothing preserves the strength 
 either of horses or bulls so much 
 as keeping them from venery. 
 Hence he slides into a beautiful 
 account of the violent effects of 
 
 lust on all the animated part of 
 the creation. He first begins with 
 bulls, describes their fighting for 
 thefemale, and the various passions, 
 with which the vanquished bull is 
 agitated. 
 
 Firmat.'] Fieri us says it is servat 
 in some ancient .manuscripts : but 
 that it \i firmat in much the greater 
 number. 
 
 211. Equorum^ Columella ad- 
 vises, that the good horses should 
 be kept separate from the mares, 
 except at the tinie designed for 
 covering: *' Equos autem pretiosos 
 " reliquo tempore anni removere 
 " oportet a foeminis, ne aut cum 
 '^ volent, ineant, aut si id facere 
 " prohibeantur, cupidine sollicitati 
 " noxam contrahant. Itaque vel 
 '' in longinqua pascua marem pla- 
 '* cet ablegari, vel ;id praesepia 
 " contineri." These last words are 
 almost the same which Virgil has 
 used, with relation to bulls : 
 
 Atque ideo tauros procul, atque in sola 
 
 relegant 
 Pascua. ■ 
 Aut intus clausos satura ad praesepia 
 
 servant. 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 
 
 ^77 
 
 Foemina: nee nemorum patitur meminisse, 
 nee herbae. 216 
 
 Dulcibus ilia quidem illecebris, et saepe superbos 
 Cornibus inter se subigit deeernere amantes. 
 Pascitur in magna sylva formosa juvenca : 
 Illi alternantes multa vi praelia miscent 220 
 Vulneribus crebris : lavit ater corpora sanguis, 
 Versaque in obnixos urgentur cornua vasto 
 Cum gemitu, reboant sylvaeque et magnus 
 
 Olympus. 
 Nee mos bellantes una stabulare : sed alter 
 Victus abit, longeque ignotis exulat oris, 225 
 Multa gemens ignominiam, plagasque superbi 
 Vietoris; turn quos amisit inultus amores; 
 Et stabula aspectans regnis excessit avitis. 
 Ergo omni cura vires exercet, et inter 
 Dura jacet pernix instrato saxa cubili, 230 
 
 and makes tliem forect the 
 groves and pastures. She also 
 with sweet allurements often 
 impels the proud lovers to 
 ccmtend with their horns. 
 The beanteons heifer feeds in 
 the spacious wood, whilst they 
 mutually enfjage with great 
 force ill battle with frequent 
 wounds; the black gore dis- 
 tains their bodies; their horns 
 are violently urged against 
 each other, with vast roar- 
 ing, and the woods and great 
 Olympus rebellow. Nor do 
 the warriors use to dwell to- 
 gether; but the vanquished 
 retires, and becomes an exile 
 in unknown distant coasts, 
 grievously lamenting his dis- 
 grace, and the wounds of the 
 proud victor, and his loves 
 which he has lost unrevenged, 
 and casting his eve back at 
 the stalls, deparls from his he- 
 reditary realms. Therefore 
 with all diligence he exer- 
 cises his strength, and obsti- 
 nately makes his bed ou the 
 hard stones. 
 
 21 6. Meminisse nee herbce.'] *' In 
 *' the oblong manuscript it is neque, 
 " which seems softer." Pierius. 
 
 219- Sylva.'] Servius says that 
 some would read Sila, a mountain 
 of Lucaniaj which alteration he 
 justly thinks unnecessary. 
 
 220. Illi oUernautes multa vi prce- 
 lia miscent.'] Thus in the twelfth 
 Mneid : 
 
 Illi inter sese multa vi vuliiera miscent, 
 Cornuaque obnixi infigunt, et sanguine 
 
 largo 
 Colla armosque lavant : gemitu nemus 
 
 omne remugit. 
 
 It is tollunt instead of miscent in 
 one of Dr. Mead's manuscripts. 
 
 226. Multa:] It is generally 
 thou2:ht to be put adverbially : but 
 La Cerda is of another opinion, 
 who thus paraphrases this passage : 
 " Gemit doletque multa, videlicet 
 " ignominiam amissae glorise, ac- 
 " ceptas plagas, amores perditos," 
 
 230. Pernix.] So I read with 
 Servius, who explains pernix perse- 
 verans, and derives it a perniiendo, 
 Pierius says it is pernix in all the 
 manuscripts which he had seen, 
 and speaks of pernox as an inno- 
 vation. The King's, and one of 
 the Arundelian manuscripts, most 
 of the old editions, Paul Stephens, 
 La Cerda, Heinsias, and Masvicius, 
 have pernix. The Cambridge, the 
 Bodleian, the other Arundelian, 
 and both Dr. Mead's manuscripts 
 have pernox. Ruaeus contends, that 
 it ought to be pernox, and affirms 
 that pernix has no wliere the sig- 
 nification which Servius assigns to 
 it, but always means swift, as per- 
 nix Saliirnus, and pedibus celerem et 
 pernicibus alis. He says it cannot 
 be supposed that Virgil would call 
 his wearied bull swift, and there- 
 fore he reads pernox with the two 
 Scaligers. Grimoaldus also reads 
 
278 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 and feeds on rough leaves and 
 sharp rushes; and tries him- 
 self", and practises his horns 
 against the trunk of a tree; 
 and pushes against the wind, 
 and spurning the sand pre- 
 pares to fight. Afterwards, 
 when his strength is collectefi, 
 and his force regained, he 
 inarches on, and rushes iiead- 
 long on his unsuspecting ene- 
 my. 
 
 Frondibus hirsutis, et carice pastus acuta : 
 Et tentat sese, atque irasci in cornua discit 
 Arboris obnixus trunco : ventosque lacessit 
 Ictibus, et sparsa ad pugnam proludit arena. 
 Post, ubi coUectum robur, viresque receptae, 235 
 Signa movet, prascepsque oblitum fertur in 
 hostem. 
 
 pernox. La Cerda says all the old 
 copies read pernix, "which he ex- 
 plains laboriosus, obstinatus, perti- 
 nax, and derives from the old verb 
 pernitor, with Servius. If pernox 
 be admitted, our translation must 
 be, "^ and makes his bed all night 
 *' on the hard stones." 
 
 231. Carice acuta.'] This plant 
 has so little said of it by the Roman 
 writers, that it is hard to ascertain 
 what species we are to understand 
 by the name carex. It is here called 
 sharp, which, if it be meant of the 
 end of the stalk, is no more than 
 what Ovid has said of the juncus, 
 or common rush ; "^ acuta cuspide 
 '' junci :" it is mentioned but once 
 more by Virgil; 
 
 ■ Tu post carecta latebas : 
 
 From which passage we can gather 
 no more, than that these plants 
 grew close enough together for a 
 person to conceal himself behind 
 them. Catullus mentions the carex 
 along with t]\&jiincus^ as being used 
 to thatch a poor cottage : 
 
 Hunc ego juvenes locum, villuLtraque 
 
 palustrem, 
 Tectam vimine junceo, caricisquc mani- 
 
 pHs, 
 Quercus arida, rustica conformata securi 
 Nutrivi. 
 
 Columella mentions the carex to- 
 gether with fern, and tells what 
 season is best to destroy them : 
 '' Filix quoque, aut carex ubicun- 
 '^ que nascitur, Augnsto mense 
 
 *' recte extirpatur, melius tamen 
 " circa Idiis Julias ante caniculee 
 *" exortum." Since therefore it is 
 difficult to determine what the carex 
 is, from what the ancients have 
 said of it; we must depend upon 
 the authority of Anguillara, who 
 assures us that about Padua and 
 Vincenza they call a sort of rush, 
 careze, which seems to be the old 
 word carex modernized. Caspar 
 Bauhinus says it is that sort of 
 rush which he has called Juncus 
 acuius panicula sparsa. It is there- 
 fore our common hard rush, which 
 grows in pastures, and by way 
 sides, in a moist soil. It is more 
 solid, hard, and prickly at the point, 
 than our common soft rush, which 
 seems to be what the ancients called 
 juncus. 
 
 232. Irasci in cornua, &c.] Thus 
 also in the twelfth ^Eneid : 
 
 Mugitus veluti cum prima in praelia 
 
 taurus 
 Terrificos ciet, atque irasci in cornua 
 
 tentat, 
 Arboris obnixus trunco, ventosque lacessit 
 Ictibus, et spa?'sa ad pugnam proludit 
 
 arena. 
 
 234. Et.] Pierius says it is aut 
 in the Roman manuscript, but he 
 does not approve of it. 
 
 235. Receptw.] Fulvius Ursinus 
 says it is refectcE in the old Colotian 
 manuscript. Heinsius acknow- 
 ledges the same reading, in which 
 he is followed by Masvicius. 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 
 
 279 
 
 Fluctus uti medio coepit cum albescere ponto 
 
 Just as when a wave begins to 
 
 whiten far off in the middle 
 
 ~f . I , . - 1 • ^ . , of the sea, and swells up from 
 
 JLongius, ex altoque smum trahit^ utque volutus the deep: and rolling to 
 
 237- Fluctus uti medio.l So I find 
 it in both the Arundelian, and in 
 one of Dr. Mead's manuscripts. 
 Pierius found the same reading in 
 the Roman, the Medicean, the 
 Looibard, and other very ancient 
 manuscripts. In tl)e oblong ma- 
 nuscript he found Fluctus uti in 
 medio, which he seems to approve: 
 it is the same in the King's manu- 
 script. Dr. Mead's other manu- 
 script has Jluctus aut in medio, where 
 aut no doubt is an error of the 
 transcriber for ut. ]n the Cam- 
 bridge and Bodleian manuscripts it 
 is Fluctus utin medio, which reading 
 is received in almost all the printed 
 editions. We have almost the same 
 line in the seventh ^neid : 
 
 Fluctus uti primo cospit cum albescere 
 vento. 
 
 This simile seems to be taken 
 from the fourth Iliad : 
 
 "Xlj o' or iv aiyiccXZ ToXutj^UKV/xee, SaXaffffm 
 O^vvT t^affffuTi^ov ^i<pv^ov iivoxtvna'avro;, 
 JlovTO) fiiv TO, -zf^ara xo^vffffiTcci, avra^ 
 
 Ki^tTik) ptjyvvfjciyov fAiydXa, ^pi/xn, afA(p) ^i 
 
 T ax^as 
 Kv^TOv iov xo^vipaureu, ei^rez'TVit V aXoi 
 
 "Xlj ror' l^affffin^ai Axvauv xivvvro (pi- 
 
 Xctyyis 
 'SaXifiias ziroXsfiov^i. 
 
 As when the winds, ascending by de- 
 grees, 
 First move the whitening surface of the 
 
 seas. 
 The billows float in order to the shore. 
 The wave behind rolls on the wave 
 
 before. 
 Till, with the growing storm, the deeps 
 
 arise. 
 Foam o'er the rocks, and thunder to the 
 
 skies. 
 So to the fight the thick battalions 
 
 throng, 
 Shields urg'd on shields, and men drove 
 
 men along. 
 
 Mr. Pope. 
 
 238. Longius, ex altoque sinum 
 tratiit.'] The comma is generally 
 placed at the end of the preceding 
 verse, which makes the interpreta- 
 tion of these words very difficult. 
 But I think all the difficulty is re- 
 moved by placing the comma after 
 longius. Virgil is here comparing 
 the bull's first preparing himself to 
 renew the fight, to a wave begin- 
 ning to whiten and swell, at a great 
 distance from the shore, in the 
 middle of the sea. Then as the 
 wave rolls towards the land, with 
 a dreadful roaring among the rocks, 
 and falls upon the shore like a huge 
 mountain ; so the bull comes fu- 
 riously roaring against his unsus- 
 pecting enemy, and impetuously 
 rushes upon him. 
 
 Siuum traliit is, I believe, a sin- 
 gular expression ; and I do not find 
 it explained by the commentators. 
 Sinus usually signifies some sort of 
 cavity, as the bosom of any person, 
 or a bay : it is used also to signify 
 a waving line, like the motion of a 
 snake. The Poet seems to conceive 
 a wave to be a hollow body, and 
 therefore calls the inner part of it 
 its sinus or bosom. Thus in the 
 eleventh ^neid, he speaks of a 
 wave pouring its bosom over the 
 farthest part of the shore: 
 
 Quaiis ubi alterno procurrens gurgite 
 
 pontus. 
 Nunc ruit ad terras, scopulosque super- 
 
 jacit undam 
 Spumeus, extremamque sinu perfundit 
 
 arenam. 
 
 In the seventh JEneid, where we 
 have a simile, not much unlike 
 that now under consideration, we 
 have altius undas erigit, which I 
 take to mean the same with ex alto 
 sinum trahit. 
 
S80 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 the land, makes a dreadful 
 roaring among the rocks, and 
 falls liUe a huge mountain : 
 tlie bottom of the water boils 
 viih whirlpools, and tosses 
 tliu black sand on nigh. Ewry 
 kind aK<o of livinsr creatures, 
 both men and wild beasts, and 
 the inhabitant* of the seas, 
 cattle, and painted birds, rush 
 into fury and flames: lust is 
 the same in all. At no other 
 time does the lioness forget- 
 ting her whelps wander over 
 the plains with greater fierce- 
 ness: nor do the shapeless 
 bears make such havoc in the 
 woods; then is the boar fierce, 
 iand the tyger most dangerous. 
 Then, alas! it is ill wandering 
 in the desert fields of Lybia. 
 Do you not see how the 
 horse trembles all over, if he 
 does but snuff the well-known 
 gales^ 
 
 Ad terras, immane sonat per saxa, neque ipso 
 Monte minor procumbit : at ima exaestuat unda 
 Vorticibus, nigramque alte subjectat arenam. 241 
 Omne adeo genus in terris bominumque fera- 
 
 rumque, 
 Et genus asquoreum, pecudes, pictagque volu- 
 
 cres. 
 In furias ignemque ruunt : amor omnibus idem. 
 Tempore non alio catulorum oblita leaena 245 
 Saevior erravit cam pis : nee funera vulgo 
 Tarn multa informes ursi stragemque dedere 
 Per sylvas: tum saevus aper, tum pessima tigris. 
 Heu ! male tum Lybiae solis erratur in agris. 
 Nonne vides, ut tota tremor pertentet equorum 
 Corpora, si tantum notas odor attulit auras ? 251 
 
 Fluctus uti primo coepit cum albescere 
 
 vento : 
 Paulatim sese tollit mare, et altius nndas 
 Erigit, inde imo consurgit ad aethera 
 
 fundo. 
 
 239. Neque.'] Pierius says it is 
 neque in the Lombard manuscript, 
 which he approves. Heinsius also 
 has neque. In most editions it is 
 nee. 
 
 240. At^ In the King's manu- 
 script it is «c. 
 
 241. Vorticibus.'] Heinsius and 
 Masvicins read verticihus, which 
 Pierius also observed in the Roman 
 and Medicean manuscripts. 
 
 Subjectat] Pierius found sub- 
 veclat ill the Roman manuscript, 
 which he seems to approve. 
 
 242. Omue adeo genus, &c.] Hav- 
 ing spoken of the fury which lust 
 causes in bulls, he takes occasion 
 to mention the violent effects of it 
 in other animals, and also in man- 
 kind. 
 
 In this whole paragraph, the Poet 
 seems to have had before him the 
 eighteenth chapter of Aristotle's 
 
 sixth book of the History of Ani- 
 mals. 
 
 248. Sylvas.'] It is sylvain in one 
 of the Arundelian manuscripts, and 
 in some printed editions. 
 
 249. Heu ! male tum Lyb'icp, &c.] 
 Aristotle, speaking of bears, wolves, 
 and lions, says they are dangerous 
 to those that come near them, not 
 having frequent fights between 
 themselves, because they are not 
 gregarious ; Tav xvrov ^s t^o-tfcv xxi 
 iTTt rm uy^iav. x,x) yct^ oc^KTot, kxi 
 XvKoi, Koct MovTig ^xXiTToi ro7g "yrXriO-iot- 
 C^oviri yivovrai tti^I tov x-oci^cv tovtov. 
 TT^og aXXiiXovg T ijTTov fid^ovrxi, ^icc to 
 fAVi ayiXoclov iivxi /^rM* Toiv toiovtuv Z^aui. 
 
 Lybia is the Greek name for 
 Africa, according to Pliny : " Afri- 
 '^ cam Graeci Lybiam appellavere." 
 This country abounds with the 
 fiercest wild beasts. 
 
 249. Erratur.] Pierius says it 
 is versatur in a very ancient manu- 
 script, and erravit in the Medicean. 
 
 Agris.] It is arvis in the Cam- 
 bridge, the Arundelian, and one of 
 Dr. Mead's manuscripts. 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 
 
 ^1 
 
 Ac neque eos jam fraena, viriim neque verbera 
 
 saeva. 
 
 Non scopuli, rupesque cavae, aut objecta retar- 
 
 dant 
 Flumina, correptosque unda torquentia montes. 
 ^ Ipse ruit, dentesque Sabellicus exacuit sus, ^55 
 Et pede prosubigit terram, fricat arbore costas 
 
 And now neither bridles, nor 
 the severe scourges of the 
 riders, not rocks and caverns, 
 and rivers interposed, that 
 whirl mountains along with 
 their torrents, can restrain 
 them. Even the Sabellian 
 boar rushes, and whets his 
 tusks, and tears the ground 
 with his feet, and rubs his 
 sides backwards and forwards 
 against a tree. 
 
 252. Ac] It is at in the old 
 Nnrenberg edition. 
 
 Frcena, virum neque verbera sceva.] 
 The comma is usually placed after 
 virum J I have ventured to place it 
 SLfterfrcena. 
 
 253. Non.'\ It is nee in the 
 King's manuscript. 
 
 254. Correptosque unda torquentia 
 montes.'] The common reading is 
 correptos without que: but Pierius 
 found correptosque in the Medicean, 
 the Roman, the Lombard, and other 
 ancient manuscripts. The same 
 reading is in the King's, the Cam- 
 bridge, the Bodleian, and both the 
 Arundelian manuscripts. Heinsius, 
 Schrevelius, Masvicius, and some 
 others also admit que. 
 
 255. Ipse ruit, &c.] Aristotle 
 speaking of the w'\\d boars says, 
 that at this time they rage horribly, 
 and fight one with another, making 
 their skins very hard by rubbing 
 against trees, and by often rolling 
 themselves in the mud, and letting 
 it dry, make their backs almost im- 
 penetrable ; and fight so furiously 
 that both of them are often killed : 
 Kcct 01 ye; et ay^ioi ^xXiTrarocTOi, KotiTTi^ 
 ua-jina-TocTtt Trip] rov xxtpov rovTov ovng, 
 ctoi Tdv 6^uxv, Kxt 5rg05 aXXuXovg fiiv 
 iToioviTi? f*ci^ocg ^avf^cCTr^? B'af^eixi^ovTig 
 
 iXVTOVg, xoii TTOlOVVTi? TO ^'iPfAOi COq "TTX- 
 ^VTUTOV ZK TTOi^OCa-KiV^?, TT^Oq tU ^vJ^^Ot 
 
 oiar^iZovTiq xcti rS TrviXS fcohvvovTi? TFoh.- 
 XoiKiq, xat |»jgfls/ve»Te5 zxvTovg. f4,ct^ovTcct 
 oi Tt-f^a-i u>\.)^^Xovg l|gA«t»vavTg5 Ix. rav crvo^ 
 <PopZiim ovra <r(pcdeaq, wtrn TroXXuKig 
 
 ec^^oTi^oi »To^v>i(r»ovcrtv. La Cerda 
 contends that the Poet is here 
 speaking of the wild boar, contrary 
 to the opinion of Servius and the 
 other commentators. But I believe 
 they are in the right j for Virgil 
 had spoken before of the wild boarj 
 *' turn scBVUS aper :" and here he 
 says even the Sabellian boar rages ; 
 *' ipse Sabellicus sus :" that is, not 
 only the wild boar, but even the 
 tame one rages at this time; and, 
 to make his description the stronger, 
 he ascribes to the tame boar, what 
 Aristotle has said of the wild one. 
 
 256. Et pede prosubigit^ In the 
 old Paris edition of 1494, it is Et 
 pedibus subigit. 
 
 Fricat arbore costas at que kinc at- 
 que illinc, humerosque ad vulnera 
 durat.] So I read with the Bod- 
 leian, one of the Arundelian, and 
 one of Dr. Mead's manuscripts. 
 Pierius found the same reading in 
 the Roman, the Medicean, and 
 other ancient manuscripts. It is 
 the same in the old Nurenberg edi- 
 tion, in an old edition by Jacobus 
 Rubeus, printed at Venice in 1475, 
 in the old Paris edition of 1494, 
 and some other old editions. The 
 common reading is i\\\xs, fricat ar- 
 bore costas, atque hinc atque illinc 
 humeros ad vulnera durat. I take 
 atque hinc atque illinc to belong to 
 fricat arbore costas ; for the boar 
 rubs his sides backwards and for- 
 wards against a tree ; but the hu'* 
 meros ad vulnera durat, the harden- 
 
282 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 and hardens his sbouUlers 
 against wounds. What does 
 the young man, in whose 
 bones cruel love excites the 
 niiehty fire? In the dead of 
 niglit he swims the seas tossed 
 with bursting storms; over 
 whom the vast gate of heaven 
 thunders; and whom the seas 
 dashed on the rocks 
 
 Atque liinc atque illinc, humerosque ad vulnera 
 
 durat. 
 Quid juvenis, magnum cui versat in ossibus 
 
 ignem 
 Durus amor? nempe abruptis turbata procellis 
 Nocte natat caeca serus freta : quem super ingens 
 Porta tonat caeli, et scopulis illisa reclamant 261 
 
 ing his shoulders against wounds, 
 relates to the rolling in mud, and 
 baking it upon his skin, so as to 
 make a sort of coat of armour, as 
 we readjust now, in the quotation 
 from Aristotle. 
 
 258. Quid juvenis, &c.] Here 
 the Poet no doubt alludes to the 
 well known story of Leander and 
 Hero. But with great judgment 
 he avoids mentioning the particular 
 story, thereby representing the 
 whole species, as ready to encoun- 
 ter the greatest dangers, when 
 prompted by lust. Dryden was not 
 aware of this, who, in his transla- 
 tion, has put all the verbs in the 
 preterperfect tense, and even men- 
 tions Sestos, the habitation of 
 Hero : 
 
 What did the youth, when love's un- 
 erring dart 
 
 Transfixed his liver; and inflani'd his 
 heart ? 
 
 Alone, by night, his wat'ry way he 
 took: 
 
 About him, and above, the billows 
 Irolce : 
 
 The sluices of the sky were open spread j 
 
 And rolling thunder rattled o'er his 
 head. 
 
 The raging tempest calVd him back in 
 vain ; 
 
 And every boding omen of the main. 
 
 Nor could his kindred; nor the kindly 
 force 
 
 Of weeping parents, change his fatal 
 course. 
 
 No, not the dying maid, who must de- 
 plore 
 
 His floating carcase on the Sestian 
 shore. 
 
 Cui.'] It is- cum in the King's 
 manuscript. 
 
 261. Porta tonat cceli, &c.] The 
 commentators are greatly divided 
 about the meaning of the gate of 
 heaven. Servius interprets it the 
 air full of clouds, through which 
 the passage lies to heaven : '' Aer 
 '' nubibus plenus, per quem iter in 
 ^' cselura est." Grimoaldus para- 
 phrases it according to this inter- 
 pretation : '' Cum interim aer (per 
 " quem iter est factum) nubibus 
 " erat obsitus," La Cerda's note 
 on this passage deserves to be tran- 
 scribed entire, and I shall here pre- 
 sent the reader with a translation of 
 it : '' By the gate of heaven Turne- 
 '' bus understands the hemisphere : 
 •' Manutius the air full of clouds, 
 " through which the passage lies 
 " to heaven. Others interpret it 
 " the east and west, of which no- 
 " tion I speak in another place : 
 '*^ others a cloud, which is not 
 " much amiss; for as that noise is 
 " made in a cloud, which bursts 
 *' out together with the thunder^ 
 " it seems to have the appearance 
 '' of a gate opening to let out the 
 " fire. You may take it for the 
 " north, where is the hinge of 
 " heaven, which the Greeks call 
 '' TcoXov, and by the help of imagin- 
 " ation, may be called a gate and 
 " a threshold. Ovid will invite 
 " you to this interpretation, who 
 '^ makes Leander, in his Epistle, 
 '' address himself to Boreas, which 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 283 
 
 ^quora; nee miseri possunt revocare parentes, [faSl S i"^^^^^ 
 
 *' blows from that quarter of the 
 " heavens, as withstanding his at- 
 '' tempt. But I have ventured to 
 " differ from all others, in explain- 
 " ing this passage of Virgil. Vir- 
 *' gil, Ennius, Homer, have spoken 
 *' of the gate of heaven according 
 " to the following notion : the an- 
 *' cients feigned Jupiter to be in a 
 *' certain temple of heaven, espe- 
 *' cialiy when he thundered and 
 " lightened. Thus Varvo, in Satyr a 
 *' Bimarco: 
 
 " — — Tunc repente celitum 
 
 " AUum tonitribus templum tonescit: 
 
 " for so we must read, and not cce- 
 " liim: and Lucretius, lib. i. 
 
 " Cceli tonitrulia templa, 
 '^ And lib. vi. 
 
 " Fumida cum cceli sc'mtillant omnia tern' 
 '' pla, 
 
 *' Terence, in Eunucho, 
 
 *< Qui templa cceli summa sotiitu 
 
 " concutit. 
 
 ^' Hence I gather, that gates may 
 *' be imagined in heaven, temples 
 " being feigned already : so that 
 " we may understand that those 
 " gates of the temples opened to 
 *' let out the thunderbolts. Hence 
 '' Silius, lib. 1. 
 
 Tonat alti regia cceli. 
 
 Therefore they understand by 
 templum call; sometimes a parti- 
 cular part of the heavens, as it 
 were the palace of Jupiterj some- 
 times the whole heaven, which 
 I rather believe ; certainly it is 
 natural, that they should ascribe 
 doors to this temple. Not very 
 different from this is the fiction 
 of Homer, in the eighth Iliad : 
 
 " TJJs iTirir^uTrui f/iyas ov^xvosy ouXvfA- 
 
 ** vros rtf 
 *' 'UfAiv avciKkTvoct -ruKivov vitros, vV \<ri- 
 
 '* hlvai. 
 
 " Heav'n gates spontaneous open to the 
 
 " pow'rs, 
 " Heav'n's golden gates, kept by the 
 
 " winged hours, 
 " Commission'd in alternate watch they 
 
 " stand, 
 " The sun*s bright portals, and the skies 
 
 " command; 
 " Close, or unfold, th' eternal gates of 
 
 " day, 
 " Bar heav'n with clouds, or roll those 
 
 ** clouds away. 
 
 Mr. Pope. 
 
 " As Virgil uses porta cceli, so Ca- 
 *' tullus ccElijanua, and i)efore them 
 " both Ennius; Mi soli cceli maxi- 
 " ma porta patet : and before all 
 '^ Homer ; uvTof^arcci ^l 7rv>.e6i ^vkov 
 " ov^uvov." Ruseus highly approves 
 of this interpretation. But Catrou 
 thinks it means the east and west, 
 and will have Virgil here be sup- 
 posed to express, that the storm 
 came from the west, because Sestos 
 is to the westward of Abydos : 
 *' Ces expressions, porta tonat cceli, 
 " meritent attention. Par la porta 
 '*^ du Ciel il faut entendre, ou celle 
 " par ou le soleil entre sur I'horison, 
 " et c'est rOrient : ou celle par 
 ^^ oil il en sort, et c'est VOccident. 
 ^' Ici Virgile semble vouloir dire, 
 '^ que I'orage venoit d'Occident, 
 '' puisque Sestos est occidental, en 
 " egard a Abydos." This is being 
 very minute indeed : but I believe 
 Virgil would not have used the 
 gate of heaven, to express the west, 
 when it might as well have sig- 
 nified the east, without adding some 
 epithet, to make his meaning evi- 
 dent. Besides, it is the north wind 
 that would have withstood Lean- 
 der's intent; and Ovid, as La 
 2o 2 
 
^4 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 nor the maid whose death 
 must be the conseqnence of 
 his nnhappy end. what do 
 the spotted ounces of Bacchus, 
 and the fierce kind of wolves, 
 and dogs? What do the ti- 
 morous stags, what fierce war 
 do they wage? 
 
 Nec moritura super crudeli funere virgo. 
 
 Quid Lynces Bacchi variae, et genus acre lupo- 
 
 rum, 
 Atque canum ? quid, quae imbelles dant praelia 
 
 cervi ? ^65 
 
 Cerda rightly observes, supposed 
 the north wind to oppose his 
 passage : 
 
 At tu de rapidis immansuetissime ventis, 
 Quid mecum certa praelia mente ge- 
 ris? 
 In me, si nescis, Borea, non aequora, 
 saevis. 
 Quid faceres, esset ni tibi notus amor ? 
 Tarn gelidus cum sis, non te tamen, im- 
 probe, quondam 
 Ignibus Actaeis incaluisse negas. 
 Gaudia rapturo si quis tibi claudere vellet 
 
 Aerios aditus : quo paterere modo ? 
 Parce precor; facilemque move modera- 
 tius auram. 
 Imperet Hippotades sic libi triste ni- 
 hil. 
 
 To conclude ; as Virgil did not de- 
 sign to give a minute account of 
 Leander's particular action, it can- 
 not \>Q imagined that he would 
 have taken pains to let his readers 
 know, that the west wind was op- 
 posite to those who would sail from 
 Abydos ; if that had been true. 
 But, in reality, it is the north wind, 
 or Boreas, which was always reck- 
 oned to blow from Thrace j and 
 Sestos is known to have been on 
 the Thracian shore. 
 
 261. Scopulis illisa reclamattt 
 {Equora.] Catrou interprets this of 
 the waves pushing back Leander 
 from the coast of Sestos ; " Les 
 *' flots repoussoient Leandre de la 
 " c6te de Sestos ; vers Abydos sa 
 *' patrie." But surely the Poet's 
 meaning is, that the waves dashing 
 violently on the rocks in a storm 
 ought not to prevent any one from 
 venturing out to sea. 
 
 263. VirgoJ] This word is not 
 
 used by the Poets in so strict a 
 sense, as we use the word virgin. 
 Thus Pasiphae is called virgo, in 
 the sixth Eclogue, in two places : 
 
 Ah, virgo infelix, quae te dementia 
 cepit : 
 
 And 
 
 Ah, virgo infelix, tu nunc in montibus 
 erras. 
 
 264. Lynces Bacchi varicc.'] The 
 ounce, the tiger, and the leopard, 
 are said to be the animals, by which 
 the chariot of Bacchus was drawn. 
 Thus Ovid : 
 
 Ipse racemiferis frontem circumdatus 
 
 uvis. 
 Pampineis agitat velatam frondibus 
 
 havStam. 
 Quern circa tigris, simulacraque inania 
 
 Pictarumque jacent fera corpora panthe- 
 rarum. 
 
 The difference between these ani- 
 mals not being commonly well 
 known, I shall here set down the 
 marks by which they are distin- 
 guished. The tiger is as large or 
 larger than a lion, and marked 
 with long streaks. The leopard is 
 smaller than the tiger, and marked 
 with round spots. The ounce or 
 lynx is of a reddish colour, like a 
 fox, marked with black spots : the 
 hairs are gray at the bottom, red 
 in the middle, and whitish at the 
 top ; those which compose the 
 black spots are only of two colours, 
 having no white at the top. The 
 eyes are very bright and fiery 5 and 
 the ears are tipped with thick 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 
 
 285 
 
 Scilicet ante omnes furor est insignis equarum : 
 Et mentem Venus ipsa dedit, quo tempore 
 
 Glauci 
 Potniades raalis membra absumpsere quadrigae. 
 Illas ducit amor trans Gargara, transque so- 
 
 nantem 269 
 
 Ascaniura: superant montes, et flumina tranant. 
 
 But the rage o( mares far ex- 
 ceeds all the rest ; and Venus : 
 herself inspired them, when 
 the Potiiiau mares tore Glau- 
 cus ia pieces with their jaws. 
 Lust leads them beyoud Gar- 
 garus, and beyond roaring 
 Ascanins: they climb over the 
 mountains, and swim through 
 the rivers; 
 
 shining hairs, like black velvet. 
 It is an animal of exceeding fierce- 
 ness. 
 
 265. Quid, quos imbelles dant 
 preslia cervi ?] In the Cambridge, 
 one of Dr. Mead's manuscripts, 
 and several of the old printed edi- 
 tions, it is quidque. 
 
 Our great Harvey, who had par- 
 ticularly studied these animals, and 
 had perhaps better opportunities of 
 being acquainted with their nature 
 than any man, observes, in his trea- 
 tise of the Generation of Animals, 
 that stags are very furious about 
 rutting time, and assault men and 
 dogs, though at other times they 
 are very timorous, and run away 
 at the barking of the smallest dog: 
 '' Eodem tempore, furore libidinis 
 "saeviunt; canes, hominesque ad- 
 " oriuntur : alias vero timidi valde, 
 " et imbelles sunt ; ac vel a mi- 
 '' nimae caniculae latratu, sese con- 
 " tinuo in fugaro proripiunt." The 
 same author observes, that after 
 the stag has impregnated all his 
 females, he grows exceedingly ti- 
 morous: " Mas, postquam foemellas 
 " suas implevit, defervescit ; si- 
 " mulque timid ior factus, ac maci- 
 " lentior, gregem deserit j vagatur 
 *' solus ; avideque pascitur, ut at- 
 " tritas vires resarciatj nee foemi- 
 *' nam aliquam postea toto anno 
 " aggreditur." 
 
 266. Scilicet ante omnes.] Having 
 digressed, to give an account of the 
 mischievous effects of lust on the 
 
 whole animal creation j lie now re- 
 turns to speak of horses, which 
 seem all this while to have been 
 forgotten. Here he describes the 
 extraordinary venereal fury of 
 mares j and then corrects himself, 
 for having spent so much time in 
 excursions about this passion. 
 
 Furor est insignis equarum.'] Aris- 
 totle says, that mares are the most 
 libidinous of all female animals : 
 that this fury of theirs is called 
 iTT'To^ecmy, whence that word is ap- 
 plied, by way of reproach, to las- 
 civious women : Tm 31 %Miav o^ftn- 
 
 TlKCOq 'i^OVT-t "^PCg TOV CTW^VXTfAGV, fAU- 
 
 Xicrrx f^lv tTFTTog , '{■^iircc jiovg. ul (aIv cut 
 Yttttoi ut B-»Xitxi l-TfTrofAotvcva-iv. oS^gV KU,t 
 Itc) riiv fi>^x(r(pvifAluv to ovofiec ecvrav Itti- 
 ^'i^ova-tVy ei'^o fzovov rm ^aav t^v Itti rav 
 
 267. Glauci Potniades malis mem- 
 bra absumpsere quadrigcsr] Potnia 
 was a town of Boeotia, near Thebes. 
 Of this town was Glaucus the son 
 of Sisyphus, who restrained the 
 four mares, which drew his cha- 
 riot, from the company of horses, 
 in order to make them more swift 
 for the race. Venus is said to have 
 been so highly offended at this 
 violation of her rites, that she raised 
 such a fury in the mares, that they 
 tore their master limb from limb. 
 
 269. Gargara.] See the note on 
 hook i. ver. 102. 
 
 270. Ascanium.'] This is the 
 name of a river of Bithynia. But 
 Gargarus and Ascanius seem to be 
 
286 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 i.;anra.ldrifimV.hdr"rr' Continuoque avidis ubi subdita flamma medullis, 
 
 row, especially in the spring, 
 
 Srn"ir tri?lonel'b^; au ^^^^ "^^S^^, quia vcrc calor redit ossibus, iUae 
 
 turning their faces to the west r\^^ ^, ' rr ^ . . -t 
 
 wind.theystaaci on the rocks, Urc omnes vcrsae ID ZephyruDi stant rupibus 
 
 altis, 
 
 273 
 
 put here for any mountain and 
 river. 
 
 271. Continuo.'\ See the note on 
 ver. 75. 
 
 272. Qiuia vere calor redit.'] Pi- 
 erius says it is quia vere redit calor, 
 in the Roman manuscript. 
 
 273. Ore omnes versce in Zephy- 
 mm.'] The impregnation of mares 
 by the wind is mentioned by a 
 great variety of authors. Homer 
 speaks of the horses of Achilles, as 
 being begotten by the west wind. 
 See the quotation from Homer, in 
 the note on magni currus j^chillis, 
 ver. 91. 
 
 Aristotle says, that at the time 
 the mares have this fury upon 
 them, they are said to be impreg- 
 nated by the wind : for which rea- 
 son, in the island of Crete, they 
 never separate the mares from the 
 stallions. When they are thus af- 
 fected, they leave the rest, and run, 
 not towards the east or west, but 
 towards the north or south, and 
 suffer no one to come near them, 
 till either they are quite tired down, 
 or come to the sea. At this time 
 they emit something, which is called 
 Hippomanes, and is gathered to be 
 used as a charm : AsyovTas* ^i kcc) 
 
 Iv Kg^yTji ovK. l^ui^ovs-i ret o^iix he rav 
 S'ljAsi&'v, oTotv dl rovT6 •xd^atri, B'^ovfiv 
 Ik im uXXcov '/ttttuv. za-ri bl to Tra^oq , 
 cTTi^ iTTt vm >AyiTui TO KflSTT^/^Siv. ^iov<rt 
 ^g oyTg TTpog sa, et/TS Trpog ova-uoig, aXXci 
 
 %pc% U^KTOV, JJ VOTOV. OTUV Oi if^TTStryi TO 
 
 ^uB'eg, cvdivec iZcri wA})(r<a^g<v, sag ccv k 
 
 UTtilTTOiTl OlCi TOV TfOVO^, *1 TTgCg ^CCXXtTCrXV 
 
 'i^^UTi, TOTS ^' ix.ZdX'hovT-i ri. yotXoviri 
 
 Jg Ktti tOVTOy U(r%'c^ iTTi TOV TlKTOf>ihoV, 
 
 i7r7ro//,ctvig. irri oi oiov *) kxtt^ix. Keti 
 ^nrovtri rovro f^dXto-rx Travrav 0/ ^ggi 
 Tug (px^fixfcit'xg. Varro affirms it is 
 a certain truth, that about Lisbon 
 some mares conceive by the wind, 
 at a certain season, as hens con- 
 ceive what is called a wind egg, 
 but that the colts conceived in 
 this manner do not live above three 
 years : " In foetura res incredibilis 
 " est in Hispania, sed est vera, 
 " quod in Lusitania ad oceanum, 
 '' in ea regione ubi est oppidum 
 " Olysippo, monte Tagro, quaedam 
 *' e vento concipiunt certo tempore 
 " equae, ut hie gallinae quoque so- 
 " lent, quarum ova vTrmfAix appel- 
 " lant." Columella says great care 
 must be taken of the mares about 
 their horsing time, because if they 
 are restrained, they rage with lust, 
 whence that poison is called /Viro- 
 jttfltvgj, which excites a furious lust, 
 like that of mares : that there is 
 no doubt, but that in some coun- 
 tries the females burn with such 
 vehement desires, that if they can- 
 not enjoy the male, they conceive 
 by the wind, like hens : and that 
 in Spain, which runs westward 
 towards the ocean, the mares have 
 frequently foaled, without having 
 had the company of a stallion, but 
 these foals are useless, because they 
 die in three years ; " Maxime ita- 
 " que curandum est praedicto tem- 
 *' pore anni, ut tam foeminis, quam 
 *^ admissariis desiderantibus coe- 
 '' undi fiat potestas, quoniam id 
 '' praecipue armentum si prohibeas, 
 ^' libidinis extimulatur furiis, unde 
 '' etiam veneno inditum est nomen 
 ^' IfFTFo^xni, quod equinae cupidini 
 
GEORG. LIB. .III. 287 
 
 Exceptantque leves auras : et ssepe sine ullis I'^i Xl"' '*"" ^'""^ '''"*"' 
 
 '* similem mortalibus amorem ac- 
 " cendat. Nee dubium quin aliquot 
 *' regionibus tanto flagrent ardore 
 " coeundi foeminae, ut etiam si 
 " marem non habeant, assidua et 
 *' nimia cupiditate figurantes sibi 
 ** ipsae venerem, cohortalium more 
 '* avium, vento concipiant. Quae 
 *' enim poeta licentius dicit ; Scili- 
 " cet ante omnes, &c. Cum sit no- 
 " tissimum etiam in Sacro monte 
 *' Hispaniae, qui procurrit in occi- 
 " dentem juxta oceanum, frequen- 
 " ter equas sine coitu ventrem per- 
 *' tulisse, fcetumque educasse, qui 
 *' tamen inutilis est^ quod triennio 
 '' prius quam adolescat, morte ab- 
 " sumitur. Quare,ut dixi^dablmus 
 " operam, ne circa aequinoctium 
 " vernum equae desideriis naturali- 
 " bus angantur." Pliny mentions 
 Lisbon as a place famous for mares 
 conceiving by the west wind : 
 " Oppida memorabilia a Tago in 
 " ora, Olisippo equarum e favonio 
 " vento conceptu nobile." In an- 
 other place he says, it is well 
 known, that in Portugal, about 
 Lisbon and the river Tagus, the 
 mares turn themselves against the 
 west wind, are impregnated by it, 
 and bring forth colts of exceeding 
 swiftness, but dying at three years 
 old : " Constat in Lusitania circa 
 *' Olyssiponem oppidum et Tagum 
 ** amnem, equas Favonio flanteob- 
 " versas animalem concipere spiri- 
 *' turn, idque partum fieri, et gigni 
 *' pernicissimum ita, sed triennium 
 *' vitae non excedere." These quo- 
 tations are sufficient to shew, that 
 it was generally believed by the 
 ancients that mares were impreg- 
 nated by the western wind. We 
 see that even the gravest prose 
 writers assert the truth of this, 
 and that they even bring forth 
 
 colts, which live three years. Virgil 
 however is very cautious : he does 
 not mention the colts i but sup- 
 poses only a false conception, 
 within which bounds Aristotle alone 
 contains himself, of all the writers 
 whom we have just now quoted. 
 The west wind, or Zephyrus, was 
 always reckoned to lead on the 
 spring, and to infuse a genial 
 warmth through the whole crea- 
 tion. Pliny says this wind opens 
 the spring, beginning usually to 
 blow about the eighth of February j 
 and that all vegetables are married 
 to it, like the mares in Spain : 
 " Primus est conceptus, flare in- 
 " cipiente vento Favonio circiter 
 " fere sextuni Idus Februarii. Hoc 
 " enim maritantur vivescentia e 
 *' terra, quo etiam equae in His- 
 " pania, ut diximus. Hie est ge- 
 *' nitalis spiritus mundi, a fovendo 
 ^' dictus, ut quidam existimavere. 
 *' Flat ab occasu aequinoctiali, ver 
 *' inchoans. Catulitionem rustic! 
 '* vocant, gestiente natura semina 
 " accipere, eaque an imam inferente 
 " omnibus satis." Thus also our 
 Poet in the second Georgick: 
 
 Parturit almus ager: Zephyrique tepen- 
 tibus auris 
 
 Laxant arva sinus : superat tener om- 
 nibus humor. 
 
 How far the mares are really af- 
 fected, we must leave to be decided 
 by the philosophers of Spain and 
 Portugal. But that hens will lay 
 eggs without the assistance of the 
 cock, is a well known fact ; and it 
 is as well known, that such eggs 
 never produce a living animal. 
 These fruitless eggs are called by 
 us wind eggs, as Varro calls them 
 V7rmfx,iu. ; and thus Aristotle uses a 
 like expression with regard to the 
 mares, \%etn^cvcr^xt. 
 
p. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 ^r^^o^ntUfi.ScerSim! Conjugiis vento gravidae, mirabile dictu ! 275 
 
 pregnated by the wind, they p, . _ 
 
 fly over hills, and rocks, and feaxa per: et scoDulos, et deDFessas convalles 
 
 dales; not towards thy rising, ^ ■' r ^ r 
 
 u.e^ZTnorto'ZT ''''''' Diffugiunt; non, Eure, tuos, neque solis ad 
 ortus : 
 
 277- Non, Eure, tuos, &c.] Here 
 Virgil widely differs from Aristotle j 
 who says expressly that they run, 
 neither towards the east, nor west, 
 but towards the north or south. 
 Hence some of the critics have 
 taken great pains to draw the phi- 
 losopher and the poet into the same 
 opinion. In order to this, some 
 have supposed the poet's meaning 
 to be that they run, not towards 
 the east, but towards the north, 
 west, and south. Thus Grimoal- 
 dus paraphrases it: ** Non orien- 
 *' tern solem versus, sed in septen- 
 *' trionem, in occidentem, et in 
 '* austrum nebulosum atque plu- 
 *' viosum." Thus also La Cerda : 
 " Quin uno excepto Euro, nam 
 " cum hoc nullus est illis amor, 
 ^' alios quoque amant ventos. Cur- 
 " runt enim versus Septentrioneni, 
 " unde flant Boreas et Caurus : 
 " currunt versus Austrum, his enim 
 " ventis maritantur." This last 
 commentator, not content with 
 straining Virgil, lays hold on Aris- 
 totle in the next place, and compels 
 him to say the very same. Instead of 
 ^govci SI ovTi !rg05 sa>, evn tt^os ^vtrfcagy 
 aXXei Tcpoq cipKrev, t) yorov, he would 
 fain read ^ovn Se ov n:^o<; ta, eiXXei TT^og 
 ^va-fiecg, n a^KTOv, U vorov. He might, 
 with as little violence, have made 
 Aristotle say BtovTi Ss cv Tr^og su, 
 «AAce TTpog dva-fAeig, ov v^og u^xrot n 
 toTov, which would have exactly 
 agreed with the most obvious 
 meaning of Virgil's words. Virgil 
 says expressly, that they turn to 
 the west; *' ore omnes versae in 
 '' Zephyrum ;" which seems the 
 most probable, if he spake of the 
 mares of Lisbon,- for the nearest 
 
 sea to them is the western ocean, 
 and we have heard Aristotle say, 
 that they run towards the sea. As 
 for the mares which Aristotle men- 
 tions, they seem to have been those 
 of Crete, and probably fed about 
 mount Ida, the most celebrated 
 place in that island. This being 
 admitted, we need but consider, 
 that as Crete extends in length, 
 from east to west, and as Ida is in 
 the middle of the island, the run- 
 ning directly to the sea, and to the 
 north or south, is exactly the same 
 thing. 
 
 The Eurus, according to Pliny, 
 is the south-east: " Ab oriente 
 " aequinoctiali Subsolanus, ab 
 '* oriente brumali Vulturnus: ilium 
 " Apelioten, hunc Eurum Graeci 
 '^ appellant." According to Aulus 
 Gellius, Eurus is the east, and the 
 same with the Subsolanus and Ape- 
 liotes : '' Qui ventus igitur ab 
 " oriente verno, id est, aequinoctiali 
 " venit, nominatur Eurus, ficto 
 " vocabulo, utisti Irv^oXoyiKoi aiunt, 
 '' uTTo Tiig sa p£*y, is alio quoque a 
 " Graecis nomine uTmXtdrng a Ro- 
 '* manis nauticis Subsolanus cog- 
 
 " nominatur Hi sunt igitur 
 
 " tres venti orientales, Aquilo, Vu\- 
 " turnus, Eurus: quorum medius 
 " Eurus est." 
 
 278. Boream.'] Boreas is fre- 
 quently used to signify the north : 
 but s trictly speaking, it is the north- 
 east. Pliny says the north wind is 
 called Septentrin, and by the Greeks 
 Aparctias, and that the Aquilo, called 
 by the Greeks Boreas, is the north 
 east: *' A Septentrionibus septem- 
 " trio, interque eum et exortum 
 " solstitialem Aquilo, Aparctias 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 
 
 ^89 
 
 In Boream, Caurumque, aut unde nigerrimus biacKstJ;^''"'''''"'' "'''*^"" 
 Auster 
 
 " dicti et Boreas," I believe there 
 is an error in the copies of Pliny, 
 and that instead of interqiie eum et 
 exorlum solstitialem we should read 
 juxtaque eum ad exorlum solstitialem: 
 for the exortus solstitialis is the 
 north-east 3 and therefore, accord- 
 ing to the common reading", ^orear^ 
 will be in the north-north-east j 
 whereas Pliny is evidently speaking 
 of the compass, as divided only 
 into eight points : " Veteres qua- 
 '^ tuor omnino servavere, per toti- 
 " dem mundi partes, ideo nee Ho- 
 *' merus plures nominat, hebeti ut 
 *' mox judicatum est ratione: se- 
 " cuta a^tas octo addidit, nimis sub- 
 '' tili et concisa: proxirais inter 
 '^ utramque media placuit, ad bre- 
 " vem ex numerosa additis quatuor. 
 " Sunt ergo bini in quatuor caeli 
 '' partibus ." Aulus Gellius says 
 expressly, that Boreas is the north- 
 east : " Qui ab aestiva et solstitiali 
 '^ orientis meta venit, Latine Aqui- 
 *' lo, Boreas Graece dicitur : eum- 
 '^ que propterea quidam dicunt ab 
 '' Homero oti^^nymrnv appellatum. 
 " Boream autem putant dictum 
 *' uTTo r*)g ^om, quoniam sit violent! 
 *^ flatus et sonori." 
 
 Caurum.'] Caurus, or Corus, ac- 
 cording to Pliny, is the north-west: 
 *' Ab occasuaequinoctialiFavonius, 
 *' ab occasu solstitiali Corus ; Ze- 
 
 *' phyron et Argesten vocant 
 
 *' Huic est contrarius Vulturnus . . 
 *' . . Ventorum frigidissimi sunt 
 '^ quos a Septentrione diximus spi- 
 *' rare, et vicinus iis Corus." Aulus 
 Gellius makes Caurus the south- 
 west, for he places it opposite to 
 Aquilo : '' His oppositi et contrarii 
 " sunt alii tres occidui : Caurus, 
 " quem solent Graeci agyeVtiv vocare, 
 *' is adversus Aquilonem flat." But 
 
 I believe Gellius is mistaken, for 
 Virgil, in ver. 356, represents Cau- 
 rus as an exceeding cold wind : 
 
 Semper hyems, semper spirantes frigora 
 Cauri. 
 
 It will not perhaps be unaccept- 
 able to the reader, if in this place I 
 shew what names the ancients gave 
 to the points of the compass, as 
 they are mentioned by Pliny. I 
 have already observed that this au- 
 thor divided the compass into eight 
 parts. These I think were evi- 
 dently the north, north-east, east, 
 south-east, south, south-west, west, 
 and north-west. For in lib. xviii. 
 c. 34. where he is speaking of de- 
 scribing the parts of heaven in a 
 field, he says the meridian line is 
 to be cut transversely through the 
 middle by another line, which will 
 shew the place of the sun's rising 
 and setting at the equinox, that is, 
 due east and west. Then two other 
 lines must be drawn obliquely, from 
 each side of the north to each 
 side of the south, all through the 
 same centre, all of equal length 
 and at equal distances : " Diximus 
 '* ut in media linea designaretur 
 " umbilicus. Per hunc medium 
 '^ transversa currat alia. Haec erit 
 *' ab exortu asquinoctiali ad occa- 
 " sum aequinoctialem. Et limes, 
 ** qui ita secabit agrum, decuraanus 
 " vocabitur. Ducantur deinde aliae 
 '* duae linese in decusseis obliquae, 
 " ita ut a septentrionis dextra laeva- 
 '' que ad austri dextram laevamque 
 " descendant. Omnes per eundem 
 " currant umbilicum, omnes inter 
 '' se pares sint, omnia intervalla 
 " paria." The next line to the 
 north, towards the east, that is in 
 the north-east, is called Aquilo, and 
 2p 
 
290 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 S'ior/rain:''"'"*''''''^'' Nascitur, ct pluvio coiitristat frigore caelum. 
 
 by the Greeks Boreas: " Ita caeli 
 " exacta parte, quod fuerit linese 
 *' caput septentrioni proximum a 
 '^ parte exortiva, solstitialem habe- 
 '' bit exortum, hoc est, longissimi 
 *' diei, ventumque Aquilonera, Bo- 
 '^ ream a Graecis dictum." The 
 point opposite to this, that is, the 
 south-west, is named Africus, and 
 by the Greeks Libs: ^' Ex adverso 
 '* Aquilonis ab occasu brumali Afri- 
 *' cus flabit, quem Graeci Liba vo- 
 " cant." The wind which blows 
 from the east point is called Sub- 
 solanus, by the Greeks Apeliotes ; 
 opposite to which is the Favonius, 
 called Zephyrus by the Greeks : 
 " Tertia a septentrione linea, quam 
 *' per latitudinem umbrae duximus, 
 " et decumanam vocavimus, exor- 
 *' turn habet aequinoctlalem, ven- 
 *^ tumque Suhsolanum, Graecis Ape- 
 
 *' lioten dictum Favonius ex 
 
 "^ adverso ejus ab sequinoctiali oc- 
 '^ casu, Zephyrus a Graecis nomina- 
 *' tus." Between the east and the 
 south rises the Vultumus, the Greek 
 name of which is Eurus ,• and op- 
 posite to this, between the north 
 and west, is the Coins, or, as the 
 Greeks call it, Argestes : " Quarta 
 *' a septentrione linea, eadem austro 
 '' ab exortiva parte proxima, bru- 
 '^ malem habebit exortum, ventum- 
 *' que Vulturnum, Eurum a Graecis 
 
 '^ dictum Ex adverso Vullur- 
 
 *' ni flabit Corns, ab occasu solsti- 
 *' tiali et occidental! latere septen- 
 " trionis, a Graecis dictus Argestes." 
 In lib. ii. c. 47. he says the south is 
 called Auster, by the Greeks Notus, 
 the north Septem trio, by the Greeks 
 Aparctias: " A meridie Auster et 
 " ab occasu brumali Africus, Noion 
 
 *' et Liba nominant A sep- 
 
 " tentrionibus Septem trio, interque 
 " eum et [or rather, as was observed 
 *' before^ juxtaque eum ad] exortum 
 
 *^ solstitialem^^uiZoj^/jarciias dicti 
 '^ et Boreas."' 
 
 278. Nigerrimus Auster.'^ The 
 south wind is called black, because 
 of the darkness it occasions, by 
 means of the thick showers, which 
 it brings with it. Thus in the fifth 
 ^neid: 
 
 Ruit aethere toto 
 
 Turbidus imber aquis, densisque nigerri- 
 mus Austris. 
 
 279. Pluvio contristat frigore cos- 
 lum.'] The south was always ac- 
 counted a rainy wind. Thus in the 
 first Georgick ; 
 
 Quid cogitet humidus Auster : 
 
 A.nd 
 
 Jupiter humidus Austris 
 
 Densat erant quae rara modo. 
 
 And in the third ; 
 
 Vera madent udo terrae ac pluvialibus 
 Austris. 
 
 And in the ninth iEneid: 
 
 Jupiter horridus Austris 
 
 Torquet aquosam byemem. 
 
 But I think it seems not quite so 
 plain, that it ever was accounted a 
 cold wind, I have sometimes in- 
 clined to think, that we ought to 
 read sidere instead o( frigore, with 
 the Roman and Cambridge manu- 
 scripts : but that will not fully an- 
 swer our purpose, for we have an- 
 other instance of the south wind's 
 being called cold by Virgil. It is in 
 the fourth Georgick, where he says, 
 
 Frigidus ut quondam sylvis imnourmu- 
 rat Auster. 
 
 Macrobius endeavours to solve this 
 difficulty, by saying the south-wind 
 is cold at its origin, and is only ac- 
 cidentally warm, by passing through 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 
 
 291 
 
 Hinc demum, Hippomanes vero quod nomine Hence a siimy juice at length 
 
 ^ '■ *• distils from their groins, 
 
 dicunt 
 
 the torrid zone. But this is a very 
 trifling solution. For what signifies 
 the coldness of this wind at its ori- 
 gin, when it is warm with regard 
 to us ? Besides, if I am not much 
 mistaken, the ancients had no no- 
 tion of its coming from the pole, 
 but thought it arose in Africa, which 
 was the most southern part of the 
 world, that they knew : Lihyce de- 
 vexus in Austros., says our poet him- 
 self in the first Georgick. And 
 Pliny speaks of a rock in the Cy- 
 renaic province, which is in Africa, 
 that is sacred to the south wind j 
 *' Quin et in Cyrenaica provincia, 
 " rupes quaedam Austro, traditur 
 " sacra, quam profanum sit attrec- 
 '' tari hominis manu, confestim 
 " austro volvente arenas." Ruaeus 
 will have frigus in this place to 
 stand only for a rainy season, as 
 hyems is also used frequently. This 
 I believe is only a conjecture of his 
 own. The only way I can find to 
 extricate us from this difficulty is 
 by observing, that the south wind 
 was not always accounted warm. 
 Columella speaks of its blowing in 
 January and February, and bring- 
 ing hail ; ^* XVII. Cal. Feb. Sol in 
 *' Aquarium transit, Leo mane inci- 
 " pit occidere, Africus, interdum 
 
 '' Auster cum pluvia Cal. Feb. 
 
 " Fidis incipit occidere, ventus euri- 
 " nus, et interdum Austercumgran- 
 
 '' dineest Nonas April. Fa- 
 
 " vonius aut Auster, cum grandine." 
 Now it appears from the same au- 
 thor, that the time when the mares 
 are seized with this fury is about 
 the vernal equinox: '' Generosis 
 '* circa vernum cequinoctium mares 
 " jungentur. . . . Maxime itaque cu- 
 *' randum est prcedicto tea^pore anni, 
 ^' ut . , . . desiderantibus coeundi 
 
 " fiat potestas,quoniam id prsecipue 
 " armentum si prohibeas, libidinis 
 " extimulatur furiis." Virgil there- 
 fore speaking of the south-wind 
 about the beginning of our March 
 calls it cold at that season, with 
 great propriety. 
 
 280. Hippomanes vero quod nomine 
 dicunt.'] Servius speaks of an herb 
 mentioned by Hesiod, under the 
 name of Hippomanes,- but I be- 
 lieve there is an error in the copy 
 of Servius, which I make use of, 
 for Fulvius Ursinus represents Ser- 
 vius as quoting Theocritus : " Putat 
 " Servius intelligendum hoc loco 
 " de Hippomane planta, cujus me- 
 " minit Theocritus." I do not find 
 the mention of any such plant in 
 Hesiod, but it is spoken of in the 
 Pharmaceutria of Theocritus : 
 
 'l7r9ro[jca,ns <pvrov Iffri 'iru,^ 'A^xdtri. rZ%' 
 Ka) <ffuXot (ABtivovrat av u^ia xoti B-oai 
 
 Hippomanes, a plant Arcadia bears; 
 
 This makes steeds mad, and this excites 
 the mares. 
 
 Creech. 
 The Scholiast upon Theocritus, as 
 I find him quoted by Fulvius 
 Ursinus, tells us, that Cratevas de- 
 scribed the plant Hippomanes, as 
 having the fruit of the wild cu- 
 cumer, and the leaves of the prickly 
 poppy : Kpocrevetg (pxtri to <Putov ix,uv 
 Kot^TToy ag ctikvov uy^iov. f*iXUvTipov ^g 
 TO (pixXov coTTTig (AViKUVog ufcotvB'eodis . It 
 is plain, however, that Virgil does 
 not here speak of the plant. Servius 
 thinks he adds vero nomine, to in- 
 sinuate, that the plant is errone- 
 ously called Hippomanes, and that 
 it belongs properly to the slime he 
 is speaking of. The Poet might 
 perhaps allude to the tubercle said 
 to be found on the forehead of a* 
 2p2 
 
p. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 which the shepherds properly 
 call Hippomanes. The Hip- 
 pomanes is often gathered by 
 wicked stepmothers, who mix 
 heibs with it, and baleful 
 charms. But in the mean 
 while, time, irreparable time, 
 flies away, whilst we, being 
 drawn away by love, pursue 
 so manj' particulars. Enough 
 of herbs; (here remains an- 
 other part of our care, to ma- 
 uage the woolly flocks, and 
 the shaggy goats. This is a 
 labour: hence, ye strong hus- 
 bandmen, hope for praise. 
 
 Pastores, lentum destillat ab ingiiine virus. 
 Hippomanes, quod saepe malae legere novercae, 
 Miscueruntque herbas, et non innoxia verba. 
 Sed fugit interea fugit irreparabile tempus, 
 Singula dum capti circumvectamur amore. 285 
 Hoc satis armentis : superat pars altera curae, 
 Lanigeros agitare greges, hirtasque capellas : 
 Hie labor : hinc laudem fortes sperate coloni. 
 
 young colt, when he is just foaled, 
 which is by some called Hippo- 
 manes, and was sought for in 
 incantations, as we find in the 
 fourth ^neid : 
 
 Quaeritur et nascentis equi de fronte 
 
 revulsus 
 Et matri praereptus amor. 
 
 Pliny says the mare licks this 
 tubercle off, as soon as the colt is 
 foaled; otherwise she does not 
 love him, nor will she admit him 
 to suck her ; " Et sane equis amo- 
 " ris innasci veneficium, Hippo- 
 '* manes appellatum, in fronte, 
 *' caricae magnitudine, colore ni- 
 " gro : quod statim edito partu 
 " devorat foeta, aut partum ad 
 " ubera non admittit, si quis prse- 
 " reptum habeat." Aristotle also 
 mentions it in the eighth book of 
 his History of Animals; but he 
 treats it as an old woman's story : 
 To ^g tTT'^cficcvlg xotXovuivov Itti^Utui 
 
 'iTtTTOt '^i^lMl^OVTXl XCCl KxB^Xl^OVTXl, 
 
 TTi^iTpayova-tv xvTo. rei ^l iTTifAvB^ivofiSvu 
 7Fi:T>\.X(rrxt ^oiXXov vtto rZv yvvxtKUV KXt 
 rm TTt^f rx? \7r0ihxg. Virgil there- 
 fore, who had Aristotle in his eye 
 throughout this passage, says that 
 this slime is properly called Hip- 
 pomanes, in contradistinction [to 
 that fictitious tubercle, which has 
 usurped that name. 
 
 281. Destillat.'] It is generally 
 printed disiillat: but Pierius says 
 
 it is destillat in the Roman, the 
 Medicean, the Lombard, and other 
 ancient manuscripts. Heinsius also 
 admits destillat. 
 
 283. Miscuerunt.'] It is miscuerint 
 in one of Dr. Mead's manuscripts, 
 and in the Roman manuscript, ac- 
 cording to Pierius. This line is 
 also in the second Georgick : 
 
 Pocula si quando saevae infecere noverccB, 
 Miscueruntque herbas, et non innoxia 
 verla. 
 
 286. The Poet, having now done 
 with bulls and horses, proceeds to 
 speak of sheep and goats. But 
 being aware of the great difficulty 
 in making such mean subjects shine 
 in poetry, he invokes Pales to his 
 assistance. 
 
 288. Hie.'] Pierius says it is hinc 
 in the Medicean, and in most of 
 the ancient manuscripts, though 
 many of them have hie. The King's, 
 both the Arundelian, and both Dr. 
 Mead's manuscripts have hinc. The 
 Cambridge and the Bodleian copies 
 have hie, which reading is admitted 
 also by Heinsius, and most of the 
 editors. 
 
 Laudem.] It is laudes in the 
 King's and in one of Dr. Mead's 
 manuscripts. 
 
 Sperate.'2 It is sperare in the old 
 edition printed at Venice, by Jaco- 
 bus Rubeus, in 1475, and in that 
 by Antonius Bartholomeus in 1476. 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 
 
 293 
 
 Nee sum animi dubius, verbis ea vincere mag- 
 num 
 Quam sit,et angustis hunc addere rebus honorem. 
 Sed me Parnassi deserta per ardua dulcis 291 
 Raptat amor : juvat ire jugis, qua nulla prior um 
 Castaliam molli devertitur orbita clivo. 
 Nunc veneranda Pales, magno nunc ore so- 
 nandum. 
 
 Nor am I at all ignorant, hovir 
 difficult it is to raise this sub- 
 ject with lofty expressions, 
 and to add due honour to so 
 low an argument. Bnt sweet 
 love carries me away through 
 the rugged desarts of Parnas- 
 sus; 1 delight in passing over 
 the hills, where no track of 
 the ancients turns with an easy 
 descent to Castalia. Now, O 
 adored Pales, now must I raise 
 my strain. 
 
 989. Nee sum animi dubius, &c.] 
 This passage is an evident imitation 
 of the following lines of Lucretius: 
 
 Nunc age, quod superest, cognosce, et 
 
 clarius audi. 
 Nee me animi fallit quam sint obscura, 
 
 sed acri 
 Percussit thyrso laudis spes magna 
 
 meum cor, 
 Et simul incussit suavem mi in pectus 
 
 amorem 
 Musarum : quo nunc instinctus, mente 
 
 vigenti 
 Avia Pieridum peragro loca, nullius ante 
 Trita solo: juvat integros accedere fon- 
 
 tes, 
 Atque haurire : juvatque novos decer- 
 
 pere flores : 
 Insignemque meo capiti petere inde 
 
 coronam, 
 Unde prius nulli velarint tempora Musae. 
 
 291. Parnassi deserta per ardua.] 
 Parnassus is a great mountain of 
 Phocis, sacred to Apollo anci the 
 Muses. Near it was the city Del- 
 phi, famous for the temple and 
 oracle of the Pythian Apollo. At 
 the foot of this mountain was the 
 Castalian spring, sacred to the 
 Muses. 
 
 293. Devertitur.] In many co- 
 pies it is devertitur: but Pierius 
 says it is divertitur in all the ancient 
 manuscripts which he has seen. 
 
 Molli clivo.'] Clivus is used both 
 for the ascent and descent of a hill. 
 Servius understands it in this place 
 to signify a descent : '' facili itinere 
 '' et descensioneJ" This interpreta- 
 tion seems to agree best with 
 
 Virgil's sense J for he speaks of 
 passing over the mountain; and 
 therefore he must descend again, 
 to come to the Castalian spring. 
 Grimoaldus however takes it to 
 mean an ascent : '' per quae nemo 
 " veterum Poetarum facili ascensu 
 " trajicerepotuit hactenus." Of the 
 same opinion is La Cerda : " Est 
 " Castalius fons Musarum, non in 
 " ipso vertice Parnassi, sed ad ima, 
 *'' ideo tantum per moUem quendam 
 " clivum ascensus est ad ilium." 
 Dr. Trapp follows this interpre- 
 tation : 
 
 By soft ascent 
 
 Inclining to the pure Castalian stream. 
 
 We find an expression like this in 
 the ninth Eclogue: 
 
 Qua se subducere colles 
 
 Incipiunt, rnolligue jugum demittere clivo. 
 Usque ad aquam, et veteris jam fracta 
 cacumina fagi. 
 
 Here molli clivo plainly signifies an 
 easy descent; and thus it is under- 
 stood by La Cerda himself: " A 
 '' clivo quopi^Ti molli leniterque 
 '' subducto usque ad aquam Mincii 
 " fluminis, et fagum, cui prse senio 
 '* fracta cacumina." Thus also Dr. 
 Trapp translates this passage ; 
 
 Where the hills begin 
 
 To lessen by an easy soft descent, 
 Down to the water, and the stunted 
 beech. 
 
 294. Pales.] See the note on 
 ver. 1. 
 
294 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 JhV^sLep'sh'Sle^rdSd Incipiens stabulis edico in mollibus herbam 295 
 
 in soft cotes, till (he leafy n t -, • 
 
 sammer returns: and that the Carpere oves, dum mox iFondosa reducitur 
 
 hard groniid should be strew- ■» ^ 
 
 groniid 
 cd with a good quantity 
 
 aestas 
 
 Et multa duram stipula filicumque manipli§ 
 
 Sonandum.'] It is canendum in 
 one of Dr. Mead's manuscripts. 
 
 295. Incipiens, &c.] In this pas- 
 sage the Poet treats of the care of 
 sheep and goats, during the winter 
 season. 
 
 Slabulis in mollibus.'] Servius in- 
 terprets mollibus warm : " clemen- 
 " tioribus et aeris temperati ; vel 
 *' propter plagam australem, vel 
 " propter suppositas herbas anima- 
 *' libus." In this he is followed by 
 Dr. Trapp : 
 
 First, I ordain, that in warm huts the 
 
 sheep 
 Be fodder'd. 
 
 I rather choose, witli La Cerda, to 
 give mollibus its usual sense soft, 
 because he immediately tells us 
 that the hard ground should be 
 littered with straw and brakes. 
 Thus also May translates it : 
 
 But first I counsell to containe 
 
 Your sheep within soft stals to feed at 
 home. 
 
 Besides, Columella expressly says, 
 that this litter is used, that the 
 sheep may lie soft: '' Deturque 
 " opera, nequis humor subsistat, 
 '' ut semper quam aridissimis fili- 
 *' cibus, vel culmis stabula con- 
 *' strata sint, quo purius et moUius 
 '* incubent fcetae." It is not very 
 usual with us, to house our sheep, 
 notwithstanding our climate is less 
 mild than that of Italy. But Mr. 
 Mortimer observes, that " in Glou- 
 '^ cestershire they house their sheep 
 '' every night, and litter them 
 " with clean straw, which affords a 
 ^' great advantage to their land by 
 
 '' the manure, and they say makes 
 *' their wool very fine." 
 
 Herbam carpere.] Cato says the 
 sheep should be foddered with he 
 leaves of poplars, elms, and oaks: 
 " Frondem populneam, ulmeam, 
 " querneam caedito, per tempus 
 " earn condito, non peraridam, 
 " pabulum ovibus." Varro men- 
 tions fig-leaves, chaff, grape-stones, 
 and bran : '' His quaecunque ju- 
 " bentur, vescuntur, ut folia ficul- 
 " 'nea, et palea, et vinacea : furfures 
 " objiciuntur modice, ne parum, 
 " aut nimium saturentur.'' Co- 
 lumella speaks also of elm and 
 ash leaves: " Aluntur autem com- 
 *' modissime repositis ulmeis, vel ex 
 " fraxino frondibus." 
 
 296. Dum mox frondosa reducitur 
 oestas/] The meaning of this is, 
 that the sheep are to be housed, till 
 the warm weather has produced a 
 sufficient quantity of fresh food for 
 them in the open fields. We can- 
 not suppose that summer is to be 
 taken here in a strict sense; for 
 tiiat season began on the ninth of 
 May : and surely they tiever housed 
 their sheep till that time. 
 
 297- Duram humum.] He calls 
 the ground hard, because it was 
 usual to pave their sheep-cotes 
 with stone: '^ Horum praesepia 
 " ac stabula, ut sint pura, majorem 
 " adhibeaiJt diligentiam quam hir« 
 " tis. Itaque faciunt lapide strata, 
 *' ut urina necubi in stabulo con- 
 " sistiU." 
 
 Stipula filicumque maniplis.] For 
 filex see ver. 189. of the second 
 book. 
 
 The writers of agriculture are 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 
 
 S95 
 
 Sternere subter humum, glacies ne frigida laedat brakes- JhV^^^ £"^'S .,^ 
 Molle pecus, scabiemque ferat, turpesqiie poda- bring the scab and io«i gouts. 
 
 gras. 
 
 299 
 
 particularly careful to give instruc- 
 tions about keeping the sheep clean 
 and dry in their cotes. ThusCato; 
 *' Pecori et bubus diligenter sub- 
 " sternatur, ungulae curentur .... 
 '* Stramenta si deerunt, frondem 
 " iligneam legito, earn substernito 
 " ovibus bubusque." Varro says 
 the pavement should be laid slop- 
 ing, that it may easily be swept 
 clean,- because wet spoils the wool 
 and disorders the sheep. He adds, 
 that fresh litter should be often 
 given them, that they may lie soft 
 and clean: *' Ubi stent, solum 
 *' oportet esse eruderatum, et pro- 
 '* clivum, ut everri facile possit, ac 
 *' fieri pnrum ; non enim solum ea 
 " uligolanam corrumpitovium, sed 
 *' etiam ungulas, ac scabras fieri 
 *' cogit. Cum aliquot dies stete- 
 '' runt, subjicere oportet virgulta 
 " alia, quo moUius requiescant, 
 " purioresque sint: libentius enim 
 '* ita pascuntur." 
 
 298. Glacies ne frigida laedat molle 
 pecus.'} Columella says, that sheep, 
 though they are the best clothed 
 of all animals, are nevertheless the 
 most impatient both of cold and 
 heat : '^ Id pecus, quamvis ex om- 
 " nibus animalibus vestitissimum, 
 " frigoris tamen impatientissimum 
 '^ est, nee minus sestivi vaporis." 
 
 299. Scabiem.'] See ver. 441. 
 
 Turpesque podagras.'] I have ven- 
 tured to translate podagra the gout, 
 though I have not been informed 
 that our sheep are ever subject to 
 such a distemper. The Poet cer- 
 tainly means some kind of tumour 
 in the feet: and probably it is the 
 same distemper with that, which 
 Columella has described under the 
 
 name of clavi. He says they are 
 of two sorts : one is, when there is 
 a filth and galling in the parting of 
 the hoof; the other when there is 
 a tubercle in the same place, with a 
 hair in the middle, and a worm 
 under it. The former is cured by 
 tar ; or by alum and sulphur mixed 
 with vinegar; or by a young pome- 
 granate, before the seeds are formed, 
 pounded with alum, and then co- 
 vered with vinegar ; or by verdi- 
 gris crumbled upon it; or by burnt 
 galls levigated with austere wine, 
 and laid upon the part. The tu- 
 bercle, which has the worm at the 
 bottom, must be cut carefully round, 
 that the animalcule be not wounded, 
 for if that should happen, it sends 
 forth a venomous sanies, which 
 makes the wound incurable, so that 
 the whole foot must be taken off: 
 and when you have carefully cut 
 out the tubercle, you must drop 
 melted suet into the place : "' Clavi 
 " quoque dupliciter infestant ovem, 
 *' sive cum subluvies atque inter- 
 ' trigo in ipso discrimine ungulse 
 " nascitur, seu cum idem locus tu- 
 '' berculum habet, cujus media fere 
 '' parte canino similis extat pilus, 
 " eique subest vermiculus. Sub- 
 '' luvies, et intertrigo pice per se 
 '^ liquida, vel alumine et sulfure, 
 " atque aceto mistis rite eruentur, 
 '' vel tenero punico malo, prius 
 *' quam grana faciat, cum alumine 
 " pinsito, superfusaque aceto, vel 
 " aeris eerugine infriata, vel com- 
 ** busta galla cum austero vino le- 
 */ vigata, et superposita: tubercu- 
 '^ lum, cui subest vermiculus, ferro 
 '^ quam acutissiiae circumsecari 
 " oportet, ne, dum amputatur etiam. 
 
296 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 Then leaving the sheep, I 
 order the leaty arbutes to suf- 
 fice the goats: and that they 
 should have fresh water, and 
 that the cotes should be turn- 
 ed from the winds opposite 
 to the winter sun, being ex- 
 posed to the south ; when cold 
 Aquarius now sets, and pours 
 forth his water at the end of 
 the year. Nor are these to 
 be tended by us with less 
 care, nor are they less useful ; 
 though the Milesian 
 
 Post hinc digressus jubeo frondentia capris 300 
 Arbuta sufficere, et fluvios praebere recentes ; 
 Et stabula a ventis hyberno opponere soli 
 Ad medium conversa diem ; cum frigidus olim 
 Jam cadit, extremoque irrorat Aquarius anno. 
 Hae quoque non cura nobis leviore tuendae, 305 
 Nee minor usus erit : quamvis Milesia magno 
 
 *' quod infra est, animal vulnere- 
 ** mus : id enira cum sauciatur, ve- 
 *' nenatam saniem mittit, qua re- 
 ** spersum vulnus ita insanabilefa- 
 '^ cit, ut totus pes amputandus sit: 
 *' et cum tuberculum diligenter cir- 
 " cumcideris, candens sevum vul- 
 " neri per ardentem taedam instil- 
 '' lato." Perhaps Virgil means the 
 first sort, and therefore gives this 
 disease the epithet turpis. 
 
 300. Frondentia arhutaJ] In the 
 first book, Virgil uses arbuium for 
 the fruit, and in the second, arbutus 
 for the tree : but here arbutum is 
 nsed for the tree. The epithet 
 frondentia is a plain proof, that in 
 this place he means the tree, which 
 is an ever-green, and therefore sup- 
 plies the goats with browse in win- 
 ter, of which season Virgil is now 
 speaking. Columella mentions the 
 arbutui among those shrubs which 
 are coveted by goats : "^^ Id autem 
 " genus dumeta potius, quam cam- 
 "■ pestresitumdesiderat: asperisque 
 *' etiam locis, ac sylvestribus optirae 
 '^ pascitur. Nam nee rubos aver- 
 ** satur, nee vepribus oiFenditur, et 
 " arbusculis, frutetisque maxime 
 *' gaudet. Ed sunt arbutus, atque 
 " alaternus, cytisusque agrestis. 
 '' Nee minus ilignei, querneique 
 ^' frutices, qui in altitudinem non 
 '' prosiliunt." 
 
 303. Cum frigidus olim jam cadit, 
 &c.] In one of the Arundelian 
 manuscripts it is dum instead of 
 cum. 
 
 In this place, as Ruaeus well ob- 
 serves, Virgil must mean that year 
 which began with March, for Aqua- 
 rius was reckoned to rise about the 
 middle of January, and to set about 
 the middle of February. Aquarius 
 is represented pouring water out of 
 an urn, and was esteemed a rainy 
 si^n. 
 
 305. HcB .... tuendcB.'] Servius 
 reads hcec .... tuenda, and says the 
 Poet uses the neuter gender figura- 
 tively. In this he is followed by 
 several of the oldest editors. But 
 Heinsius, and almost all the late 
 editors read hce . . . . tuendcB, which 
 reading I find also in all the manu- 
 scripts which 1 have collated. In 
 one of Dr. Mead's manuscripts it 
 is nee instead of hce. 
 
 306. Nee minor usus erit.~\ Goats 
 are of no less value than sheep : for 
 they are very fruitful, and yield 
 abundance of milk, which is very 
 little, if at all, inferior to that of the 
 ass, in nourishing weak, and re- 
 storing wasting bodies. They are 
 kept with very little expence, for 
 they will feed on briars, and almost 
 any wild shrubs. The kids are 
 very good meat : they climb the 
 steepest rocks and precipices : 
 though their feet do not at all seem 
 to be made for that purpose. 
 
 Quamvis Milesia ynagno vellera 
 mutentur.'] Miletus was a city on 
 the borders of Ionia and Caria, fa- 
 mous for the best wool, of which the 
 Milesian garments were made, which 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 
 
 <m 
 
 Vellera mutentur, Tyrios incocta rubores. 
 Densior hinc soboles ; hinc largi copia lactis. 
 Quam magis exhausto spumaverit ubere mulc- 
 tra; 309 
 
 Laeta magis pressis manabunt flumina mammis. 
 Nee minus interea barbas incanaque menta, 
 
 fleeces being stained with Ty- 
 rian dye sell tor a large price. 
 These are more fruitful, these 
 afford a greater plenty of 
 milk. The inorethe pail froths 
 with their exhausted udders, 
 the larger streams will flow 
 from their pressed dugs. Be- 
 sides, the beards and hoary 
 chins. 
 
 were greatly esteemed by the ladies, 
 for their delicate softness. 
 
 In magno mutentur the Poet 
 alludes to the ancient custom of 
 changing one commodity for an- 
 other, before tlie general use of 
 money. 
 
 307. Tyrios incocta rubores,] See 
 the note on Tyrio conspectus in 
 ostro, ver. 17. 
 
 308. Densior hinc soboles.] Co- 
 lumella says a goat, if she is of a 
 good sort, frequently brings forth 
 two, and sometimes three kids at a 
 time : *' Parit autem si est generosa 
 " proles, frequenter duos, nonnun- 
 '^ quam trigeminos." 
 
 309. Quam magis.'] Pierius says 
 it is quo magis in the Roman, and 
 other ancient manuscripts. 
 
 SIO. Flumi?ia.'2 So I read, with 
 Heinsius, and Ruaeus. Pierius says 
 it is ubera, in the Roman, the Lom- 
 bard, and other very ancient manu- 
 scripts. He seems to think ubera 
 the true reading 3 and that the 
 transcribers, observing w6ere in the 
 preceding line, were afraid of re- 
 peating ubera in this ; and therefore 
 substituted /Mmmo, La Cerda also 
 thinks, that those who read flumina, 
 deprive this passage of a great ele- 
 gance. I find ubera in the King's, 
 the Bodleian, both the Arundelian, 
 and both Dr. Mead's manuscrij)ts. 
 In the Cambridge manuscript, and 
 in most of the latter editions, it is 
 fiumina, which appears to be no 
 inelegant reading. Pierius also al- 
 lows that flumina is a metaphoriqal 
 hyperbole, very proper in this 
 
 place to express an extraordinary 
 abundance of milk. 
 
 311. Barbas incanaque menta Ce- 
 nyphii tondent hirci.'] Cinyphus, ac- 
 cording to Strabo, is a river of 
 Africa. According to Pliny, Cynips 
 is the name both of a river and a 
 country : *^ Augylae ipsi medio fere 
 " spatio locantur ab Ethiopia, quae 
 ** ad occidentem vergit, et a regione 
 " quse duas Syrtes interjacet, pari 
 " utrinque intervallo, sed littore 
 " inter duas Syrtes, ccl. M. pass. 
 *' Ibi civitas OEensis, Cynips fluvius 
 " ac regio." This country seems 
 to be that which is now called 
 Tripoly, CEa being one of the three 
 cities, which were joined to make 
 the city TripoUs. This country 
 was famous for goats with the 
 longest hair; whence these animals 
 are often called Cinyphian. Thus 
 Martial : 
 
 Cujus livida naribus caninis 
 Dependet glacies, rigetque barba, 
 Qualem forficibus metit supinis 
 Tonsor CinypMo Cylix marito: 
 
 and 
 
 Non hos lana dedit, sed olentis barba 
 mariti : 
 Cinyphio poterit planta latere sinu. 
 
 Some grammarians take Cyniphii 
 hirci to be the nominative case, and 
 tondent to he put for tondentur. 
 But the general opinion is, that 
 Cinyphii hirci is the genitive case; 
 and that pastores understood is the 
 nominative case before the active 
 verb tondent. Perhaps Cinyphii is 
 the nominative case to tondent : and, 
 '2q 
 
298 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 and shaggy hairs of the Ciny- 
 phian goats are shorn, for the 
 use of the camps, and for 
 coverings to miserable mari- 
 ners. But they feed in the 
 woods, and on tiie summits of 
 Lyczeus, and browse on the 
 prickly brambles, and the 
 bushes that love high places. 
 And the she-goats remember 
 to return to their cotes of their 
 own accord, and carry their 
 kids with them, and can 
 scarce step over the threshold 
 with their swelLing udders. 
 Therefore, as they take less 
 care to provide against want, 
 you must be the more careful 
 to defend them from ice and 
 snowy winds; and joyfully 
 supply them with food, and 
 twiggy pasture : nor must you 
 shut up your stores of hay 
 during the whole winter. But 
 when the warm weather re- 
 joices with inviting Zephyrs, 
 
 Cinyphii tondeiit hirci, setasque comantes, 
 Usum in castrorum, et miseris velamina nautis?. 
 Pascuntur vero sylvas et summa Lycaei, 314 
 Horrentesque rubos, et araantes ardua dumos. 
 Atque ipsae memores redeunt in tecta, suosque 
 Ducunt, et gravido superant vix ubere limen. 
 Ergo omni studio glaciem ventosque nivales, 
 Quo minor est illis curas mortalis egestas, 
 Avertes ; victumque feres, et virgea laetus 320 
 Pabula ; nee tota claudes foenilia bruma. 
 At vero, zephyris cum lasta vocantibus aestas, 
 
 then this passage should be thus 
 translated : " the Cinyphians shave 
 '' the beards and hoary chins of the 
 *' ^oat." This sense is admitted by 
 Grimoaldus : " Libyci pastor es ab- 
 *' radunt hirquinas barbas, &c." 
 Cinyphius is used for the people 
 by Martial : 
 
 Stat caper jEolio Thebani vellere Phryxi 
 Cultus : ab hoc mallet vecta fuisse soror. 
 
 Hunc nee Cinyphius tonsor violaverit, 
 et tu 
 Ipse tua pasci vite. Lyase, velis. 
 
 Pierius says it is hircis in the Ro- 
 man and in some other ancient 
 manuscripts. 
 
 313. Usum in castrorum, et miseris 
 velamina nautis.'\ Varro says that 
 goats are shorn for the use of 
 sailors, and engines of war : " Ut 
 '' fructum ovis e lana ad vestinien- 
 " turn : sic capra pilos ministrat ad 
 '' usum nauticum, et ad bellica tor- 
 *' menta, et fabrilia vasa." 
 
 314. Lyccei.'] LycoBus is a moun- 
 tain of Arcadia. It seems to be put 
 here for mountains in general. 
 
 315. Horrentesque ruhosr\ Rubus 
 is the bramble or blackberry bush ; 
 for Pliny says they bear a fruit like 
 mulberries : " Rubi mora ferunt." 
 
 31 6. Suosque ducunt.'] Servius 
 interprets sv.os their young: in 
 
 which he is followed by most of 
 the commentators and translators. 
 But La Cerda thinks it means their 
 pastors. 
 
 319. Mifior.'] Servius reads mzMor. 
 It is minor also in the Cambridge, 
 the Bodleian, both the Arundelian, 
 and in one of Dr. Mead's manu- 
 scripts. In the other manuscript 
 of Dr. Mead it is minus, which is 
 admitted by Heinsius, and most of 
 the editors. But the frequent re- 
 petition of s in this line induces me 
 to believe, that Virgil rather wrote 
 minor, to avoid a disagreeable sibi- 
 lation. In the old Nurenberg edi- 
 tion it is minor. In the King's 
 manuscript it is major, which can- 
 not be right. 
 
 The sense of this passage seems 
 to be, that as goats give us so little 
 trouble, browsing upon any wild 
 bushes, which sheep will not touch ; 
 as they wander over the rocks and 
 precipices, where other cattle can- 
 not tread ,- as they come home of 
 their own accord, without requiring 
 the care of a shepherd ; we ought 
 in justice to take care of them, 
 and allow them a sufficient quan- 
 tity of food in winter. 
 
 322. At vero, &c.] In this pas- 
 sage we are informed how sheep 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 
 
 299 
 
 In saltus utrumque gregem atque in pasciia Ss'So "ZiJta ""imo 
 
 pastures. Let us take the 
 mitteS. «^"ol fields at the first rising of 
 
 Lucifer, whilst the morning 
 is new, whilst the grass is 
 hoary, and the dew upon the 
 tender herbs is most grateful 
 
 mus, dum mane novum, dum gramina lLfo'nnhhour1.fhe5ven"^^^^^^^ 
 
 r,r^^ liave brought on thirst, 
 
 canent, 325 
 
 Et ros in tenera pecori gratissimus herba. 
 Inde, ubi quarta sitim caeli collegerit hora. 
 
 Luciferi primo cum sidere frigida rura 
 Carpa 
 
 and goats are to be managed, when 
 the weather begins to grow warm. 
 
 Zephyris cum lata vocantihus 
 cestas.'] The west wind, called by 
 the Romans Favonius, and by the 
 Greeks Zephyrus, was thought to 
 introduce the spring. Thus Pliny: 
 *' Tertia aseptentrione linea, quam 
 " per latitudinem umbrae duximus, 
 '^ et decumanam vocavimus, exor- 
 " turn habet aequinoctialem, ven- 
 " tumque Subsolanum, Graecis Ape- 
 *' lioten dictum. In hunc salubri- 
 " bus locis villee vineaque spectent. 
 '' Ipse leniter pluvius, tamen est 
 '^ siccior Favonius, ex adverso ejus 
 " ab sequinoctiali occasu, Zephyrus 
 " a Grsecis nominatus. In hunc 
 " spectare olivetaCato jussit. Hie 
 " ver inchoat, aperitque terras tenui 
 " frigore saluber. Hie vites pu- 
 '' tandi, frugesque curandl, arbores 
 *' serendi, poma inserendi, oleas 
 " tractandi jus dabit affiatuque nu- 
 " tricium exercebit." 
 
 I have translated cestas warm 
 weather in this place. He means 
 by this word, from the beginning 
 of the spring to the autumnal equi- 
 nox. See the note on ver. 2^6. 
 
 323. Mittes.'] Fulvius Ursinus 
 says it is mittet in some ancient 
 manuscripts, which he takes to be 
 the true reading. 
 
 324. Luciferi.'] The planet Ve- 
 nus, when she appears in the even- 
 ing, is called Vesper or Hesperus; 
 in the morning she is called Luci- 
 
 fer. Columella approves of the 
 time of feeding and watering, men- 
 tioned by the Poet : " De tempori- 
 '* bus autem pascendi, et ad aquam 
 "■ ducendi per aestatem non aliter 
 '' sentio, quam ut prodidit Maro : 
 " Luciferi primo, &c." 
 
 325. Dum mane novum, &c.] 
 Here the Poet follows Varro: 
 
 " ^Estate prima luce exeunt 
 
 " pastum, propterea quod tunc 
 '^ herba roscida meridianam, quae 
 " est aridior, jucunditate praestat." 
 
 326. Herba.'] Most of the editors 
 have est after herba : 1 find it also 
 in both Dr. Mead's manuscripts. 
 It is wanting however in the King's, 
 the Cambridge, the Bodleian, and 
 both the Arundelian manuscripts. 
 Heinsius also and Masvicius leave 
 out est. 
 
 This verse is also in the eighth 
 Eclogue. 
 
 327. Ubi quarta sitim cceU colle- 
 gerit hora.] The Poet is thought to 
 mean such hours, as divide the ar- 
 tificial day into twelve equal parts. 
 Thus, at the equinox, the fourth 
 hour will be at ten in the morning: 
 but at the solstice, it will be at half 
 an hour after nine in Italy, where 
 the day is then fifteen hours long, 
 according to Pliny: " Sic lit, ut 
 " vario lucis incremento in Meroe 
 " longissimus dies xii horas sequi- 
 " noctiales, et octo partes unius 
 " horae colligat, Alexandriae vero 
 '* xiv horas. In Italia quindecim 
 
 2q2 
 
300 
 
 r, VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 shali/r'ndZtee^^hM^^^^^ Et caiitu queiulse Tumpeiit arbusta cicada?; 
 
 singing, command tlie flocks 
 
 to ■ " 
 
 oaken 
 
 hU? of noon^iet lAem Uk thi Currentem iliffnis potare canalibus undam; 330 
 
 shady valley, . . . 
 
 ^stibus at mediis umbrosam exquirere vallem, 
 
 iging, command the flocks 
 
 £totVs:"at";hlweiLso"r ^^ putcos, aut alta gFcgcs ad stagna jubeto 
 
 " In Britannia xvii." In England, 
 according to this interpretation, the 
 fourth hour will be about nine. 
 
 Grimoaldus seems to understand 
 the Poet to mean by the words now 
 under consideration, when the fourth 
 hour has gathered the drought of the 
 air : *' cum hora post exortum so- 
 " lem quarta siccitatem aeris con- 
 " traxerit, roremque calore absump- 
 *' serit." In this sense May trans- 
 lates it: 
 
 — — — That dew away 
 
 Tan e by the fourth houres thirsty sun. 
 
 But I rather believe, with La Cerda, 
 that Virgil's meaning is, when the 
 fourth hour of the day has made the 
 cattle thirsty. Ovid uses sitim colli- 
 gere not for gathering up the dew, 
 but for growing thirsty : 
 
 Jamque Chimaeriferac, cum sol gravis 
 
 ureret arva, 
 Finibus in LyciaB longo dea fessa labore, 
 Sidereo siccata sitim collegit ab sestu. 
 
 Dr. Trapp's translation is according 
 to this sense : 
 
 — — — But when advancing day, 
 At the fourth hour, gives thirst to men 
 and beasts. 
 
 Dryden comprehends both inter- 
 pretations : 
 
 But when the day's fourth hour has 
 
 drawn the dews. 
 And the sun's sultry heat their thirst 
 renews. 
 
 328. Et cantu querulce rumpent 
 arbusta cicadcs.^ This line is an 
 imitation of Hesiod, if Hesiod is the 
 author of the 'Actt/V 'H^uxT^iov^ : 
 
 It has been usual to render cicada 
 grasshopper, but very erroneously : 
 for the cicada is an insect of a very 
 different sort. It has a rounder and 
 shorter body, is of a dark green co- 
 lour, sits upon trees, and makes a 
 noise five times louder than a grass- 
 hopper. They begin their song as 
 soon as the sun grows hot, and con- 
 tinue singing till it sets. Their 
 wings are beautiful, being streaked 
 with silver, and marked with brown 
 spots. The outer wings are twice 
 as long as the inner, and more va- 
 riegated. They are very numerous 
 in the hot countries, but have not 
 been found on this side the Alps 
 and Cevennes. The proper Latin 
 name for a grasshopper is locusta. 
 
 Tithonus the son of Laomedon, 
 king of Troy, was beloved by Au- 
 rora, and obtained of her an ex- 
 ceeding long life. When he had 
 lived many years, he at length 
 dwindled into a cicada : thus Ho- 
 race: 
 
 Longa TithonuiTi minuit senectus. 
 
 The Poet is thought to allude to 
 this fable, when he uses the epithet 
 querulcE. 
 
 3S0. Ilignis canalibus.^ Ilex is 
 the ever-green or holm oak. Pie- 
 rius says it is lignis for ligneis in 
 the Roman manuscript: I find in 
 lignis in the King's manuscript. 
 
 331. JEstibus at mediis umbrosam 
 exquirere vallem,^ ''In the Lombard 
 *' manuscript it is cestibus aut mediis: 
 " in some other ancient copies ac 
 " mediis: in the Lombard acquirere, 
 " which I do not like. But I am 
 ** not displeased with at instead of 
 *' aut; for thus there are four pre- 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 
 
 301 
 
 Sicubi magna Jovis antique robore quercus 
 Ingentes tendat ramos : aut sicubi nigrum 
 Ilicibus crebris sacra nemus accubet umbra. 
 Tum tenues dare rursus aquas, et pascere 
 
 rursus 335 
 
 Solis ad occasum : cum frigidus aera vesper 
 Temperat, et saltus reficit jam roscida luna, 
 Litoraque Alcyonen resonant, acalanthida 
 
 dumi. 
 
 where some large old oak of 
 Jupiter extends its spreading 
 boughs, or where some dusky- 
 grove of thick holm-oaks lets 
 fall its sacred shade. Then let 
 them have clear water again, 
 and be fed again at the setting 
 of the sun; when cool Vesper 
 tempers the air, and the dewy 
 moon now refreshes the lawns, 
 and the shores resound with 
 halcyon::, and the bushes with 
 gold-fiticlies. 
 
 '' cepts to be observed every day j 
 '' to feed them in the morning, to 
 " give them drink at the fourth 
 " hour, to shade them at noon, and 
 *' to feed them again in the even- 
 *' ing." PiERius. 
 
 I find ac in some old editions: 
 it is aut in the King's manuscript, 
 et in one of Dr. Mead's, and iit in 
 the old Venice edition of 1482. 
 But at is generally received. 
 
 This precept of shading the sheep 
 at noon is taken from Varro: *'Cir- 
 *' citer meridianos aestus, dum de- 
 '' fervescant, sub umbriferas rupes, 
 '' et arbores patulas subjiciunt, 
 *' quoad refrigerato aere vespertino, 
 '* rursus pascant ad solis occasum." 
 We find an allusion to this custom, 
 in the Canticles: " Tell me, O thou 
 " whom my soul loveth, where thou 
 " feedest, where thou makest thy 
 " flock to rest at noon." 
 
 338. Litoraque Alcyonem reso- 
 nant^ See the note on dilecice The- 
 tidi Alcyones, book i. ver. 399* 
 
 Acalanthida dumi.~\ Most editors 
 agree in reading et Acanthida dumi: 
 but Pierius affirms, that it is acalan- 
 thida in all the manuscripts, which 
 is admitted by Heinsius and Mas- 
 vicius. In the King's, and in one 
 of Dr. Mead's manuscripts, it is 
 athlanthida; in both the Arunde- 
 lian copies it is athalantida ; in the 
 old Nurenberg edition it is achan- 
 
 tida. Acalantlns is seldom to be met 
 with in authors : Suidas mentions 
 it as the name of a bird : 'AauXecySk, 
 iilScg o^viov. It is thought to be the 
 same with dKctvftg, which seems to 
 be derived from uKotvSx, a prickle, 
 because it lives amongst thorns, 
 and eats the seeds of thistles. 
 Hence in Latin it is called carduelis, 
 from cardmis, a thistle, in Italian 
 cardello or cardellino, and is by us 
 a tlmtle-finch, and, from a beautiful 
 yellow stripe across its wing, a gold- 
 Jinch. Some take it to be a night- 
 ingale, others a linnet. May trans- 
 lates it a linnet: 
 
 — — Kings-fishers play on shore, 
 And thistles' tops are filled with linnets' 
 store. 
 
 And Dryden : 
 
 When linnets fill the woods with tuneful 
 sound. 
 
 And hollow shores the halcyon's voice re- 
 bound. 
 
 La Cerda thinks it is what they call 
 in Spanish silgnero, and Ruseus says 
 it is the chardoneret, both which 
 names belong to the bird, which 
 we call a goldfinch. Thus also 
 Dr. Trapp translates it : 
 
 ■ The shores halcyone resound ; 
 
 And the sweet goldfinch warbles thro* 
 the brakes. 
 
 As the Poet describes the evening 
 
302 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 JJ^ru'y'o'u'ofTheXprrol Quid tibi pastores Libyse, quid pascua versu 
 
 I-iby 
 
 by the singing of this bird, it is not 
 improbable that he might mean the 
 nightingale: but as I do not find 
 any sufficient authority to translate 
 acalanihis a mghtwgale, I have ad- 
 hered to the common opinion, in 
 rendering it a goldfinch. 
 
 339. Quid tibi pastores, &c.] 
 Having just mentioned the care of 
 keeping sheep and goats within 
 doors, he lakes occasion to digress 
 poetically into an account of the 
 African shepherds, who wander 
 with their flocks over the vast de- 
 sarts, without any settled habita- 
 tion. 
 
 Libya was used by the ancients, 
 to express not only a part of Africa, 
 adjoining to Egypt, but also all that 
 division of the world, which is 
 usually called Africa. It is gene- 
 rally thought, that the Poet in this 
 place means the Numidians, or 
 Noraades, so called from ropi pas- 
 ture, who used to change their ha- 
 bitations, carrying their tents along 
 with them, according to Pliny: 
 *' Numidae vero Nomades, a per- 
 " mutandis pabulis: mapalia sua, 
 " hoc est domus, plaustris circum- 
 *' ferentes." Sallust also gives an 
 account of the origin of these Nu-^ 
 midians, and describes their mapa- 
 lia or tents. He tells us that, ac- 
 cording; to the opinion of the Afri- 
 cans, Hercules died in Spain, upon 
 which his army, that was composed 
 of divers nations, dispersed and 
 settled colonies in several places. 
 The Medes, Persians, and Arme- 
 nians, pa-sed over into Africa, and 
 possessed those parts, which were 
 nearest the Tyrrhene sea. The 
 Persians settling more within the 
 ocean, and finding no timber in 
 their own country, and having no 
 opportunity of trading with Spain, 
 on account of the lare;eness of the 
 
 sea between them, and of their not 
 understanding each other's lan- 
 guage, had no other way of making 
 houses than by turning the keels of 
 their vessels upwards, and living 
 under the shelter of them. They 
 intermarried with the GcBtuli, and 
 because they often changed their 
 seats, according to the difference of 
 pasture, they called themselves Nu- 
 midians. He adds, that even in his 
 time the wandering Numidians 
 made their houses or tents with 
 long bending roofs, like hulks of 
 ships, which they call mapalia. 
 " Sed postquam in Hispania Her- 
 " cules, sicut Afri putant, interiit: 
 " exercitus ejus compositus ex gen- 
 " tibus variis, amisso duce, ac pas- 
 '' sim multis sibi quisque imperium 
 '' petentibus, brevi dilabitur. Ex 
 " eo numero Medi, Persae, et Ar- 
 " menii, navibus in Africam trans- 
 " vecti, proximos nostro mari locos 
 " occupavere. Sed Persae intra 
 '' Oceanum magis : hique alveos 
 '' navium inversos pro tuguriis ha- 
 " buere: quia neque materia in 
 " agris, neque ab Hispanis emundi, 
 " aut mutandi copia erat. Mare 
 " magnum, et ignara lingua com- 
 '' mercia prohibebant. Hi paulatim 
 " per connubia Gaetulos secum mis- 
 " cuere,etquias8epetentantesagros, 
 " alia, deinde alia loca petiverant, 
 " seraetipsi, Nttinidas appellavere. 
 " Caeterum adhuc aedificia Numi- 
 " darum agrestium, quas mapalia 
 " illi vocant, oblonga, incurvis la- 
 " teribus tecta, quasi navium cari- 
 " nse sunt." The Numidians there- 
 fore being famous for feeding cattle, 
 and having no settled habitation, 
 the Poet is supposed to use Libya 
 or Africa for Numidia. But perhaps 
 he might allude to the ancient in- 
 habitants of Africa; who were the 
 Gcetuli and the Libyes, and lived 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 
 
 303 
 
 Prosequar, et raris habitata mapalia tectis? 340 ?a'le,''SSrtl?:cS'£'^Se 
 
 Saepe diem noctemque, et totum ex ordine 
 
 mensem 
 
 Pascitur, itque pecus longa in deserta sine ullis 
 Hospitiis : tantum cam pi jacet : omnia secum 
 Armentarius Afer agit, tectumque, Laremque, 
 
 both day and niylit, for 
 whole montli together, and go 
 through long desarts, without 
 any fixed abode : so far do the 
 plains extend: the African 
 shepherd carries his all with 
 hioi, his house, his gods, 
 
 upon cattle, being governed by no 
 law, but wandering up and down, 
 and pitching their tents where 
 night overtook them. We learn 
 this from the Carthaginian books, 
 ascribed to king Hiempsal, as they 
 are quoted by Sallust : '' Sed qui 
 " mortales initio Africam habuerint, 
 *' quique posteaaccesserint, autquo 
 " raodointer sepermixti sint; quan- 
 " quam ab ea fama, quae plerosque 
 " obtinet, diversum est; tamen uti 
 *^ exlibris Punicis, qui regis Hiemp- 
 " salis (licebantur, interpretatum 
 '^ nobis est; utique rem sese habere 
 " cultores ejus terrae putant ; quam 
 ^' paucissimis dicam: caeterum fides 
 *' ejus rei penes autores erit. Afri- 
 " cam initium habuere Gaetuli, et 
 *' Libyes, asperi incultique ; queis 
 *' cibus erat caro ferina atque humi 
 *' pabulum, uti pecoribus. Hi ne- 
 " que moribus, neque lege, aut im- 
 *' perio cujusquam regebantur: va- 
 *' gi, palantes, quas nox coegerat 
 " sedes habebant." The nations, 
 which in the most ancient times 
 dwelt on the east of Egypt, seem 
 to have been shepherds, as we may 
 gather from many passages in the 
 history of Abraham and his de- 
 scendants. The religion and cus- 
 toms of these people were very op- 
 posite to those of the Egyptians, 
 who were often invaded by them. 
 Hence we find in the history of 
 Joseph, that every shepherd was an 
 abomination to the Egyptians. When 
 the children of Israel departed out 
 of Egypt, the inheritance which 
 God gave them was in the country 
 
 inhabited by these shepherds : who 
 being expelled by Joshua, invaded 
 the lower Egypt, easily conquered 
 it, and erected a kingdom, which 
 was governed by a succession of 
 kings of the race of these shepherds. 
 They were afterwards expelled by 
 the kings of the upper Egypt, and 
 fled into Phoenicia, Arabia, Lybia, 
 and other places, in the days of 
 Eli, Samuel, Saul, and David. 
 This seems to be the most ancient 
 accountof the inhabitants of Libya ; 
 whom therefore we find to have 
 been originally shepherds. 
 
 I am not ignorant that this sys- 
 tem is contrary to the opinion of 
 some chronologers, who make the 
 invasion of Egypt by the shepherds 
 much more ancient, and suppose 
 that king of Egypt, with whom 
 Abraham conversed, to have been 
 of that race. But, as Sir Isaac 
 Newton observes, it is plain that 
 Egypt was not under the govern- 
 ment of the shepherds in the time 
 of Joseph, but were either driven 
 out before that time, or did not 
 invade Egypt till after the depar- 
 ture of the children of Israel ; 
 which latter opinion seems most 
 probable, as the best authorities 
 place the time of their expulsion a 
 little before the building of the 
 temple of Solomon. 
 
 343. Campi.'] In one of the 
 Arundelian, and in one of Dr. 
 Mead's manuscripts, it is campis. 
 
 34:4!. Laremque.l It is lahoremque 
 in the Roman manuscript, accord- 
 ing to Pierius. But laremque is 
 
304 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 his arms, his Amyclcan dog, 
 and his Cretan quiver. Just 
 as when the fierce Roman 
 under arms takes his way under 
 a heavy load, and pitches his 
 camp against an enemy before 
 he Is expected. But quite 
 otherwise, where are the Scy- 
 thian nations, and the water 
 of Maeotis, and where the 
 turbid Ister rolls the yellow 
 sands; and where E.hodope 
 returns, being extended under 
 the middle of the pole. 
 
 Armaque, Amyclseumque canem, Cressamque 
 pharetram. 345 
 
 Non secus ac patriis acer Romanus in armis 
 Injusto sub fasce viam cum carpit, et hosti 
 Ante expectatum positis stat in agmine castris. 
 At non, qua Scythiae gentes, Maeotiaque unda, 
 Turbidus et torquens flaventes Ister arenas : 350 
 Quaque redit medium Rhodope porrecta sub 
 axem. 
 
 certainly the right reading: for it 
 was customary with these shepherds 
 to carry their gods about with 
 them. Thus we find in the book 
 of Genesis, that Rachel had stolen 
 her father's gods, and carried them 
 with her in her flight. 
 
 345. Amycl(£umque canem.'] Amy- 
 else was a city of Laconia, which 
 region was famous for the best 
 dogs. Thus in ver. 405. we have 
 veloces Spartts catulos. Varro also 
 mentions the Laconian dogs in the 
 first place: "'Item videndum ut 
 " boni seminii sint: itaque a re- 
 '^ gionibus appellantur Lacones, 
 " Epirotici, Sailentini." 
 
 346. Non secus ac patriis, &c ] 
 The Poet here compares the A- 
 frican loaded with his arms at)d 
 baggage to a Roman soldier on an 
 expedition. We learn from Cicero, 
 that the Romans carried not only 
 their shields, swords, and helmets, 
 but also provision for above half 
 a month, utensils, and stakes : 
 '' Nostri exercitus primum unde 
 *' nomen habeant, vides: deinde 
 *' qui labor, quantus agminis: ferre 
 *' plus dimidiati mensis cibaria : 
 " ferre, si quid ad usum velint : 
 '' ferre vallum : nam scutum, gla- 
 " dium, galeam, in onere nostri 
 " milites non plus numerant, quam 
 *' humeros, lacertos, manus." 
 
 347- Injusto.'] It is used for very 
 
 great : as iniquo pondere rastri, and 
 labor improhus urget. 
 
 Hosti.] Some read hostem. 
 
 348. Agmifie.~\ Pierius tells us, 
 that Arusianus Messus reai\s ordine. 
 
 349. At non qua Scythice, &c.] 
 From Africa, the Poet passes to 
 Scythia, and describes the man- 
 ners of the northern shepherds. 
 The description of winter, in these 
 cold climates, has been justly ad- 
 mired as one of the finest pieces of 
 poetry extant. 
 
 Scythice genl€sr\ The ancients 
 called all the northern nations Scy- 
 thians. 
 
 McEotiaque unda.] So I read with 
 Heinsius and Masvicius. The com- 
 mon reading is Mceoticaque unda. 
 Pierius says it is Mceotia in the 
 Roman, the Medicean, and most 
 of the ancient manuscripts. I find 
 Mceotia in the Cambridge and Bod- 
 leian manuscripts. 
 
 The lake Maeotis, or sea of Azof, 
 lies beyond the Black Sea, and re- 
 ceives the waters of the Tanais, now 
 called Don, a river of Muscovy. 
 
 350. Ister.] He seems to mean 
 Thrace and the adjoining coun- 
 tries ; for it is only the lower part 
 of the Danube that the ancients 
 called Ister j as was observed in 
 the note on ver. 497. of the second 
 Georgick. 
 
 351. Quaque redit medium Rko- 
 
GEOHG. LIB. III. 
 
 ,^305 
 
 Illic clausa tenent stabulis armenta; neque ullae 
 Aut herbae campo apparent, aut arbore frondes; 
 Sed jacet aggeribus niveis informis, et alto 
 Terra gelu late, septemque assurgit in ulnas. 355 
 Semper hyems, semper spirantes frigora cauri. 
 Turn sol pallentes baud unquam discutit umbras; 
 
 There they keep their herds 
 shut up in stalls; and no herbs 
 appear in the fields, no leaves 
 on tlie trees; the earth Jies de- 
 formed with heaps of snow, 
 and deep frost, and rises seven 
 ells in height. There is always 
 winter, always north-west 
 winds blowing cold. And 
 (hen the sun hardly ever 
 <iispels the pale shades ; 
 
 dope porrecta sub axem.'] " Rhodope 
 " is a mountain of Thrace, which 
 '^ is extended eastward, and is there 
 " joined with Haenius ; then part- 
 " ing from it, it returns to the 
 ^' northward." Ru^us. 
 
 353. Neque ulloe aut herbce campo 
 apparent, aut arbore frondes.'] Thus 
 also Ovid : 
 
 Orbis in extremi jaceo desertus arenis : 
 Fert ubi perpetuas obruta terra nives. 
 
 Non ager hie pomum, non dulces edu- 
 cat uvas: 
 Non salices ripa, robora monte virent. 
 
 355. Septemque assurgit in ulnas.'] 
 It has been much controverted, 
 what measure we are to assign to 
 the ulna. Some will have it to be 
 the measure from one long finger 
 to the other, when both arms are 
 extended, which we call an ell. 
 Thus Dr. Trapp translates it: 
 
 — — Ridg)'' heaps of snow 
 
 Sev'n ells in height, deform the country 
 round. 
 
 Others are of opinion that it means 
 no more than a cubit, or foot and 
 half, being the measure from the 
 elbow to the end of the long finger. 
 This they confirm by the etymology 
 of ulna from <»Agv>j. Thus Dryden 
 translates it : 
 
 The frozen earth lies buried there, below 
 A hilly heap, sev'n cubits deep in snow: 
 
 and before him. May : 
 
 The hidden ground with hard frosts 
 
 evermore, 
 And snow seven cubites deepe is co- 
 
 ver'd o'er. 
 
 356. Cauri.] See the note on 
 ver. 27S. 
 
 357- Turn sol pollentes, &c.] This 
 and the following lines are an imi- 
 tation of Homer's description of the 
 habitation of the Cimmerians: 
 
 "Evict, Vi Ktfi,f££^iuv avt^uv ^yifJt.ts «"£ rroXa ri 
 'VLi^t xai vs(piX*i xizci)\.Vf£/x.iv6t. ovhi fear 
 
 avrov; 
 ^Hiktos <pa,i6u\i iTTiVi^Kirat axrinffenv, 
 
 OuV O-TTOT av (TTl't^Yilfi TTgOi OU^OtVOV affTS' 
 
 ^osvra, 
 Ovd' arav a-v^ WiyaTav ««"' el/^avohv 'Tf^a- 
 
 T^xTrfirad. 
 'AXX' It* )>v^ okoh riTetTai ^ukoTffi (h^orelcrt. 
 
 There in a lonely land and gloomy cells, 
 The dusky nation of Cimmeria dwells ; 
 The sun ne'er views ih' uncomfortable 
 
 seats, 
 When radiant lie advances, or retreats : 
 Unhappy race! rvhom endless night in- 
 
 vadesy 
 Clouds the dull air, and "wraps them round 
 
 in shades. 
 
 Mr. Pope. 
 
 The habitation of the Cimmerians 
 was near the Bosphorus, to the 
 north-west, being part of the coun- 
 try here designed by Virgil. It 
 cannot be imagined, however, that 
 Homer, in the passage just now 
 cited, supposes that Ulysses sailed 
 in one day from the island of Circe 
 to the Bosphorus. It is more pro- 
 bable that he means the people 
 mentioned by Ephorus, as he is 
 quoted by Strabo, who were said 
 to have their habitation near the 
 lake Avernus, under ground, where 
 they lived all the day long, without 
 seeing the sun, not coming up till 
 after sun-set. They conducted those 
 2 R 
 
306 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 neither when being carried bv 
 bis horses he moniifs the sky; 
 nor when he washes his head- 
 long; chariot in the red waves 
 of the ocean. Sudden crusts 
 grow over the running river; 
 and the water now sustains 
 iron wheels on its back. 
 
 Nec cum invectus equis altum petit aethera, nee 
 
 cum 
 
 Praecipitem Oceani rubro lavit aequore currum. 
 Concrescunt subitas currenti in flumine crustae, 
 Undaque jam tergo ferratos sustinet orbes, 361 
 
 who came to consult the infernal 
 oracle, being a sort of priests to the 
 Manes. Ka) rovro ^a^lov IlXovrmio)i 
 
 ivTeivB-x x'iyis-B-oii. fcui i'lTZTrXioy yz ol 
 TT^oB-va-oifisvoi Kxi iXaa-a-oyAvei Tovg kx- 
 ra^^B'oviovg dcc^uoya^, ovrav rav v^P'Aycv- 
 fihav rci roicc.^6 hpzav, l^yoXaQrtXoray rov 
 
 TOTTOV "E<p6^og2lro7g'K.if/.fAi- 
 
 ^loig TT^oc-oiicsiZv ^r,<riv uvTovg iv x.xrcc- 
 yiioig olxiaig oi%.z7v, ug x.oiXov(riv u^ytX- 
 Xecg, xccs ^lu rivav o^vyf/^tirav Ttra^ aX- 
 X^Xevg Tg ^oiTUv, kxi Tovg ^ivdvg ug ro 
 fixvnTov ^'i^tc-B-xi, TToXv ifTTO y^g i^pvyJi- 
 vov. Q^y d aTTo f/^irocXXuxg kx] tZv uxv- 
 tlvtfAZvav, KXi rov /ZxtriXzcog U'^odil^xvTog 
 uvToTg G-vvTU^itg. Eivxi 21 ro7g Trig) to 
 p^g))c-T>}gjoy &9-05 Trdrp^iov, fzyi^hx rov l^Xiov 
 o^Zv, aXXa tjJ? vvKTog 'i^a Tro^ivicrB-ui 
 rav ^xt7f4,urav. xxt otu rovro rov ttoit)- 
 rtiv TTi^t oiiirm iiTriTv, ag a^oc 
 
 359. Oceani ruhro oequore.~\ The 
 waves of the ocean seem to be 
 called red in this place, on account 
 of the reflection of the setting sun. 
 It is however very frequent amongst 
 the poets, to call the sea purple. 
 Thus also our Poet, in the fourth 
 Georgick : 
 
 Eridanus, quo non alius per pinguia culta 
 In marc purpureum violentior influit 
 amnis. 
 
 Cicero, in a fragment of the second 
 book of Academics, preserved by 
 Nonius, describes the waves of the 
 sea as growing pi)r{)le, when it is 
 cut by oars: " Quid? mare nonne 
 '' cseruleum ? at ejus unda, cum 
 
 " est pulsa remis, purpurascil" In 
 the fourth book, he mentions the 
 sea as being purple on the blowing 
 of Favonius: " Mare illud quidem, 
 " nunc Favonio nascente, purpu- 
 " reum videtur." 
 
 360. Concrescunt subitcE currenti 
 ia jilimine crusico.'} In is wanting 
 in the King's manuscript. 
 
 This is meant of the sudden 
 freezing of the rivers in the north- 
 ern countries. 
 
 361. Undaque Jam tergo, &c2 
 Ovid also speaks of the freezing of 
 the Danube so hard, that carriages 
 were drawn, where ships had 
 sailed : 
 
 Quid loquar, ut vincti concrescant frigore 
 rivi, 
 Deque lacu fragiles effodiantur aquae ? 
 Ipse, papyrifero qui non angustior amne 
 
 Miscetur vasto multa per ora freto, 
 Casruleos ventis latices durantibus Ister 
 
 Congelat, et tectis in mare serpit aquis. 
 Quaque rales ierant, pedibus nunc itur : 
 et undas 
 Frigore concretas ungula pulsat equi. 
 Perque novos pontes subter labentibus 
 undis 
 Ducunt Sarmatici barbara plaustra 
 boves. 
 
 Strabo mentions the freezing of the 
 lake Mseotis so hard, that the lieu- 
 tenant of Mithridates overcame the 
 Barbarians in a battle fouiiht on 
 the ice, in the very place where, in 
 the following summer, he van- 
 quished them in a sea fight: O/ cl 
 
 TTciyoi TToc^ ecvToTg roiovrol rifig iicrn iTrt 
 ru G-rofAxri rrig ?J^yyti t?j Maio^rioog, acr 
 h %(>)ptcd, h bt "i^iiuafog rov MiS^^ioarov 
 crTpxrriyo( liiKitiri t«v$ /3x^Zx^ov: itttto- 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 
 
 307 
 
 Puppibus ilia prius patulis, nunc hospita plau- 'brl<ithiis,'Sri/nS1 
 
 , . roafi for carriages; aiul brass 
 
 stris. 
 
 ^raque dissiliunt vulgo, vestesque rigescunt 
 Indutae, caeduntque securibus humida vina, 
 Et totas solidam in glaciem vertere lacunae, 365 
 Stiriaque impexis induruit horrida barbis. 
 
 frequeiuly biir>ts in sunder, 
 ilieir clotlies freeze on their 
 backs, and they cleave tlie 
 Jiqoid v.'ine with axes, and 
 whi>le pooJs aie turned into 
 solid ice, and rigid icicles 
 haiden oil their uncombed 
 beards. 
 
 f^oi^cov iTTt TO) TTciyo), Tovg eiVTovg kutoc- 
 vetvfAoiy^/i'ro'A Bi^ovg, ^^vB'ivrog rov Trciyov. 
 363. JEraque dissiliunt.] Era- 
 tosthenes, as he is quoted by Strabo, 
 speaks of a copper or brazen vessel 
 being placed in a teniple of .^scu- 
 lapius, in memory of its having 
 been bursten by frost : 'O 5' 'e^uto- 
 
 c-mvvi<; xxi Tovri to <y^cif,cf^ec 7r^c(pz^iroti 
 "TO iv ra AcTKMTriileo rm UoiVTixaTrstncdv , 
 
 TTciyov. 
 
 El Tig a-^ uvd^wTfuv (Mi ^iihrxi aix -Tfa^ 
 hfuv 
 TivsTcti, us rrivoi yvuru 'i^aiv v^^iuv' 
 "Hh evp(^ avx^fif^a hov xaXov, aAA.' i-ri^n. 
 
 Xiifiuvoi fAiyuXov 6ri)c h^tvi Sr^urios. 
 
 164. Cceduntque securibus humida 
 vina.'] This freezing of wine has 
 by some been supposed to be only 
 a poetical fiction. But Ovid, who 
 was banished into these countries, 
 mentions it : 
 
 Udaqiie consistunt formam servantia 
 testae, 
 Vina : nee hausta meri, sed data frusta 
 bibunt. 
 
 Captain James, who, in his voyage 
 to discover the north-west passage, 
 wintered in Greenland in l631 and 
 1652, says their vinegar, oil, and 
 sack, which they had in small casks 
 in the house, was all hard frozen. 
 Captain Monck, a Dane, who win- 
 tered there in I619 and 1620, re- 
 lates that no wine or brandy was 
 strong enough to be proof against 
 the cold, but froze to the bottom, 
 and that the vessels split in pieces. 
 
 so that they cut the frozen liquor 
 with hatchets, and melted it at the 
 fire, before they could drink it. M. 
 de Maupertuis, who, with some 
 other Academicians, was sent by 
 the king of France, in 1736, to 
 measure a degree of the meridian 
 under the arctic circle, says that 
 brandy was the only liquor which 
 could be kept sufficiently fluid for 
 them to drink: ** Pendant un froid 
 '' si grand, que la langue et les 
 '* levres se geloient sur le champ 
 *' contre la tasse, lorsqu'on vouloit 
 " boire de I'eau-de-vie, qui ^toit 
 " la seule liqueur qu'on piit tenir 
 ^' assez liquide pour la hoire, et ne 
 ^' s'en arrachoient que sanglantes." 
 And a little afterwards he tells us, 
 that the spirit of wine froze in 
 their thermometers. 
 
 The epithet humida does not 
 seem to be an idle epithet here, as 
 many have imagined. The Poet 
 uses it to express the great severity 
 of the cold ; that even wine, w^hich 
 above all other liquors preserves 
 its fluidity in the coldest weather 
 in other countries, is so hard frozen 
 in these northern regions, as to 
 require to be cut with hatchets, 
 Ovid also, in the verses quoted at 
 the beginning of this note, uses the 
 epithet iida, on the same occasion. 
 
 365. Et totce sotidam in glaciem.'] 
 " In the Roman manuscript it is 
 " Fa totce in solidam : but solidam 
 " in glaciem is much more elegant." 
 
 PlERIUS. 
 
 366. Stiriaque impexis ivduruii 
 horrida harbis.] Thus Ovid : 
 
 2 R 2 
 
308 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 In (he mean while it snows 
 incessantly over all the air: 
 the cattle perish: the lar^e 
 bodies of oxen stand covered 
 with frost: ;ind wimle herds 
 of deer lie benumbed under an 
 unusual weight, and scarce ihe 
 tips of their horns appear. 
 'J hese are not hunted with 
 dogs, or ensnared with toils, 
 or affrigiited with crimson 
 feathers: but they are stabbed 
 directl5, whilst they vainly 
 strive to move the opposing 
 hill, and make a loud braying, 
 and are carried home with a 
 joyful noise. The inhabitants 
 themselves live in secure rest 
 in caves which they have 
 digged deep in the ground ; 
 and roll whole oaks and elms 
 to the hearth, and set them 
 on tire. Here they spend the 
 night in sport. 
 
 Interea toto non secius aere niiigit ; 
 Intereunt pecudes, stant circumfusa pruinis 
 Corpora magna bourn; confertoque agmine cervi 
 Torpent mole nova, et sumrais vix cornibus ex- 
 tant. 370 
 Hos non imraissis canibus, non cassibus ullis 
 Puniceasve agitant pavidos formidine pennae : 
 Sed frustra oppositum trudentes pectore montem 
 Comminus obtruncant ferro, graviterque ru- 
 
 dentes 
 Casdunt, et magno laeti clamore reportant. 375 
 Ipsi in defossis specubus secura sub alta 
 Otia agunt terra, congestaque robora, totasque 
 Advolvere focis ulmos, ignique dedere. 
 Hie noctem ludo ducunt, et pocula laeti 
 
 Ssepe sonant moti^lacie pendente capilli, 
 Et nitet inducto Candida barba gelu. 
 
 367. ^ere.] In one of the Arun- 
 delian nnanuscripts it is cequore. 
 
 369. Confertoque agmine cervi.^ 
 Pierius says it is confecto in the 
 Roman manuscript. It is conserto 
 in the King's manuscript. 
 
 The Poet mentions herds of 
 deer, because those animals do not 
 live solitary, but in herds. 
 
 371. Non cassibus.'] ]n one of 
 the Arundelian manuscripts it is 
 nee cassibus. 
 
 372. Puniceceve agitant pavidos 
 formidine pennce.'] In one of Dr. 
 Mead's manuscripts it is puniceaque. 
 In the King's manuscript it is pe- 
 cudes instead of pavidos. 
 
 It was the custom to hang up 
 coloured feathers on lines, to scare 
 the deer into the toils. 
 
 373. Sed frustra.'] Pierius says 
 it is et frustra in the Roman manu- 
 script. 
 
 376. In defossis specubus.] Pom- 
 ponius Mela, speaking of the Sar- 
 matse, says they dig holes in the 
 
 earth for their habitations, to avoid 
 the severity of winter: '' Sarmatae 
 "^ auri et argenti, maximarum pes- 
 " tium, ignari, vice rerum com- 
 " mercia exercent : atque ob saeva 
 '' hyemis admodum assiduae, de- 
 *' mersis in humum sedibus, specus 
 " aut suffossa habitant, totum brac- 
 " cati corpus ; et nisi qua vident, 
 " etiam ora vestiti." And Tacitus 
 also says the Germans used to 
 make caves to defend them from 
 the severity of winter, and conceal 
 their corn : " Solent et subterra- 
 " neos specus aperire, eosque insu- 
 " per multo fimo onerant, suffu- 
 " gium hyemi, et receptaculum 
 " frugibus." 
 
 377. Totasque.] Pierius says que 
 is left out in many ancient manu- 
 scripts. I find the same reading 
 in the King's, the Bodleian, and in 
 one of Dr. Mead's manuscripts, 
 and in some of the old printed 
 editions. 
 
 379. Pocula Iceti fermento atqne 
 acidis imitantur vitea sorbis.] Ruaus 
 interprets this passage to mean beer 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 
 
 309 
 
 Fermento atque acidis imitantur vitea sorbis. 380 
 
 and imilale the juice of the 
 grape with barm and sour ser- 
 vices. 
 
 and cyder. Fermentum, he says, sig- 
 nifies the fermentation of barley, 
 wheat, or oats ; when by a certain 
 medicated heat the grain swells, 
 and grows acid, which are the two 
 effects of fermentation -, which is 
 therefore named from /en;eo, as it 
 were fervirnenium : and thus beer 
 is made. The other liquor is ex- 
 pressed from acid berries and fruits 
 squeezed, such as apples, pears, 
 cornels, services : and is called 
 cyder, Sec. Dr. Trapp interprets 
 fermentum yest or barm, which, he 
 thinks, is put for the liquor which 
 it makes. But \f fermentum means 
 what we call yest or barm, I 
 should rather think the Poet speaks 
 only of one sort of liquor, made 
 of the juice of services, fermented 
 with yest : not of two sorts, as 
 Dr. Trapp translates this passage j 
 
 And heer and cj/der quaff, instead of 
 wine. 
 
 Yest alone will not make any pota- 
 ble liquor. But let us see what the 
 ancients did really mean by the 
 word fermentum. We shall find 
 this in Pliny, who plainly enough 
 describes it to be what we call 
 leaven : for he says it is made of 
 dough, kept till it grows sour: 
 " Nunc fermentum fit ex ipsa 
 *' farina quae subigitur, prius quam 
 ** addatur sal, ad pultis modum 
 " decocta, et relicta donee acescat." 
 I must acknowledge, that it is 
 somewhat difficult to conceive what 
 sort of liquor could be made of 
 this leaven. Perhaps instead of 
 fermento, we ought to read frw 
 mento, which will remove all the 
 difficulty. It is certain that not 
 only the northern people, but other 
 nations also, used drink made of 
 corn. Thus Pliny ascribes this 
 
 liquor to the western people, and 
 to i,he Egyptians: '^ Est et Occi- 
 *' dentis populis sua ebrietas, fruge 
 " madida : pluribus modis per Gal- 
 ** lias Hispaniasque nominibus aliis, 
 " sed ratione eadem. Hispanise 
 '' jam et vetustatem ferre ea genera 
 " docuerunt. ^gyptus quoque e 
 " fruge sibi potus similes excogi- 
 " tavit : nullaque in parte mundi 
 '• cessat ebrietas." The same au- 
 thor tells us that various liquors 
 are made of corn, in Egypt, Spain, 
 and Gaul, under different names: 
 '* Et frugum quidem haec sunt in 
 " usu medico. Ex iisdem fiunt et 
 '^ potus, zythum in ^gypto, caelia 
 *' et caeria in Hispania, cervisia in 
 *' Gallia, aliisque provinciis." Ta- 
 citus, in his book De Moribus Ger- 
 manorum, says expressly, that the 
 common drink of that people was 
 made of corn, corrupted into a 
 resemblance of wine: " Potui hu- 
 " mor ex hordeo aut frumenio, in 
 " quandam similitudinem vini cor- 
 " ruptus." Strabo mentions, drink 
 being made of corn and honey in 
 Thule: Hoe.^ oig 21 o-Tto? kcci jWSAt y/y- 
 
 As for the drink made of ser- 
 vices, I do not find it mentioned by 
 any Roman writer, except Palla- 
 dius, who speaks of it only by 
 hearsay : " Ex sorbis n^aturis, sicut 
 '^ ex pyris, vinum fieri traditur et 
 " acetum." We find in the same 
 author, that in his time wines 
 were made of several sorts of fruit : 
 " Hoc mense [Octobri] omnia, quae 
 *' locis suis leguntur, ex pomis vina 
 '' conficies." He mentions perry, 
 or the wine made of pears, and 
 describes the manner of making it; 
 " Vinum de pyris Jfit, si contusa, 
 " et sacco rarissimo eondita pon- 
 " deribus comprimantur, aut pree- 
 
310 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 ?r,nin.'i1,o"iKi'Sder"the Talis Hyperboreo septem subjecta trioni, 
 
 north pole, and are pierced by ^~ ^^ . -r» • i t 
 
 the Riphaean east wiud : Gens eiirsena virum Uiphseo tunditur euro, 
 
 *' lo." He speaks also of cyder : 
 *' Vinum et acetum fit ex malis, 
 *' sicut ex pyris ante prsecepi." 
 
 381. Hyperboreo.'] See the note 
 on ver. I96. 
 
 Septem subjecta trio7ii.] This Tme- 
 sis, as the grammarians call it, or 
 division of septemtrio into two 
 words, is not unfrequent. Thus 
 Ovid: 
 
 Scythiarn, sepiemque trionem 
 
 Horrifer invasit Boreas : 
 
 And 
 
 Gurgite caeruleo septem prohibete triones: 
 And 
 
 Interque triones 
 
 Flexerat oblique plaustrum temone 
 Bootes. 
 
 Nay we often find triones without 
 septem. Thus our Poet in the first 
 ,and third iEneids: 
 
 Arcturum pluviasque Hyadas, geminos- 
 que triones. 
 
 Thus also Ovid : 
 
 Turn primum radiis gelid i caluere trio- 
 nes: 
 
 — — ^— Interque triones 
 
 Flexerat obliquo plaustrum temone 
 Bootes. 
 
 The triones or septem triones are the 
 two northern constellations, com- 
 monly known by the names of the 
 greater and lesser bear, in each of 
 which are seven stars placed nearly 
 in the same order, and which were 
 fancied by the ancients to repre- 
 sent a wa2:g;on, and were therefore 
 called oifiotlxi and plaustra : whence 
 we also call the seven stars in the 
 rump and tail of the great bear 
 Charles's wain. ^Elius and Varro, 
 as they are quoted by Aulus Gel- 
 lius, tell us, that triones is as it 
 
 were terriones, and was a name by 
 which the old husbandmen called 
 a team of oxen : " Sed ego quidem 
 "^ cum L. ^lio et M. Varrone sen- 
 " tio, qui triones rustico certo vo- 
 " cabulo boves appellatos scribunt, 
 " quasi quosdam terriones, hoc est 
 " arandae colendaeque terra? idoneos. 
 " Itaque hoc sidus, quod a figura 
 '' posituraque ipsa, quia simile 
 " plaustri videtur, antiqui Graeco- 
 " rum otfix^xv dixerunt, nostri quo- 
 ** que veteres a bubus junctis sep- 
 " tentriones appellarunt, id est, a 
 " septem stellis, ex quibus quasi 
 " juncti triones figurantur." I be- 
 lieve that Virgil, by using trioni in 
 the singular number, and adding 
 the epithet Hyperboreo, means the 
 lesser bear, under which are situ- 
 ated those who live within the 
 arctic circle. Dr. Trapp' seems to 
 understand our Poet in this sense: 
 
 Such is th' unbroken race of men, who 
 
 live 
 Beneath the pole. 
 
 Dryden has introduced the Dutch 
 in this place, and bestowed the epi- 
 thet unwarlihe upon them, which 
 is not in the least countenanced ei- 
 ther by history, or the words of his 
 author : 
 
 Such are the cold Ryphean race, and 
 
 such 
 The savage Scythian, and un-warlike 
 
 Dutch. 
 
 382. Riph(Fo tunditur euro.'J It 
 has been already observed, that the 
 Riphaean hills are probably that 
 great ridge of mountains which di- 
 vides Lapland from the northern 
 part of Muscovy, 
 
 Why the poet mentions the east 
 wind in this place, as blowing on 
 the Hyperboreans from the Riphas- 
 
GEORG. LIB. IIL 
 
 311 
 
 Et pecudum fulvis velatur corpora setis : 
 Si tibi Lanicium curae ; primum aspera sylya, 
 Lappaeque tribulique absint : fuge pabula 
 laeta ; 385 
 
 and have their bodies covered 
 with the yellow spoils of 
 beasts. If wool is your care; 
 in the first place avoid prickly 
 bushes, and burrs, and cal- 
 
 trops ; 
 luies; 
 
 and shun the tat pas- 
 
 an hills, seems not very clear. It 
 has already been observed, that 
 those people were supposed to dwell 
 on the north side of those hills, 
 which was imagined to be even be- 
 yond the rising of the north wind. 
 Strabo seems to treat the Riphsean 
 hills themselves as a fabulous in- 
 vention : Aia ^l Tiiv ayvoiocv rav tottoj* 
 rovrm, cl ra, "^ViTTxTcc ogjj x,oii tov^ 'Ytts^- 
 Zopu'ovg fAvSoTTOioZvTig, Xoyov yi Javroii. 
 
 Pliny speaks of them as joining to 
 Taurus: ''Taurus mons ab Eois 
 *' veniens littoribus, Chelidonio pro- 
 " montorio disterminat. Immen- 
 *' sus ipse^et innumerarum gentium 
 " arbiter dextero latere septentrio- 
 *' nalis, ubi primum ab Indico mari 
 " exurgit, laevo meridianus, et ad 
 " occasum tendens : mediamque 
 " dislrahens Asiam, nisi opprimenti 
 " terras occurrerent maria. Resi- 
 " lit ergo ad septentriones, flexus- 
 " que iuimensum iter quaerit, velut 
 ^' de industria rerum natura s'ubinde 
 '' sequora opponente, hinc Phoeni- 
 " cium, hinc Ponticum, illinc Cas- 
 *' pium et Hyrcanium, contraque 
 " Macoticum lacum, Torquetur ita- 
 " que collisus inter haec claustra^ et 
 " tamen victor, flexuosus evadit 
 *' usque ad cognata Riphceorum mon- 
 "' tium juga, numerosis nomlnibus 
 *' et novis quacunque incedit insig- 
 *' nis." And in another place he 
 says, *' Subjicitur Ponti regie Col- 
 " chica, in qua juga Caucasi ad 
 '' Riphceos monies torquentur, ut 
 " dictum est, altero latere in Eu- 
 " xinum et Maeotin devexa, altero 
 " in Caspiumet Hyrcanium mare." 
 383. Pecudum fulvis velatur cor- 
 pora setis.'] I read velatur with Hein- 
 
 sius and Masvicius : the common 
 reading is velaniur. Pierius says it 
 is velatur in the Roman manuscript, 
 and in another of great antiquity, 
 where n has been interlined by 
 some other hand. 
 
 Ovid mentions the Getae as being 
 clothed with skins ; 
 
 Hie rnihi Cimmerio bis lertia dncitur 
 astas 
 Littore pellitos inter agenda Getas. 
 
 Tacitus also, speaking of the north- 
 ern people, says, " Gerunt et fe- 
 " rarum pelles, proximi ripse negli- 
 " genter, ulteriores exqulsitius, ut 
 " quibus nullus per commercia cul- 
 " tus." 
 
 384. Si tibi, &c.] The poet here 
 gives directions about taking care 
 of the wool: he observes, that 
 prickly places and fat pastures are 
 to be avoided ; and then gives di- 
 rections about the choice of the 
 sheep, and particularly of the rams. 
 
 Si.] It is sit in the old Nuren- 
 berg edition. 
 
 Aspera sylval] All prickly bushes 
 are injurious to sheep, by rending 
 their fine wool, and wounding their 
 flesh, which he mentions soon after 
 amongst their diseases: " secue- 
 " runt corpora vepres." 
 
 385. Lappceque tribulique.^ See 
 the note on book i. ver. 153. 
 
 Fuge pabula Iceta.] The wool is 
 thought not to be so good, if the 
 cattle are very fat. Columella men- 
 tions the hungry lands about Parma 
 and Modena, as feeding the most 
 valuable sheep ; " Nunc Gallicae 
 " pretiosiores habentur, earumque 
 " praecipue Altinates : item qu3& 
 
312 
 
 p. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 ?o"?Jr^ok'^hr'^f,fcK^ Continuoque greges villis lege moUibus albos. 
 
 white with sott wool. Nay, _,, ... ,. -, . 
 
 though the ram shonM be of iUum auteiii, Quamvis aocs sit candidus ipse, 
 
 the purest white, yet it his ' ^ » ' 
 
 l«ofsrpaute"rSct"him, }o'r Nigra subest udo tantum cui lingua palato, 
 
 fear he should suliy the fleece _, . . t • ^ n iv r»oi-k 
 
 Scots'-* °*^P""= ''''^'' '^"^'"^ Kejice, ne maculis miuscet vellera pulJis 389 
 
 *' circa Parmam et Mutinam macris 
 " stabulantur campis." 
 
 386. Continuo.'] See the note on 
 ver. 75. 
 
 Greges villis lege mollibus albos.'] 
 Varro mentions the softness of the 
 wool, as essential in a good sheep : 
 '* De forma, ovem esse oportet cor- 
 " pore amplo, quae lana raulta sit 
 '' et mollis viilis altis et densis toto 
 '^ corpore, maxime circum cervicem 
 /* et coUum, ventrem quoque ut 
 " habeat pilosum, itaque quae id 
 *' non haberent, majores nostri api- 
 *' cas appellabant, et rejiclebant." 
 Columella says the whitest are most 
 esteemed ; '^ Color albus cum sit 
 '^ optlmus, turn etiam est utilissi- 
 **^ mus, quod ex eo plurimi fiunt, 
 '' neque hie ex alio." Palladius 
 also observes, that regard is ,to be 
 had to the softness of the wool : 
 '' Eligenda est vasti corporis, et 
 ** prolixi, velleris, ac moUissimi, la- 
 " nosi, et magni uteri." 
 
 388. Nigra subest udo tantum cui 
 lingua palate,'] Aristotle affirms, 
 that the lambs will be white, or 
 black, or red, according to the co- 
 lour of the veins under the tonaue 
 of the ram : Aivy,a Oi ra g«yov<sj ymroii 
 
 KXl f/AXsilVOt, iOiV VTTO T>] TOV K^lOV yXaTT*\ 
 
 uh, eav MvKsti, f^iXeiivoc ot, Ictv fAiXxtvxi. 
 lav ^l uf^ipon^xi, xu(pori^ei. ttv^os, Tz, 
 loiv TTvfi^xL Varro also, from whom 
 Virgil took this observation, gives 
 a caution to observe if the tongue 
 of a ram be black, or speckled, be- 
 cause the lambs will be of the same 
 colour: "^ Animadvertendum quo- 
 *' que linguane nigra, aut varia sit, 
 " quod fere qui ea habent, nigros 
 
 " autvarios, procreantagnos." Co- 
 lumella, who quotes our poet on 
 this occasion, enlarges on what he 
 has said. He observes, that it is 
 not enough for the fleece of a ram 
 to be white, but his palate and 
 tongue must be white also. For if 
 these parts of the body are dark or 
 spotted, the lambs will be dark and 
 spotted too. He adds, that it is the 
 same with black and red rams ; and 
 that if any regard is had to the 
 wool, the marks of the male parent 
 are chiefly to be observed : *' Itaque 
 " non solum ea ratio est probandi 
 *' arietis, si vellere candido vestitur, 
 '' sed etiam si palatum, atque lin- 
 *^ gua concolor lana^ est. Nam cum 
 " hae corporis partes nigrae aut ma- 
 " culosae sunt, pullavel etiam varia 
 '' nascitur proles. Idque inter cae- 
 '■ tera eximietalibus numeris signi- 
 " ficavit idem, qui supra: Ilium 
 
 " autem, quamvis aries, &c 
 
 *' Una eademque ratio est in ery- 
 " thrseis, et nigrls arietibus, quo- 
 ^' rum similiter, utjam dixi, neutra 
 " pars esse debet discolor lanse, 
 '' multoque minus ipsa universitas 
 " tergoris maculis variet. Ideo 
 '" nisi lanatasoves eminon oportet, 
 " quo melius unitas coloris appa- 
 ''reat: quae nisi praecipua est in 
 '' arietibus, paternae notae plerum- 
 *' que natis inhaerent." Palladius 
 also affirms, that if the tongue of 
 the ram is spotted, the same de- 
 fect will appear in his offspring : 
 " In quibus non solum corporis 
 " candor considerandus est, sed 
 " etiam lingua, quae si maculis fus- 
 " cabitur, varietatem reddit in so- 
 " bole." 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 
 
 313 
 
 Nascentum : plenoque alium circumspice 
 campo. 390 
 
 Munere sic niveo lanae, si credere dignum est, 
 Pan deus Arcadiae captam te, Luna, fefellit, 
 In nemora alta vocans : nee tu aspernata vo- 
 
 cantem. 
 At cui lactis amor, cytisos, lotosque frequentes 
 Ipse manu, salsasque ferat praesepibus herbas. 
 
 and search all over the plain 
 for another. Thus Pan tlie 
 god of Arcadia, if we may 
 give credit to the story, de- 
 ceived thee, O Moon, being 
 captivated with a snowy oflfer- 
 ing of wool ; nor did you de- 
 spise his invitation to come 
 into the lofty woods. Bat 
 those who desire to have 
 milk, must give them with 
 their own hands plenty of 
 cytisus and water-lilies, and 
 lay salt herbs in their cribs. 
 
 390. Nascentum.] In one of Dr. 
 Mead's manuscripts it is nascentis. 
 
 Pleno.'] In the King's manuscript 
 it is piano. 
 
 391. Munere sic niveo, &c.] This 
 and the following line are trans- 
 posed, in both Dr. Mead's manu- 
 scripts. 
 
 Servius accuses Virgil of having 
 changed the story, for it was not 
 Pan, but Endymion, who was said 
 to be beloved by the Moon, on ac- 
 count of his milk white sheep, with 
 which lie bribed her to his embraces. 
 But I do not remember to have 
 read in any of the ancient authors, 
 that Endymion had any occasion to 
 take pains to seduce the Moon. On 
 the contrary, she fell in love with 
 him, as he lay asleep on the moun- 
 tain Latmos, or, as Cicero relates 
 the fable, threw him into a sleep on 
 purpose that she might have that 
 opportunity of enjoying him : •' En- 
 '* dymion vero, si fabulas audire 
 " volumus, nescio quando inLatmo 
 " obdormivit, qui est mons Cariae, 
 '^ nondumopinorexperrectus. Num 
 *' igitur eum curare censes, cum 
 *' Luna laboret, a qua consopiius pu- 
 " tatur ut eum dormientem osculare- 
 *' tur ?" This cannot therefore be 
 the fable, to which Virgil alludes. 
 Macrobius affirms, that Virgil took 
 this fable of Pan and the Moon 
 from the Georgicks of Nicander, 
 which are now lost. The fable it- 
 self is variously related. Probus 
 
 tells us, that Pan being in love with 
 the Moon offered her the choice of 
 any part of his flock: that she 
 choosing the whitest, was deceived, 
 because they were the worst sheep. 
 But surely, if the whitest sheep 
 were the worst in the flock, it would 
 not have answered Virgil's purpose 
 to have alluded to the fable. I 
 rather believe the fable, which our 
 poet meant, was as Philargyrius 
 and some others have related itj 
 that Pan changed himself into a 
 ram as white as snow, by vi^hich 
 the Moon was deceived, as Europa 
 was by Jupiter, in the form of a 
 white bull. 
 
 394*. At cui lactis amor, &c.] This 
 paragraph informs us, that those 
 who feed sheep for the sake of 
 their milk, must afford them great 
 plenty of proper nourishment. 
 
 Cytisum.'] See the note on book 
 ii. ver. 431. 
 
 Lotos.] I have ventured to trans- 
 late this water-lilies on the credit of 
 Prosper Alpinus. See the note on 
 book ii. ver. 84. The great white 
 water lily grows in rivers and deep 
 ditches. 
 
 SQ5. Ipse.] Pierius says it is ille 
 in the Roman and Medicean ma- 
 nuscripts, but he justly prefers ipse, 
 as being more erophatical. I find 
 ille in the King's and both the 
 Arundelian manuscripts, and some 
 of the oldest printed editions. 
 
 Salsasque ferat prcesepibus herbas.'] 
 2 s 
 
314 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 This makes them fonder of 
 drinkine, and more distends 
 their udders, and gives an 
 obscure relish of salt to their 
 raiik. Many restrain the kids 
 from their dams as soon as 
 they are grown big, and fasten 
 muzzles with iron spikes 
 about their mouths. What 
 they have milked at sun-rising 
 and in the day time, they 
 press at night; but what they 
 milk in the night and at sun- 
 setting, the shepherd carries 
 at day-break in baskets to 
 the town, or else they mix it 
 with a small quantity of salt, 
 and lay it up for winter. Nor 
 let your care of. dogs be the 
 last; but 
 
 Hinc et amant fluvios magis, et magis ubera ten- 
 dunt, 396 
 
 Et salis occultum referunt in lacte saporem. 
 
 Multi jam excretos prohibent a matribus hoedos, 
 
 Primaque ferratis praefigunt ora capistris. 
 
 Quod surgente die mulsere, horisque diumis, 
 
 Nocte premunt ; quod jam tenebris et sole ca- 
 dente, 401 
 
 Sub lucem exportans calathis adit oppida pastor ; 
 
 Aut parco sale contingunt, hyemique reponunt. 
 
 Nee tibi cura canum f uerit postrema ; sed una 
 
 Columella does not approve the 
 giving of marsh herbs to sheep that 
 are in health -, he recommends salt 
 to be given them when they are 
 sickj and refuse their food and 
 drink. " Jucundissimas herbas esse, 
 '' quae aratro proscissis arvis nas- 
 ''cantur: deinde quae pratis iili- 
 '^ gine carentibus : palustres, syl- 
 *' vestresque minirae idoneas ha- 
 '^beri; nee tamen ulla sunt tam 
 " blanda pabula, aut etiam pascua^ 
 " quorum gratia non exolescat usu 
 *' continuo, nisi pecudum fastidio 
 '^ pastor occurrerit praebito sale, 
 '' quod velut ad pabuli condimen- 
 '^ tum per aestatem canalibus lig- 
 '^ neis impositum cum e pastu re- 
 " dierint oves, lambunt, atque eo 
 " sapore cupidinem bibendi, pas- 
 " cendique concipiunt." 
 
 398. Jam,] It is etia7n in the 
 King's and in both the Arundelian 
 manuscripts. 
 
 399- Ferratis capistris.'] These 
 muzzles, of which the poet speaks, 
 are not such as confine the mouth 
 of the lamb or kid, for then it could 
 not eat. They are iron spikes fast- 
 ened about the snout, which prick 
 the dam, if she offers to let her 
 young one suck. 
 
 402. Cal(^this.] Servius interprets 
 
 calathis brazen vessels, in which 
 they used to carry milk and new 
 cheese to town. But it was cer- 
 tainly a vessel not at all fit to carry 
 milk : for it was made on purpose 
 for the whey to run through and 
 leave the curd behind, in order to 
 make cheese, as we find it de- 
 scribed by Columella : " Nee tamen 
 '^ admovenda est flammis, ut qui- 
 " busdam placet, sed baud procul 
 " igne constituenda, et confestim 
 " cum concrevit, liquor in fiscellas, 
 ** aut in calathos, vel formas trans- 
 '^ ferendus est. Nam maxime re- 
 " fert primo quoque tempore serum 
 " percolari, et a concreta materia 
 " separari." 
 
 404. Nee tibi cura canum, &c.] 
 Immediately after sheep and goats, 
 the Poet makes mention of dogs ; 
 some of which are necessary to de- 
 fend the folds against robbers and 
 wolves, and others are of service in 
 hunting. 
 
 Hesiod also advises us to take 
 good care to have our dogs well 
 fed, lest the man that sleeps by day 
 should deprive us of our goods : 
 
 Ka) xvfo, xao^u^c^ovTa xeuiTi. fth <pi>^t9 
 
 trireu. 
 M>) {Tare <r' hfti^ozotrei dtrie dico Xi^f^^ 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 
 
 315 
 
 Veloces Spartae catulos, acrcmque Molossum 
 Pasce sero pingui : nunquam custodibus illis 
 Nocturnum stabulis furem, incursusque lupo- 
 rum, 407 
 
 Aut impacatos a tergo horrebis Iberos. 
 
 feed with faltening whey the 
 swift hounds of Sparta, and 
 the fierce mastiff of Molossia; 
 trusting to those guards you 
 need never to fear the nightly 
 robber in your fold, nor the 
 incursions of wolves, nor the 
 restless Spaniards coming upon 
 you by stealth. 
 
 405. Veloces Sparta catulos.'] The 
 dogs of Sparta were famous; thus 
 we have seen already Taygetique 
 canes and Amyclceuntque canem. I 
 take these Spartan dogs to be what 
 we call hounds, for we find they 
 were used in hunting; and Aristo- 
 tle says they have long snouts, and 
 a very quick scent : Aio oa-6>y ei ^v- 
 
 aim, 0(7-(p^xv7tKd. We may observe 
 also that Aristotle calls them xwi^tx, 
 and Virgil catuli, whence we may 
 judge that they were a smaller sort 
 of dogs, than those which were 
 used for the defence of the folds. 
 
 Acremque Molossum.'] This dog 
 has its name from Molossia, a city 
 of Epirus. I take it to be that sort 
 which we call a mastifF. Aristotle 
 says there are two sorts of Molos- 
 sian dogs : that, which is used for 
 hunting, is not different from the 
 common sort; but that, which is 
 used by the shepherds, is large, and 
 fierce against wild beasts : To S' Iv 
 Tvi MoXoTTKZ yzvog rm Kvvav, to f^lv %- 
 
 ^iVTl>C6V Ol/dh dlX(Pi^Si -TT^O^ TO TTCiQ^oi, Tolg 
 
 uXXotg. TO o XKoXovdov Tolg TTpoQeiroig rS 
 (iiy'lhi, %»{ Tjj ccv^^Iu TJj TT^og tk ^jjg/as. 
 
 There is frequent mention of the 
 loud barking of these dogs. Thus 
 Lucretius : 
 
 Irritata canum cum primum magna Mo- 
 lossum 
 
 Mollia ricta fremunt duros nudantia 
 dentes ; 
 
 And Horace : 
 
 Simul domus alta Molossis 
 
 Person uit canibus. 
 
 Columella speaks of two sorts of 
 
 dogs, one to guard the house, and 
 the other to defend the folds. That 
 which he recommends for the house, 
 seems to be the mastiff, or molossus. 
 He says it should be of the largest 
 size, should bark deep and loud, 
 that he may terrify the thieves with 
 his voice, as well as with his look, 
 nay and sometimes without being 
 seen affright them with a horrid 
 growling : ^' Villsecustos eligendus 
 " est amplissimi corporis, vasti la- 
 *' tratus, canorique, ut prius auditu 
 *' maleficum, deinde etiam con- 
 *' spectu terreat, et tamen nonnun- 
 '' quam ne visus quidem horribili 
 '' fremitu suo fuget insidiantem." 
 
 408. Iberos.] The Iberi have by 
 some been supposed to be a people 
 of that name who anciently dwelt 
 in Pontus. But we find in Pliny 
 that these Iberians were some of 
 the people who settled in Spain: 
 *' In universam HispaniamM. Var- 
 " ro pervenisse Iberos et Persas, et 
 " Phoenicas, Celtasque et Poenos 
 " tradit." The same author soon 
 after informs us, that all Spain was 
 called Iberia from the river Iberus: 
 *' Iberus amnis navigabili cora- 
 " mercio dives, ortus in Cantabris 
 " haud procul oppido, Juliobrica, 
 '' ccccl. M. pass, fluens, navium per 
 '' cclx. M. a Varia oppido capax, 
 " quern propter universam Hispa- 
 " niam Graeci appellavere Iberiam." 
 The Iberus is now called the Ebro, 
 and has the city of Saragossa on its 
 banks. The Spaniards were so fa- 
 mous for their robberies, that the 
 Poet makes use of their name, in 
 this place, for robbers in general. 
 
 ■^ s 2 
 
316 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 With dogs you will ofteu 
 coarse the timorous wild 
 asses, with dogs you will hunt 
 the hare and hind. Often- 
 times also with the barking 
 of your dogs yon will rouse 
 the wild boar from his muddy 
 habitations: and with their 
 noise drive the vast stag over 
 the lofty mountains into the 
 toils. Learn also to burn the 
 odorous cedar in your folds. 
 
 Saepe etiam cursu timidos agitabis onagros, 
 El canibus leporem, canibus venabere damas. 
 Ssepe volutabris pulsos sylvestribus apros 411 
 Latratu turbabis agens, montesque per altos 
 Ingentem clamore premes ad retia cervum. 
 Disce et odoratam stabulis accendere cedrum. 
 
 It cannot be supposed^, that he 
 means literally the Spaniards them- 
 selves 'j for those people were too 
 far removed from Italy, to be able 
 to come by night to rob their sheep- 
 folds. La Cerda has taken much 
 pains to justify his countrymen, by 
 shewing that it was anciently very 
 glorious to live by rapine. 
 
 409. Timidos.'] It is tumidos in 
 one of the Aruhdelian manuscripts. 
 
 Onagros.'] The Onager or wild 
 ass is an animal of Syria, frequent 
 about Aleppo and Apamia. The 
 skin of it is very hard, and is 
 dressed into that sort of knotty 
 leather, which we call chagrin, 
 Varro says the wild asses are very 
 numerous in Phrygiaand Lycaonia, 
 and are easily made tame : " Unum 
 '' ferum, quos vocant Onagros, in 
 '^ Phrygia et Lycaonia sunt gfeges 
 
 *' multi Adseminationem 
 
 " onagrus idotieus, quod e fero fit 
 '' mansuetus facile, et e mansueto 
 '' ferus nunquam." We find that 
 their flesh was in great esteem 
 amongst the ancients. Pliny men- 
 tions it as a singular taste in Mae- 
 cenas, that he preferred the colts of 
 the tame ass to those of the wild 
 one : " Pullos earum epulari Mae- 
 *' cenas instituit, multum eo tem- 
 " pore praelatos onagris: post eum 
 '^ interiit autoritas saporis." The 
 same author speaks of the wild 
 asses of Africa, as excelling all 
 others in taste : " Onagri in Phry- 
 *' gia et Lycaonia prsecipui. Puliis 
 "^ eorum ceu prsc'stantibus sapore, 
 ^' Africa gloriatur, quos lalisiones 
 
 " appellant.'* Virgil has been cen- 
 sured for mentioning the hunting 
 of these animals, of which there 
 were none in Italy. Varro indeed 
 seems to speak as if there was no 
 sort of asses in Italy except the 
 tame: '^ Alterum mansuetum, ut 
 *' sunt in Italia omnes.'* But, as 
 we have just now been told that 
 Maecenas preferred the flesh of the 
 tame ass to that of the wild one, 
 we may conclude, that the wild 
 asses were in Italy in Virgil's 
 time. 
 
 41 1 . Volutabris.] This word pro- 
 perly signifies the muddy places in 
 which the swine delight to roll. 
 Thus Varro : *' Admissuras cum fa- 
 " ciunt,prodiguntinlutosos linitcs, 
 *' ac lustra, ut volutentur in luto, 
 " quae est illorum requies, ut la- 
 " vatio hominis." 
 
 414. Disce et odoratam.] The 
 Poet now proceeds to shew the in- 
 juries to which cattle are subject : 
 and begins with a beautiful account 
 of serpents. 
 
 Odoratam cedrum.] I have ob- 
 served already, in the note on book 
 ii. ver. 433. that the cedar of the 
 Greek and Roman writers is not 
 the cedar of Lebanon, but a sort of 
 Juniper. Thus May translates this 
 passage : 
 
 But learne to burne within thy sheltering 
 
 roomes 
 Sweet Juniper. 
 
 This tree was accounted good to 
 drive away serpents with its smoke, 
 Palladius says that serpents are 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 
 
 317 
 
 Galbaneoque agitare graves nidore chelydros. 
 Saepe sub immotis praesepibus aut mala tactu 
 
 and to drive away the stink- 
 ing chelydri with the strong 
 smell of galbaniun. Often 
 under the neglected mangers 
 either the 
 
 driven away by burning cedar, or 
 galbanum, or women's hair, or 
 harts' horns: " Propter serpentes, 
 '' qui plerumque sub praesepibus 
 " latent, cedrum, vel galbanum, 
 " vel mulieris capillos, aut cervina 
 " cornua frequenter uramus." 
 
 415. Galbaneo nidore.'] Galbanum 
 is the concreted juice of a plant 
 called Ferula. It is probably taken 
 from more than one species. Her- 
 man, in his Paradisus Batavus, has 
 given us a figure and description of 
 a plant, under the name of Ferula 
 Africana Galbanifera, ligustici foliis 
 et facie, which being wounded 
 yields a juice in all respects agree- 
 ing with the Galbanum. " Acredine 
 " aromatica sat penetranti gustan- 
 " tium linguam perstringit. Sau- 
 " ciata lac fundit viscidum sed di- 
 *' lutius et paucum, in lachrymam 
 " Galbano omnibus notis respon- 
 *' dentem concrescens. E trimuli 
 " quadrimulive caulis geniculis sua 
 " sponte nonnunquam emanat." 
 Dioscorides says it is the juice of a 
 sort of Ferula, growing in Syria, 
 that it has a strong smell, and 
 drives away serpents with its fume; 
 XxXQcivn OTTO? \<rrh Not^^>j»«$ h St^^/es 
 
 ymof^ivov o(r(*v> (ict^sTot 
 
 h^iec Tg 6vf£ici>fivjv> dicoKii. Pliny has 
 almost the same words : " Dat et 
 " Galbanum Syria in eodem Amano 
 " monte e ferula .... Si nee rum si 
 " uratur, fugat nidore serpentes." 
 Columella also recommends the 
 smoke of Galbanum, to drive away 
 serpents: " Cavendumque ne a ser- 
 " pentibus adflentur, quarum odor 
 " tarn pestilens est, ut interimat 
 *' universos : id vitatur saepius in- 
 " censo cornu cervino, vel galbano 
 " vel muliebri capillo; quorum om- 
 
 " nium fere nidoribus praedicta 
 '' pestis submovetur." 
 
 Graves.] Servius reads gravi, 
 making it agree with galbaneo ni- 
 dore ; which is not amiss : for the 
 smell of galbanum is very strong. 
 But the ancient manuscripts have 
 graves, which is generally admitted 
 by the editors. And indeed this is 
 a proper epithet for the chelydri, 
 on account of their oiFensive smell, 
 as will be seen in the next note. 
 
 Chelydros.] In the King's manu- 
 script it is chelindros. 
 
 S. Isidore makes the chelydros 
 and chersydros to be the same : 
 " Chelydros serpens, qui et chersy- 
 " dros dicitur, qui et in aquiSvCt in 
 " terris moratur." But the chersy^ 
 dros is described by our Poet ten 
 lines below. Lucan also makes 
 the chersydrus and chehjdrus two 
 different sorts of serpents ; 
 
 Natus et ambiguje coleret qui Syrtidos 
 arva 
 
 Chersydros, tractique via fumante che- 
 lydri. 
 
 The Chelydrus seems to be that sort 
 of serpent, of which we find fre- 
 quent mention among the Greek 
 writers under the name of '^^vUo^. 
 Nicander says the dryinus is called 
 also hydrus and chelydrus, and that 
 it has a strong smell. Galen says 
 the bite of them is very venomous, 
 and the smell so very offensive, that 
 it causes those who attempt to de- 
 stroy them to think the most 
 agreeable smells stinking, ^tius 
 says this serpent stinks so griev- 
 ously, as even to discover the place 
 ivhere it lurks. Thus we see that 
 Virgil might well give these ser- 
 pents the epithet graves. 
 
 416. Sub immotis prcssepibus.'y 
 
318 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 S ?tsdf.^'rf 'Sh^ed Vipera delituit, caelumque exterrita fugit : 
 
 flies the light; or that snake, . , , , , , 
 
 the dreadful plague of kine, Aut tccto adsuetus coiuber succedcrc et umbrae, 
 
 which uses to creep into houses 
 
 his'^vlSoKe'cauifke'eS Pcstis acerba bourn, pecorique adspergere virus, 
 
 close to the ground ; be quick . 
 
 with stones, shepherd; be l^Qvit humum. Capc saxa manu: cape robora, 
 
 quick with clubs; 
 
 pastor. 
 
 420 
 
 Pierius says it is ignotis in the Ro- 
 man manuscript ; but he justly 
 prefers immotis. 
 
 Columella recommends in a par- 
 ticular manner the diligent sweep- 
 ing and cleansing of the sheepcotes, 
 not only to free them from mud and 
 dung, but also from noxious ser- 
 pents: '^ Stahula vero frequenter 
 *' everrenda, et purganda, humor- 
 '' que omnis urinse deverrendus 
 *' est, qui commodissime siccatur 
 '' perforatis tabulis, quibus ovilia 
 " consternuntur, ut grex super- 
 '' cubet : nee tantum coeno aut 
 " stercore, sed exitlosis quoque ser- 
 " pentibus tecta liberentur," Im- 
 motis therefore in this place means 
 such places as have not been duly 
 swept and cleansed. 
 
 4>17' Vipera.'] Servius thinks that 
 the vipera is so called quod vi pariat; 
 others, with better reason, think it 
 is so called quod vivum pariat. And 
 indeed this animal differs from most 
 other serpents, in bringing forth 
 its young alive ; whereas the rest 
 lay eggs. It is known in England 
 under the name of viper or adder. 
 The bite of it is very venomous; 
 though it seldom, if ever, proves 
 mortal in our climate. The most 
 immediate remedy for this bite is 
 found to be olive oil applied in- 
 stantly to the injured part. See 
 Phil. Trans, no. 443. p. 313, and no. 
 444. p. 394. 
 
 418. Coluber pestis acerba 
 
 bourn.'] I take the serpent here 
 meant to be that which Pliny 
 calls boas.' This author affirms that 
 they s^row sometimes to a prodi- 
 
 gious bigness, and that there was 
 a child found in the belly of one 
 of them, in the reign of Claudius. 
 He adds, that they feed on cow's 
 milk, whence they have obtained 
 their name. The words of Pliny 
 are quoted in the note on book ii. 
 ver. 374. 
 
 420. Fovit.] Pierius says it is 
 fodit in some ancient manuscripts. 
 Foveo properly signifies to foment, 
 cherish, or embrace. In the twelfth 
 /Eneid It is used to express the 
 fomenting of a wound : 
 
 Fovit ea vulnus lympha longaevus lapis. 
 
 In the second Georgick it is used 
 for chewing medicinally : 
 
 Animos et olentia Medi 
 
 Ora fovent illo. 
 
 In the fourth Georgick it is used 
 for holding water in the mouth till 
 it is warm : 
 
 — — Prius haustu sparsus aquaruin 
 Ora fove. 
 
 In the first ^Eneid it is used for 
 embracing: 
 
 Haec oculis, base pectore toto 
 
 Haeret et interdum gremio fovet : 
 
 And in the eighth : 
 
 ■ ■ ■ Niveis hinc atque hinc Diva 
 
 lacertis 
 Cunctantem amplexu molli fovet. 
 
 Hence it signifies the assiduous 
 attendance of a lover on his mis- 
 tress, in the third Eclogue: 
 
 Durn fovei. 
 
 Ipse Neseram 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 
 
 319 
 
 Tollentemque minas et sibila colla tumentem 
 Dejice: jamque fuga timidum caput abdidit aUe, 
 Cum medii nexus, extremaeque agmina caudae 
 Solvuntur, tardosque trahit sinus ultimus orbes. 
 Est etiam ille malus Calabris in saltibus anguis, 
 Squamea convolvens sublato pectore terga, 426 
 Atque notis longum maculosus grandibus alvum : 
 Qui dum amnes ulli rumpuntur fontibus, et dum 
 Vere madent udo terrae, ac pluvialibus austris, 
 Stagna colit^ripisque habi tans, hie piscibus atram 
 Improbus ingluviem ranisque loquacibus explet. 
 Postquam exusta palus, terraeque ardore dehis- 
 cunt, 432 
 
 and, whilst he rises threat- 
 ening, and swells his hissing 
 neck, knock him down : ana 
 now he is tied, and hides his 
 fearful head; and his middle 
 folds, and the last wreaths of 
 his tail are extended, and his 
 utmost spires are slowly drag- 
 ged along. There is also that 
 grievous snake in the Cala- 
 brian lawns, raising his breast, 
 and waving his scaly back, 
 and having his long belly 
 marked with large spots, who, 
 so long as any rivers burst 
 from their springs, and whilst 
 the lands are moist with the 
 dewy spring and rainy south 
 winds, frequents the pools, 
 and making his habitation in 
 the banks, greedily crams his 
 horrid maw with fishes and 
 loquacious frogs. But after 
 the fen is burnt up, and the 
 earth gapes with heat. 
 
 Thus also, in the ninth Mne'id, it 
 signifies the keeping close of an 
 army within their trenches : 
 
 Non obvia ferre 
 
 Arma viros ; sed castra fovere. 
 
 In much the same sense it seems 
 to be used here, for a serpent's 
 keeping close to the ground, under 
 the muck of an uncleansed sheep- 
 cote. Besides it is usual for ser- 
 pents to lay their eggs under dung, 
 in order to be hatched. 
 
 Cape saxa mami.'] The rapidity 
 of this verse finely expresses the 
 necessary haste on this occasion, to 
 catch up stones and sticks to en- 
 counter the serpent. This is one 
 o*f the many beautiful passages, 
 which Vida has selected from our 
 poet : 
 
 At mora si fuerit damno, properare ju- 
 
 bebo. 
 Si se forte cava extulerit male vipera 
 
 terra 
 Tolle moras, cape saxa manu, cape ro- 
 
 bora pastor ; 
 Ferte citi flammas, date tela, repellite 
 
 pestem. 
 
 422. Timidum.'] It is iumidum in 
 the Bodleian manuscript, in the old 
 
 Nurenberg edition, and in the 
 Venice edition of 1475. 
 
 425. Est etiam ille malus, &c.] It 
 is universally agreed, that the Poet 
 heredescribesthe Chersydrus, which 
 is so called from yji^Tog earth, and 
 i/^&>g water, because it lives in both 
 these elements. The form and na- 
 ture of this serpent are no where 
 so well described, as in this passage 
 of our Poet. 
 
 428. Ulti.] It is ullis in the 
 King's manuscript. 
 
 431. Explet.'] Pierius says it is 
 implei in many of the ancient manu- 
 scripts. 
 
 432. Exusta.] It is generally 
 read exhausta, Pierius found exusta 
 in the oblong, the Lombard, and 
 some other ancient copies. It is 
 exusta in the Bodleian manuscript, 
 and in several of the oldest edi- 
 tions. Heinsius also, and after him 
 Masvicius read exusta. I believe 
 that Virgil wrote exusta, and that 
 his transcribers have altered it to 
 exhausta, imagining it to be suf- 
 ficient to say the fens are exhausted, 
 those watery places not being easily 
 burnt up. But whosoever is con- 
 versant in fenny countries, must 
 
320 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 he leaps on the dry ground, 
 and rolling his flaming eyes 
 rages in the fields, being ex- 
 asperated by thirst, and ter- 
 rified with the heat. May [ 
 never at such a time indulge 
 myself in sleeping in the open 
 air, or lie upon the grass on 
 the edge of a wood; when 
 renewed by casting its slough, 
 and glittering with youth, it 
 leaves its young ones or eggs 
 at home, and slides along, 
 raising itself up to the sun, 
 and brandishes its three-forked 
 tongue. 1 will also teach you 
 the causes and signs of their 
 diseases. The filthy scab af- 
 flicts the sheep, when jf cold 
 rain. 
 
 Exilit in siccum, et flammantia lumina torquens 
 Saevit agris, asperque siti atque exterritus aestu. 
 Ne mihi turn molles sub dio carpere somnos, 435 
 Neu dorso nemoris libeat jacuisse per herbas : 
 Cum positis novus exuviis nitidusque juventa 
 Volvitur, aut catulos tectis aut ova relinquens, 
 Arduus ad solem et Unguis micat ore trisulcis. 
 Morborum quoque te causas et signa docebo. 
 Turpis oves tentat scabies, ubi frigidus imber 
 
 know that in dry seasons no lands 
 are more scorched up than the fens. 
 In the first Georgick we have, 
 
 Et cum exustus ager morientibus aestuat 
 herbis. 
 
 This whole 432d verse is wanting 
 in one of Dr. Mead's manuscripts. 
 
 433. Exilit.'] Pierius says it is 
 exiit in the Lombard and Medicean 
 manuscripts. I find the same read- 
 ing in one of the Arundelian and 
 in one of Dr. Mead's manuscripts. 
 But exilit is generally received. 
 
 Torquens'] It is linquens in the 
 King's manuscripts : et also is there 
 wanting between siccum and Jlam- 
 mantia. 
 
 434. Exterritus,'] Fulvius Ur- 
 sinus says it is exercitus in the old 
 Colotian manuscript, which is no 
 inelegant reading. 
 
 4i25. Ne.] It is nee in one of the 
 Arundelian and in one of Dr. Mead's 
 manuscripts, and in an old quarto 
 edition printed at Paris in 1494. 
 
 Die] It is divo in the King's, the 
 Bodleian, one of the Arundelian, 
 one of Dr. Mead's manuscripts, 
 and in several of the old editions. 
 In the other Arundelian copy it 
 is clivo. 
 
 437.] In one of the Arundelian 
 manuscripts, after this verse, follows 
 
 Luhrica convolvens suilato feciote terga, 
 
 which is a repetition of ver. 426, 
 there being only luhrica put for 
 squamea. 
 
 The Poet now describes the dis- 
 eases, to which sheep are subject. 
 
 441. Turpis oves tentat scabies.] 
 Columella observes, that no ani- 
 mal is so subject to the scab as 
 sheep. He adds, that it usually 
 arises on their being injured by 
 cold rain or frost ; or after shear- 
 ing, if they are not well washed, or 
 if they are permitted to feed in 
 woody places, where they are 
 wounded with brambles and briars ; 
 or if they are folded where mules, 
 or horses, or asses have stabled i 
 or if they are lean for want of suf- 
 ficient pasture, than which nothing 
 sooner brings the scab. '' Oves 
 " frequentius, quam ullum aliud 
 " animal infestantur scabie, quae 
 '' fere nascitur, sicut noster n>e- 
 " raorat poeta, 
 
 Cum frigidus imber 
 
 *' Altius ad vivum persedit, et horrida 
 
 *' cano 
 ♦' Bruraa gelu: 
 
 " vel post tonsuram, si remedium 
 '' praedicti medicaminis non adhi- 
 " beas, si aestivum sudorem marl, 
 " vel flumine non abluas, si tonsum 
 '^ gregem patiaris sylvestribus ru- 
 " bis, ac spinis sauciari: si stabulo 
 " utaris, in quo raulae, aut equi, aat 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 
 
 ^321 
 
 Altius ad vivum persedit, et horrida cano 442 
 Bruma gelu ; vel cum tonsis illotus adhaesit 
 Sudor, et hirsuti secuerunt corpora vepres. 
 Dulcibus idcirco fluviis pecus omne magistri 
 Perfundunt, udisque aries in gurgite villis 446 
 Mersatur, missusque secundo defluit amni. 
 Aut tonsum tristi contingunt corpus amurca, 
 
 and winter stilt with hoary 
 frost, have pierced them to 
 the quick: or wiien their 
 sweat not being washed oflF 
 after shearing has slack to 
 them, anfl rough tlioins have 
 torn their bodies. On this 
 account the shepherds wash 
 ail their cattle in sweet rivers, 
 an<i the ram is plunged in the 
 river, and sent to float along 
 the stream. Or else they 
 anoint their shorn bodies with 
 bitter lees of oil. 
 
 '* asini stetenint: praecipue tamen 
 *' exiguitas cibi maciem, macies 
 " autem scabiem facit." 
 
 Uhi.2 Fieri us says it is cum in 
 the Roman manuscript. 
 
 445. Dulcibus idcirco fluviis, &c.] 
 Columella says, that a sheep, as 
 soon as it is sheared, should be 
 anointed with a mixture of the 
 juice of lupines, the lees of old 
 wine, and the dregs of oil in equal 
 quantities 3 and be washed four 
 days afterwards in the sea, or in 
 rain water salted : and quotes the au- 
 thority of Celsus, who affirms that 
 a sheep treated after this manner 
 will be free from the scab for a 
 whole year ; and that the wool 
 will be the longer and softer for 
 it. " Verum ea quandocunque de- 
 " tonsa fuerit, ungi debet tali rae- 
 '' dicaminCj succus excocti lupini, 
 " veterisque vini faex, et amurca 
 *' pari mensura miscentur, eoque 
 " liquamine tonsa ovis imbuitur,, 
 *' atque ubi per triduum ^elibato 
 " tergore medicamina perbiberit, 
 " quarto die, si est vicinia maris^ 
 " ad littus deducta mersatur : si 
 " minus est, cselestis aqua sub dio 
 " salihus in hunc usum durata 
 '^ paulum decoquitur ; eaque grex 
 '' perluitur. Hoc modo curatum 
 '' pecus anno scabrum fieri non 
 '' posse Celsus affirmat, nee dubium 
 " est, quin etiam ob earn rem Ian a 
 " quoque moUior atque prolixior 
 *' renascatur." Thus Columella re- 
 commends the salt water as a pre- 
 
 servative against the scab ; but 
 Virgil advises the use of sweet 
 river water as a cure after the 
 distemper has seized them. 
 
 448. Jut tonsum tristi, &c.] We 
 have seen already in the preceding 
 note, the composition which Colu- 
 mella prescribes against the scab. 
 The same author adds Hellebore to 
 his liniment, when it is to be applied 
 to a sheep in which the disease is 
 already begun : " Facit autera com- 
 " mode primum ea compositio, 
 " quam paulo ante demonstravi- 
 '' mus, si ad faecem et amurcam, 
 '^ succumque decocti lupini misceas 
 " portione aequa detritum album 
 " Elleborum." It must be allowed 
 that the ointment which Virgil here 
 described is an excellent composi- 
 tion. 
 
 Aynurca.'] The less of oil are 
 much in use in Italy, and other 
 countries where oil is made. We 
 find it recommended by Cato for 
 many purposes. We find the vir- 
 tues of it collected by Dioscorides. 
 It is, says he, the dregs of oil. Be- 
 ing boiled in a copper vessel to the 
 consistence of honey, it is astrin- 
 gent, and has the other effects of Ly- 
 cium. It is applied to the tooth- 
 ache and to wounds with vinegar 
 and wine : it is added to medicines 
 for the eyes, and to those which 
 obstruct the pores. It is the better 
 for being old. It is applied with 
 success to ulcers of the anus and 
 pudenda. If it is boiled again with 
 
 <2 T 
 
S22 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 lu"Vu?fan?i&^p"tchfand Et spumas misceiit argenti, vivaque sulphurs, 
 
 fat wax, and squill, and strong _ . . . 
 
 hellebore, and black bitumen. Idaeasque piccs, ct piugues UDguinc ceras, 450 
 Scillamque, Helleborosque graves, nigrumque 
 bitumen. 
 
 verj uice to the consistence of honey, 
 it draws out rotten teeth. It heals 
 the scab in cattle, being made into 
 a liniment with the decoction of 
 lupines and charaseleon. It is of 
 great service to anoint the gout and 
 pains of the joints with dregs of 
 oil. A skin with the hair on 
 smeared with it, and applied to the 
 dropsy, diminishes the swelling: 
 'A^ogy», VTroa-Totdf^r, Iffriv Ixxtx? tjTj-I*- 
 dXt/iofiiViii. «? T<5 i-<ptl6u<rec Iv yCd'K'^cd x.v- 
 TT^ta ^^X»i^ fAiXtraioovg a-vtrToia-iag, irrv^ii. 
 
 TTOIOVTX TT^O? 06 KX) TO T^VKIOV. iK.Ti^ia-(rOV 
 
 ^£ XXI TT^og o^oirccXyleig xxi T^xvfAxrx. 
 hci^piof/ivri f^iT o\cvg « olvov >j eivojUiXi- 
 rog. f^tyvvrxi cl x.xi o^6x?\.fzix,x7g ovvci- 
 fiiFi xxi ifA7r}\x<rTiKx7g. TrxXxiouf^ivri rs 
 (iiXriariyinrxi. iyKXva-fAci n eo^u kxi 
 x^ttla Kxt nc^T^xtg %iXy,af4.zva,ig Itrri x,^^- 
 <rtf/.og. IkQxXXu 21 x.xt rovg l^6x^f*zvovg 
 ooovrxg c-yy Of*(px)civ&) h^/v^h'itrx x^^i fAi- 
 Xtreooovg a-uc-roia-iag, x,xt 7ri^i7rXx<r6i7<rx. 
 •^a^xg Tg KTi/^vm (Tvv dipfiofv x<Pi-^^f4,xrt 
 
 XXS ^X^XiX'gOVTOg KXTX^^lOuivYI Si^XTTlVU. 
 
 i di aiZi\/nrog xxi 7r^o(!-(pxrog Tro^xy^txovg 
 x,xi x^S^na-tKovg aipiXii. 6i^ft>j KXTxvTXn- 
 6i7a-x ly^^tofizvvi 21 tig y.ahioi kxi \7irt6lfiir/i 
 Itt] rm vd^oTTiKav, a-AxXzi tov oyKov. 
 
 449- Spumas argenti.'] Some have 
 supposed the poet to mean quick- 
 silver, grounding their opinion on 
 the following passage of Calpur- 
 nius: 
 
 Vivi quoque pondere melle 
 
 Argenti coquito. 
 
 But quicksilver was never called 
 spuma argenti, by which name the 
 ancients seem to understand what 
 we call litharge. It arises in the 
 purification of silver, as is plainly 
 enough described by Pliny: "Fit 
 
 " in iisdem Metallis et quae vocatur 
 " Spuma argenti. Genera ejus tria 
 " . . . . Omnis autem fit excocta sua 
 " materia ex superior! catino deflu- 
 " ens in inferiorem, et ex eo sub- 
 '' lata veruculis ferreis, atque in 
 *' ipsa flamma convoluta veruculo, 
 '^ ut sit modici ponderis. Est au- 
 *' tern, ut ex nomine ipso intelligi 
 " potest, fervescentis et futurae ma- 
 ** teriae spuma. Distat a scoria, 
 ** quo potest spuma a faece distare. 
 " Alterum purgantis se materiae, 
 " alterum purgatae vitium est." 
 
 Vivaque sulpliura.] So Serviusand 
 most of the commentators agree 
 that it should be read. Pierius 
 found et sulphura viva in the Ro- 
 man, Medicean, and Lombard ma- 
 nuscripts. I find the same reading 
 in the King's, the Cambridge, the 
 Bodleian, and in both the Arunde- 
 lian manuscripts. It is ac sulphura 
 viva in one of Dr. Mead's manu- 
 scripts, and in several of the oldest 
 printed editions. 
 
 Sulphur is without doubt a good 
 ingredient in this composition. 
 
 450. IdcEasque pices.'] Pitch is 
 called Idaean, because pitch-trees 
 abound on mount Ida. Pitch is of 
 two sorts, arida or sicca, which we 
 call properly pitch ; and liquida, 
 which we call tar. I believe it is 
 the pix liquida or tar which the 
 poet means. Pliny says it is an ex- 
 cellent remedy for the scab in 
 cattle : ^' Praestantissimum ad ca- 
 '' num et jumentorum scabiem." 
 
 Ceras.] Wax seems to be added 
 chiefly to give to the medicine the 
 consistence of an ointment. 
 
 451. Scillam.] The squill or sea 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 
 
 Non tamen ulla magis praesens fortuna laborum S.?us^o^ayf^L''/eoV^^^^^ 
 
 est, 
 Quam si quis ferro potuit rescindere summum 
 Ulceris os : alitur vitium, vivitque tegendo ; 454 
 Dum medicas adhibere manus ad vulnera pastor 
 
 open; 
 the distemper increases, and 
 gains strength by being co- 
 vered ; whilst the shepherd 
 refuses to apply his healing 
 hands to the wound, 
 
 onion is a bulbous root, like an 
 onion_, but much larger. It is 
 brought to us from Spain. 
 
 Hellehorosque graves.'\ There are 
 two kinds of Hellebore, the black 
 and the white. I take it to be the 
 white Hellebore that Virgil means. 
 Columella expressly mentions the 
 white Hellebore, as we have seen 
 already in the quotation from that 
 author, in the note on ver. 448. 
 Dioscorides however ascribes the 
 power of curing this sort of diseases 
 to the black Hellebore: 0£g««;r£yg* 
 
 xctt ^iffOT/jg x.ott Ki^^tvov IXxiov Kurx^^io- 
 ^ivog. The white Hellebore is 
 known to be serviceable in diseases 
 of the skin, if it be externally ap- 
 plied J but it is too rough to be 
 taken inwardly, as the black sort is. 
 Hence perhaps Virgil added the 
 epithet graves, to express the white 
 Hellebore, 
 
 Bitumen.] Bitumen, or, as the 
 Greeks called it, Asphaltus, is a fat, 
 sulphureous, tenaceous, inflamma- 
 ble substance, issuing out of the 
 earth or floating upon water, as at 
 Pitchford in Shropshire, and in the 
 island Barbadoes in America, whence 
 it is brought hither under the name 
 of Barbadoes tar. Sometimes it is 
 found hardened into a substance 
 like pitch. The most esteemed is 
 that which is found in Judaea, and 
 is called Bitumen Judaicum, or Jews- 
 pitch. This is seldom if ever 
 brought hither: what is generally 
 sold for it being little different from 
 common pitch. Pliny mentions a 
 mixture of bitumen and pitch as 
 
 good for the scab in sheep : " Est 
 " et Pissasphaltos, mixta bitumini 
 " pice, naturaliter ex Apollionata- 
 " rum agro. Quidam ipsi miscent, 
 " prsecipuum ad scabiem pecorum 
 '' remedium." 
 
 452. Non tamen ulla, &c.] It has 
 not without reason been said by the 
 writers of Virgil's life, that our 
 poet had studied physic. The 
 respect with which he mentions 
 the physician lapis, and the many 
 medicines occasionally mentioned 
 in his works, greatly favour this 
 tradition. He has just mentioned 
 an ointment, compounded with 
 greater skill, and described with 
 greater propriety of expression, 
 than any that we meet with in the 
 other writers of agriculture. He 
 now adds with much judgment that 
 no application is of so much service, 
 as to lay open the ulcer, and give 
 a free discharge to the corroding 
 matter. 
 
 453. Rescmdere.~\ It properly sig- 
 nifies to open; in which sense it is 
 used also in the twelfth ^neid : 
 
 Ense secent lato vulnus, telique late- 
 
 bram 
 Rescindant penitus. 
 
 In the same manner it seems 
 have been used by Lucretius : 
 
 to 
 
 Proptereaque solere vias rescindere nos- 
 
 tris 
 Sensibus. 
 
 454. Alitur vitium, vivitque te- 
 gendoJ} Thus also Lucretius : 
 
 Ulcus enim vivescit, et inveterascit 
 alendo. 
 2t2 
 
324 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 and sitting still begs the Gods 
 to assist him. Moreover when 
 the pain, reaching to the very 
 bones of the bleating sheep, 
 rages, and a parching fever 
 consumes their limbs, it has 
 been of service to avert the 
 kindled heat, and pierce the 
 vein spouting with blood be- 
 tween the under parts of the 
 foot; just as the Bisaltze use, 
 and the fierce Gelonian, when 
 he flies to Rhodope, and to 
 the deserts of the Getae, and 
 drinks milk mixed with horse's 
 blood. If you ever see one 
 of your sheep stand at a dis- 
 tance, or often creep imder 
 the mild shade, or lazily crop 
 the ends of the grass, or lag 
 behind the rest, or lie down, 
 as she is feeding, iathe middle 
 of the piain, and return alone 
 late at night; immediately cut 
 off the faulty sheep. 
 
 Abnegat, aut meliora Deos sedet omnia poscens. 
 Quill etiam ima dolor balantum lapsus ad ossa 
 Cum furit, atque artus depascitur arida febris; 
 Profuit incensos aestus avertere, et inter 
 Ima ferire pedis salientem sanguine venam : 460 
 Bisaltae quo more solent, acerque Gelonus, 
 Cum fugit in Rhodopen, atque in deserta 
 
 Getarum, 
 Et lac concretum cum sanguine potat equino. 
 Quam procul aut moUi succedere s^pius um- 
 brae, 
 Videris, aut summas carpentem ignavius herbas, 
 Extremamque sequi, aut medio procumbere 
 campo 4^66 
 
 Pascentem, et serae solam decedere nocti ; 
 Continue culpam ferro compesce, prius quam 
 
 456. Et."] Pierius says it is aut in 
 the Roman manuscript. 
 
 Omnia.'] It is omina in the Ro- 
 man manuscript, according to Pie- 
 rius, It is omina also in the Ve- 
 nice edition in fol, 1475, La Cerda 
 reads omina. 
 
 461. BisaltcE.] The Bisalice were 
 a people of Macedon. 
 
 Gelonus.] See book ii. ver. 115. 
 
 462. Rhodopen.] Rhodope is a 
 mountain of Thrace. 
 
 Getarum.] The Getce or Dacians 
 dwelt near the Danube. 
 
 463. Lac concretum cum sanguine 
 potat equino.] This custom of 
 drinking milk and horse's blood 
 is ascribed to the Massagetae, a peo- 
 ple of Scythia, by Dionysius. 
 
 Tovs ^£ fttr avetroXtiiv Se, a-l^^jv xiXd^evres 
 
 Maffffayerat vxiovtrt, 6ouv pvrtj^ts oifrav. 
 'Avi^ss ois li-nr ai/rog lyuy (jt,riff ofri? Irai^os 
 'E/^^iXufur fiKXa ya,^ rs KotKo^uvori got 
 
 iiXXuv 
 Ov ya,^ ff(p)v fftTOio fitXip^evos iffr'tv i^eohn, 
 OuTi f/Xv evV sTvos fJi.irKdrifii9i. akXct yk^ 
 
 Klfjt,ari /iiffyovTis Xiuxov yaka, ^uTra ri- 
 Sivrai. 
 
 Pliny mentions the Sarmatce as mix- 
 ing millet with the milk of mares^ 
 or the blood drawn out of their legs : 
 '' Sarmatarum quoque gentes hae 
 " maxime pulte aluntur, et cruda 
 '* etiam farina equino lacte vel san- 
 " guine e cruris venis admixto." 
 The same is said by other authors, 
 of different nations inhabiting those 
 parts. 
 
 464. Aut.] It is ut in the King's 
 manuscript. 
 
 Succedere.] In one of the Arunde- 
 lian manuscripts it is succumbere. 
 
 ScEpius.] In the King's manu- 
 script it is mollius. 
 
 465. Ignavius.] Pierius found 
 segnius in the Roman manuscript. 
 
 467. Et,] The conjunction is 
 omitted in one of Dr. Mead's manu- 
 scripts, 
 
 SercB nocti."^ Pierius says it is 
 3€ra nocte in the ancient manu- 
 scripts. 
 
 468. Co?iii?iiio culpam ferro com- 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 
 
 325 
 
 Dira per incautum serpant contagia vulgus. 
 
 before the dreadful contagion 
 
 spreads itself over tlie unwary 
 
 , ... flock. The whirlwind which 
 
 Non tarn creber agens hyemem nut aequore brings on a storm, 
 
 turbo, 
 
 470 
 
 pesce.'] Most of the printed editions, 
 and all the manuscripts which I 
 have collated, have continuo ferro 
 culpam, which seems very unhar- 
 monious, Servius reads continuo cul- 
 pam ferro, which order of the words 
 Pierius also found in the Roman, 
 the Medicean, and other very an- 
 cient manuscripts. I have found 
 the same order in two old editions 
 in folio, printed at Venice in 1475 
 and 1476, and in an old edition of 
 the Georgicks in octavo, printed at 
 Paris in 1495. The same is ad- 
 mitted also by La Gerda and Hein- 
 sius. 
 
 Servius interprets culpatn ferro 
 compesce to mean, that the shepherd 
 by killing an infected sheep avoids 
 being guilty himself of a crime, in 
 suffering it to live to the damage 
 of the whole flock : '' Atqui habere 
 " morbum culpa noa est : sed hoc 
 ** dicit, occidendo earn, tuam cul- 
 ** pam compesce, id est, vita cri- 
 " men in quod potes incidere, si, 
 '^ dum uni parcis, fuerit totus grex 
 " ejus contagione corruptus." Gri- 
 moaldus is of the same opinion ; 
 *' Hsec inquam signa et indicia, 
 " quae febrim sclent antecedere, si- 
 '' mul atque perceperis, crimen vi- 
 ** tabis, in quod poteris incidere, si 
 " dum uni parcis, fuerit totus grex 
 '* ejus contagione corruptus." La 
 Cerda gives the same interpretation : 
 " lUud culpam ferro compesce refer- 
 '' tur ad earn culpam, quae reside- 
 " bit in pastore, nisi utatur ferro." 
 Ruaeus seems to think that by cul- 
 pam is meant the disease of the 
 sheep : " hujus morbum coerce sta- 
 " tim ferro." But Virgil is not here 
 speaking of any partial disease, 
 which might be restrained by being 
 
 cut out, but of a general disorder 
 which spreads itself over the whole 
 body, making the sheep loath its 
 food, and lag heavily behind the 
 flock. I am persuaded therefore, 
 that by culpam he means the in- 
 fected sheep, and by ferro compesce, 
 that it should be killed, to prevent 
 the contagion from spreading. 
 Thus in the second Georgick, he 
 uses ramos compesce, to express the 
 pruning of trees, to hinder the too 
 luxuriant spreading of the branches : 
 
 Turn denique dura 
 
 Exerce imperia, et ramos compesce flu- 
 en tes. 
 
 All the translators have concurred 
 in understanding culpam compesce, 
 to be meant of killing the sheep. 
 Thus May : 
 
 Straight kill that sheepe 
 
 Before th' infection through th' whole 
 flocke doe creepe ; 
 
 And Dryden : 
 
 Revenge the crime, and take the traitor's 
 head, 
 
 E'er in the faultless flock the dire con- 
 tagion spread : 
 
 And Dr. Trapp : 
 
 Delay not, kill th' infected ; e'er thro' all 
 Th' unwary flock the dire contagion 
 spread. 
 
 470. Non tain creber agens, &c.] 
 After these diseases, to which the 
 sheep are subject, our Poet adds 
 that the distempers of cattle are 
 innumerable. Hence he takes oc- 
 casion to speak of a great plague, 
 by which all the country about the 
 Alps was laid waste. 
 
 '' The words agens hyemem,'' says 
 Dr. Trapp, *' are commonly ex- 
 
326 
 
 R VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 and rushes upon the main, is 
 not so freqaent, as ihe plagues 
 of cattle are many; nor do 
 these diseases prey on single 
 bodies, but sweep otf whole 
 folds on a sudden, both lambs 
 and sheep, and the whole 
 flock entirely. This any one 
 maj' know, who sees the lofty 
 Alps, and the Noric castles 
 on the hills, and the fields 
 of lapidian Timavns, and the 
 realms of the shepherds even 
 now after so long a lime de- 
 serted, and the lawns lying 
 waste far and wide. Here 
 formerly a most miserable 
 plagne arose by the corruption 
 of the air. 
 
 Quam multae pecudum pestes: nee singula morbi 
 Corpora corripiunt ; sed tota aestiva repente, 
 Spemqiie gregemque simul, cunctamque ab 
 
 origine gentem. 
 Turn sciat, aerias Alpes, et Norica siquis 
 Castella in tumulis, et lapidis arva Timavi, 475 
 Nunc quoque post tanto videat desertaque regna 
 Pastorum, et longe saltus lateque vacantes. 
 Hie quondam morbo eaeli miseranda coorta est 
 
 '' plained by tempestalem ferens. 
 " And then it should be rendered 
 '^ not in but before a storm. But 
 *^ I rather understand it, agens for 
 *' agitans hyemem, or aerem in 
 *' hyeme, i. e. procella. Surely a 
 '' multitude of whirlwinds do not 
 '^ precede a storm ; but are them- 
 " selves one, or at least parts of 
 *'^one." 
 
 I do not think that creber agens 
 hyemem turbo is to be undersiood to 
 mean, that many whirlwinds pre- 
 cede one single storm, but that the 
 sea is tossed by many whirlwinds, 
 each of which precedes a storm. 
 That a violent storm is usually 
 preceded by a whirlwind is most 
 certain : therefore to enter into a 
 debate, whether the whirlwind is 
 to be accounted a forerunner of a 
 storm, or a part of the storm itself, 
 would be a mere logomachy. 
 
 471. Quam multce pecudum pestes."] 
 The Poet cannot mean that pesti- 
 lences or murrains are as common 
 among the cattle, as storms on the 
 sea. Pestis is a more general word, 
 and includes all the several great 
 misfortunes that attend them. Thus 
 a little before, he calls a serpent 
 Pestis acerba bourn. 
 
 472. Estiva.] '' Mstiva are the 
 " shady places, in which the cattle 
 " avoid the heat of the sun in sum- 
 *' mer; thus Statius : 
 
 " Et umbrosi paiuere cestiva LycatV 
 
 Servitjs. 
 
 47s. Spemque gregemque.'] Ser- 
 vius interprets this, agnos cum ma- 
 tribus, which is generally received. 
 
 474. Turn sciat, ^c] '^ The sense 
 *' is this, if any one knows what 
 '' sort of places these were, when 
 *' they were full of cattle, he may 
 " now see them empty, though it 
 " is a long time since the pesti- 
 " lence." Servius. 
 
 Aerias Alpes.] The Alps are 
 called aericBt from their great 
 height : they divide Italy from 
 France and Germany. 
 
 Norica.] Noricum was a region 
 of Germany, bordering on the Alps. 
 Great part of it is what we now 
 call Bavaria. 
 
 lapidis arva Timavi.] Some read 
 lapygis; but lapygia was a part of 
 the kingdom of Naples, far distant 
 from the Alps, of which Virgil is 
 here speaking. lapidis is certainly 
 the true meaning : for lapidia was 
 in the Venetian territory, where 
 the river Timavus flows. This part 
 of Italy is now called Friuli. 
 
 Schrevelius and Masvicius read 
 arma instead of arva. 
 
 Timavus is a river of Carniola : 
 it is now called Timavo. 
 
 478. Hie] It is hinc in one of 
 the Arundelian manuscripts. 
 
 Virgil is generally thought to 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 327 
 
 Tempestas, totoque autumni incanduit aestu, o? luS ""°"^'' ''" ^^^ ''^•'' 
 
 speak in this place of the plague 
 which broke out in Attica, in the 
 first year of the Peloponnesian war, 
 which has been so accurately de- 
 scribed by Hippocrates, Thucydides, 
 and Lucretius. This last author, 
 whom our Poet seems to emulate, 
 derives this plague from Egypt : 
 
 Haec ratio quondam niorborum, et mor- 
 
 tifer aestas 
 Finibu* Cecropiis funestos reddidit agros, 
 Vastavitque vias, exhausit civibus urbem. 
 Nam penilus veniens ^gypti e finibus 
 
 onus, 
 A era permensus multum, camposque 
 
 natantes, 
 Incubuit tandem populo Pandionis : 
 
 omnes 
 Inde catervatim morbo mortique daban- 
 
 tur. 
 
 A plague thus raised, laid learned Athens 
 
 waste ; 
 Thro' ev'ry street, thro* all the town it 
 
 pass'd. 
 Blasting both man and beast with poisjwus 
 
 wind : 
 Death fled before, and ruin stalk* d behind. 
 From Egypt's burning sands the fever 
 
 came, 
 More hot than those that raised the deadly 
 
 flume. 
 At length the raging plague did Athens 
 
 seize, 
 The plague ; and death attending the dis- 
 ease. 
 Then men did die by heaps, by heaps did 
 
 fall. 
 And the whole city made one funeral. 
 
 Creech. 
 
 But Thucydides says it began first 
 in that part of Ethiopia, which bor- 
 ders upon Egypt, then it fell upon 
 Egypt and Libya, and into the 
 greatest part of the Persian terri- 
 tories; and then it suddenly in- 
 vaded the city of Athens : "h^^octq 
 
 21 TO f^lv tt^Ztcv, ax; Xzyiroii, £| AiSio- 
 TTiug T?5 vTTgg AiyvTrTov, &7riiTcc og x.eci 
 h A'lyvTTrov Kcci AtCyijv xo6t2/3>3, ku) U 
 rviv BuTiX'wg yyiv ri)V ttoXXk*. I5 dl tkv 
 'ASvivectav 'TTOh.iv \%et7e»«.ieiq hiTturi. But 
 
 Virgil seems to make his pestilence 
 much more ancient than that of 
 Athens, for he mentions Chiron, 
 who lived at least five hundred 
 years before Hippocrates, who flou- 
 rished about the beginning of the 
 Peloponnesian war. Besides, Thu- 
 cydides mentions the plague of 
 which he speaks, as not proceeding 
 even to the Morea j but depopu- 
 lating only Atliens, and the most 
 populous cities in that neighbour- 
 hood : Ket/ £5 fiiv HsXoTrivvwov ovx, 
 gTrsjA^gv, 0, ri kx) u^iov utfhv, iTnmucATo 
 21 'Adiivecg ftev f^dy^iarroi, \%ino(, 2\ »x} rav 
 uXXav ^u^iav ra, TioXvocv^pcoTroTeiTec, It 
 does not seem therefore, that this 
 pestilence invaded the Alpine coun- 
 tries, which were not so very popu- 
 lous, abounding only with large 
 pastures. However, as Virgil no 
 doubt had some view to the pesti- 
 lence described by Thucydides and 
 Lucretius, I shall lay the parallel 
 places in those authors before the 
 reader. 
 
 479- Totoque autumni incanduit 
 cestu.'] Servius interprets this, " It 
 " burnt in the first part of the au- 
 " tumn, which always makes a 
 " pestilence grievous." In this he 
 is followed by Grimoaldus, La 
 Cerda, and almost ail the commen- 
 tators. In this sense May translates 
 it: 
 
 Hence by corruption of the ayre so 
 
 strong 
 A plague arose, and rag'd all autumne 
 
 long: 
 
 And Dryden ; 
 
 During th' autumnal heats th' infection 
 grew. 
 
 Dr. Trapp seems to understand the 
 Poet to mean that the plague raged 
 with such heat, as is usual in au- 
 tumn : 
 
^28 
 
 R VIRGILIl MARONIS 
 
 and destroyed all kinds of 
 cattle, all kinds of wild beasts, 
 and poisoned the lakes, and 
 infected tbe pastures with its 
 venom. Nor did they die after 
 the common manner, bnt 
 when the burning drought 
 insinuating itself into all the 
 veins had contracted the mi- 
 serable limbs, the corrupted 
 moisture oozed out, and con- 
 verted all the tainted bones 
 into its substance. Oftentimes, 
 in the midst of a sacrifice to 
 the gods. 
 
 Et genus omne neci pecudum dedit, omne 
 
 ferarum ; 480 
 
 Corrupitque lacus : infecit pabula tabo. 
 Nee via mortis erat simplex : sed ubi ignea 
 
 venis 
 Omnibus acto sitis miseros adduxerat artus, 
 Rursus abundabat fluidus liquor ; omniaque in 
 
 se 
 Ossa minutatim morbo coUapsa trahebat. 485 
 Saepe in honore Deum medio stans hostia ad 
 
 aram, 
 
 *Twas here, long since, a plague from 
 
 tainted air 
 Rose, and with all the fires of autumn 
 
 burn'd. 
 
 481. Corrupitque lacus.] It is cor- 
 ripuit in the King's and in one of 
 Dr. Mead's manuscripts. Pierius 
 reads corripuSt, but he says it is cor- 
 rupit in the Medicean, and in some 
 other ancient manuscripts. Corrupit 
 is generally received. 
 
 482. Nee via mortis erat simplex.'] 
 The commentators agree that these 
 words mean, that they died after an 
 unusual manner. Thus Dryden 
 translates them. Strange death I 
 
 483. Sitis.] A parching heat and 
 thirst attends all malignant fevers. 
 Thus Lucretius : 
 
 Intima pars homini vero flagravit ad 
 
 ossa : 
 Flagravit stomacho flamma, ut fornaci- 
 
 bus intus : 
 
 And 
 
 Insedabiliter sitis arida. 
 
 Thucydides mentions a most into- 
 lerable thirst, and inward burning, 
 insomuch that those who were 
 seized witii the plague could not 
 bear their clothes, nor so much as 
 any linen thrown over them ; that 
 
 they ran into the cold water, that 
 some who were neglected threw 
 themselves into wells, and that 
 those who drank largely did not 
 fare the better for it : Ta dl IvTcg 
 ovra<i \x.cx.ino a)Wg ^Viii rav ttuvv XiTrrcov 
 
 ciXXc rt K yv^uvov uvz^io-6xi, '^^kjtu tz scv 
 Ig v^ai^ '•l^v^^ov <r(poig xvTovg ^itc-tuv. 
 Kxi TToXXot rovTo toov yjUiXv^fzivav uvS^a- 
 
 c-rmii TO, T£ tMov xxi iXxs-<rov ttotov. 
 
 486. S(£pe in honore Deum, &c.] 
 He comes now to relate particular 
 instances of the dire effects of this 
 pestilence. The victims dropped 
 down dead suddenly before the al- 
 tars : or if they lived to bear the 
 knife of the sacrificer, their flesh 
 would nbt burn ; nor could the au- 
 gurs divine any thing from the in- 
 spection of their entrails. He then 
 mentions the effects of this disease 
 on calves, dogs, and swine. 
 
 Thucydides says that prayers to 
 the gods and enquiries at the oracles 
 were of no service, and at last were 
 laid aside: "0(rx t« Tr^og h^oig ix'-tsv- 
 <reiy, « i^xvrstoig x-xi ro7g rcioiiToig i%^*i- 
 a-xvTo, -TreivTx a.vco^iX'ii ^y, liXiVTaiTig n 
 csvtZv ocT^-'icTTric-ctv, vTTo rev KXx.eZ iixa- 
 
GEORG. LIB. Ill, 
 
 Lanea dum nivea circumdatur infula vitta, 
 Inter cunctantes cecidit moribunda ministros. 
 Aut si quam ferro mactaverat ante sacerdos, 
 Inde neque impositis ardent altaria fibris ; 490 
 Nee responsa potest consultus reddere vates : 
 -Ac vix suppositi tinguntur sanguine cultri, 
 Summaque jejuna sanie infuscatur arena. 
 Hinc laetis vituli vulgo moriuntur in herbis, 
 Et dulces animas plena ad praesepia reddunt. 
 Hinc canibus blandis rabies venit, et quatit 
 aegros 496 
 
 llie victim standint; before the 
 altar, whilst tlie woolly fillet 
 is encompassed with a snowy 
 garland, drops down dying 
 amonsfHt the delaying minis- 
 ters. Or if the pritst hap- 
 pened to stab any one, before 
 It died, then the entrails be- 
 ing laid on the altars would 
 not burn, nor could the augur 
 give answers when he was 
 consulted; but the knives 
 with which they are stuck, 
 are scarce tinged with blood, 
 and the surface of the sand 
 is but just stained with thin 
 gore. Hence the calves fre- 
 quently die in the plentiful 
 pastures, and give up their 
 sweet breath at full cribs. 
 Hence the gentle dogs run 
 mad, 
 
 ^ram.^ It is aras in several of 
 the old editions. 
 
 487. Lanea.'] Pierius reads linea ; 
 but he says it is lanea in the Me- 
 dicean, the Lombard, and in some 
 other ancient manuscripts. I find 
 laurea in some of the old editions; 
 but lanea is generally received. 
 
 Infula^ The Infula was a sort 
 of diadem or fillet, with which the 
 heads of the victims were bound. 
 Ruaeus says the vittce were the 
 ornaments which hung down from 
 the Infula. 
 
 488. Ministros^ Pierius says it 
 is magistros in the Roman manu- 
 script. 
 
 489. Mactaverat,'] It is macta- 
 verit in the King's manuscript. 
 
 Sacerdos.] Dryden lias grossly 
 translated this word holy butcher. 
 
 491. Nee responsa potest consultus 
 reddere votes.] The entrails of the 
 victims were thought not to dis- 
 cover the will of the gods, unless 
 they were sound. 
 
 492. Ac] It is aut in the King's, 
 both the Arundelian, one of Dr. 
 Mead's manuscripts, and in several 
 of the oldest editions. In some of 
 them it is at. 
 
 493. Jejuna sanie.] In these mor- 
 bid bodies, the liquids were almost 
 
 wasted, and, instead of blood, there 
 came out only a corrupted matter. 
 
 496. Hinc canibus blaridis rabies 
 venit.] The madness to which dogs 
 are subject, is attended with most 
 dreadful consequences. Their bite 
 communicates the madness, not only 
 to other animals, but to mankind 
 also. The most terrible of all the 
 symptoms of this distemper is the 
 Hydrophobia, or dread of water : the 
 patient, however thirsty, not being 
 able to drink any sort of liquor, 
 without being thrown into the most 
 horrid convulsions. The reader 
 may find the description of several 
 cases, in the Philosophical Trans- 
 actions. The best remedy for this 
 disease was communicated to the 
 Royal Society by Mr. Dampier, 
 and has since been received by the 
 College of Physicians into their 
 Dispensatory, under the name of 
 Pulvis Antilissus, being a composi- 
 tion of black pepper and the ash- 
 coloured ground liver- wort, in equal 
 quantities. The dose of this pow- 
 der is four scruples. The person, 
 who has the misfortune to be bitten, 
 ought to bleed immediately, and 
 wash the place carefully, where the 
 bite was received, with salt water ; 
 and it is no bad precaution, to 
 2 u 
 
330 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 and a rattling cough shakes 
 the wheezing swine, and tor- 
 ments their swelling throats. 
 The conquering horse is 
 seized, unliappy in his toils, 
 and forgetful ot his food, and 
 loaths the springs, and stamps 
 frequently on the ground with 
 his foot: his ears hang down; 
 a doubtful sweat breaks oat, 
 which grows cold when they 
 are dying; 
 
 Tussis anhela sues, ac faucibus angit obesis. 
 
 Labitur infelix studiorum, atque immemor 
 herbae 
 
 Victor equus, fontesque avertitur, et pede 
 terram 
 
 Crebra ferit : demissae aures : incertus ibi- 
 dem 500 
 
 Sudor, et ille quidem morituris frigidus ; ater 
 
 destroy all the clothes which were 
 worn at the time, when the acci- 
 dent happened. It should be taken 
 fasting, for several mornings, in 
 warm milk, beer, ale, broth, or 
 other such like convenient vehicle. 
 It must be taken before the symp- 
 toms of madness appear j for other- 
 wise it will be ineffectual. See 
 the Philosophical Transactions, No. 
 237. p. 49. or Lowthorp's Abridg- 
 ment, vol. iii. p. 284. 
 
 Thucydides does not mention 
 any thing of the dogs running 
 mad : he only says they were more 
 obnoxious to this distemper than 
 other animals, because of their 
 greater familiarity with men : Ot dl 
 xvvsg fiocXXov cci(7-6ti(riv 7riC^t7^ov rov utto- 
 QeiivovToi, ^ici TO ^vvdixiTol(r6xt. 
 
 497. Faucibus angit obesis.] Swine 
 are subject to coughs, and inflam- 
 matory swellings in the throaty 
 whence the Poet with great pro- 
 priety uses the word angit, angina 
 being the Latin name for a quinsey. 
 
 498. Labitur infelix studiorum, 
 &c.] Having briefly made mention 
 of dogs and swine j he now speaks 
 more largely of the violent effects 
 of this distemper on horses: 
 
 Infelix studiorum.] Thus we have 
 victus animi, fortunatus laborum, 
 Icela laborum y &:c. 
 
 Immemor hcrbce."] Some render 
 this unmindful of victory, taking 
 herbm to express those herbs, which 
 were used by the ancients to de- 
 
 note conquest. But I rather be- 
 lieve, that Virgil means only pasture. 
 Thus in the eighth Eclogue 3 
 
 Immemor herbarum quos est mirata 
 juvenca. 
 
 Dryden has introduced both senses : 
 
 The victor horse, forgetful of his food. 
 The palm renounces, and abhors the 
 flood. 
 
 499* Pede terram crebra ferit.] 
 " In the Lombard manuscript it is 
 '' crebro ferit, nor need we be 
 " afraid of the false quantity, for 
 " Carisius acknowledges the adverb 
 " tertio for a dactyl, and sero is in 
 '' the measure of a trochee in Sta- 
 
 " tius." PlERlUS. 
 
 The most violent diseases of 
 horses are frequently attended with 
 an unusual stamping on the ground. 
 
 500. Demissce aures.] The hang- 
 ing down of the ears is mentioned 
 by Columella, as a symptom of pain 
 in a horse's head: " Capitis dolo- 
 '* rem indicant lachrymae, quae pro- 
 '' fluunt, auresque flaccidae, et cer- 
 '' vix cum capite aggravata, et in 
 " terram suramissa." 
 
 Incertus sudor.] By a doubtful 
 sweat, he either means a sweat of 
 which it may he doubted whether 
 it is a good or a bad symptom, or 
 else a sweat that comes and goes 
 uncertainly and irregularly. 
 
 501. Morituris frigidus.] In the 
 Cambridge, one of the Arundelian, 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 
 
 331 
 
 Pellis, et ad tactum tractanti dura resistit. 
 Haec ante exitium primis dant signa diebus, 
 Sin in processu coepit crudescere morbus, 504 
 Turn vero ardentes oculi, atque attractus ab alto 
 Spiritus, interdum gemitu gravis, imaque longo 
 Ilia singultu tendunt : it naribus ater 
 
 their skin grows dry, and 
 feels hard and rough. These 
 were the symptoms at the 
 beginning, but when the dis- 
 ease began to increase, their 
 eyes were inflamed, and their 
 breath was fetched deep, and 
 sometimesloaded withagroan, 
 and their long sides lieaved 
 with sobs; black blood gushes 
 out of their nostrils, 
 
 and one of Dr. Mead's manuscripts, 
 it is moriturus. 
 
 A cold sweat is universally known 
 to be a bad symptom. 
 
 Jter pellisr\ The dryness of the 
 skin is inconsistent with the sweat- 
 ing just mentioned. We must 
 therefore understand the Poet, not 
 to mean that all these symptoms 
 were found in every horse, but 
 that they were variously affected. 
 The cold sweat is a sign of a di- 
 minution of the vital powers j and 
 the dryness and hardness of the 
 skin shew that there is a great 
 inward heat, and an obstruction of 
 the matter, which ought to be per- 
 spired through the pores of the 
 skin. 
 
 502. Et ad tactum.~\ In the Ro- 
 man manuscript it is at ; and in 
 the Lombard it is tracturtis accord- 
 ing to Pierius. 
 
 503. T>ardi] It is dat in one of 
 the Arundelian manuscripts. 
 
 505. Ardentes oculi.'] Thucydi- 
 des, in his description of the plague 
 at Athens, says they were at first 
 seized with a heat and heaviness in 
 the head, with a redness and in- 
 flammation of the eyes: 11 ^Ztov ^h 
 rviq xgiptftAiJj B'i^f^cct la-^v^xt xxi rav o(p-' 
 
 ^xvi. Thus also Lucretius: 
 
 Principio, caput incensum fervore gere- 
 
 bant: 
 Et dupliceis oculos suffusa luce rubenteis. 
 
 First fierce unusual heats did seize the 
 
 head ; 
 The glowing eyes, "with llood-shot learns 
 
 looked red, 
 
 Like Hazing stars, approaching fate fore- 
 shciff'd. 
 
 Cbeech. 
 
 Attractus ah alto spiritus.'] In the 
 King's manuscript it is abstractus. 
 
 Thucydides speaks of their fetch- 
 ing their breath with difficulty, and 
 with a strong smell : Trvivfcct ctrovov, 
 
 506. Imaque longo ilia singultu 
 tendunt.] Thucydides says that most 
 of them had sobs or hickups, at- 
 tended with strong convulsions : 
 
 Ayy| Tg To<V ttMiotiv hiTriTTTi r.zr/i, 
 G-TToia-^ov Iv^idovcrx {(r^vpov. Thus Lu- 
 cretius: 
 
 Intolerabilibusque malis erat anxius an- 
 
 gor 
 Assidue comes, et gemitu commista 
 
 querela, 
 Singultusque frequens noctem persaepe, 
 
 diemque 
 Compere assidue nervos et membra 
 
 coactans, 
 Dissolvebat eos, defessos ante, fatigans. 
 
 To these fierce pains "were joiii'd continual 
 
 care, 
 Afid sad complainings, groans, and deep 
 
 despair 
 Tormenting, vexing sobs, and deadly sigJis, 
 Which rais'd convulsions, broke the vital 
 
 ties 
 Of mind and limbs. 
 
 507. It naribus ater sanguis, &c.] 
 In one of Dr. Mead's manuscripts 
 it is autem instead of ater. 
 
 Thucydides says their inner 
 parts, their throat and tongue, dis- 
 charged blood : K»( rcc IvTog, 4? n (pd- 
 gyyl Kctt K yXairarot, ivBvg ocl^etraidn ^v. 
 Thus Lucretius ; 
 2 u 2 
 
p. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 and their roagh tongoe cleaves 
 to their clotted jaws. At first 
 it was of service to drench 
 them with the T^naean liqnor: 
 this seemed the only hope to 
 preserve them from death: 
 but afterwards even this was 
 their destruction : and being 
 recruiled with rage they 
 burned: and, (oh! may the 
 gods give a better mind to the 
 pious, and that error to their 
 enemies!) when they were in 
 the pangs of death, they tore 
 their own mangled flesh with 
 their naked teeth. 
 
 Sanguis, et obsessas fauces premit aspera lingua. 
 Profuit inserto latices infundere cornu 
 Lenaeos ; ea visa salus morientibus una. 510 
 Mox erat hoc ipsum exitio, furiisque refecti 
 Ardebant, ipsique suos, jam morte sub aegra, 
 Dii meliora piis, erroremque hostibus ilium ! 
 Discissos nudis laniabant dentibus artus. 
 
 Sudabant etiain fauces intrinsecus atro 
 Sanguine, et ulceribus vocis via septa 
 
 coiibat ; 
 Atque animi interpres tnanabat lingua 
 
 cruore, 
 Debilitata malis, motu gravis, aspera 
 
 tactu. 
 
 The mouth andjatvs ivere filled rvith clotted 
 
 Hood ; 
 The throat with ulcers : the tongue could 
 
 speak no more. 
 But overfi^'io*dj and drotcii'd in putrid 
 
 gore, 
 Grett) useless, rough, and scarce could make 
 
 a moan. 
 
 Creech. 
 
 509' Profuit inserto latices, &c.] 
 Wine was frequently given to horses 
 by the ancients. Virgil sajs this 
 was found of service at first, but 
 afterwards it proved destructive to 
 them, throwing them into a fury, 
 by increasing their spirits. Dryden 
 understands our author to mean, 
 that the wine was of service at the 
 beginning of the distemper,but was 
 destructive, if given too late : 
 
 A drench of wine has with success been 
 
 us*d; 
 And thro' a horn the gen'rous juice in- 
 
 fus'd : 
 Which timely taken op'd his closing 
 
 jaws; 
 But if too late, the patient's death did 
 
 cause. 
 For the too vigorous dose too fiercely 
 
 ■wrought ; 
 And added fury to the strength it brought. 
 Recruited into rage he grinds his teeth 
 In his own flesh, and feeds approaching 
 
 death. 
 
 The sens^ is very good ; but I be- 
 
 lieve it is not that which Virgil 
 meant. 
 
 513. Dii meliora piis, &c.] This 
 was a frequent form among the an- 
 cientsof expressing their abhorrence 
 of any great mischief, by wishing it 
 from themselves to their enemies. 
 Something like this is in the eighth 
 ^neid : 
 
 Quid memorem infandas ccedes.'' quid 
 
 facta tyranni 
 EflPera? Dii capiti ipsius generique re- 
 
 servent. 
 
 Erroremri Pierius says it is ar- 
 doretn in the Roman manuscript. 
 
 514. Discissos nudis laniabant den- 
 tibus artus.'] In one of Dr. Mead's 
 manuscripts it is Diffissos. 
 
 '' The word nudis seems to imply, 
 " that by tearing their flesh, they 
 " at the same time tore the gums 
 " from their teeth, ut focditatem ex- 
 " primer etf adjecii nudis ; says a 
 " commentator in the Varior. And 
 " what he means I know not." 
 Dr. Trapp. 
 
 This commentator is Phylargy- 
 rius. I take his meaning to be, 
 that the gums being ulcerated, and 
 rotted away from their teeth, was a 
 filthy sight ; which every one must 
 allow that has seen it. 
 
 Though perhaps by naked teeth 
 the Poet may intend to express the 
 horrid grinning of the horse in the 
 agonies of death : for Lucretius has 
 used the same expression for the 
 grinning of dogs : 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 
 
 333 
 
 Ecce autem duro fumans sub vomere taurus 51 5 
 Concidit, et mixtum spumis vomit ore cruorem, 
 Extremosque ciet gemitus : it tristis arator, 
 Moerentem abjungens fraterna morte juvencum, 
 Atque opere in medio defixa relinquit aratra. 
 Non umbrae altorum nemorum, non mollia pos- 
 
 sunt 520 
 
 Prata movere animum, non qui per saxa volutus 
 Purior electro campum petit amnis ; at ima 
 Solvuntur latera, atque oculos stupor urget in- 
 
 ertes, 
 Ad terramque fluit devexo pondera cervix. 
 Quid labor aut benefacta juvant ? quid vomere 
 
 terras 5^ 
 
 But lo, the bull smokinc un- 
 der the weight of the plough 
 drops down, and casts ont of 
 his mouth blood mixed with 
 foam, and gives his last groans: 
 the melancholy ploughman 
 goes away, unyoking the steer 
 that grieves at his brother's 
 death, and leave? the forsaken 
 plough in the middle of his 
 toil. But he can receive no 
 pleasure from the shade of 
 the lofty woods, nor from the 
 soft meadows, no, nor from 
 the river, which rolling over 
 the rocks flows clearer than 
 amber through the plain: his 
 flanks grow flabby, a deadness 
 seizes his heavy eyes, and his 
 unwieldy neck hangs droop- 
 ing to the ground. What do 
 his loils and good services 
 now avail! or what benefit is 
 it to him to have 
 
 Mollia ricta fremunt duros midaritia 
 denies. 
 
 515. Ecce autem duro fumans, 
 &c.] As the Poet had before spoken 
 of bulls and horses together, when 
 he treated of their generation, and 
 the ways of managing them ; so 
 now he joins them in distress, and 
 describes the misery of the bull im- 
 mediately afterthat of thehorse. This 
 passage is wonderfully poetical. He 
 represents the bull dropping down 
 under the yoke, and the unhappy 
 farmer leaving the plough in the 
 middle of the field. Hence he slides 
 into a beautiful digression, concern- 
 ing the wholesome simplicity of the 
 food of these animals, which he op- 
 poses to the luxurious and destruc- 
 tive diet of mankind. He repre- 
 sents the mortality among the Idne 
 to have been so great, that they 
 were forced to use buffaloes for the 
 sacrifices of Juno, to bury the 
 corn in the ground with theirhands, 
 and to draw their waggons them- 
 selves, for want of cattle. 
 
 517- Extremosque ciet gemitus: 
 it tristis arator.'] The pause in this 
 verse is too beautiful, not to be ob- 
 
 served. The departure of the 
 mournful ploughman, and the grief 
 of the surviving bullock, for the 
 death of his partner, are exceedingly 
 moving. The slow measure of the 
 next line, consisting of spondees, is 
 no less worthy of observation. 
 
 519. Relinquit.'] It is reliquit in 
 one of Dr. Mead's manuscripts, and 
 in several of the oldest editions. 
 
 520. Non umhrcB, &c.] This re- 
 lates to the surviving bullock, who 
 is represented as inconsolable. He 
 receives no satisfaction from shady 
 woods, fine meadows, and clear 
 streams : but he falls away, his 
 eyes grow stupid and heavy, and 
 his neck hangs down, not being 
 able to support his head. 
 
 Non mollia possunt prata movere 
 animum.] Pierius has Non gramina 
 possunt grata movere animum; but 
 he says the common reading is in 
 all the ancient manuscripts. 
 
 522. At.] It is et in the King's 
 manuscript. 
 
 524. Pondered It is vertice in 
 the King's manuscript. 
 
 525. Quid labor, &c.] These six 
 lines are not without reason admired 
 
334 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 turned the heavy clods with 
 the share? he never siiflFered 
 by the Massic gilts of Bacchus, 
 or by luxurious banquets. 
 Ilis food was leaves and plain 
 grass, and his drinlc the clear 
 springs, and rivers exercised 
 with running. Nor did care 
 ever disturb his wholesome 
 rest. At no other time do 
 they say that kine were want- 
 ing for the sacrifices of Juno, 
 and that the chariots were 
 drawn by unequal butfaloes 
 to the high temples. There- 
 fore with difficulty they till 
 the earth with harrows, and 
 set the corn with their very 
 nails, and draw the rattling 
 waggons over the high moun- 
 tains with strained necks. 
 
 Invertisse graves ? atqui non Massica Bacchi 
 Munera, non illis epulse nocuere repostae : 
 Frondibus et victu pascuntur simplices herbas. 
 Pocula sunt fontes liquidi, atque exercita cursu 
 Flumina,nec somnos abrumpit cura salubres. 530 
 Tempore non alio dicunt regionibus illis 
 Qusesitas ad sacra boves Junonis, et uris 
 Imparibus ductos alta ad donaria currus. 
 Ergo aegre rastris terram rimantur, et ipsis 
 Unguibus infodiunt fruges, montesque per 
 altos 535 
 
 Contenta cervice trahunt stridentia plaustra. 
 
 by Scaliger, who declares he had 
 rather have been the author of 
 them, than to have had tlie favour 
 of Croesus or Cyrus. 
 
 59,6. Massica Bacchi viuneraJ] 
 See the note on book ii. ver. 143. 
 
 59S. Victu.'] Pierius says it is 
 victum, in the Lombard manuscript, 
 which he thinks no inelegant read- 
 ing. 
 
 529. Atqve.] Schrevelius reads 
 aut. 
 
 530. Abrumpit.'] Some read ab- 
 rupit. 
 
 531. Tempore non alio, &c.] Ser- 
 vius and after him many others 
 imagine that the Poet here alludes 
 to the famous story of Cleobis and 
 Biton, the sons of a priestess of 
 Juno at Argos, who, when the 
 beasts were not ready at the time 
 of the sacrifice, yoked themselves, 
 and drew their mother to the tem- 
 ple. The priestess hereupon en- 
 treated the goddess to reward the 
 piety of her sons with the greatest 
 good that could befal men : which 
 she granted by causing them to be 
 found dead in their beds the next 
 morning. The reader will find this 
 story related by Herodotus, by Plu- 
 tarch in his treatise of Consolation, 
 addressed to ApoUonius, and by 
 
 Cicero, in his first book of Tusculan 
 Questions. But I do not find any 
 mention of a scarcity of cattle by 
 means of any plague; but only that 
 the mules or bullocks were either 
 not ready soon enough, or were 
 tired as they drew the chariot. 
 Besides, the scene of this story is 
 laid at Argos, whereas Virgil is 
 speaking of the Alps. 
 
 532, Uris.] See the note on 
 book ii. ver. 374. 
 
 533. Alta ad donaria.] " Dona- 
 " ria are properly the places where 
 " the gifts to the gods are laid up. 
 '' Hence the word is transferred to 
 ** signify temples. For thus pulvi- 
 *' naria also are used for temples, 
 " whereas they are properly the 
 '' cushions or couches, which used 
 " to be spread in temples." Servius. 
 
 534:. Ergo wgre, &c.] The Poet 
 describes the great mortality of 
 cattle, by saying the people were 
 forced to scratch the earth with 
 their nails, in order to sow or ra- 
 ther set their corn, scarce being 
 able to drag the harrows over the 
 fields, and that they strained their 
 own necks with the yokes. 
 
 536. Contenta.~\ This is gene- 
 rally interpreted not contented, but 
 strained. 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 
 
 335 
 
 Non lupus insidias explorat ovilia circum, 
 
 The wolf does not now exei- 
 cj»e his wiles around ihe folds, 
 
 It will not, I believe, be disa- 
 greeable to the reader, if I now lay 
 before him an abstract of the ac- 
 count of the disease which raged 
 among the kine in England, in the 
 year 1714. This account was drawn 
 up by Mr. Bates, then surgeon to 
 his majesty's household, who was 
 appointed, together with four jus- 
 tices of the peace, by the lords jus- 
 tices, to enquire into this distemper, 
 and by him communicated to the 
 Royal Society. It is printed in the 
 Philosophical Transactions, Kb. 358. 
 p. 872. Jones's Abridgment, vol. v. 
 p. 48. 
 
 This Gentleman observes^ that 
 all cows have naturally a purga- 
 tion by the Anus for five or six 
 weeks in the spring, from what the 
 cow-keepers call the frimness of 
 the grass ; during which time they 
 are brisk and lively, their milk 
 becomes thinner, of a bluish colour, 
 sweeter to the taste, and in greater 
 plenty. But the spring preceding 
 this distemper was unusually dry 
 all over Europe. Hence there was 
 but little grass, and that so dry, and 
 void of that frimness which it has 
 in other years, that Mr. Bates could 
 not hear of one cow-keeper, who 
 had observed his cows to have that 
 purgation in the same degree as 
 usual : and very few who had ob- 
 served any at all. They all agreed 
 that their cows had not given above 
 half so much milk that summer 
 as they did in others 3 that some of 
 them were almost dry; that the 
 milk they did give was much 
 thicker, and yellower than in other 
 years. It was observed by the 
 whole town, that very little of the 
 milk then sold would boil without 
 turning; and it is a known truth, 
 that the weakest of th^ common 
 purges deprive a cow entirely of 
 
 her milk , from all which circum- 
 stances he thinks it evident, that 
 the want of that natural purgation 
 was the sole cause of this disease ; 
 by producing those obstructions, 
 which terminated in a putrefaction, 
 and made this distemper contagious. 
 
 The symptoms of this distemper 
 were, that they first refused their 
 food ; the next day they had husk- 
 ish coughs, and voided excrements 
 like clay; their heads swelled, and 
 sometimes their bodies. Jn a day 
 or two more, there was a great 
 discharge of a mucous matter by 
 their nose, and their breaths smelled 
 offensively. Lastly a severe purg- 
 ing, sometimes bloody, which ter- 
 minated in death. Some cows died 
 in three days,^ and others in five or 
 six, but the bulls lived eight or 
 ten. During their whole illness, 
 they refused all manner of food, 
 and were very hot. 
 
 Of sixteen cows which he dis- 
 sected, the five first had herded 
 with those that were ill, and the 
 symptoms of this distemper were 
 just become visible ; in these, the 
 gall-bladders were larger than usual, 
 and filled with bile of a natural 
 taste and smell, but of a greener 
 colour. Their sweet-breads were 
 shrivelled, and some of the glands 
 obstructed and tumefied. Many of 
 the glands in their mesenteries 
 were twice or thrice their natural 
 bigness. Their lungs were a little 
 inflamed, and their flesh felt hot. 
 All other parts of the bowels ap- 
 peared as in a healthful state. The 
 next six that he opened had been 
 ill about tw^o days : in them the 
 livers were blacker than usual, and 
 in two of them there were several 
 bags, filled with a petrified sub- 
 stance like chalk, about the bigness 
 of a pea. Their gall-bladders were 
 
336 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 Touii^l nock's? a'siSpe?'' Nec gregibus nocturnus obambulat; acrior ilium 
 
 twice their natural bigness, and 
 filled with a greener bile than the 
 first. Their sweet-breads were 
 shrivelled, some of their glands 
 very large and hard, and of a 
 blackish colour. The glands in 
 their mesenteries were many of 
 them five times as big as naturally, 
 and of a blackish colour. Their 
 lungs were inflamed, with several 
 bags forming. Their intestines 
 were full of red and black spots. 
 Their flesh was very hot, though 
 not altered in colour. The five 
 last that he opened were very near 
 dying; in them he found the liver 
 to be blackish, much shrivelled 
 and contracted, and in three of 
 them there were several bags, as 
 big as nutmegs, filled with a chalky 
 substance. Their gall-bladders 
 were about three times as big as 
 usual, and filled with a deep green 
 bile. Their sweet-breads were 
 shrivelled and contracted, many of 
 their glands very large and hard, 
 and of a black colour. The glands 
 in their mesenteries were many of 
 them distended to eight or ten 
 times their natural bigness, were 
 very black, and in the pelvis of 
 most of those glands in two cows 
 there was a yellow putrefaction, of 
 the consistence of a sandy stone. 
 Their intestines were of the colour 
 of a snake, their inner coat exco- 
 riated by purging. Their lungs 
 were much inflamed, with several 
 bags containing, a yellow purulent 
 matter, many of them as big as a 
 nutmeg. Their flesh was extreme 
 hot, though very little altered in 
 colour. These were the general 
 appearances ; but in some other 
 dissections, he observed the follow- 
 ing remarkable particulars. In one 
 the bile was petrified in its vessels, 
 and resembled a tree of coral, but 
 
 of a dark yellow colour, and brittle 
 substance. In another there were 
 several inflammations on the liver, 
 some as large as a half-crown, 
 cracked round the edges, and ap- 
 peared separating from the sound 
 part, like a pestilential carbuncle. 
 In a third, the liquor contained in 
 the Pericardium appeared like the 
 subsidings of lime-water j and had 
 excoriated, and given as yellow a 
 colour to the whole surface of the 
 heart and Pericardium, as lime- 
 water could possibly have done. 
 
 All the medicines that were ap- 
 plied proved ineffectual, and the 
 method by which the contagion 
 was at last suppressed was this : 
 they divided their cows into small 
 parcels, by which means they lost 
 only that parcel in which the con- 
 tagion happened ; for otherwise the 
 disease would spread from one in- 
 fected cow, through a whole herd. 
 They also brought all their cows 
 to be burned or buried with quick 
 lime, to encourage which, the king 
 allowed them a reward, out of his 
 own civil list, for every cow so 
 brought, which amounted in the 
 whole to 6774^. Is. Id. The num- 
 ber of bulls and cows lost by this 
 disease were five thousand four 
 hundred and eighteen, in the coun- 
 tiesof Middlesex, Essex, and Surrey; 
 and of calves, four hundred and 
 thirty-nine. 
 
 537. No7i lupus insidias explorat, 
 &c.] The Poet having already 
 mentioned the destruction which 
 was made among the cattle, now 
 represents this wasting pestilence 
 as extending itself through earth, 
 sea, and air : he observes that 
 physic was of no service, and that 
 even the divine masters of the art 
 failed. To complete the horror of 
 this pestilence, he represents Tisi- 
 
 I 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 
 
 337 
 
 Cur domat ; timidi damae, cervique fugaces 
 Nunc interque canes, et circum tecta vagan- 
 
 tur. 540 
 
 Jam maris immensi prolem, et genus omne na- 
 
 tantum 
 Littore in extreme, ceu naufraga corpora, fluctus 
 Proluit : insolitae fugiunt in flumina phocae. 
 Interit et curvis frustra defensa latebris 
 Vipera, et attoniti squamis astantibus hydri. 545 
 Ipsis est aer avibus non aequus, et illae 
 Praecipites alta vitam sub nube relinquunt. 
 Praeterea jam nee mutari pabuJa refert, 
 Quaesitaeque nocent artes : cessere magistri 
 
 care subdues him: the timo- 
 rous deer and flying sta^s now 
 wander among the dogs; and 
 about tlie houses. Now the 
 waves cast upon the shore the 
 offspring of the vast ocean, 
 and all sorts of fishes, like 
 shipwrecked bodies; and un- 
 usual sea calves Hy into the 
 rivers. The viper perishes, in 
 vain defended by its winding 
 den; and the "water snakes 
 astonished with erected scales. 
 The air no longer agreed even 
 with the birds, but down they 
 fell, leaving their lives under 
 the lofty clouds. Moreover, 
 it was of no service now to 
 change their pasture, and the 
 arts of medicine were injuri- 
 ous: the masters themselves 
 failed. 
 
 phone, one of the Furies spreading 
 death and destruction all around, 
 the cattle falling by heaps, their 
 hides useless, and the wool spread- 
 ing the infection in those who 
 presumed to weave it into garments. 
 Thucydides says, that the pesti- 
 lence, which he describes, was more 
 dreadful, than can be expressed by 
 words, and was more grievous than 
 could be borne by human nature, 
 which shewed it plainly to be none 
 of the common sort of diseases. 
 For even beasts and birds of prey, 
 which use to feed on human car- 
 cases, would hardly touch the 
 bodies of those who lay unburied, 
 and if they tasted them, they died 
 themselves : FivofAzvov yci^ K^iia-a-cv 
 Myov TO liooi; tjJj vocrcv, ras re ahXcc 
 
 0-tV TT^OITiTflTrTiV lx,<i.(na , KOt] h TftJ^g s^a- 
 
 Xatrt fcctXio'Tx osAAo Ti «> ifrav |t»vT£o'(pAij' 
 ri. Tct ya^ device, Kxi TiT^ctTroda ocrcc 
 uv6^a7rMv ol-mroii, '7rah>,a)v ard^av yiy- 
 vofAiVMV, i) ov 'T^o<r^zi, « yivTcif^,ivcc ^a- 
 (p&u'^iTo. Thus also Lucretius: 
 
 Multaque humi cum inhumata jacerent 
 
 corpora supra 
 Corporibus, tamen alituum genus atque 
 
 ferarum 
 
 Aut procul absiliebat, ut acrem exiret 
 
 odorem ; 
 Aut ubi guslarat, languebat iiiorte pro- 
 
 pinqua. 
 Nee tamen omnino temere illis solibus 
 
 uUa 
 Comparebat avis, nee noctibu' ssecia 
 
 ferarum 
 Exibant sylvis: languebant pleraque 
 
 morbo, 
 Et moriebantur. 
 
 541. Jam maris immensi prolem.'] 
 The Poet here openly contradicts 
 Aristotle, who says, that a pesti- 
 lential disease does not seem ever 
 to invade fishes, as it often does 
 men, horses, oxen, and other ani- 
 mals, both tame and wild: Notmi^x 
 ol Pioi^aoig fch Iv evdivi ro7g l^Sva-i (pxi- 
 
 motl IfATTlTTTOV, OtOV ItTI TCOV UvS^aTTOfV 
 
 crvfAQxivn TToXXoixtg, kx] rav l^aoroxav 
 y-cti TiT^ecTro^ofv, ug tTTTrovg xeci ^ovg iceti 
 rm ciXXaty i\g 'iviet kcci Jj^ggot xxt ocy^ioc I 
 and that the animals of the rivers 
 and lakes are not subject to the 
 plague : Ttlg ^g -jroTUfAioig kxi Xtf^- 
 vxtoigj Xoif&ai^ig fiiv ot'^g Tovroig ovdivi 
 yivirxt. 
 
 543. Infiumina.'] In the King's 
 manuscript it is ad jiu7nina. Pie- 
 rius found the same reading in the 
 Lombard manuscript. 
 
 549. Quasitceqite nocent artes.'] 
 2 X 
 
338 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 •Trl.'la^ci^'iSJSmrustt^on Phillyrides ChiroD, Amythaoniusque Melam- 
 
 of Ainylhaon. 
 
 pus. 550 
 
 Thucydides says the physicians at 
 first could be of no service to the 
 sick, because they did not know 
 the nature of the distemper, but 
 died themselves above all others, 
 because of their greater communi- 
 cation with the sick : Ovn yu,^ ixr^oi 
 tj^xovv TO TT^arov Ss^etTrivovng uyvoicc, 
 <«AA civTot fzciXia-roi g^vjjo-xev oVa> x,oit f>e,oc- 
 Xia-ra 7r^o<rv\&<roiVt ovrs aXXvi uvG^UTitei 
 7gx,vvi ovhfAix. And afterwards he 
 says, those who were taken care of, 
 and those who were not, died alike: 
 that there could be found no re- 
 medy that was of service : that 
 what did ^ood to one did harm to 
 another : "Ehvia-xiv dl, ct fdv, u^iXziu,, 
 
 01 ^e KOi) -TToivV Si^XTTiVO/HiVOl. h Ti Ovdlv 
 
 xfltTgiTTJj 'iacf^oc, aq stvuv, o, ri %^v ^gac- 
 (Pi^ovreeg a^iXiiv, to ya,^ ra %vnviyKov 
 uXMv TovTo KxxTTTi. Thus also Lu- 
 cretius : 
 
 Nee requies erat uUa mali, defessa j ace- 
 bant 
 
 Corpora, mussabat tacito Medicina ti- 
 more : 
 
 And again. 
 
 Nee ratio remedi communis certa da- 
 
 batur. 
 Nam quod alts dederat vitales aeris auras 
 Volvere in ore licere, et caeli templa 
 
 tueri : 
 Hoc aliis erat exitio, letbumque parabat. 
 
 Thus also Mr. Bates, in the ac- 
 count above mentioned, says, '' se- 
 " veral physicians attempted the 
 *' cure, and made many essays for 
 '^ that purpose; but the dissections 
 ** convinced me of the improbabi- 
 " lity of their succeeding, with 
 " which I acquainted their Excel- 
 '' lencies. However they having 
 " received a Recipe and directions 
 " from some in Holland, said to 
 " have been used there with good 
 
 '• success, gave me orders to make 
 " trial of it: but the effect was not 
 "^ answerable to my expectation, 
 '' for in very many instances 1 was 
 " not sensible of the least benefit 
 "^ ... I think there is no one method 
 '' in practice, but what was tried 
 ^' on this occasion, though I cannot 
 " say that any of them was attended 
 '' with an appearance of success j m 
 '' except that of bleeding plen- a 
 " tifuUy, and giving great quan- 
 *' tities of cooling and diluting 
 " liquids. But by this method, the 
 " instances of success were so few, 
 " that they do not deserve any fur- 
 " ther mention." 
 
 550. Phillyrides Chiron, Amythao- 
 niusque Melampus.'] Chiron was 
 the son of Saturn and Philyra, as 
 was observed in the note on ver. 92. 
 When he was grown up, he retired 
 to the woods, and having there 
 learned the nature and virtues of 
 plants, he became an excellent phy- Jj 
 sician ; and the herb Centaury had '^ 
 its name from this famous Centaur. 
 He instructed ^Esculapius in phy- 
 sic, Hercules in astronomy, and J 
 Achilles in music. He was a prac- ^ 
 tical astronomer, and is thought, 
 together with Musseus, to have 
 framed the first sphere that was 
 ever made among the Greeks, for 
 the use of the Argonautic expedi- 
 tion, in which he had two grand- 
 sons engaged. He is supposed by 
 Sir Isaac Newton to have been 
 about eighty-eight years old at 
 that time. 
 
 Melampus was the son of Aray- 
 thaon and Dorippe. He was said 
 to be famous for augury, and to 
 understand the voices of birds and 
 other animals. He was also a most 
 famous physician, and had a tem- 
 
GEORG. LIB. III. 
 
 339 
 
 Saevit et in lucem Stygiis emissa tenebris 
 Pallida Tisiphone, morbos agit ante metumque, 
 Inque dies avidum siirgens caput altius effert. 
 Balatu pecorum, et crebris mugitibus amnes, 
 Arentesque sonant ripae, collesque supini. 555 
 Jamque catervatim dat stragem, atque aggerat 
 
 ipsis 
 In stabulis turpi dilapsa cadavera tabo : 
 Donee humo tegere, ac foveis abscondere dis- 
 
 cunt. 
 Namneque erat coriis usus: nee viscera quisquam 
 Aut undis abolere potest, aut vincereflamma : 560 
 
 The pale Tisiphone, being sent 
 into «he light (rem the Stvgian 
 darkness, rages: she drives 
 diseases and tear before her, 
 and rising, uprears her de- 
 vouring head higher every day. 
 The rivers, and withering 
 banks, and bending hills re- 
 sound with the bleatings of 
 sheep, and frequent lowings. 
 And now slie destroys them 
 by multitudes, and heaps up 
 in the stalls the rotting car- 
 cases: till at last they found 
 the way to cover them with 
 earth, and bury them in pit?. 
 For even their hides were of 
 no use; nor could any one 
 cleanse their entrails with 
 water, or purfc them with 
 fire. 
 
 pie erected to him, with the- insti- 
 tution of solemn feasts and sacri- 
 fices. He assisted Bias in taking 
 away the oxen of Iphiclus, and 
 cured the daughters of Proetus of 
 their madness. 
 
 Hence we may observe, that Vir- 
 gil did not suppose the pestilence 
 here described to be the same with 
 that at Athens, but several years 
 more ancient, even before the Ar- 
 gonautic expedition. For we have 
 seen already, that Chiron was an 
 old man at the time of that expe- 
 dition. Iphiclus, whose oxen Me- 
 1am pus took away, was the twin- 
 brother of Hercules, who was an 
 Argonaut. The age of Proetus is 
 not very certain ; only thus much 
 we may affirm, that he lived many 
 years before the Argonautic expe- 
 dition. Chiron therefore and Me- 
 lampus were contemporaries, and 
 this pestilence happening in their 
 time, was before the Argonautic 
 expedition, not less than five hun- 
 dred years before the famous plague 
 of Athens. 
 
 May has injudiciously represented 
 these two great physicians, as no 
 better than cow-leeches ; 
 
 All arts are hurtful, lecclies do no good ; 
 Not learned Chiron, nor Melampus sage; 
 
 In which he is followed by Dryden : 
 
 The learned leeches in despair depart : 
 And shake their heads, despairing of 
 their art. 
 
 555. Arentesque,'] Pierius says it 
 is horrentesqiie in the Roman ma- 
 nuscript. 
 
 556. Jamque calervaiim dat stra- 
 gem.'] Thus Lucretius : 
 
 Incubuit tandem populoPandionis: om- 
 nes 
 
 Inde catervatim morbo mortique da- 
 ban tur. 
 
 Aggerat.] In the King's manu- 
 script it is aggregni. 
 
 558. Foveis.] It is fossis in the 
 King's manuscript. Pierius found 
 the same reading in the oldest ma- 
 nuscripts ; and thinks it better than 
 foveis. He observes that fusscE are 
 the trenches or great ditches, which 
 surround fortified places, and thence 
 convey a more ample image of this 
 mortality than foveas, which are 
 only pits to catch wolves, or for 
 other such like mean uses. 
 
 Discunt.] So I read with Hein- 
 sius, Paul Stephens, Masvicius, and 
 others. The King's manuscript 
 also has discunt. The common 
 reading Is discant, 
 2x2 
 
340 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS GEORG. LIB. III. 
 
 Kor could their fleeces cor- 
 rupted with sores and tiltii 
 be shorn, nor could any one 
 touch the putrid wool: but 
 if any tried the odious cloth- 
 ing; then carbuncles, and a 
 filthy sweat overspread their 
 stinking limbs : and in a short 
 time the sacred fire consumed 
 their infected members. 
 
 Nec tondere quidem morbo illuvieque peresa 
 Vellera, nec telas possunt attingere putres. 
 Verum etiam invisos si quis tentarat amictus ; 
 Ardentes papulae, atque immundus olentia sudor 
 Membra sequebatur : nec longo deinde mo- 
 ran ti 565 
 Tempore contactos artus sacer ignis edebat. 
 
 563. Verum etiam.] Pierius says 
 it is quin eiiam in the Roman ma- 
 nuscript. 
 
 564!. Ardentes papulce.~\ I have 
 translated these words carbuncles-, 
 which are enumerated among the 
 symptoms of a pestilence. Dr. 
 Hodges, who was a physician at 
 London, in the time of the great 
 plague in l665, and has left us the 
 most authentic account of that dis- 
 ease, describes the carbuncle to be 
 a small pimple, which on the wast- 
 ing or evacuation of its liquor, be- 
 comes a crusty tubercle, something 
 like a grain of millet, encompassed 
 with a circle as red as fire, rising 
 at first with an itching, and after- 
 wards being accompanied with a 
 vehement pain and intense heat : 
 " Est pustula minutula, cujus li- 
 *' quore utpote paucissimo ocyus 
 *' absumpto, vel evacuato, tubercu- 
 '' lum se exerit crustosum, granulo 
 *' milii baud absimile, furtim pro- 
 "^ repens, circulo rubicundissimo, 
 *' velut igneo cincta, cum pruritu 
 '' imprimis, dein cum vehement! 
 *' dolore, et ardore intensissimo 
 *^ orta, a lixivio venefico causti- 
 *' cante." Servius also interprets 
 ardentes papulw, carhunculi. Dry- 
 den seems to have been led by the 
 
 sound of the word papules, to place 
 the seat of these carbuncles in the 
 people's paps. 
 
 Immundus sudor.] Servius inter- 
 prets this morbus pedicularis, in 
 which he is followed by May 3 
 
 Hot carbuncles did on their bodies grow. 
 And lice-engendering sweat did overflow : 
 
 And Dryden : 
 
 Red blisters rising on their paps appear. 
 And flaming carbuncles; and noisome 
 
 sweat, 
 And clammy dews, that loathsome lice 
 
 beget. 
 
 But I do not find any sufficient au- 
 thority for this interpretation. 
 
 566. Cmiacios artus.] In the 
 King's manuscript, and in some of 
 the old editions, it is contractos. 
 
 Sacer ignis.'] By this seems to 
 be meant an Erysipelas, or St. An- 
 thony's fire. Thucydides mentions 
 small pustules and creeping tetters 
 among the symptoms of the plague : 
 
 (Xxio-iv llr,v6r,Kog. Thus also Lucre- 
 tius; 
 
 Et simul ulceribus, quasi inustis omne 
 
 rubere 
 Corpus, ut est per membra sacer cum 
 
 diditur ignis. 
 
p. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 GEORGICORUM 
 
 LIBER QUARTUS. 
 
 PrOTINUS aerii Mellis cselestia dona 
 Exequar, hanc etiam, Maecenas, aspice partem, 
 Admiranda tibi levium spectacula rerum, 
 Magnanimosque duces, totiusque ordine gentis 
 
 Next I shall pursue the ce- 
 lesti.ll gift of aerial honey : 
 and do you, O Meecenas, 
 vouchsafe to read this also. 
 I shall lay before you the 
 wonderful actions of these 
 small animals, the bravery of 
 their leaders, and the 
 
 1. Prot'mus aerii MelliSj Slc.'] The 
 Poet has devoted the whole fourth 
 book to Bees, in which he treats of 
 the surprising customs and manners 
 of this wonderful insect. 
 
 Virgil calls honey aerial and ce- 
 lestial, because it was the opinion 
 of the ancient philosophers, that it 
 was derived from the dew of hea- 
 ven, Aristotle says it comes from 
 the dew of the air, especially at the 
 rising of the constellations, and the 
 falling of the rainbow, MiXi dl to 
 VFiTercv he roZ us^og, kxi f^ccXia-ret rav 
 
 Tg<ff. Pliny has almost translated 
 these words of Aristotle, but he 
 seems to have read (riigiog for Ign : 
 '' Venit hoc ex aere, et maxime 
 '' siderum exortu, praecipueque ipso 
 " sirio explendescente fit." This 
 author adds^ 'that it is a doubt 
 whether it is the sweat of heaven, 
 or somQ saliva of the constellations, 
 or an excretory juice of the air 3 
 '' sive ille est caeli sudor, sive quse- 
 
 " dam siderum saliva, sive purgan- 
 " tis se aeris succus." This hea- 
 venly dew they thought was re- 
 ceived by the flowers, and thence 
 gathered by the bees. This is cer- 
 tain, that there is a juice to be 
 found at the bottom of all flowers, 
 and that this liquor has a sweet 
 taste like honey, even in such 
 plants as afford the most bitter 
 juices, not excepting the ^Zoe itself. 
 It does not seem to fall from the 
 air, but rather to exude from some 
 fine secretory vessels adapted to 
 this purpose. It is highly probable, 
 that this sweet liquor is the matter 
 from which the bees extract their 
 honey. 
 
 4. Totiusque ordine.'] In the 
 Bodleian, both the Arundelian, and 
 in both Dr. Mead's manuscripts, it 
 is totiusque ex ordine. Pierius found 
 the same reading in several ancient 
 manuscripts. It is admitted also 
 by Paul Stephens, and several of 
 the old editors. 
 
342 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 ""reopie^lci^artieror- the* Mores, ct studia, ct populos, et praelia dicam. 5 
 
 whole state. I\Iy subject is -,- ■ i i • i • • 
 
 smaii, but my glory will not 111 tenui laoor, at tcnuis noii ffloria, SI quern 
 
 be small; if the adverse ^ o -- T 
 
 hlar'm/fn^cation^ '^^*'"'* Numma laeva sinunt, auditque vocatus Apollo. 
 
 6. Atr] It is ac in the King's 
 manuscript, which is admitted also 
 by Paul Stephens. 
 
 7. Numina Iceva.'] In the King's 
 manuscript it is IcEta. 
 
 The commentators are divided 
 about the sense of the word l(sva, 
 which is sometimes taken in a good 
 sense, and sometimes in a bad one. 
 Servius takes it in a good sense ; 
 and supports his opinion by another 
 passage, where intonuit lavum sig- 
 nifies a prosperous omen. In this 
 he is followed by May : 
 
 Nor thinke the glory slight. 
 
 Though slight the subject be, to him, 
 
 ■nhom ere 
 Th' invoked Gods, and pleas'd Apollo 
 
 hear: 
 
 And Addison ; 
 
 A trifling theme provokes my humble 
 
 lays. 
 Trifling the theme, not so the Poet's 
 
 praise. 
 If great Apollo, and the tuneful Nine 
 Join in the piece, tc make the work 
 
 divine : 
 
 And Dry den : 
 
 Slight is the subject, but the praise not 
 
 small. 
 If heav'n assist, and Phoebus hear my 
 
 call. 
 
 Aulas Gellius understands Virgil to 
 mean unpropitious by IcEva ,• " Prop- 
 "^ terea Virgilium quoque aiunt, 
 "^ multae antiquitatis hominem sine 
 " ostentationis odio peritum, nu- 
 " mina laeva in Georgicisdeprecari, 
 " significantem quandam vim esse 
 '' hujuscemodi Deorum in laedendo 
 ** magis quam in juvando poten- 
 *' tem ........ In istis autem diis, 
 
 '' quos placari oportet uti mala a 
 
 " nobis vel a frugibus natis amo- 
 '^ veantur, Averruncus quoque ha- 
 " betur et Robigus." Grimoaldus 
 also has paraphrased tiie passage 
 before us according to this inter- 
 pretation : '' Id quod praestare me 
 "^ posse reor, dunimodo Dii adversi 
 " placabuntur, ita ut ne obsint, et 
 " Apollo Poetarum amicus, a me 
 " invocatus adesse voluerit, ita ut 
 " prosit." This is also approved by 
 La Cerda and Ruaeus, Dr. Trapp's 
 translation also is in this sense : 
 
 Small the argument : not small 
 
 The glory ; if the unpropitious pow'rs 
 Oppose not, and Apollo hears our pray*r. 
 
 " The word IcBva,'' says this learned 
 Gentleman, '^ may signify either 
 "propitious, or the direct contrary. 
 " If the former, sinunt must mean 
 '' permit by assisting ; if the other, 
 "permit by not hindering. The 
 " latter is certainly upon all ac- 
 " counts the better." 
 
 The Romans generally esteemed 
 omens appearing on the left hand 
 as good : but this rule did not obtain 
 universally among their augurs; for 
 Cicero in his first book de Divina- 
 tione, informs us, that a raven on 
 the right hand, and a crow on the 
 left, were looked upon as sure 
 omens : " Quid augur, cur a dextra 
 " corvus, a sinistra cornix faciat 
 " ratum ?" In his second book he 
 speaks of thunder from the left 
 being accounted prosperous in the 
 Roman augury, and observes, that 
 the Greeks and Barbarians preferred 
 the right hand, but the Romans 
 the left : " Quae autem est inter 
 " augures conveniens et conjuncta 
 " constantia ? ad nostri augurii 
 " consuetudinem dixit Ennius, 
 
 I 
 
GEORG. LIB. IV. 
 
 343 
 
 Principio sedes apibus statioque petendae, 
 
 In the first place a seat and 
 station are to be sought for 
 the bees. 
 
 " Cum tonuit laevum bene tempestate 
 " Serena. 
 
 " At Homericus Ajax apucl Achil- 
 *' lem querens de ferocitate Troja- 
 " norum nescio quid, hoc modo 
 ** nuntiat : 
 
 ** Prospera Jupiter his dextris fulgoribus 
 ** edit. 
 
 *' Ita nobis sinistra videntur; Grails 
 " et Barbaris dextra meliora. Quan-. 
 '' quam baud ignore, quae bona 
 " sint, sinistra nos dicere: etiam si 
 " dextra sint. Sed certe nostri si- 
 " nistrum nominaverunt, externi- 
 *' que dextrum, quia plerumque 
 " melius id videbatur." Thunder 
 from the left was, I believe, always 
 accounted a good omen by the 
 Romans. Thus we have just now 
 seen that it was so accounted by 
 Ennius: and Virgil has mentioned 
 Inionuit Icevum as a good omen in 
 the second and in the ninth ^neid. 
 Pliny tells us, that the East was 
 accounted the left hand of heaven, 
 which was divided by the augurs 
 into sixteen points ; that the eight 
 eastern points were called the left, 
 and the eight western points the 
 rights and that the thunder which 
 came from the eastern points was 
 accounted prosperous, but that 
 which came from the north-west 
 was esteefraed the worst : " Lseva 
 '' prospera existimantur, quoniam 
 
 '* lseva parte mundi ortus est 
 
 *' In sedecim partes coelum in eo 
 " respectu divisere Thusci. Prima 
 ** est a septentrionibus ad a^qui- 
 " noctialem exortum : secunda ad 
 " meridiem, tertia ad sequinoctia- 
 *' lem occasum, quarta obtinet quod 
 " reliquum est ab occasu ad sep^ 
 " tentriones. Has iterum in qua- 
 '' ternas divisere partes, ex quibus 
 
 " octo ab exortu sinistras, totidem 
 '' e contrario appellavere dextras. 
 *' Ex his maxime dirae quae septen- 
 " trionem ab occasu attingunt." 
 Notwithstanding these arguments, 
 I believe Virgil has never used 
 Iceviis in a good sense, except in 
 the two places quoted above, where 
 it relates to thunder. In the first 
 Eclogue he plainly uses it in a bad 
 sense : 
 
 Saepe malum hoc nobis, si mens non 
 
 Iceva fuisset, 
 De coelo tactas memini praedicere quer- 
 
 cus ; 
 
 where Servius himself interprets 
 Iceva, stulta, contraria. We find 
 the same expression in the second 
 ^neid : 
 
 Et si fata Deum, si mens non Iceva 
 fuisset, 
 
 Impulerat ferro Argolicas violare late- 
 bras. 
 
 Upon this passage Servius observes, 
 that IcEvum signifies adverse, when 
 it relates to human affairs, but 
 prosperous, when it relates to the 
 heavenly. But this criticism does 
 not seem to agree with a passage 
 in the tenth ^Eneid : 
 
 Non secus ac liquida si quando nocte 
 
 comet 32 
 Sanguinei lugubre rubent ; ac Sirius 
 
 ardor, 
 Ule sitim morbosque ferens mortalibus 
 
 aegris 
 Nascitur, et Icpvo contristat lumine coelum. 
 
 Thus threat'mng comets, wheji ly night 
 
 they rise. 
 Shoot sanguine jstr earns, and sadden all the 
 
 skies : 
 So Sirius flashing forth sinister lights 
 Pale human kind with plagues, and with 
 
 dry famine frights. 
 
 Dryden. 
 
 Here lavum is applied to the baleful 
 light of Sirius or the Dog-star, 
 
344 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 where the winds have no en- 
 trance, for winds hinder them 
 from carrying home their 
 food, and where no sheep or 
 wanton kids ma}' insult the 
 flowers, and where no heifer 
 wandering in the plain may 
 shake off the dew, and bruise 
 the rising herbs. And let 
 painted lizards with sealy 
 backs be far from the rich 
 hives, and bee-eaters and 
 other birds, and Procne, 
 whose breast is stained by 
 bloody hands- 
 
 Quo neque sit ventis aditus, nam pabula venti 
 Ferre domum prohibent, neque oves hoedique 
 
 petulci 10 
 
 Floribus insultent, aut errans bucula campo 
 Decutiat rorem, et surgentes atterat herbas. 
 Absint et picti squalentia terga lacerti 
 Pinguibus a stabulis, meropesque, aliaeque vo- 
 
 lucres, 
 Et manibus Procne pectus signata cruentis. 15 
 
 which is sent by the Gods, as 
 much as thunder and lightning. 
 To conclude, I think it difficult to 
 assign a true reason, why the 
 ancients used right and left in 
 these different senses. Those wiiich 
 Plutarch has given are by no means 
 satisfactory: and upon tlie whole, 
 I rather believe that by numina Ueva 
 the adverse deities are here meant. 
 
 8. Principio sedes apihus, &c.] In 
 this paragraph the Poet treats of a 
 proper station for the bees, and 
 enumerates what are to be avoided, 
 and what are convenient for them. 
 
 Statio.'] In this word the Poet 
 alludes to military discipline, which 
 figure he almost constantly pre- 
 serves. Pliny pursues this metaphor, 
 saying, " Interdiu st;atio ad portas 
 " more castrorum, noctu quies in 
 *' matutinum, donee una excitet 
 *' gemino aut triplici borabo, ut 
 *' buccino aliquo." 
 
 13. Picti squalentia terga lacerti.'] 
 Lizards are scaly four-footed ani- 
 mals, with long tails. There are 
 many sorts of them, one of which 
 is the most celebrated under the 
 name of crocodile, or alligator. The 
 green lizard is the most common 
 in Italy : that which we have in 
 England is smaller, and of various 
 colours : it is commonly called an 
 eft or newt. We have also a 
 
 water eft, which is frequently seen 
 in standing waters. 
 
 14. Meropesque.'] Pierius found 
 meropes without que in the Medi- 
 cean manuscript: it is the same in 
 one of Dr. Mea(i's copies. 
 
 The Merops, Apiaster, or Bee- 
 eater , is shaped like a kingtisher. 
 It is about the size of a blackbird. 
 Its feet are exactly like those of the 
 kingfisher, as is also its bill, only 
 it bends a little more downward. 
 The top of the head is reddish; the 
 neck and shoulders green, with a 
 mixture of red. It is yellow under 
 the chin, and its breast and belly 
 are blue. It feeds on bees and 
 other insects. It is found in Italy, 
 but has been observed to be most 
 frequent in the island of Candy or 
 ancient Crete. It builds in caverns, 
 and is a bird of passage. May 
 translates meropes woodpeckers ; Ad- 
 dison woodpecks; Dryden the tit- 
 mouse and the pecker's hwigry brood; 
 and Dr. Trapp the woodpecker. Bee- 
 eater would not have sounded very 
 elegantly in verse, but they might 
 have preserved the original word 
 merops. However, it is certainly 
 wrong to call it by the name of 
 another well known bird, to which 
 it does not bear any resemblance. 
 
 15. Manibus Procne pectus siguata 
 cruentis.'] It is Progne in the King's. 
 
GEORG. LIB. IV. 
 
 345 
 
 Omnia nam late vastant, ipsasque volantes 
 Ore ferunt dulcem nidis immitibus escam. 
 At liquid! fontes, et stagna virentia musco 
 Adsint, et tenuis fugiens per gramina rivus, 
 Palmaque vestibulum, aut ingens oleaster in- 
 umbret. 20 
 
 For Ihese miike wide waste, 
 and carry away the bees 
 themselves, a grateful food 
 to their cruel young. But let 
 them have clear springs, and 
 pools green with moss, and a 
 small rivulet running through 
 the grass : and let a palm or 
 vast wild olive oversbade the 
 entrance, 
 
 both the Arundelian, one of Dr. 
 Mead's manuscripts, and in several 
 of the printed editions. But the 
 most correct reading seems to be 
 Procne, as it is in the Roman, and 
 others of the most ancient manu- 
 scripts, according to Pierius. The 
 same author found Procne also in 
 some ancient inscriptions at Rome. 
 Procne and Philomela, according 
 to the fable, were the daughters of 
 Pandion, king of Athens. Procne 
 was married to Tereus, king of 
 Thrace, by whom she had a son 
 named Itys. Tereus afterwards vi- 
 olated Philomela, and cut out her 
 tongue, to prevent her telling her 
 sister: she found means however 
 to discover his wickedness, to re- 
 venge which the two sisters mur- 
 dered Itys, and gave his flesh to his 
 father to eat. When the banquet 
 was over, they produced the head 
 of the child, to shew Tereus in 
 what manner they had entertained 
 him. He being highly enraged, 
 pursued them with his drawn 
 sword, and was changed into a 
 hoopoo. Philomela became a night- 
 ingale, and Procne a swallow, which 
 has the feathers of its breast stained 
 with red, to which the Poet here 
 alludes. Thus also Ovid : 
 
 Neque adhuc de pectore caedis 
 
 Excessere notae, signataque sanguine 
 plum a est. 
 
 The swallow is known to feed on 
 insects. Hence the Poet mentions 
 it among those animals, which are 
 dangerous to bees. 
 
 18. Liquidi fontes.'] Varro often 
 inculcates this precept, that bees 
 should have clear water near them : 
 " Quae prope se loca habeat ea ubi 
 "' pabulum sit frequens, et aqua 
 " pura:" and '^ Cibi pars, quod 
 " potio, et ea iis aqua liquida, unde 
 " bibant esse oportet :" and " In 
 " qua diligenter habenda cura, ut 
 " aqua sit pura, quod ad mellificium 
 " bonum vehementer prodest." 
 
 20. Palma.'] The palm is of 
 several sorts j but that which is 
 cultivated in Italy is, I believe, 
 chiefly the date tree. Pliny says 
 Judaea is most famous for palms, 
 which grow also in Italy, but do 
 not bear fruit. He adds that they 
 do not grow spontaneously in Italy, 
 but only in the hotter countries : 
 '' Judaea inclyta est vel magis pal- 
 
 " mis Sunt quidem et in 
 
 *' Europa, vulgoque Italia, sed ste- 
 " riles. . . . Nulla est in Italia sponte 
 " genita, nee in alia parte terrarum, 
 " nisi in calida: frugifera vero nus- 
 *' quam nisi in fervida." 
 
 Oleaster.'] See the note on book 
 ii. ver. 182. 
 
 Inumbret.] " In the Roman and 
 *' some other very ancient raanu- 
 " scripts it is inumbret, but more 
 " have obiwibret." Pierius. 
 
 In the Bodleian manuscript it is 
 adumbret. In the King's, the Cam- 
 bridge, both the Arundelian, and 
 in both Dr. Mead's manuscripts it 
 is obumbret; which is admitted also 
 by most of the old editors, and by 
 Paul Stephens, Schrevelius, and La 
 2 Y 
 
346 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 that when their new kings 
 lead the first swarms in the 
 spring, and the youth comes 
 sporting out of their hives, 
 the neighbouring bank may 
 invite them to retire from 
 the heat, and the tree may 
 receive them in its leafy shel- 
 ter. Whether the water is 
 standing or running, throw 
 willows across, and cast great 
 stones in it : that they may 
 have frequent bridges to rest 
 upon, where they may ex- 
 pand their wings to the sum- 
 mer sun ; if at any time those 
 which tarry late have been 
 dispersed or plunged into the 
 water by the boisterous south- 
 east wind. Round these places 
 let green Casia, 
 
 Ut, cum prima novi ducent examina reges 
 Vere suo, ludetque favis emissa juventus, 
 Vicina invitet decedere ripa calori ; 
 Obviaque hospitiis teneat frondentibus arbos. 
 In medium, seu stabit iners, seu profluet hu- 
 mor, 25 
 Transversas salices, et grandia conjice saxa : 
 Pontibus ut crebris possint consistere, et alas 
 Pandere ad aestivum solem ; si forte morantes 
 Sparserit, aut praeceps Neptuno immerserit 
 Eurus. 
 
 Hsec circum casiae virides, et olentia late 
 
 30 
 
 Cerda. Heinsius, Ruaeus, and Mas- 
 TJcius read inumbret. 
 
 22. Ludetque.'] In one of Dr. 
 Mead's manuscripts it is laudetque. 
 
 23. Decedere.'] Pierius says it is 
 discedere in the Roman manuscript. 
 
 26. Transversas salices, et grandia 
 conjice saxa.] Varro would have a 
 sraall stream drawn near the apiary, 
 not above two or three fingers deep, 
 with several shells or small stones 
 standing a little above the surface 
 of the water, that the bees may 
 drink : '' Eamque propinquam, quae 
 *' praeterfluat, aut in aliquem locum 
 " influatjita ut ne altitudine ascen- 
 " dat duo aut tres digitos ; in qua 
 '' aqua jaceant testae, aut lapilli, ita 
 *'' ut extent paulum, ubi assidere et 
 '^ bibere possint." Dryden seems to 
 understand the Poet to mean, that 
 the willows are to be thrown into 
 the standing water, and great stones 
 into a running stream : 
 
 With osier floats the standing water 
 
 strow : 
 Of massy stones make bridges of it flow. 
 
 29. Immerserit.] In one of Dr. 
 Mead's manuscripts and in some 
 of the old editions it is immiserit. 
 
 30. Casice.] See the note on book 
 
 ii. ver. 213. to which I shall add In 
 this place an argument, to prore 
 that the casia is not rosemary, as 
 some have supposed. Columella, 
 speaking of the plants which ought 
 to grow about an apiary, mentions 
 casia and rosemary as two difiFerent 
 plants: " Nam sunt etiam remedio 
 '^ languentibus cythisi, tum deinde 
 '^ casice, atque pini, et rosmarimts." 
 
 Olentia late serpylla.] Serpyllum, 
 in Greek e§5ryA>.o», is derived from 
 i£va to creep, because part of it 
 falling on the ground sends forth 
 roots, and so propagates the plant. 
 It was frequent with the Romans 
 to change the Greek aspiration into 
 S: thus from ^tfu they formed 
 serpo, from 'i^fivXXov serpyllum, from 
 V? sus, from Ijui semi, from s se, 
 from «| sex, from I:tt« septem, from 
 vjrgg super, &c. 
 
 The ancients mention two sorts 
 of serpyllum, one of the gardens, 
 and the other wild. Our serpijllum, 
 or mother of thyme, or wild thyme, 
 which is common on ant hills in 
 England, and grows wild all over 
 Europe, is probably that which 
 Pliny calls the wild, and Dioscori- 
 des the garden serpyllum. The 
 plant very much resembles thyme 
 
 t 
 
GEORG. LIB. IV. 
 
 347 
 
 Serpylla, et graviter spirantis copia thymbrae 
 Floreat, irriguumque bibant violaria fontem. 
 Ipsa autem, seu corticibus tibi suta cavatis. 
 Sen lento fuerint alvearia vimine texta, 34 
 
 and far smelling wild thyme, 
 and plenty of strong scented 
 savoury flowers, and let beds 
 of violets drink the copious 
 spring. But whether your 
 bee-hives are made of hollow 
 cork sewed together, or of 
 bending twigs interwoven, 
 
 both in appearance and smell, and 
 is certainly proper to be planted 
 near bees. 
 
 31. Graviter spirantis copia thym- 
 hr(E.'\ The thymbra of the ancients 
 is generally thought to be some 
 species of satureia, or savoury. To 
 this opinion however it is objected, 
 that Columella mentions thymbra 
 and satureia as two diflferent plants : 
 " Eaderaque regio foecunda sit fru- 
 " ticis exigui, et maxime thymi, 
 '' aut origani, turn etiam thymbrcB, 
 " vel nostratis cunilae, quam satU' 
 
 " reiam rustici vocant Sa- 
 
 *' poris prsecipui mella reddit thy- 
 " mus. Thymo deinde proxima 
 *' thymbra, serpyllumque, et origa- 
 " num. Tertise notae, sed adhuc 
 " generosae, marinus ros, et no- 
 " stras cunila, quam dixl salureiam." 
 He makes them also different in his 
 poem on the culture of gardens : 
 
 Et sattireia thymi referens, thymbrasque 
 saporem. 
 
 Thus thymbra and satureia, accord- 
 ing to this author, are different, and 
 satureia is the same with what he 
 calls cunila nostras. But in his ele- 
 venth book he mentions a foreign 
 sort of cunila, transmarina cunila, 
 which perhaps may be the same 
 with the thymbra. I believe cunila 
 was the common Latin name for 
 what the Greeks called thymbra, 
 and that the cunila nostras or satu- 
 reia was our winter savoury, and the 
 cunila transmarina, for which they 
 also retained the Greek name thym- 
 bra, was the thymbra Grceca J. B. 
 which is called also thymbra legitima 
 by Clusius. This last plant is said 
 
 to be still called thymbri, thrybi, and 
 tribi, by the Cretans, in whose 
 country it grows. The former 
 grows wild in Italy. Both of them 
 have a strong aromatic smell, like 
 thyme. 
 
 32. l^iolaria.'] This word signi- 
 fies places set with violets. 
 
 33. Ipsa autem, &c.] Here the 
 Poet speaks of the structure of the 
 hives, and of the avoiding of some 
 things which are offensive. 
 
 Corticibus.] The bark of the 
 cork tree was called cortex by way 
 of eminence. Thus Horace: '' Tu 
 " cortice levior.'* Pliny says the 
 Greeks not inelegantly called this 
 tree the bark tree. " Non infacetae 
 '' Graecicorticisarborem appellant." 
 We learn from Columella, that it 
 was this bark, which was used for 
 bee-hives : '' Igitur ordinatis sedi- 
 '' bus, alvearia fabricanda sunt pro 
 *' conditione regionis : sive ilia fe- 
 " rax est suberis, baud dubitanter 
 " utilissimas alvos faciemus ex cor- 
 '' ticibus, quia nee hyeme rigent, 
 " nee candent aestate, sive ferulis 
 '' exuberat, iis quoque cum sint 
 " naturae corticis similes, e quibus 
 '^ commode vasa texuntur." Varro 
 says that those bee-hives which are 
 made of cork are the best : " Op- 
 '' timae fiunt corticeae, deterrimae 
 " fictiles, quod et frigore hyeme, 
 " et aestate calore vehementissime 
 /' hie commoventur." 
 
 34. Lento vimine.'] Columella 
 having mentioned the excellence of 
 bee-hives made of cork or ferula, 
 as he was just now quoted, adds, 
 that the next in goodness are those 
 made of basket-work ; but if nei- 
 
 2 Y 2 
 
348 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 let them have narrow en- 
 trances; for winter coagu- 
 lates the honey with cold, and 
 heat melts and dissolves it. 
 The force of both these is 
 equally dangerous to the bees, 
 nor is it in vain that they di- 
 ligently smear the small 
 chinks in their houses with 
 wax, and stop the openings 
 with fucus and flowers ; 
 
 Angustos habeant aditus ; nam frigore mella 35 
 Cogit hyems, eademque calor liquefacta remittit. 
 Utraque vis apibus pariter metuenda: neque illae 
 Nequicquam in tectis certatim tenuia cera 
 Spiramenta linunt, fucoque et floribus oras 
 
 ther of these are conveniently to be 
 had, he recommends timber hol- 
 lowed, or cut into planks; and 
 agrees with Varro, that those made 
 of earthen ware are the worst, be- 
 cause they are too obnoxious to the 
 extremities of heat and cold : " Si 
 '' neutrum aderit, opere textorio 
 " salicibusconnectuntur: vel si nee 
 '^ hsec suppetent, ligno cavatae ar- 
 *' boris, aut in tabulas desectae fa- 
 " bricabuntur. Deterrima est con- 
 *' ditio fictilium, quae et accendun- 
 *' tur aestatis vaporibus, et gelantur 
 " hyemis frigoribus." Varro also 
 mentions all these sorts: '' Alii fa- 
 '^ ciunt ex viminibus rotundas 3 alii 
 " e ligno ac corticibus, alii ex ar- 
 ^' bore cava, alii fictiles, alii etiam 
 " ex ferulis quadratas, longas pedes 
 " circiter ternos, latas pedem, sed 
 *' ita uti cum parum sit qua com- 
 " pleant, eas coangustent, ne in 
 " vasto loco et inani despondeant 
 '^ animum." Virgil mentions only 
 cork and basket-work, the first of 
 which is undoubtedly the best, 
 though not used in England, where 
 it is less plentiful than in Italy, 
 which abounds with cork trees. 
 
 25. Angustos habeant aditus.'] 
 Thus also Varro : '^ Media alvo, in 
 '' qua introeant apes, faciunt fora- 
 '' mina parva, dextra ac sinistra;" 
 and Columella : *' Foramina, qui- 
 " bus exitus aut introitus datur, 
 '^ angustissima esse debent." 
 
 37' Utraque vis apibus pariter me- 
 tuenda.'] The extremes of heat and 
 cold are injurious to bees, as we 
 have seen in some of the preceding 
 notes, where the earthen hives are 
 
 mentioned. Varro also observes 
 that the greatest care must be taken, 
 lest the bees should be destroyed 
 by heat or cold : '* Providendum 
 *' vehementer, ne propter aestum 
 '' aut propter frigus dispereant." 
 
 38. Cera spiramenta linunt.] The 
 cera or wax is properly that sub- 
 stance of which the honeycomb is 
 formed. Thus Varro : '' Favus est, 
 '' quem fingunt multicavatum e 
 " cera, cum singula cava sena la- 
 '^ tera habeant, quot singulis pedes 
 *' dedit natura.*' The propolis or 
 bee-bread is a glutinous substance, 
 which is found about the door of 
 the hives J '' De his Propolim vo- 
 "^ cant, e quo faciunt ad foramen 
 " introitus protectum in alvum 
 " maxime aestate." The erithace 
 is that with which they glue the 
 honeycombs together, to keep any 
 air from coming in between : 
 " Extra ostium alvei obturant om- 
 *' nia, qua venit inter favos spiri- 
 " tus, quam l^tduKnv appellant Grae- 
 
 " ci Erithacen vocant, quo 
 
 " favos extremos inter se congluti- 
 " nant, quod est aliud melle, pro- 
 '' poli." It seems to be this eri- 
 thace therefore, which Virgil means 
 under the several appellations of 
 cera, face, JloribuSy and gluten. 
 
 39' Fuco etJloribuS'] The /mcms 
 is properly a sort of sea- weed which 
 was anciently used in dying, and 
 in colouring the faces of women. 
 Hence all kind of daubing obtained 
 the name of fucus. 
 
 By Jioribus the Poet does not 
 mean strictly, that the bees plaster 
 their hives with flowers, but with 
 
GEORG. LIB. IV. 
 
 349 
 
 Explent, coUectumque haec ipsa ad munera glu- 
 ten, 40 
 Et visco et Phrygiae servant pice lentius Idse. 
 Saepe etiam effossis, si vera est fama, latebris 
 Sub terra fovere larem, penitusque repertae 
 Pumicibusque cavis, exesaeque arboris antro. 
 Tu tamen e laevi rimosa cubilia limo 45 
 Unge fovens circum, et raras superinjice frondes. 
 Neu propius tectis taxum sine, neve rubentes 
 
 and for these purposes gather 
 and preserve a glue more Je- 
 nacioiis than bird-lime or 
 Idaean pitch. Often also, if 
 fame be true, they have che- 
 rished tlieir families in ca- 
 verns, which they have digged 
 under ground : and have been 
 found in hollow pumice-stones, 
 and in the cavity of a hollow 
 tree. Do you also smear their 
 gaping chambers with smooth 
 mud all round, and cast a few 
 leaves upon them. And do 
 not suffer a yew tree near 
 their houses, nor burn redden- 
 ing 
 
 a glutinous substance gathered 
 from flowers. 
 
 41. Phrygia . . . pice . . . Idee.'] 
 Hence it appears, that it was not 
 the Cretan but the Phrygian Ida 
 which was famous for pitch trees. 
 
 43. Sub terra.'] Pierius says it is 
 sub terrain in some manuscripts, sw6 
 terras in the Medicean. I find sub 
 terram in the King's manuscript, 
 and in an old edition in quarto, 
 printed at Paris in 1494; sub terras 
 in one of the Arundelian manu- 
 scripts. 
 
 Fovere larem.] The common 
 reading \sfodere : but it seems to be 
 a tautology to say fodere effossis la- 
 tebris. I choose therefore to read 
 fovere^ with the Medicean and 
 King's manuscripts. The same 
 reading is admitted also by Hein- 
 sius and Masvicius. 
 
 44. Antro^ Fulvius Ursinus says 
 it is alvo in his ancient manuscript. 
 Pierius also says it is alvo in several 
 copies; but he prefers antro. 
 
 45. E l(Evi.] The common read- 
 ing is et: but Servius, Heinsius, 
 and Masvicius read e. It is e also 
 in one of Dr. Mead's manuscripts, 
 and in most of the old editions. 
 
 Cubilia.] It is cubicula in the 
 Bodleian manuscript. 
 
 Limo.] Higinius, as he is quoted 
 by Columella, directs us to stop 
 
 the chinks with mud and cow-dung : 
 **^ Quicquid deinde rimarum est, 
 " aut foraminum, luto et fimo bu- 
 " bulo mistis illinemus extrinsecus, 
 " nee nisi aditus quibus commeent 
 " relinquemus." 
 
 46. Raras superinjice frondes.] 
 Higinius also advises to cover the 
 hives with boughs and leaves, to 
 defend tiiem from cold and bad 
 weather: " Et quamvis porticu 
 " protectet vasa, nihilo minus con- 
 *' gestu culmorum, et frondium 
 '' supertegemus, quantumque res 
 " patietur, a frigore et tempestati- 
 *' bus muniemus." 
 
 47. Taxunu] The yew has al- 
 ways been accounted poisonous. 
 See the note on book ii. ver. 257. 
 
 In the ninth Eclogue the Poet 
 mentions the yews of Corsica, as 
 particularly injurious to bees : 
 
 Sic tua Cyrnaeas fugiant examina taxos. 
 
 It does not appear from other wri- 
 ters, that Corsica abounded in yews : 
 but the honey of that island was 
 infamous for its evil qualities. 
 
 Neve rubentes ure foco cancros.] 
 It is well known that crabs, lob- 
 sters, &c. are turned red by the fire. 
 It was customary among the Ro- 
 mans to burn crabs to ashes, which 
 were esteemed a good remedy for 
 burns and scalds. 
 
S50 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 crabs in the fire: nor trast 
 them near a deep fen, or 
 where there is a strong smell 
 of mud, or where the hollow 
 rocks resound, and return the 
 image of your voice. More- 
 over, when the golden sun 
 has driven the winter under 
 ground, and has opened the 
 heavens with summer lisjlit; 
 they immediately wander 
 over the lawns and groves, 
 and crop the purple flowers, 
 and lightly skim the rivers. 
 Hence dtlighted with I know 
 not what sweetness, they che- 
 rish their offspring and young 
 brood. Hence they artfully 
 build new wax, and form the 
 clammy honey. Hence when 
 you shall see a swarm issuing 
 from their cells fly aloft in 
 the clear air, and like a dark 
 cloud be driven bv the wind; 
 observe them. They always 
 seek the sweet waters and 
 leafy 
 
 Ure foco cancros, altae neu crede paludi ; 
 Aut ubi odor cceni gravis, aut ubi concava pulsu 
 Saxa sonant, vocisque ofFensa resultat imago. 50 
 Quod superest, ubi pulsam hyemem sol aureus 
 
 egit 
 Sub terras, caelumque aestiva luce reclusit ; 
 Illae continuo saltus sylvasque peragrant, 
 Purpureosque metunt flores, et flumina libant 
 Summa leves. Hinc nescio qua dulcedine 
 
 laetae 55 
 
 Progeniem nidosque fovent : hinc arte recentes 
 Excudunt ceras, et mella tenacia fingunt. 
 Hinc ubi jam emissum caveis ad sidera caeli 
 Nare per sestatem liquidam suspexeris agmen, 
 Obscuramque trahi vento mirabere nubem ; 60 
 Contemplator : aquas dulces et frondea semper 
 
 48. Alice neu crede paludi.'] In 
 fens there are no stones for the 
 bees to rest upon : hence it appears 
 that such places must be very dan- 
 gerous to these insects. 
 
 49. Ubi odor cceni gravis.'] Ill 
 smells are esteemed very pernicious 
 to bees : and none can be more 
 offensive than that of stinking mud. 
 
 50. Vocisque.'] In the old Nuren- 
 berg edition it is vocique. 
 
 51. Quod superest, &c.] This 
 passage relates to the swarming of 
 bees, and tiie manner of making 
 them settle. 
 
 Ubi pulsam hyemew, &c.] The 
 time of the bees going abroad ac- 
 cording to Higinius, as he is quoted 
 by Columella, is after the vernal 
 equinox: ''Nam ab aequinoctio 
 " verno sine cunctatione, jam pas- 
 '^ simvagantur, etidoneosad foetum 
 '^ decerpunt flores." Therefore by 
 winter's being driven away, and the 
 heavens being opened by summer 
 light, we must understand the Poet 
 
 to mean that time, when the spring 
 is so far advanced, that the bees are 
 no longer in danger from cold 
 weather. 
 
 53. Continuo.] See the note on 
 book iii. ver. 75. 
 
 Peragrant.'] It is pererrant in 
 the old Paris edition in quarto, 
 printed in I49S. 
 
 Purpureas Jlores.] I have already 
 observed, that purple is frequently 
 used by the Poets to express any 
 gay bright colour. 
 
 55. Nescio qua dulcedine latcB,] 
 Thus in the first Georgick: 
 
 Nescio qua praeter solitum dulcedine 
 laetae. 
 
 57' Fingunt.] Servius, La Cerda, 
 and many of the old editors, read 
 Jigunt. The same reading is in one 
 of Dr. Mead's manuscripts. 
 
 58. Hinc] It is hie in the King's 
 manuscript. 
 
 59. jEstatem.] It is cestivam in 
 the King's manuscript. 
 
GEORG. LIB. IV. 
 
 351 
 
 Tecta petunt : hue tu jussos adsperge sapores, 
 
 shades; here take care to scat- 
 ter such odours as are di- 
 _- . Tin , • .1 • 1-1 reeled; bruised baiiin, and the 
 
 Irita melispnylla, et cerinthae ignobile gramen vulgar herb o» honey won. 
 
 63. Melisphylla.'] Servius, the old 
 Nurenberg edition, Paul Stephens, 
 La Cerda, and others read meliphylla, 
 which reading I find also in the 
 King's manuscript. But in all the 
 other manuscripts which I have 
 collated, and in most of the printed 
 editions, it is melisphylla. 
 
 Melisphyllon seems to be a con- 
 traction of melissophyllon, by which 
 name we find the plant described 
 by Dioscorides, who says also, that 
 some call it melittcena. He says it 
 is so called because the bees delight 
 in this herb : it has stalks and 
 leaves like black horehound, only 
 they are bigger and narrower, not 
 so rough, and smelling like the 
 citron ; MsA<5-o-<5<PfAAov, 'o 'inoi ^sA/r- 
 rectvccv KetXov(Ti, 2ioi rl '/]^i(r6xi Tyj Tcooe, 
 Tcig f^sXiTTetg. EoiKi oi ecvTiig ret (^yAAat 
 fceti TO, y,ccv}\.lu, t»] T^oii^vif/Avyi (iotXhuTvi, 
 fnil^ova dl recvra, kxi XiTrron^a, ovx. cvtu 
 "^otf/ix, ot^ovToi. ^l KiT^of/.tixn. This de- 
 scription agrees very well with the 
 Melissa or Baum, which is a com- 
 mon herb in the English gardens. 
 Varro informs us, that the Latin 
 name for this plant is apiastriim : 
 *' Hos circum vjllam totam alvea- 
 *' rium fecisse, et hortum habuisse, 
 " ac reliquum thymo, et cythiso 
 '' obsevisse, et apiastro, quod alii 
 *' f*i>^t(pvXXov, alii f^s>,ia-(roipvXXcv , qui- 
 '' dam fiiXivov appellant." Colu- 
 mella however speaks of apiastrum 
 and meliphyllum, as of two different 
 herbs : " Sunt qui per initia veris 
 " apiastrum atque, ut ille vates ait, 
 '' trita meliphylla et cserinthae ig- 
 *' nobile gramen aliasque colligant 
 " similes herbas, quibus id genus 
 '^ animalium delectatur, et ita alvos 
 " perfricent, ut odor et succus vasi 
 '' inhaereat," Palladius seems to 
 make citreago the same with metis - 
 
 sophyllon, for under the title of 
 April he mentions citreago as an 
 herb in which bees delight : *' Vasa 
 *' autem, quibus recipiuntur, per- 
 ** fricanda sunt citreagine, vel her- 
 " bis suavibus, et conspergenda im- 
 *' bre mellis exigui." And under 
 the title of June, he seems to men- 
 tion melissophyllon for much the 
 same purpose : " Ubi globos apium 
 " frequentiores videris, uncta manu 
 '' succo melissophylli, vel apii reges 
 " requiras." Perhaps instead of apii 
 we should read apiastri, and then 
 he will agree with Columella, in 
 making melissophyllon and apiastrum 
 different. It is not improbable 
 however that he meant baum by 
 citreago, for, according to Mat- 
 thiolus, the Italians call that plant 
 cedronella, and according to Cae- 
 salpinus citronella, from the affinity 
 between the smell of it, and that 
 of a citron. Pliny also has been 
 cited in contradiction to Varro, as 
 making a distinction between apias- 
 trum and melissophyllon, because he 
 mentions them both in the twelfth 
 chapter of the twenty-first book : 
 " Harum ergo causa oportet serere 
 '* thymum, apiastrum, rosam^ vio- 
 '^ las, lilium, cytisum, fabam, ervi- 
 " Hum, cunilam, papaver, conyzam, 
 " casiam, melilotum, melissophyl- 
 " lum, cerinthen." But it may be 
 observed, that Pliny more than 
 once has mentioned the same plant 
 under different names, one Greek, 
 and the other Latin. For as his 
 work was a compilation, he some- 
 times sets down what the Greek 
 authors have said under the Greek 
 name, and the account given by 
 the Latin authors under the Latin 
 name, though they are one and the 
 same plant. But with regard to 
 
352 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 t^e'^cymrait^fcJfckJoS Tinnitusquc cie, et Matris quate cymbala cir- 
 
 about. _ 
 
 cum. 64 
 
 the plant now under consideration, 
 he plainly enough shews in other 
 passages, that melissophyllon and 
 apiastrum are the same. In the 
 eleventh chapter of the twentieth 
 book, he tells us that, according to 
 Hyginus, apiastrum and melisso- 
 phyllon are the ''ame: '' Apiastrum 
 '' Hyginus quidem melissophyllon 
 '^ appellat;" and in the ninth chap- 
 ter of the twenty-first book he says 
 expressly, that the Latin name of 
 melissophyllon is apiastrum : " Me- 
 " lissophyllon, quod Apiastrum^ 
 '' meliloton, quod sertulam Campa- 
 *' nam vocamus." I do not remem- 
 ber that apiastrum occurs any where 
 in this author, except in the pas- 
 sages just now quoted. We may 
 conclude from what has been said, 
 that apiastrum was a name which 
 the Romans had formed in imitation 
 of fts?\.ia-c-o(pvX?iov, both names sig- 
 nifying the bee-herb. May has 
 translated it millfoile, which is the 
 English name of millefolium or 
 yarrow; but this cannot be the 
 plant intended. Addison also trans- 
 lates it milfoil. Dryden has used a 
 word which I have not seen else- 
 where, melfoil; but it is a very just 
 translation of fiiXi<pvX>.ov. Dr. Trapp 
 has rightly rendered it baum. 
 
 Cerinth(B ignobile gra7nen.'] The 
 name of this plant is derived from 
 KYi^iov, a honey-comb, because the 
 flower abounds with a sweet juice, 
 like honey. La Cerda says we may 
 see how this herb delights the bees, 
 in Aristotle, lib. 9, Hist. But what 
 the philosopher has there said does 
 not appear to me to be concerning 
 the plant cerinthe, but to relate to 
 the erithace, spoken of already in 
 the note on ver. 38. He says they 
 have, besides their honey, another 
 
 sort of food which some call cerin- 
 thum, which is not so good, and 
 has a sweetness like that of a fig : 
 
 "Ea-ri §S ecvrctiq Koct ecXXl) r^o^it, ^* ««- 
 Xova-i rtvsg Jt^go^ey j gVr; ^6 rovTO vrrohti- 
 a-Ti^ov, Kut yXvKvri/iTC6 o-vKa^n 'i%ot. Now 
 Pliny assures us that the cerinthum, 
 which he says is also called sanda- 
 raca, is the same with the erithace; 
 " Praeter haec convehitur erithace, 
 *' quam aliqui sandaracam, alii ce- 
 " rinthum vocant." Aristotle also 
 mentions sandaraca in such a man- 
 ner, that we may imagine it to be the 
 same with that which he had before 
 spoken of under the name of cerin- 
 thum : for he says it is a substance 
 approaching in hardness to wax, 
 and serves the bees ^or food : Tgo(pji 
 ^l ^^mreu fcsXirt kou 6i^ovi kxi yju^ 
 fAUfo;. Tihtreu ^\ Kett ecXXiif r^c^ni Ifc- 
 <Pi^ rS x)}g« r*iv a-KXn^oT:]TX, 7}f evofid- 
 Zfiva-i ttvig <rxt2x^etKnv. Thus we see 
 that the cerinthum or sandaraca of 
 Aristotle is not the name of an 
 herb, as La Cerda and others have 
 imagined j but of a substance col- 
 lected by the bees, to serve them 
 for sustenance. Cerinthe however 
 is certainly the name of an herb, 
 which grows common in Italy, 
 whence the Poet calls it ignobile 
 gramen. Theophrastus says no 
 more of it, than that it flowers in 
 summer. Dioscorides does not 
 mention it. But Pliny has given 
 us a description of it. He says it 
 is a cubit high, its leaf white and 
 bending, its head hollow, and 
 abounding with a juice like honey; 
 and the bees are fond of its flower: 
 " Est autem cerinthe folio candido, 
 '' incurvo, cubitalis, capite concavo, 
 ** mellis succum habente. Horum 
 '* floris avidissimae sunt." There 
 are several species of cerinthe de- 
 
GEORG. LIB. IV. 
 
 357 
 
 Ire iter, aut castris audebit vellere signa. 
 
 Invitent croceis halantes floribus horti, 
 
 Et custos furum atque avium cum falce sa- 
 
 ligna 110 
 
 Hellespontiaci serve t tutela Priapi. 
 Ipse thymum pinosque ferens de montibus altis 
 Tecta serat late circum, cui talia curae ; 
 Ipse labore manum duro terat ; ipse feraces 
 Figat humo plantas, et amicos irriget imbres. 115 
 Atque equidem, extreme ni jam sub fine la- 
 
 borum 
 
 jonrnej', or move the standard 
 from the camp. Let gardens 
 breathing with safiron flowers 
 invite them, and let the de- 
 fence of Ilellespontiac Pri- 
 apus, the guard of thieves and 
 birds with his wooden sword 
 
 E reserve them. Let him who 
 as the care of bees bring 
 thyme and pines from the 
 lofty mountains, and make 
 large plantations of them 
 round the hives: let him 
 harden his hand with labour, 
 let him plant fruitful trees in 
 theground,and bestow friendly 
 showers upon them. And 
 now indeed, were I not just 
 striking sail toward the end of 
 my labours, 
 
 lation of the passage under con- 
 sideration is very singular j 
 
 The task is easy : but to clip the wings 
 Of their high-flying arbitrary kings : 
 At their command the people swarm 
 
 away, 
 Confine the tyrant, and the slaves will 
 
 stay. 
 
 108. Vellere signa^ In one of 
 Dr. Mead's manuscripts it is tollere : 
 but vellere signa was used by the 
 Romans, to express the moving of 
 their camp. For when they pitched 
 their camp they struck their ensigns 
 into the ground before the general's 
 tent; and plucked them up, when 
 they decamped. Thus in the ele- 
 venth Mne'id : 
 
 Ubi primum vellere signa 
 
 Annuerint superi, pubemque educere 
 castris. 
 
 109. Croceis halantes floribus hor- 
 ti.'] Saffron flowers seem to be put 
 here for odorous flowers in general. 
 
 In one of the Arundelian manu- 
 scripts there is olentes instead of 
 halantes. 
 
 111. Hellespontiaci servet tutela 
 Priapi."] The Poet does not mean 
 that a statue of Priapus should be 
 set up to defend the bees: but that 
 they should be invited by such gar- 
 dens, as may deserve to be under 
 the protection of that deity. 
 
 Priapus was worshipped princi- 
 pally at Lampsacum, a city on the 
 Hellespont. 
 
 112. Thymum^ The thyme of 
 the ancients is not our common 
 thyme, but the thymus capitatus, 
 qui Dioscoridis C. B. which now 
 grows in great plenty upon the 
 mountains in Greece. The Attic 
 honey was accounted the best, be- 
 cause of the excellence of this sort 
 of thyme, which grows about 
 Athens. Thus our Poet : 
 
 Cecropiumque thymum. 
 
 That also of Sicily was very fa- 
 mous, to which Virgil also alludes 
 in the seventh Eclogue : 
 
 Nerine Galatea thyme mihi dulcior Hy- 
 blae. 
 
 This sort of thyme has a most 
 fragrant smell and agreeable taste j 
 whence the Poet justly ascribes the 
 fragrance of honey to this plant : 
 
 Redolentque thyme fragrantia 
 
 mella. 
 
 It is known among us under the 
 name of the true thyme of the an- 
 cients, 
 
 Ferens.] In the King's manu- 
 script it is/ere5. 
 
 116. Atque equidem extremo, Sic] 
 
358 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 and hastening to turn my 
 prow to the shore, perhaps I 
 might sing what care was 
 required to cultivate rich gar- 
 dens, and the roses of twice 
 fertile Paestum: and how 
 endive, and banks green with 
 celery, delight in drinking the 
 rills, 
 
 Vela traham, et terris festinem advertere pro- 
 ram; 
 Forsitan et pingues hortos quae cura colendi 
 Ornaret, canerem, biferique rosaria Paesti ; 
 Quoque modo potis gauderent intuba rivis, 120 
 
 The Poet having mentioned the 
 advantage of gardens with respect 
 to bees, takes occasion to speak of 
 them cursorily ; but in such beau- 
 tiful terms, that every reader must 
 wish that Virgil had expatiated on 
 this subject. 
 
 117. Vela traham, &c.] A meta- 
 phor taken from sailing, as in the 
 first Georgickj 
 
 Ades et primi lege littoris oram : 
 
 And 
 
 — — pelagoque volans da vela patenti. 
 
 118. Pingues hortos.'] It will not 
 perhaps be disagreeable to the 
 reader, if in this place I make some 
 little enquiry into the gardens of 
 the ancients. Those of the Hes- 
 perides, those of Adonis, Alcinous, 
 Semiramis, and Cyrus, have been 
 celebrated with large praises. We 
 may easily apprehend, what sort of 
 gardens the most magnificent ones 
 of ancient Greece were, by the de- 
 scription which Homer has left us 
 of that of Alcinous. The whole 
 garden was of no larger extent 
 than four acres: and yet it is called 
 by Homer a large garden or or- 
 chard : 
 
 'EKVoirhv V avXris fciyas o^^^arog oiy^t 
 Tir^ayvos. 
 
 Our English word orchard, or per- 
 haps rather, as Milton writes it, 
 orchat, seems to be derived from 
 the Greek word o^^'^rog, which 
 Homer here uses to express the 
 garden cf Alcinous ; and indeed it 
 
 seems rather to have been an or- 
 chard than what we call a garden. 
 It consisted of pears, apples, pome- 
 granates, figs, olives, and vines. 
 Round these were beds of herbs 
 and flowers, and the whole was 
 fenced in with a hedge. The gar- 
 den which Laertes cultivated with 
 his own royal hands, seems to 
 have been much of the same sort. 
 The Romans seem to have pro- 
 ceeded much farther in their taste 
 of gardening in Virgil's time. We 
 here find not only fruit-trees, and 
 roses, lilies, and daflfodils, with 
 some pot-herbs ; but also rows of 
 elms and planes for shade. Colu- 
 mella speaks of inclosing thena 
 with walls as well as with hedges : 
 and a few years afterwards, we find 
 them arrived to a degree of magni- 
 ficence, equal to the finest modern 
 gardens : as the reader may see in 
 the fifth book of the Epistles of the 
 younger Pliny. 
 
 119. Biferique rosaria Pcesii.'] 
 " Paestum is a town of Calabria, 
 " where the roses blow twice in a 
 " year." Servius. 
 
 120. Quoque modo potis gauderent 
 iniiiba rivis.] Pierius says this verse 
 is read differently in the Lombard 
 manuscript: 
 
 Quoque modo positis gauderent intyba 
 fibris. 
 
 The plant which Virgil means in 
 this place is endive, that being the 
 name of the garden Ǥ<?, whereas 
 the wild sort is our succory. See 
 the note on book i. ver. 120. 
 
GEORG. LIB. IV. 
 
 359 
 
 Et virides apio ripae, tortusque per herbam 
 Cresceret in ventrem cucumis : nee sera coman- 
 tem 
 
 and how the cucumber creep- 
 ing along the gras8 swells into 
 a belly : 
 
 nor would I have 
 
 121. Virides apio ripce.'] Apium 
 is allowed by all to be the Latin 
 name for what the Greeks called 
 aixmv. Theophrastus speaks of se- 
 veral sorts : the a-ixmv ifAi^ov, which 
 is generally thought to be our com- 
 mon parsley ; the h-^rotnXmv, which 
 seems to be what we call Alexan- 
 ders ; the IxuocrzXtvov, which is what 
 we call smallage -, and the hgioa-ixmv, 
 or mountain parsley. Virgil is ge- 
 nerally thought by apium to mean 
 the first sort, that being principally 
 cultivated in gardens. But I ra- 
 ther believe he means the smallage, 
 of which an agreeable sort has been 
 brought from Italy under the name 
 of celeri, and is now cultivated al- 
 most every where. The smallage 
 or celeri delights in the banks of 
 rivulets, and therefore our Poet says 
 virides apio ripce, and potis gaude- 
 rent rivis. Columella must also 
 mean the same herb under the name 
 ofapiunij without any epithet, when 
 he says it delights in. water, and 
 should be placed near a spring : 
 *' Apium quoque possis plantis se- 
 " rere, nee minus semine, sed prae- 
 " cipue aqua laetatur, et ideo secun- 
 " dum fontem commodissime poni- 
 '' tur." Apium is thought to be 
 derived from apes, because bees are 
 fond of that plant. 
 
 Tortusque per herbam cresceret in 
 ventrem cucumis.^ In the King*s 
 manuscript, and in the old Paris 
 edition, printed in 1494, it is herbas, 
 instead of herbam. 
 
 The Poet gives a beautiful de- 
 scription of the cucumber in a few 
 words. The winding of the stalk 
 along the ground, and the swelling 
 of the fruit, excellently distinguish 
 these plants. 
 
 122. Sera comantem narcissum.'] 
 Sera is here put adverbially, which 
 is frequent in Virgil. Pierius how- 
 ever found sera in the Lombard 
 and Medicean manuscripts : I find 
 the same reading in the King's, the 
 Bodleian, and in one of Dr. Mead's 
 manuscripts. 
 
 We have no reason to doubt, but 
 that the narcissus of the ancients is 
 some species of that which we now 
 call narcissus or daffodil. Theo- 
 phrastus says it has its leaves spread 
 on the ground like the asphodel, 
 but broader, like those of lilies : its 
 stalk is void of leaves, and bears 
 at the top a herbaceous flower, and 
 a large dark coloured fruit inclosed 
 in a membranaceous vessel of an 
 oblong figure. This fruit falling 
 down sprouts spontaneously, though 
 some gather it for sowing. The 
 roots also are planted, which are 
 large, round, and fleshy. It flowers 
 very late after the rising of Arctu- 
 rns, and about the vernal equinox ; 
 di Nd^xio-a-og, « to Xg/g<oV oi (aIv yu^ 
 
 TOVTO, 61 ^' iKiTvO KXXoVTl. TO fAiV i-rt T^ 
 
 Ti TToT^v, icoc6u.7n^ Ji xg;»«wo6. rev ^s 
 xetvXh u^vXXov f*lv, 'TFoas^n ^8, ««»/ ^l 
 UK^ov TO a.v6o(;' Kett h vfAZVi rivt kxScctts^ 
 ev uyyileo KctpTrhv f^iyetv iv tcetXx Koii (Al- 
 y^ecvoc rvj X^oiS, tr^^fisiTi oi TT^o^iiKti, 
 ovrog ^' hcTTiTFTm Traiii ^xdcrrv^a-tv atvro- 
 (Aotrov, ov f*lv uX)\cc xxt <rvXMyovrs§ 
 TTviyvvova-i , koc] rliv pi^otv (pvT6Vovcriv. ij(fit 
 pt^civ tyet^xai^vi, ^-goyyvAijv, jKgyasAjjv. o^^iov 
 di ff-^id^ec. fisrei yu^ 'A^ktcv^ov k»vh<ri?f 
 icxt TFt^t ttm^i^tecv. Discorides says 
 it has leaves like those of the leek, 
 but smaller and narrower : the stalk 
 is hollow, without leaves, above a 
 span high, supporting a white 
 flower, which is yellow on the in- 
 
360 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 ?oTel7dUSdu%Mhe stiikl Narcissuni, aut flexi tacuissem vimen axjantbi, 
 
 of the bending acanthus. 
 
 side, and sometimes purple j the 
 root is white, round, and bulbous. 
 The fruit is in a membranaceous 
 vessel, dark-coloured and long. 
 The best sort grows in mountainous 
 places, of a good smell, the others 
 have a smell of leeks: NagK«r(r6$* 
 giioi x.eti Tovro a^ yri^t rh tc^lvov Mi^iov 
 SKxXia-ecv. rci f^tv (pbhXx ^rgoio-a iotKV 
 Xsjrrec, di kcci ftiK^on^x kxto, ttcXv, xxt 
 
 O-Tl^XfMii. \(P' OV «iv^O? XiVKOV. 6(r6ihf dl 
 
 (pifiTXt xdXXKTToq h o^etvoT^ tottcis, iva- 
 ^nii ^e XotTTCi TT^xa-i^u. Pliny says 
 the narcissus is a sort of purple 
 lily, with a white flower, and a 
 purple cup : it differs from lilies, in 
 that its leaves come from the root : 
 the best sort grows in the moun- 
 tains of Lycia. There is another 
 sort with a herbaceous cup. All 
 of them flower late ; namely, after 
 the rising of Arcturus, and about 
 the autumnal equinox : *' Sunt et 
 " purpurea lilia, aliquando gemino 
 " caule, carnosiore tantum radice, 
 *^ majorisquebulbi,sedunius. Nar- 
 " cissum vocant hujus alterum ge- 
 " nus flore candido, calyce purpu- 
 " reo. Differentia a liliis est et 
 " haec, quod narcissis folia in radice 
 " sunt, probatissimis in Lyciae mon- 
 " tibus. Tertio generi caetera ea- 
 •' dem, calyx herbaceus. Omnes 
 " serotini. Post Arcturum enim 
 '' fiorent, ac per aequinoctium au- 
 " tumnum." And in another place 
 he says, there are two sorts of nar- 
 cissus used in medicine ; one with 
 a purple, and the other with a her- 
 baceous flower : '^ Narcissi duo ge- 
 " nera in usu Medici recipiunt, 
 " unum purpureo flore, et alterum 
 '' herbaceura." From what these 
 ancient authors have said, we may 
 
 gather a pretty good description of 
 their narcissus. The roots are large, 
 round, and fleshy, according to 
 Theophrastus ; white, round, and 
 bulbous, according to Dioscorides. 
 They all agree, that the leaves pro- 
 ceed from the root, and that the 
 stalk is naked. According to Theo- 
 phrastus, the leaves are like those 
 of Asphodel ; according to Dios- 
 corides, like those of leeks, but 
 smaller and narrower, in which they 
 agree very well. The flower, ac- 
 cording to Theophrastus, is green- 
 ish, according to Dioscorides white, 
 and either yellow or purple within ; 
 according to Pliny, it is white, with 
 either a purple or greenish cup. 
 What Dioscorides calls the inside, 
 is what Pliny calls the cup ; for the 
 flowers of the daffodil form a cup 
 in the middle, which is sometimes 
 different, sometimes of the same 
 colour with the rest of the flower. 
 The fruit, according to both the 
 Greek authors, is membranaceous, 
 long, and of a dark colour. Hence 
 we may be sure, that some species 
 of our daffodil is the narcissus of 
 the ancients : and probably the nar- 
 cissus albus circulo purpureo C. B. 
 and the narcissus albus circulo era- 
 ceo minor C. B. may be the two 
 sorts. The last of these seems to 
 be the flower, into which the youth 
 Narcissus was changed, according 
 to Ovid : 
 
 Croceum pro corpore florem 
 
 Inveniunt, foliis medium cingentibus 
 albis. 
 
 There seems to be but one difficulty 
 attending this determination : the 
 species of daffodil known among us 
 flower early in the spring, and sel- 
 dom later than in May; whereas 
 Theophrastus, Virgil, and Pliny, 
 place their season in September. 
 
GEORG. LIB. IV. 
 
 361 
 
 Pallentesque hederas, et amantes littora myrtos. 
 
 or llie pale ivy, or llie rpyrtles 
 that love the shores. 
 
 But to this it may be answered, 
 that in Greece, these flowers may 
 appear much later in the year. Bus- 
 bequius says he was presented with 
 daffodils near Constantinople in 
 December ; and that Greece 
 abounds with hyacinths and daffo- 
 dils of a wonderful fragrance : 
 " Unum diem Hadrianopoli com- 
 *' morati progredimur Constantino- 
 " polim versus jam propinquam, 
 " veluti extremum nostri itineris 
 " actum eonfecturi. Per haec ioca 
 " transeuntibus ingens ubique flo- 
 " rum copia offerebatur, Narcisso- 
 *•' rum, Hyacinthorum et eorum 
 " quas Turcae Tulipam vocant : 
 ^' non sine magna admiratione nos- 
 " tra, propter anni tempus, media 
 " plane hieme, floribus aiinime 
 '' amicum. Narcissis et Hyacinthis 
 " abundat Graecia miro fragrantibus 
 *' odore." Tournefort found the 
 yellow daffodil common on the 
 banks of the Granicus, in Decem- 
 ber, and another sort about the 
 same time, near Ephesus. 
 
 123. Flexi vimen acanthi.^ I have 
 already mentioned the acanthus, in 
 the note on book ii. ver. II9. It 
 has been there observed that there 
 are two sorts of acanthus : one an 
 Egyptian tree, and the other a gar- 
 den herb, which the Poet means in 
 this place. The acanthus of Theo- 
 phrastus is the Egyptian tree, of 
 which we have spoken already. 
 The herb acanthus is described by 
 Dioscorides. He says the leaves 
 are much longer and broader than 
 those of lettuce, divided like rocket, 
 blackish, fat, and smooth: the stalk 
 is two cubits high, of the thickness 
 of one's finger, smooth, encom- 
 passed near the top at certain dis- 
 tances with long, prickly leaves, 
 out of which proceeds a white 
 flower : the seed is long and yellow : 
 
 the roots arc long, mucous, red, and 
 jOrlufinous : "AxtivGw « i^7rclKxv6cc' 01 
 
 TTOXP^S KXt f^OlKpOTi^CC 6^tOXX.0rj ir^lT- 
 
 f/iioc ooq la rov iv^cof^ov, VTrofAiXxvoc, Xt- 
 TTSi^ai, Xi7x' kxvXqv mIov, dlTT/i^VV, -z-ct- 
 Y/>^ 2cixTvX6v Ik 2iX(rrYi^u,UT6jy tt^o^ tJi xo- 
 gy(p}j -TTi^niX'/tf.iuivov <pvX>6t^ieig TiTtv, 
 otovii KtTTotpioig, vTrofit^Kia-iv y UKXv6aot<riy' 
 l| cov TO uidog TT^mrxi XtvKOv cnrkg^^ce, 
 VTTOfZYiKig, fiK}iivov. 6v^(roiioi)5 ^£ ^ M- 
 
 ^g<j, ifATTv^oi, fixK^xl. The acantha 
 of Dioscorides is generally allowed 
 to be that plant which is cultivated 
 in gardens, under the name of 
 acanthus sativus or hrank-ursine. 
 Most botanists also are of opinion, 
 that it is the acanthus of Virgil : 
 but the chief difficulty is, to shew 
 the reason, why he calls it flexi vi- 
 men acanthi. These words seem to 
 express a twining plant. I believe 
 we must entirely depend upon a 
 passage of Vitruvius, for the solu- 
 tion of this difficulty. This famous 
 author tells us, that a basket co- 
 vered with a tile having been acci- 
 dentally placed on the ground over 
 a root of acanthus, the stalks and 
 leaves burst forth in the spring, 
 and spreading themselves on the 
 outside of the basket, were bent 
 back again at the top, by the cor- 
 ners of the tile. Callimachus, a fa- 
 mous architect, happening to pass 
 by, was delighted with the novelty 
 and beauty of this appearance, and 
 being to make some pillars at Co- 
 rinth, imitated the form of this 
 basket surrounded with acanthus, 
 in the capitals. It is certain that 
 there cannot be a more lively image 
 of the capital of a Corinthian pillar, 
 than a basket covered with a tile, 
 and surrounded bv leaves of brack- 
 3 a 
 
362 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 For I remember that under 
 the lofty towers of (Ebalia, 
 where black Galesus moistens 
 the yellow fields, I saw an old 
 Corycian who had a few 
 
 Namque subCEbaliaememinime turribusaltis 125 
 Qua niger humectat flaventia culta Galesus 
 Corycium vidisse senem : cui pauca relicti 
 
 ursine, bending outward at the top. 
 To this "Virgil may allude in the 
 words now under consideration. 
 But then we must not translate 
 them with Dryden, 
 
 The winding trail 
 
 Of bear's foot, 
 
 for it is by no means a trailing 
 plant. 
 
 124. Pnllentesque hederas7\ In 
 some of the old editions it is pallen- 
 tes without que. See the note on 
 book ii. ver. 258. 
 
 Amantes littora myrtos.'] Myrtles 
 delight in growing near the sea- 
 shore. Thus in the second Geor- 
 gick: 
 
 Littora myrtetis laetissima. 
 
 125. (Ebalice.'] " (Ebalia is La- 
 " conia, whence Castor and Pollux 
 '' are called by Statins (Ebalidoe 
 '^ Fratres." Servius. 
 
 The Poet means Tarentum by the 
 lofty towers of (Ebalia, because a 
 colony from Laconia, under the con- 
 duct of Phalantus,cameto Calabria 
 and augmented the city of Taren- 
 tum. 
 
 19,6. Niger.'] Schrevelius, follow- 
 ing Erythraeus, reads piger. 
 
 Galesus,] Galesus is a river of Ca- 
 labria, which flows near Tarentum. 
 
 127. Corycium.] Some think that 
 Corycius is the name of the old man 
 here spoken of. But it seems more 
 probable, that it is the name of his 
 country : for Corycus is the name 
 of a mountain and city of Cilicia. 
 Pompey had made war on the Ci- 
 licians, of which people some being 
 received into friendship, were 
 brought by him, and planted in 
 Calabria, about Tarentum. Virgil's 
 
 old man may therefore reasonably 
 be supposed to be one of Pompey's 
 Cilicians, who had these few acres 
 given him near Tarentum, and per- 
 haps improved the culture of gar- 
 dens in Italy, from the knowledge 
 he had obtained in his own country. 
 127. Relicti.] Servius interprets 
 this word forsaken and contemptible ^ 
 which interpretation he confirms by 
 observing that no land could be 
 more contemptible, than that which 
 is fit neither for wines, corn, nor 
 pasture. Thus also Grimoaldus 
 paraphrases it, '^ cui rus erat par- 
 '' vum atque desertum." La Cerda 
 contends that it means hereditary, 
 observing that relinquere is a word 
 used in making wills, and confirms 
 this interpretation by a passage in 
 Varro, which he thinks the Poet 
 here designs to imitate. That au- 
 thor speaking of two brothers, who 
 had a small farm left them by their 
 father, uses the word relicta. Ruaeus 
 however renders it deserti. May 
 also follows Servuus: 
 
 Few akers of neglected ground undrest. 
 
 Addison also translates it, 
 
 A few Jiegkcted acres. 
 
 Dryden is of the same opinion, 
 Lord of few acres, and those barren too. 
 
 Dr. Trapp follows La Cerda, 
 A few hereditary acres : 
 
 " Left him," says he, '' by his rela- 
 '* tions. This adds much to the 
 '^ grace of the narrative. The little 
 '' land he had, and which he so 
 '' improved, was his own : he paid 
 '^ no rent for it." This interpreta- 
 
GEORG. LIB. IV. 
 
 sm 
 
 Jugera ruris erant ; nee fertilis ilia juvencis. 
 
 acres of forsaken ground ; nor 
 
 was his land rich enough for 
 
 . J the plough, nor good for pas- 
 
 Nec pecori opportuna seges> nee commoda ture, jn^o'"^,i|r'jp^^r 'or wines 
 
 Baecho. 
 Hie rarum tamen in dumis olus, albaque eir- 
 
 eum 130 
 
 Yet he plantnig a few pot- 
 herbs among the bushes, and 
 white 
 
 tion has its beauty, but I believe 
 it is not Virgil's meaning. The old 
 Corycian, being one of the Cilicians 
 settled in Calabria by Pompey, his 
 land there could not be hereditary. 
 Nor could the person here spoken 
 of be the son of one of those Cili- 
 cians, born in Calabria, because he 
 calls him an old man. Those peo- 
 ple had not been brought over 
 above forty years, when Virgil viras 
 writing his Georgicks, and not quite 
 fifty years, when the Poet died. 
 And he speaks of his seeing this 
 old man, as of a thing that had 
 passed long ago. We must there- 
 fore, with Servius, translate relicti^ 
 forsaken. The land was neither fit 
 for vineyards, corn, nor pasture, 
 and therefore the Calabrians neg- 
 lected it. But this old man knew 
 how to make use of it, by con- 
 verting it into a garden, and apiary. 
 Virgil therefore shews the Romans, 
 that a piece of land might be fit 
 neither for corn, which is the subject 
 of his first book, nor vines, of which 
 he treats in his second, nor cattle, 
 which take up the third ; and yet 
 that by the example of this foreigner, 
 they might know how to cultivate 
 it to advantage. 
 
 129. Seges.'] See the note on 
 book ii. ver. 266. 
 
 130. Hie.'] Pierius says it is hinc 
 in the Lombard manuscript. 
 
 In dumis.'] Ruaeus, and after him 
 Dr. Trapp, think in dumis is put 
 for in loco prius dumoso. 
 
 Albaque circum lilia.] The white 
 lilies are those, which were most 
 celebrated and best known among 
 the ancients. Theophrastus speaks 
 
 of red lilies only by hearsay : E'/ttej 
 
 Thus our Poet celebrates them here 
 for their whiteness, and also in the 
 twelfth ^neid : 
 
 — — Mixta rubent ubi lilia multa 
 Alba rosa. 
 
 In the tenth Eclogue he mentions 
 tlie largeness of lilies : 
 
 Florentes ferulas et grandia lilia. quas- 
 sans. 
 
 This may be meant either of the 
 flower, which is very large, or of 
 the whole plant, which, according 
 to Pliny, exceeds all other flowers 
 in tallness : " Nee ulli florum ex- 
 " celsitas major, interdum cubito- 
 " rum trium." This author has 
 given an excellent description of 
 the white lily, in the words imme- 
 diately following. He says the neck 
 is always languid, and unable to 
 sustain the weight of the body, 
 which elegantly describes the bend- 
 ing down of the flower. It is of 
 a remarkable whiteness, the leaves 
 [that is, the petals] being streaked 
 on the outside, growing gradually 
 broader from a narrow origin, in 
 form of a cup, of which the brims 
 bend outward, having slender 
 threads, and saffron summits In the 
 middle : '^ Languido semper collo, 
 " et non sufficiente capitis oneri. 
 *' Candor ejus eximius, foliis foris 
 " striatis, et ab angustiis in latitu- 
 " dinem paulatim sese laxantibus, 
 '^ effigie calathi, resupinis per am- 
 " bitum labris, tenuique filo et 
 '^ semine, stantibus in medio crocis. 
 " Ita odor colorque duplex, et alius 
 3a2 
 
su 
 
 p. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 vS and"eicaient poppiesr'" Lilia, vcrbenasque premens, vescumque papaver. 
 
 " calycis, alius staminis, diJBferentia 
 " angusta." By crocis I take this 
 author to mean the yellow apices or 
 summits ; and by tenui Jilo et sem'ine 
 perhaps he means the stile and 
 ovary. The lilies were planted by 
 the old Corycian for the sake of his 
 bees: for Pliny mentions them 
 among the flowers in which those 
 insects delight ; " Verum hortis 
 *^ coronaraentisque maxime alvearia 
 '' et apes conveniunt, res praecipui 
 '' quaestus compendiique cum favit. 
 " Harum ergo causa oportet serere 
 *' thymum, apiastrum, rosam, vio- 
 *' las, lilium." Virgil also speaks 
 of them in the sixth ^neid, as 
 being the delight of bees: 
 
 Ac veluti in pratis, ubi apes aestate 
 
 Serena 
 Floribus insidunt variis, et Candida cir- 
 
 cum 
 Lilia funduntur. 
 
 Thick as the humming bees, that hunt the 
 
 golden dew ; 
 In summer'' s heat on tops of lilies feed. 
 And creep •within their bells, to suck the 
 
 balmy seed. 
 
 Dryden. 
 
 131. Verbe?ias.'] The Verbena, 
 from whence our English name 
 Vervain is derived, was a sacred 
 herb among the Romans. We read 
 in the first book of Livy how this 
 herb was used in the most ancient 
 league, of which the memory was 
 preserved among them: that be- 
 tween TuUus Hostilius, the third 
 king of Rome, and the Albans. 
 The form was this : The Fetialis 
 said to Tullus, Do you command me, 
 O king, to strike a league with the 
 Pater patratus of the people of Alha? 
 when the King had commanded 
 him, he proceeded thus, O King, I 
 demand the Sagmina of you. The 
 King answered, Take it pure. Then 
 the Fetialis brought the pure herb 
 
 from the tower Tlie Fetialis 
 
 was M. Valerius, and he appointed 
 Sp. Fusius to be the Fater patratus, 
 touching his head and hair with the 
 Vervain : ^' Foedera alia aliis legi- 
 " bus, caeterum eodem modo omnia 
 *' fiunt. Turn ita factum accepi- 
 " mus : nee uUius vetustior foederis 
 *' memoria est. Fetialis regem 
 " TuUum ita rogavit : Jubesne me 
 '^ rex cum patre patrato populi Albani 
 " fosdus ferire P jubente rege, Sag- 
 " mina, inquit, te, rex, posco. Rex 
 " ait, Puram tollito. Fetialis ex arce 
 " graminis herbam puram attulit. 
 " . . . . Fetialis erat M. Valerius, is 
 " patrem patratum Sp. Fusium fecit, 
 '^ verbena caput capillosque tan- 
 '' gens." Pliny says expressly, that 
 by sagmina and verbena were meant 
 the same thing, namely, the herb 
 from the tower, plucked up with 
 its earth ; and that it was used by 
 the ambassadors, when they were 
 sent to reclaim any thing that had 
 been carried away by the enemies ; 
 and that one of tiiem was therefore 
 called Verbenarius : " Interim for- 
 ** tiusaugeturautoritas : quae quanta 
 *' debeatur etiam surdis, hoc est 
 " ignobilibus herbis perhibebitur. 
 " Siquidem autores imperii Romani 
 " conditoresque immensum quid- 
 '' dam et hinc sumpsere, quoniam 
 '' non aliunde sagmina in remediis 
 " publicis fuere, et in sacris legati- 
 " onibusque verbense. Certe utro- 
 '* que nomine idem significatur, hoc 
 " est, gramen ex arce cum sua terra 
 *' evulsum : ac semper et legati 
 " cum ad hostes clarigatumque mit- 
 " terentur, id est, res raptas clare 
 " repetitum, unus utique Verbena- 
 " rius vocabatur." In another place 
 he calls it Hierahotane, Feristereon, 
 and Verbenaca ,• and there adds, that 
 it was used in brushing the table of 
 Jupiter, and in purifying houses. 
 
GEORG. LIB. IV. 
 
 365 
 
 Regum aequabat opes animis ; seraque revertens 
 Nocte domum, dapibus mensas onerabat in- 
 
 emptis. 
 Primus vere rosam,atque auturano carperepoma; 
 Et cum tristis hyems etiamnum frigore saxa 135 
 Rumperet, et glacie cursus fraenaret aquarum, 
 
 equalled in \m mind the 
 ■wealth of kings : and return- 
 ing home late at night, loaded 
 his table with unboiight dain- 
 ties. He was the first to ga- 
 ther roses in the spring, and 
 fruits in autumn: aii<l when 
 sad winter even split the rocks 
 with cold, and with ice re- 
 strained the course of the ri- 
 vers. 
 
 He says there are two sorts of it, 
 one full of leaves, which is called 
 the female, and the male with 
 fewer leaves. The branches of both 
 are'many, slender, a cubit long, and 
 angular. The leaves are like those 
 of the oak, but smaller, narrower, 
 and more deeply divided. The 
 flower is glaucous. The root long 
 and slender. It grows in watery 
 places. Some do not distinguish 
 them, reckoning only one sort, be- 
 cause both of them have the same 
 effects: " Nulla taraen Romanse no- 
 " bilitatis plus habet quam Hiera- 
 *' botane. Aliqui Peristereon, nos- 
 " tri Verbenacam vocant. Haec est 
 *' quam legates ferre ad hostes in- 
 " dicavimus. Hac Jovis mensa 
 '' verritur, domus purgantur, lus- 
 " tranturque. Genera ejus duo 
 " sunt : foJiosa, quam foeminam 
 *' putant: mas rarioribusfoliis. Ra- 
 " muli utriusque plures, tenues, 
 " cubi tales, angulosi. Folia minora 
 '' quam Quercus, angustioraque, di- 
 *' visuris majoribus, flos glaucus, 
 " radix longa, tenuis. Nascitur ubi- 
 *^ que in planis aquosis. Quidam 
 *' non distinguunt, sed unum om- 
 " nino genus faciunt, quoniam utra- 
 " que eosdem efiFectus habeat." The 
 vervain was used in incantations, 
 to which the Poet alludes in the 
 eighth Eclogue : 
 
 Effer aquam, et molli cinge haec altaria 
 
 vitta : 
 Verlenasque adole pingues, et mascula 
 
 thura. 
 
 It was thought to be good against 
 serpents and venomous bites, and 
 
 was recommended as a sovereign 
 medicine for a great variety of dis- 
 eases. 
 
 131. Premens^ It has been ob- 
 served in the note on book ii. ver. 
 346. that virgulta premere properly 
 signifies the increasing of a plant 
 by layers. But here premens must 
 be understood of planting in general. 
 Dryden seems to understand it 
 bruising. 
 
 Yet lab'ring well his little spot of ground. 
 Some scatt'ring pot-herbs here and there 
 
 he found. 
 Which cultivated with his daily care, 
 And bruised with vervain, were his fru- 
 gal fare. 
 Sometimes white lilies did their leaves 
 
 afford, 
 With wholesome poppy-flowers, to mend 
 his homely board. 
 
 This whole passage is erroneously 
 translated 5 for the Poet does not 
 speak of bruising vervain, but of 
 planting it. The vervain and lilies 
 do not seem to have been planted 
 for pot-herbs, but the vervain for 
 medicinal uses, and the lilies for 
 the bees : nor were the lilies planted 
 for the sake of their leaves, but of 
 their flowers. The poppies also 
 were not planted for their flowers, 
 but for their seeds. 
 
 Vescumque papaver.'] See the 
 notes on book i. ver. 78 and 212. 
 
 135. Etiamnum.'] The common 
 reading is etiam nunc. I follow 
 Heinsius. 
 
 " In some manuscripts it is eiiam- 
 " num, which word is frequently 
 **^ used by Pliny 5 from the Greek 
 
 " ht Kett VVV." PlERIUS. 
 
366 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 in that very season he could 
 crop the soft acanthus, accus- 
 ing the slow summer, and the 
 loitering zephyrs. He there- 
 fore was the first to abound 
 with pregnant bees, and plen- 
 tiful swarms; and to squeeze 
 the frothing honey from the 
 combs: he had limes and 
 plenty of pines; and as many 
 fruits as shewed themselves 
 in early blossom, so many did 
 he gather ripe in autumn. 
 He also transplanted into rows 
 the fai^grown elms, 
 
 lUe comam mollis jam tum tondebat acanthi, 
 ^^statem increpitans seram, zephyrosque mo- 
 
 rantes. 
 Ergo apibus foetis idem atque examine multo 
 Primus abundare, et spumantia cogere pressis 140 
 Mella favis : illi tiliae, atque uberrima pinus ; 
 Quotque in flore novo pomis se fertilis arbos 
 Induerat, totidem autumno matura tenebat. 
 lUe etiam seras in versum distulit ulmos. 
 
 137. Ills comam mollis Jam tum 
 tondebat acanthi.'] " Achilles Sta- 
 '• tius observes, that this verse is 
 *' read in all the ancient manuscripts 
 " of Virgil thus : 
 
 " Ille comam mollis jam tondehat Hy- 
 " acinihi. 
 
 '' And the like number, that is, a 
 " short syllable being made long, 
 *\ after the fourth foot, is used by 
 "Virgil himself, in the sixth 
 *' Eclogue : 
 
 " MolUfultus Hyacintho: 
 
 " and by Catullus : 
 
 " Jam veniet virgo, jayn dicetur HymC' 
 " ncBUs: 
 
 "and 
 
 " Turn Thetis humanos non despexlt Hy- 
 " mencEOSt** 
 
 La Ceeda. 
 
 I have not met with this reading 
 in any of the manuscripts that I 
 have collated. Addison translates 
 this verse ; 
 
 He then would prune the tend'rest of his 
 trees. 
 
 But the acanthus here spoken of is 
 an herb, and by comam is meant 
 the leaves. The epithet mollis is 
 added, to express the softness and 
 tendertiess of these leaves. Thus 
 
 also this herb is called by Theo- 
 critos yygoj "AkccvSo?. Or it may 
 serve to distinguish this acanthus 
 from another species, which grows 
 wild, and has very prickly leaves. 
 
 139. Ergo apibus fceiis.'] The 
 Poet always takes care in his di- 
 gressions, not to forget the principal 
 subject. Therefore he mentions in 
 this place the benefits, which ac- 
 crued to the old Corycian, from this 
 extraordinary care of his garden, 
 with regard to his bees. 
 
 141. Tilios.'] Columella says 
 limes are hurtful to bees: '* At 
 " Tiliae solse ex omnibus sunt no- 
 '' centes." 
 
 Pinus.'] Columella also men- 
 tions the pine, as agreeable to bees : 
 " Post hsec frequens sit increment! 
 " majoris surculus, et rosmarinus, 
 " et utraque cythisus. Est enim 
 " sativa, et altera suae spontis, item- 
 '^ que semper virens Pinus." 
 
 144. Ille etiam, he] Most of the 
 commentators and translators seem 
 not to have rightly apprehended the 
 meaning of this passage. The Poet 
 plainly designs to express the great 
 skill of his old acquaintance, in re- 
 moving large trees. Every one of 
 the trees here mentioned has an 
 epithet added to it, to signify its 
 being well grown. The elms are 
 called seroB, that is, late, old, or far 
 grown: the pears are called hard; 
 
GEORG. LIB. IV. 
 
 367 
 
 Eduramque pyrum, et spinos jam pruna feren- fhoms'^wL "Zy^ weVe Me 
 
 t A f *° '"^'*'' P'li'^s, and the plane- 
 
 teS, I'xO t'ee when it spread a shade 
 
 ' over those who drank under 
 
 Jamque ministrantem platanum potantibus uin- "* 
 bras. 
 
 the thorns are said to be already 
 bearing plums; and the planes are 
 expressly said to be already so large, 
 as to spread a shade, sufficient to 
 cover those who sit under them. 
 May seems to have understood the 
 Poet's meaning: 
 
 He could to order old grown elms trans- 
 pose. 
 
 Old peare trees hard, and black thorne 
 bearing sloes, 
 
 The plaine tree too, that drinking shade 
 be'Jtowes. 
 
 Dr. Trapp's translation is not very 
 deficient: 
 
 He too in ranks dispos'd the late grown 
 
 elms. 
 And the hard pear-tree, and the plum 
 
 ev'n then 
 Laden with fruitage ; and the plane 
 
 which yields 
 To Bacchus' sons its hospitable shade. 
 
 But Addison has quite lost the sense 
 of his author: 
 
 In rows his elms and knotty pear-trees 
 bloom. 
 
 And thorns ennobled now to bear a 
 plum ; 
 
 And spreading plane-trees, where su- 
 pinely laid 
 
 He now enjoys the cool and quaffs be- 
 neath the shade : 
 
 And Dryden : 
 
 He knew to rank his elms in even rows ; 
 For fruit the grafted pear-tree to dispose: 
 And tame to plums the sourness of 
 
 the sloes. 
 With spreading planes he made a cool 
 
 retreat, 
 To shade good fellows from the summer's 
 
 heat. 
 
 145. Eduram.'] See the note on 
 book ii. ver. 65. 
 
 Spinos jam pruna ferentes.] " The 
 ^' plum-tree is called spinus, in the 
 '' masculine gender; for thorns 
 " [senies^ are called hce spina.'* 
 Servius. 
 
 I have translated spinos in this 
 place thorns, because the plum is 
 a thorny tree : and because our wild 
 sort, which bears the sloes, is called 
 the black thorn. 
 
 146. Platanum.] See the note 
 on book ii. ver. 70. 
 
 Umbras.'] Schrevelius, Paul Ste- 
 phens, and some others, read urn- 
 bram. Pierius found umbras in all 
 the ancient manuscripts. It is um- 
 bras in all those which I have 
 collated. 
 
 Before we leave these verses, 
 wherein the Poet speaks of trans- 
 planting great trees, it may not be 
 improper to set down what our 
 famous Evelyn has said on this 
 subject. 
 
 " A great person in Devon plant- 
 '^ ed oaks as big as twelve oxen 
 " could draw, to supply some de- 
 " feet in an avenue to one of his 
 *' houses : as the Right Honourable 
 ** the Lord Fitz-Harding, late Trea- 
 " surer of his Majesty's Household, 
 *^ assured me: who had himself 
 *' likewise practised the removing of 
 '^ great oaks by a particular address 
 " extremely ingenious, and worthy 
 " the communication. Choose a 
 *' tree as big as your thigh, remove 
 ' ' the earth from about him j cut 
 *' through all the collateral roots, 
 " till with a competent strength 
 *' you can enforce him down upon 
 '' one side, so as to come with your 
 • ' ax at the top root j cut that off, 
 " redress your tree, and so let it 
 
368 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 fin"i/1n "o^nlE'row a^Tpace", VeruHi haec ipse cquidem spatiis exclusus iniquis 
 
 I must pass over this subject, -r» , , ••.. , i t 
 
 and leave it for others to treat I'raetereo, atoue aliis Dost Hie memoranda relm- 
 
 after 
 
 quo. 
 
 '^ stand covered about with the 
 " mould you loosened from it, till 
 ^' the next year, or longer if you 
 " think good, then take it up at a 
 " fit season ; it will likely have 
 " drawn new tender roots apt to 
 " take, and sufficient for the tree, 
 " wheresoever you shall transplant 
 '^' him. Some are for laying bare 
 " the whole root, and then dividing 
 *' it into four parts, in form of a 
 *' cross, to cut away the interjacent 
 *' rootlings, leaving only the cross 
 *' and master-roots that were spared 
 " to support the tree; and then 
 '• covering the pit with fresh mould 
 *' (as above) after a year or two 
 *' when it has put forth, and fur- 
 " nished the interstices you left 
 " between the cross-roots with 
 '' plenty of new fibres and tender 
 '^ shoots, you may safely remove 
 " the tree itself, so soon as you 
 '' have loosened and reduced the 
 " four decussated roots, and short- 
 " ened the top roots ; and this ope- 
 '* ration is done without stooping 
 ''or bending the tree at all: and 
 '^ if in removing it with as much 
 '' of the clod about the new roots 
 " as possible, it would be much 
 *' better." 
 
 147. Equidem.'] In the King's 
 manuscript, and in the old Nuren- 
 berg edition, it is quidem. 
 
 Exclusus.] It is disclusus in some 
 old editions : but all the ancient 
 manuscripts have exclusus. 
 
 148. Aliisr\ Servius says the Poet 
 means here Gargilius Martialis. 
 This author is often quoted by Pal- 
 ladius ; but I do not remember that 
 he is mentioned by Columella. 
 Hence I conclude, that he did not 
 
 exist in the days of Virgil, and 
 therefore could not be particularly 
 meant by our Poet, unless he had 
 the gift of prophecy, as some have 
 imagined. Columella, in his tenth 
 book, has endeavoured to supply, 
 what Virgil has omitted, concern- 
 ing gardening. His poem begins 
 thus ; 
 
 Hortorum quoque te cultus, Sylvine, 
 
 docebo, 
 Atque ea, quse quondam spatiis exclusus 
 
 iniquis, 
 CuHi caneret leetas segetes, et munera 
 
 Bacchi, 
 Virgilius nobis post se memoranda reli- 
 
 quit. 
 
 Among the moderns, Rapin, a 
 learned Jesuit, has written a fine 
 poem on gardens, in four books. 
 He also professedly treads in the 
 footsteps of Virgil: 
 
 Vatibus ignotam nam me novus incitat 
 
 ardor 
 Ire viam, magno quss primum ostensa 
 
 Maroni, 
 Extremo cum vela trahens sub fine labo- 
 
 rum, 
 Italiae pingues hortos quae cura colendi 
 Ornaret, canere agricolis, populoque pa- 
 
 rabat. 
 Fas mihi divini tantum vestigia vatis 
 Posse sequi; summoque volans dum 
 
 tendit Olympo, 
 Sublimem aspicere, et longe observare 
 
 tuendo. 
 
 Post me memoranda.'] ''In some 
 *' manuscripts it is post hcec memo- 
 " randa : but the Lombard and 
 " some others have post commemo- 
 " randa. In the Medicean and some 
 " others it is post me memoranda, 
 " which reading seems to have been 
 " admitted byColumella." Pierius. 
 
 I find post memoranda in one of 
 
GEORG. LIB. IV. 
 
 369 
 
 Nunc age, iiaturas apibus quas Jupiter ipse 
 Addidit, expediam : pro qua mercede canoros 
 Curetum sonitus crepitantiaque aera secutae, 151 
 Dictaeo caeli regem pavere sub antro. 
 Solae communes natos, consortia tecta 
 Urbis habent, magnisque agitant sub legibus 
 aevum; 
 
 Now 1 shall proceed to shew 
 what manners Jupiter has 
 added to the bees; for what 
 reward they, following the 
 ioud sounds, and tinkling 
 brass of the Ciuetes, fed the 
 king of heaven under the 
 Dictiean den. They alone 
 have children in common, and 
 the united buildings of a city, 
 and pass their lives under 
 established laws; 
 
 the Arundelian manuscripts, post 
 hcEc memoranda in one of Dr. Mead's, 
 and po5< commemoranda in the Bod- 
 leian, and in the other Arundelian 
 and Dr.Mead's manuscripts. Ruaeus, 
 and most of the editors, has post 
 commemoranda. But it is post me 
 memoranda in the King's, and in 
 the Cambridge manuscripts, which 
 reading is admitted also by Hein- 
 sius, Paul Stephens, Masvicius, and 
 others. 
 
 149. Nunc age, &c.J Here the 
 Poet begins to speak of the polity 
 of the bees, by which all their 
 actions contribute to the public 
 good. He tells us in this passage, 
 that Jupiter bestowed this extraor- 
 dinary economical genius on the 
 bees, as a reward for the service 
 they did him, when an infant, 
 by feeding him with their honey, 
 in the cave where he was concealed 
 from the devouring jaws of his 
 father Saturn. 
 
 150. Addidit. '\ This word ex- 
 presses, that these manners did not 
 originally belong to the bees, but 
 were added by the favour of Ju- 
 piter. 
 
 Pro qua mercede,'] Servius inter- 
 prets this, /or what favour or labour. 
 La Cerda interprets mercede merit, 
 because merces and mercor are de- 
 rived from mereor. This interpre- 
 tation, he says, is the only one that 
 agrees with this passage, for the 
 Poet is speaking of the merit;, by 
 which the bees were admitted to 
 assist the Curetes in nursing Ju- 
 
 piter. But, as was just now ob- 
 served, the Poet seems rather to 
 mean, that he will speak of the 
 reward which they had for their 
 service. 
 
 Canoros Curetum sonitus crepitan- 
 tiaque cera."] According to the fable, 
 Saturn intended to have devoured 
 the infant Jupiter, to avoid which, 
 he was concealed among the Cu- 
 retes, the clangor of whose brasen 
 armour and cymbals, as they danced, 
 would drown his cries : thus Lucre- 
 tius : 
 
 Dictaeos referunt Curetas, qui Jovis iUungi 
 
 Vagitum in Creta quondam occultasse 
 feruntur. 
 
 Cum pueri circum puerum pernice cho- 
 rea 
 
 Armati in numerum pulsarent seribus 
 sera, 
 
 Ne Saturnus eum malis mandaret adep- 
 tus, 
 
 -^ternumque daret matri sub pectore 
 • vulnus. 
 
 These represent those armed priests, who 
 
 strove 
 To drown the tender cries of infant Jove ; 
 By dancing quick they made a greater 
 
 sound. 
 And 'beat their armour, as they danced 
 
 around ; 
 Lest Saturn should have found and eat the 
 
 hoy. 
 And Ops for ever mourned her prattling 
 
 joy. 
 
 Creech. 
 
 152. Bictceo suh aniro.'\ 
 
 Dicf.ce or Dictceus mons is a mountain 
 of Crete, where Jupiter was said 
 to be concealed. 
 
 154. Magnisque agitant.'] In one 
 3 B 
 
STO 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 and they alone have a country 
 of their own, and certain 
 habitations : and bein^ mind- 
 ful of the future winter, they 
 labour in summer, and iaj' up 
 what they get for the public 
 use. For some are employed 
 in getting food, and by agree- 
 ment labour in the fields: 
 some within the house lay 
 tears of daffodils, and tough 
 glue from the barks of trees, 
 for the foundations of the 
 combs; and then suspend the 
 tenacious wax: others bring 
 up the growing young, the 
 hope of the nation : others 
 work the purest honey, and 
 distend their cells with liquid 
 nectar. There are some to 
 whose lot is fallen the guard- 
 ing of the gates: and these 
 by turns consider the waters 
 and clouds of heaven, or un- 
 lade the burdens of those who 
 return, or forming a troop 
 
 Et patriam solae et certos novere penates; 155 
 Venturaeque hyemis memores, aestate laborem 
 Experiuntur, et in medium quaesita reponunt. 
 Namque aliae victu invigilant, et foedere pacto 
 Exercentur agris : pars intra septa domorum 
 Narcissi lacrymam, et lentum de cortice glu- 
 ten 160 
 Prima favis ponunt fundamina : deinde tenaces 
 Suspendunt ceras : aliae spem gentis adultos 
 Educunt foetus : aliae purissima mella 
 Stipant, et liquido distendunt nectare cellas. 
 Sunt, quibus ad portas cecidit custodia sorti: 165 
 Inque vicem speculantur aquas, et nubila casli : 
 Aut onera accipiunt venientum, aut agmine facto 
 
 of Dr. Mead's manuscripts, and in 
 some of the printed editions, it is 
 magnis agiiani, without que. 
 
 155. Et patriam sola et certos 7io- 
 vera penates.'] " In some manu- 
 '' scripts we read a patriam sola, et 
 " certos novere penates. For a is 
 " not always an interjection of la- 
 " menting, but sometimes signifies 
 *' admiration. But that a is written 
 *^' without an aspiration has been 
 *' elsewhere proved from Probus. 
 " In the Lombard manuscript, there 
 '' is no et in the second place ; but 
 " it is read Et patriam solce certos 
 " novere penates. But those who 
 " take away et here, deprive the 
 '* verse also of all its elegance." 
 
 PlERIUS. 
 
 156. Laborem.'] In one of the 
 Arundelian manuscripts it is labores. 
 
 157. In medium.] See the note 
 on book i. ver. 127. 
 
 158. Victu.] Victu is here put 
 for v'ictui. 
 
 Pacta.] In the King's manuscript 
 it is parco. 
 
 159 Intra.] In one of the Amn- 
 delian manuscripts it is inter. 
 
 Septal] In one of Dr. Mead's 
 manuscripts it is tecla. 
 
 160. Narcissi lacrymam~] I have 
 spoken of the Narcissus, in the note 
 on ver. 122. It has there been ob- 
 served that the flowers of Narcissus 
 or daffodil form a cup in the middle. 
 These cups are supposed to contain 
 the tears of the youth Narcissus, 
 who wept to death. To this Milton 
 alludes in his Lycidas j 
 
 Eici Amaranthus all his beauty shed. 
 And daffodillies fill their caps with tears. 
 To strew the laureat herse where Lycid 
 lies. 
 
 Le?itum de cortice gluten.] Pierius 
 found tectum in the Lombard and 
 some other ancient manuscripts. 
 The same reading is in the King's 
 manuscript. 
 
 165. Par las cecidit.] In one of 
 the Arundelian manuscripts it is 
 portani tendit. 
 
 167. Aut onera accipiunt, &c.] 
 
GEORG. LIB. IV. 
 
 371 
 
 Ignavum fucos pecus a praesepibiis arcent. 
 Fervet opus, redolentque thymo fragrantia mella. 
 Ac veluti, lentis Cyclopes fulmina rnassis 170 
 Cum properant, alii taurinis follibiis auras 
 Accipiunt redduntque, alii stridentia tingunt 
 -^ra lacu ; gemit impositis incudibus JEtna. 
 Illi inter sese magna vi brachia toUunt 
 In numerum, versantque tenaci forcipe fer- 
 rum. 1 75 
 
 Non aliter, si parva licet componere magnis, 
 
 drive out the drones, a slog- 
 gish race, from the hives. 
 The work glows, and the 
 fragrant honey is scented with 
 thyme. As when the Cyclops 
 hasten to form thunder-bolts 
 out of the stubborn mass ; 
 some receive the air and 
 drive it out again from bellows 
 made of bull hides: others 
 plunge the hissing brass in 
 water : -ffltna groans with the 
 weight of their anvils. They 
 lift their arms with great force 
 in tuneful order ; and turn the 
 iron with their griping tongs. 
 Just so, if I may compare 
 great things with small. 
 
 This and the two following lines 
 are repeated in the first ^neid. 
 
 168. Ignavum fucos pecus a prce- 
 sepibus arcent.^ The drones are a 
 sort of bees without stings, which 
 do not assist the others in their 
 labour. On this account it is ge- 
 nerally thought, that they are ex- 
 pelled by the labouring bees. Some 
 affirm that the drones are the 
 males, and that, after the work of 
 generation is over, they are driven 
 from the hive by these amazons. 
 
 Ruaeusrenders/Mcos, g-wes/>es; but 
 I believe guespes signify wasps. The 
 drones are called bourdons. 
 
 In one of the Arundelian manu- 
 scripts it is urgent instead of arcent. 
 
 169. Thymo^ See the note on 
 ver. 112. 
 
 Fragrantia.'] Pierius found Jia- 
 grantia in the Lombard manuscript. 
 The same reading is in both Dr. 
 Mead's manuscripts. 
 
 170. Ac veluti, &c.] The Poet 
 compares the labour of the bees to 
 that of the Cyclops, in forming 
 thunder-bolts; and then speaks of 
 the various offices which are assign- 
 ed to these political insects in their 
 republic, and the cautions which 
 they use in defending themselves 
 against rising winds. 
 
 173. ^tna.] It is antrum in one 
 of the Arundelian manuscripts. 
 
 175. In numerum.^ That is, in a 
 certain order, making a sort of har- 
 mony with the regular strokes of 
 their hammers of different weights. 
 We learn from Jamblichus, that the 
 sound of the smith's hammers 
 taught Pythagoras to invent the 
 monochord, an instrument for mea- 
 suring the quantities and propor- 
 tions of sounds geometrically. This 
 philosopher, observing that the di- 
 versity of sound was owing to the 
 size of the hammers, suspended four 
 equal strings, sustaining weights of 
 twelve, nine, eight, and six pounds. 
 Then striking alternately the strings 
 which sustained the twelve and six 
 pounds, he found that the diapason 
 or octave was formed by the pro- 
 portion of two to one. The twelve 
 and eight pound weights taught 
 him that the diapente or fifth was 
 in the proportion of three to two 3 
 and the twelve and nine pounds 
 that the diatessaron or fourth was 
 as four to three. The whole pas- 
 sage is too long to be here inserted: 
 therefore I must refer the curious 
 reader, for farther satisfaction, to the 
 twenty-sixth chapter of Jamblichus, 
 de vita Pythagorce. 
 
 176. Nan aliter, si parva licet com- 
 ponere magnis.] This comparison 
 of the bees to the labouring Cyclops, 
 has by some been thought very im- 
 
 3 b2 
 
37® 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 does an innate desire of grow- 
 ing rich prompt the Athenian 
 bees, each of them in their 
 proper office. Tlie elder have 
 the care of their towns, repair 
 the combs, and erect the ar- 
 tificial edifices. But the 
 younger return wearied home, 
 late atni^ht.with their thighs 
 laden with thyme. They feed 
 also at large on arbutes, and 
 hoary willows, and casia, and 
 glowing saffron, and fat limes, 
 and deep coloured hyacinths. 
 
 Cecropias innatus apes amor urget habendi, 
 Munere quamque suo. Grandaevis oppida ciirae, 
 Et munire favos, et dsedala fingere tecta. 
 At fessae multa referunt se nocte minores, 180 
 Crura thymo plenae ; pascuntur et arbuta passim, 
 Et glaucas salices, casiamque, (irocumque ru- 
 
 bentem, 
 Et pinguem tiliam, et ferrugineos hyacinthos. 
 
 proper as being rather ritJiculous 
 than great. But Mr. Pope is of 
 another opinion, who, in his post- 
 script to the translation of the 
 Odyssey, judiciously observes, that 
 there is a great difference between 
 the actions of irrational beings, and 
 the low actions of such as are ra- 
 tional, when they are represented 
 in a pompous style. " One may 
 '^ add, that the use of the grand style 
 " on little subjects, is not only ludi- 
 " crous, but a sort of transgression 
 " against the rules of proportion 
 ^' and mechanics : it is using a 
 " vast force to lift a feather : I be- 
 " lieve, now I am upon this head, 
 " it will be found a just observa- 
 •' tion, that the low actions of life 
 '' cannot be put into a figurative 
 " style without being ridiculous, 
 " but things natural can. Meta- 
 " phors raise the latter into dignity, 
 '' as we see in the Georgicks ; but 
 '^ throw the former into ridicule, as 
 " in the Lutrin. I think this may 
 *^ be very well accounted for -, 
 '' laughter implies censure ; inani- 
 " mate and irrational beings are 
 '* not objects of censure ; therefore 
 " these may be elevated as much 
 " as you please, and no ridicule 
 ^' follows : but when rational be- 
 ** ings are represented above their 
 " real character, it becomes ridicu- 
 *' lous in art, because it is vicious 
 '' in morality. The bees in Virgil, 
 ** would be ridiculous by having 
 
 " their actions and manners repre- 
 " sented on a level with creatures 
 " so superior as men j since it 
 '* would imply folly or pride, which 
 " are the proper objects of ridicule." 
 
 177- Cecropias P\ The Poet calls 
 the bees Cecropias, from Cecrops 
 king of Attica, where the honey 
 was famous. 
 
 178. Grandcevis oppida cures.'] 
 This passage is taken from Aris- 
 totle, who observes, that the older 
 bees work witliin doors, and thence 
 become more hairy ; but that the 
 younger sort go abroad, and there- 
 fore are smoother : Tm ^g faXiTraf 
 at filn v^iffQvri^xi Ttc utu i^yci^ofTeu , 
 Kelt ^xa-tiai tta-i dtcc to iio'a fcivur. at ^6 
 »£«< 'i%a&i)i <pl^ov<ri, xai it<rt Xuori^ai. 
 
 179- Fingere.] In one of Dr. 
 Mead's manuscripts it isjigere. 
 
 181. Crura thymo plenae.'] The 
 hairiness of the bees' legs serves to 
 retain the juices which they gather 
 from flowers. 
 
 Arbuta.] See the notes on book i. 
 ver. 148, and on book iii. ver. 300. 
 
 182. Glaucas salices.] See the 
 note on book ii, ver. 13. 
 
 Casiam.'] See the note on book 
 ii. ver. 213, 
 
 Crocumque rubentem.] The petal 
 of the saffron flower is purple, but 
 the three divisions of the style, which 
 are the only parts in use, are of the 
 colour of fire. 
 
 163. Pinguem tiliam.] See the 
 note on book ii. ver. 449- 
 
GEORG, LIB. IV. 
 
 375 
 
 Omnibus una quies operum, labor omnibus rnius. ^n of ^J^^J^Jour ^.g^tber. 
 
 Ferrugineos hyac'mthos.'] There 
 are many flowers commonly known 
 in gardens under the name of Hya- 
 cinth, but none of them agree with 
 the description which we find of 
 this flower among the poets, who 
 represent it as having the letters 
 A I inscribed on its petals. Thus 
 Moschus, in his epitaph on Bion, 
 calls upon the Hyacinth to take 
 more marks of A I on its petals : 
 
 N«y vaxivh KeiXu ra fa y^afAfAtcraf xai 
 
 TXiov A I, A I, 
 Aaf^San troTg TsrdXnirt' xakog ri^fUKi 
 
 (jt-tXixrois. 
 
 The poets feign that the boy Hya- 
 cinthus, who was unfortunately 
 killed by Apollo, was changed by 
 that deity into a Hyacinth, which 
 therefore was marked with these 
 notes of lamentation to express 
 Apollo's grief. Thus Ovid: 
 
 Semper eris mecum, memorique haerebis 
 
 in ore. 
 Te lyra pulsa manu, te carmina nostra 
 
 sonabunt : 
 Flosque novus scripto gemitus imitabere 
 
 nostros. 
 
 ' Thou shah with me abide 
 And ever in my memory reside. 
 Our harp and verse ihy praises shall re- 
 sound: 
 And in tliy Jlowre my sorrow shall he 
 found. 
 
 Sandys. 
 
 It is also feigned, that the same 
 flower arose from the blood of Ajax, 
 when he slew himself j those letters 
 being half the name of that hero. 
 Thus Ovid : 
 
 Rubefactaque sanguine tellus 
 
 Purpureum viridi genuit de cespite 
 
 florem, 
 Qui prius (Ebalio fuerat de vulnere 
 
 natus. 
 Litera communis mediis pueroque viro- 
 
 que 
 Inscripta est foliis: haec nominis, ilia 
 
 querela. 
 
 The bloud that fell, 
 
 A purple Jlowre ingendered on ilie gf-ound: 
 Created first by Hyacinthus' wound. 
 The tender leaves indifferent letters paint ; 
 Both of his name, and of the gods com- 
 plaint. 
 
 Sandys. 
 
 To this Virgil seems to allude in 
 the third Eclogue : 
 
 Die quibus in terris inscripti nomina re- 
 gum 
 
 Nascantur flores; et Phyllida solus ha- 
 beto. 
 
 N'ay tell me first, in what neie region 
 
 springs 
 A flower that bears inscribed the names of 
 
 kings : 
 And thou shalt gain a present as divine 
 As Phoebus self for Phillis shall be thine. 
 Dryden. 
 
 1 must not forget to observe, that the 
 vaccinium mentioned by our Poet 
 in the second and tenth Eclogues 
 is not diflFerent from what in 
 other places he calls hyacinthus: 
 the latter being the Greek name, 
 and the former a Latin name de^ 
 rived from it. For the ^Eolians, 
 who aflPected to change the v into 
 the diphthong ov, as B-vydrn^ into 
 B-dvyuTTi^, wrote ovxKtvdiov and ovxxlvviov 
 for the diminutive vecKtvdtov j and 
 ovcexifviov in Roman letters is vacci- 
 nium. This opinion is confirmed 
 by a line in the tenth Eclogue ; 
 
 Et nigrae violae sunt et vaccinia nigra; 
 
 which is a literal translation of a 
 line in the tenth Idyllium of Theo- 
 critus : 
 
 Ka} TO lov fiiX»9 l»Tif »ai a y^ot^ra, vdxiv^os. 
 
 Here Virgil himself translates vdxtv- 
 6og vaccinium. The form of the 
 Hyacinth is particularly described 
 by Ovid : 
 
 Ecce cruor, qui fusus humi signaverat 
 
 herbam, 
 Desinit esse cruor : Tyrioque nitentior 
 
 ostro 
 
374 
 
 P. VIRGILir MARONIS 
 
 Jf lhdrS\Juhyt"deia''y"f Mane ruunt portis ; nusquam mora : rufsus 
 
 and when , i o ►^ 
 
 easdem . lo5 
 
 Flos oritur, formamque capit quam lilia, 
 
 si non 
 Purpureus color huic, argenteus esset in 
 
 illis. 
 Non satis hoc Phoebo est ; is enim fuit 
 
 auctor honoris. 
 Ipse suos gemitus foliis inscribit ; et A I, 
 
 AI 
 Flos habet inscriptum, fucestaque litera 
 
 ducta est. 
 
 Behold! the bloud "which late th£ grass 
 
 had dide, 
 Was now no hloud : from it/hence a JUywre 
 
 full Itown 
 Far brighter than the Tyrian scarlet 
 
 shone : 
 Which seerrCd the same, or did resemhle 
 
 right 
 A lillie : changing lut the red to white. 
 Not so contented (for the youth received 
 That grace from Phoebus) in the leaves he 
 
 weav'd 
 The sad impression of his sighs : A I! 
 
 A I! 
 They now in funeral characters display. 
 Sandys. 
 
 We here learn, that the flower in 
 question was shaped like a lily, was 
 of a red colour, and was marked 
 with the letters A 1. I have more 
 than once mentioned the difficulty 
 of precisely determining the colours 
 mentioned by the ancients. Ovid 
 calls the flower of the Hyacinth 
 Tyrio nitentior ostro, and purpureus. 
 Virgil calls it in this place ferrugi- 
 neus, and in the third Eclogue he 
 calls it suave rubens; and in the 
 eleventh -^neid he speaks of its 
 great brightness : 
 
 Qualem virgineo demessum pollice florem 
 Seu mollis violae, seu languentis Hya- 
 
 cinthi ; 
 Cui neque fulgor adhuc, necdum sua 
 
 forma recessit. 
 
 Hence we can only gather, that the 
 colour of this flower is a deep shin- 
 ing red. I take the epithet ferru- 
 
 gineos in this place only to express 
 the deepness of the colour. Thus 
 in the first Georgick it is used to 
 signify the dusky redness of the sun, 
 after the murder of Julius Caesar : 
 
 Cum caput obscura nitidum ferrugine 
 texit. 
 
 See the note on book i. ver. 467. 
 In the sixth ^neid the boat of 
 Charon is called ferrugineay where 
 no doubt it means dusky : 
 
 Et ferruginea subvectat corpora cymba. 
 
 In the ninth i^neid the son of Ar- 
 cens is said to be 
 
 Ferrugine clarus Ibera ; 
 
 that is, adorned with a deep purple 
 garment dyed in Spain : and in the 
 eleventh book it is joined with the 
 Tyrian colour : 
 
 Ipse peregrina ferrugine clarus et ostro. 
 
 It is probable that all these several 
 epithets, purpureus, suave rubens, 
 ferrugineus, mean a sort of crim- 
 son, the colour of human blood, 
 the Hyacinth being feigned to have 
 risen from the blood of Hyacinthus, 
 and afterwards from that of Ajax. 
 
 Having said thus much of the 
 Hyacinth of the Poets, it will be 
 time to consider what flower will 
 agree with the description which 
 they have given of it. 
 
 Various sorts of flowers have 
 been proposed, by the botanical 
 critics, for this Hyacinth, the dis- 
 cussing of all which would be too 
 tedious in this place. Some insist 
 on the lark's-spur, which does not 
 seem to me to bear any resemblance 
 of a lily, nor do the letters inscribed 
 appear, till the flower has been 
 
GEORG. LIB. IV. 
 
 375 
 
 Vesper ubi e past u tandem decedere cam pis 
 Admonuitjtum tecta petunt, tum corpora curant. 
 Fit sonitus, mussantque oras et limina circum. 
 Post, ubi jam thalamis se composuere, siletur 
 
 the evening admonishes them 
 to return at length from feed- 
 ing in the fields, then they 
 seek their habitations, and 
 then they take care of their 
 bodies. They make a mur- 
 muring noise, and hum about 
 the sides and entrance of the 
 hives. Afterwards, when they 
 are laid down on tlieir beds, 
 they are silent 
 
 curiously dissected. Others propose 
 the red lily, but this, as was ob- 
 served before, was a flov^r little 
 known among the ancients, nor is . 
 the colour right. Others mention 
 Xyris, or stinking Gladdon, the 
 flowers of which are not sufficiently 
 beautiful. Others, with more pro- 
 bability, think the Gladiolus or 
 Corn-Jlag to be the flower in ques- 
 tion J but I have never been able 
 to discover in that flower the letters 
 A I. I am pretty well satisfied , that 
 the flower celebrated by the Poets, 
 is what we now are acquainted with 
 under the name of Lilium Jloribus 
 reflexis, or Martagon, and perhaps 
 may be that very species which we 
 call Imperial Martagon. The flowers 
 of most sorts of Martagons have 
 many spots of a deeper colour; and 
 sometimes I have seen these spots 
 run together in such a manner, as 
 to form the letters A I, in several 
 places, which I have caused to be 
 represented in the figure. 
 
 The translators have grievously 
 erred in translating the names of 
 the plants here spoken of. May 
 translates arbuta, wildings ; and ca- 
 siam, cinnamon, and renders/err?/gi- 
 weos very improperly paZe, and glau- 
 cas, green. 
 
 They feed upon 
 
 Wildings, green willows, saffron, cinna- 
 mon. 
 Pale hyacinths, and fruitful linden trees. 
 
 Addison omits the arhnta, and in- 
 serts the balmy reed instead of them,- 
 he translates casiam, lavender j and 
 hyacinthos, violets : 
 
 On lavender, and saffron hnd& they feed, 
 On bending osiers, and the balmy reed ; 
 From purple violets and the telle they 
 
 bring 
 Their gather'd sweets, and rifle all the 
 
 spring. 
 
 Dryden's translation is not more 
 exact. 
 
 He spoils the saffron flow'rs, he sips the 
 
 blues 
 Of vi'lets, wilding blooms, and willow 
 
 dews. 
 
 Dr. Trapp has succeeded much bet- 
 ter, only he has fallen into a com- 
 mon error of taking the casia to be 
 lavender. 
 
 They suck the Arbutus, and willows grey, 
 Sweet lavender, and crocus' yellow flowV, 
 The purple hyacinth, and gummy lime, 
 
 184. Omnibus una quies, &c.] 
 This passage is taken from Aristotle, 
 who says, that in the morning they 
 are all silent, till one of them calls 
 the rest up with two or three hums: 
 then they all go out to work. And 
 when they return, they are at first 
 tumultuous, but grow more quiet 
 by degrees, till at last one flies 
 buzzing round the rest, as if it com- 
 manded silence, upon which they 
 are all immediately quiet: "O^d^ixt 
 
 oig ^ Tot^' TOTS §' Itt ggydv ud^oui Tnrovrxty 
 xeti Ixdovffxi TciXiv, 6o^vQovcrt re TT^aT^v 
 xecrci. fitfc^ov §' vjttcv, zu<; av fci'x Tri^iTCi- 
 rcfMvvi /Sof6<o>jVji, UTTCi^ a-yjuetivAvcra Kcchv- 
 
 187. Turn.] In the old Nuren- 
 berg edition it is dum. 
 
 188. Limina.'] In the old Nuren- 
 berg edition it is lamina. 
 
376 
 
 P. yiRCilLIT MARONIS 
 
 all night, aud a sweet sleep 
 possesses their wearied limbs. 
 Jiut when rain impends, they 
 do not depart far from their 
 hives, nor do they trust the 
 sky, when east winds approach : 
 but drink the water in safety 
 near the walls of their city, 
 and try short excursions; and 
 take up little stones, as boats 
 that totter on the tossing wave 
 take ballast: with these they 
 poise themselves through the 
 empty clouds. But of ail the 
 properties of bees this most of 
 all will cause your wonder. 
 
 In nbctem, fessosque sopor suus occupat ar- 
 tus. 190 
 
 Nee vero a stabulis pluvia impendente recedunt 
 Longius, aut credunt caelo adventantibus Euris; 
 Sed circum tutae sub mcenibus urbis aquantur, 
 Excursusque breves tentant, et saepe lapillos, 
 Utcymbaeinstabilesfluctujactantesaburram, 195 
 Tollunt : his sese per inania nubila librant. 
 Ilium adeo placuisse apibus mirabere morem. 
 
 190. Sopor suus.'] Servius inter- 
 prets this ipsis aptus. 
 
 194. Scepe lapillos, &c.] This is 
 taken from Aristotle : "Orav Tz «vg- 
 
 197. Ilium adeo placuisse, &c.] 
 The Poet's account of the genera- 
 tion of bees is by no means consist- 
 ent with the doctrine of the modern 
 philosophers, who assert with great 
 probability, that no animal, nor 
 even plant, is produced without a 
 concurrence of the two sexes. How- 
 ever the doctrine of equivocal ge- 
 neration was so generally admitted 
 by the ancients, that it is no wonder 
 the Poet should assent to it. We 
 find this opinion related by Aristo- 
 tle, in his fifth book of the history 
 of animals. '' There are various 
 " opinions," says the philosopher, 
 " concerning the generation of bees. 
 " For some deny that they either 
 " copulate or bring forth their 
 ** young, thinking that they gather 
 '• their produce. Nor are these 
 *' agreed about the flower from 
 '' which they gather them : but 
 " some will have it to be from the 
 *' honey-wort, some from the reed, 
 " and others from the olive; which 
 " last, in favour of their opinion, 
 *' urge that there are more swarms 
 " of bees in proportion as the olive- 
 " trees are fruitful. Some are of 
 
 " opinion, that only the drones are 
 '' produced after this manner ; but 
 " that the bees are produced by 
 
 '' the leaders Others will 
 
 " have it, that they are produced 
 " by copulation, and affirm that the 
 " drones are the males, and the 
 ^' bees the females :" Ui^i 'hi rh 
 yivia-iv Tcnv fiiXtrrZv eu rov ccvtov t^ottov 
 TTcivTig VTToXcifzQoivova-iV. ot f/Xi yei^ ^xo-iv 
 ov TtKTHv, oiidl o^svio-Sxi Tcig f4,'iXtrrxi , 
 eiXXa, (p'i^nv rov yovov. Kxi ^£gs<v ol f4,lv 
 «,7ro tov civ6ovg rov kuXvvt^ov, oi hi 
 ciTro rov (Cv6ovg rov netXcif^ov, aXXoi hi 
 UTTo Tov fisy^ayj t?? Ixxiocg, Kxt (rrjf^uov 
 Xiyova-iv , on etv Ixxim ^opa, yivi^rcci, 
 roTi Kxi lo-fiol ci^iivTXi 7rXi7<rrx' ol hi 
 ^eCTi rov f^iv rZv Kri^tivav (pi^nv ccvrug 
 yovov, UTTo rivog vXrig rcog is^r.fi'ivav, rov hi 
 rav jAiXirrat riKriiv rovg ^yif^ovxg. . . 
 ol hi (pcariv oy^ivKrBxt, kxi 
 iivxi x^pivag f*lv rovg x>j(p?»a5$, SiiMixs hi 
 rag fAiXirrxg. Pliny has almost 
 translated the words of Aristotle. 
 But he has added, that the bees 
 certainly sit like hens, and that the 
 young bee at its first appearance is 
 a worm : " Quod certum est, gal- 
 " linarum mode incubant. Id quod 
 '' exclusum est, primum vermiculus 
 " videtur candidus, jacens transver- 
 " sus, adhaerensque ita ut pascere 
 " videatur." But the modern phi- 
 losophers have been more happy in 
 discovering the nature of these 
 wonderful insects. The labouring 
 
GEORG. LIB. IV. 
 
 37T 
 
 Quod nee concubitu indulgent, nee corpora 
 
 segnes 
 In venerem solvunt, aut foetus nixibus edunt; 
 Verum ipsae e foliis natos et suavibus herbis 200 
 Ore legunt : ipsas regem parvosque Quirites 
 Suffieiunt, aulasque et eerea regna refingunt. 
 Saepe etiam duris errando in eotibus alas 
 Attrivere, ultroque animam sub fasce dedere : 
 Tantus amor florum, et generandi gloria mel- 
 
 lis. 205 
 
 Ergo ipsas quamvis angusti terminus aevi 
 Excipiat, neque enim plus septima ducitur aestas, 
 
 that tbey do not copulate, or 
 enervate their bodies by laat, 
 or labour to bring forth their 
 young. But they themselves 
 gather their young from leaves 
 and sweet herbs. They them- 
 selves also produce their king, 
 and their small citizens: and 
 repair their palaces and waxen 
 realms. Olten also, whilst 
 they wander over the hard 
 rocks, have tbey battered their 
 wings, and voluntarily yielded 
 up their lives under their 
 burthens : so great is their love 
 of flowers: such their glory in 
 making honey. Therefore, 
 though their age has bat a 
 narrow bound, for they do 
 not live above seven years. 
 
 bees do not appear to be of either 
 sex : the drones are discovered to 
 have the male organs of genera- 
 tion J and the king is found to be 
 of the female sex. This king, or 
 rather queen, is wholly employed 
 in the increase of the family, laying 
 several thousand eggs every sum- 
 mer, from each of which is hatched 
 a small white worm, which in due 
 time changes either to a bee or a 
 drone. The kings, the labouring 
 bees, and the drones, are all promis- 
 cuously hatched from these eggs : 
 and the same order of nature has 
 lately been observed in the wasps. 
 
 198. Concubitu.'] Co7icuhiiu is 
 used for concubitui, as before victu 
 for victui. 
 
 200. Verum ipsa e foliis naios.'] 
 So I read with Heinsius, all the ma- 
 nuscripts that I have collated, and 
 most of the editors. In several of 
 the oldest editions it is verum ipsce 
 natos foliis. Paul Stephens and 
 Schrevelius read verum ipsce foliis 
 natos without e, which reading Pi- 
 erius also admitted j who observes, 
 that in some manuscripts it is ipsce 
 natos foliis; and ips<B e foliis in the 
 Roman copy, which he thinks an 
 elegant reading. La Cerda reads 
 ipsce foliis naios. 
 
 By foliis perhaps the Poet means 
 the petals or leaves of ^flowers; for 
 Aristotle speaks wholly of flowers. 
 
 202. Refngunt.'] Servius and 
 Pierius read refigunt, but this last 
 commentator thinks refingunt better, 
 as he found \t in the Roman, the 
 Medicean, and in some other of the 
 older manuscripts. It is refigunt in 
 the Cambridge, the Bodleian, one 
 of the Arundelian, and one of Dr. 
 Mead's manuscripts, which reading 
 is admitted by most of the oldest 
 editors, and by Grimoaldus, Paul 
 Stephens, La Cerda, Schrevelius, 
 and others. But Heinsius, Ruaeus, 
 Masvicius, and most of the later 
 editions have refingunt. 
 
 203. Scepe etiam duris, &c.] 
 These three lines seem to be mis- 
 placed : for here they interrupt the 
 sense. They seem to come in more 
 properly after ver. 196. I am in- 
 debted for this observation to the 
 learned Sir Daniel Molyneux, Ba- 
 ronet, F. R. S. 
 
 206. Angusti^ Some read an- 
 gusius; but Pierius found angusti in 
 all the manuscripts that he could 
 procure. 
 
 207. Neque enim plus septima du- 
 citur oestas.] Aristotle says that 
 bees live six years, and that some 
 
 3 c 
 
378: 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 fmmorTu Si tbTforufn'^^l'f At gcHus immortale manet, multosque per annos 
 
 their family subsists for many c p ^ j 
 
 yeais, and they can number i^tat lortuna uomuSj et avi numeraiitur avorum. 
 Praeterea regem non sic -^gyptus, et ingens 210 
 Lydia, nee populi Parthorum, aut Medus Hy- 
 daspes 
 
 grandfathers of grandfathers. 
 Besides neither E^ypt, nor 
 great Lydia, nor the people 
 of the Parthians, nor the Me- 
 dian Hydaspes 
 
 last seven ; but if a swarm subsists 
 nine or ten years, it is thought very 
 happy : B/05 ^l rati ^sXittZv zty, z%' 
 
 iv ^0Ki7 diecyiyivyir&xi. Columella says 
 that no swarms can be brought to 
 live above ten years : " Durantque, 
 '^ si diligenter excultae sunt, in an- 
 '*■ nos decern, nee uUum examen 
 '' banc aetatem potest excedere, 
 ^' quamvis in demortuarum locum 
 *' quotannis pullos substituant, 
 " Nam fere decimo ab internitione 
 *' anno, gens universa totius alvei 
 " consumitur." 
 
 210. Prceterea regem, &c.] In 
 this paragraph the Poet compares 
 the obedience of the bees to their 
 king with that of the most servile 
 nations, the Egyptians, Lydians, 
 Parthians, and Medes ; which he 
 takes from Aristotle. ''The kings," 
 says the philosopher, " never go 
 " abroad to feed or on any other 
 " occasion, without being accom- 
 *' panied by the whole multitude : 
 '* and if, when they are abroad, the 
 " king happens to stray, they all 
 " search after him with the utmost 
 "^ diligence, till they find him. We 
 *' have been informed also, that, 
 " when he is unable to fly, the peo- 
 " pie carry him, and that they all 
 '' depart when he dies: or if they 
 " do tarry, that they make only 
 *' combs and not honey: and that 
 '' nothing can hinder them all from 
 " departing in a short time:" O/ 5g 
 
 oAey Toy \f(4.ov, ovr Ivt ^otrxMy, ovt uX- 
 A»5' ^eCG-i ^e Kcit Iccv UTroTrXctvyiS^ o u^iF- 
 
 To» iiytf^oix Tjj oTfJLvi' Xiytrxi 2i xxt 
 <PZ£i(r6xi xvTov VTTo rou ta-fiov otxv Trirt- 
 
 ff-dXi |t6^ ^VVViTXl, text lav cC7roX>iVTXh 
 
 X7roX?^v(r6xi rh u(piTfx.6r lav 5' x^x 
 X^ovov Tivx dixf^sivao-t, tcx) kvj^Ix ev vot- 
 Ka-aiFi, f^sM ovK \yylvia-6xi, fcxi xvtu^ 
 lax.v xTroXXva-Sxt. But notwithstand- 
 ing the general opinion concerning 
 the allegiance of these insects, 
 Swaramerdam, a Dutch writer, con- 
 tends that their government is a 
 republic, which subsists by mutual 
 affection, without any despotic or 
 monarchical power : " Non tamen 
 '' sicco pede prseterire potuimus 
 " Rempublicam Apum, quae solo 
 " amore, sine uUa potestate despo- 
 '' tica aut monarchica, continetur/* 
 The French Academicians, under 
 the reign of Louis XIV. remarked 
 with much complaisance, that 
 among the bees the privilege of 
 generation belongs only to the royal 
 family; all the subjects being con- 
 demned to barrenness. Many ob- 
 servations equally useful might be 
 made on the economy of these in- 
 sects. I wonder none of our own 
 writers will contend for a mixed go- 
 vernment among them ; or be polite 
 enough to shew the happiness of be- 
 ing under a female administration. 
 
 Mgyptus.l The Egyptians were 
 remarkable adorers of their mo- 
 narchs ; many of the heathen gods 
 being the deified kings of that 
 people. 
 
 Ingens Lydia.'] Lydia was a re- 
 gion of Asia minor, famous for 
 their rich king Croesus, and their 
 golden river Pactolus. 
 
 211. Populi Parthorum.'] Par- 
 thia was a region of Asia, bounded 
 
GEORG. LIB. IV. 
 
 379 
 
 Observant. Rege incolumi mens omnibus una 
 
 est: 
 Amisso rupere fidem ; constructaque mella 
 Diripuere ipsae, et crates solvere favor um. 
 Ille operum custos : ilium admirantur, et om- 
 
 nes 215 
 
 Circumstant fremitu denso, stipantque fre- 
 
 quentes ; 
 Et saepe attollunt liumeris, et corpora bello 
 
 are so obsequioas to their 
 king. Whilst the king is safe, 
 they remain united: but when 
 he 19 (lead, they dissolve their 
 society, pull down the fabric 
 of their honey, and tear in 
 pieces the structure of their 
 combs. He is the guard of 
 their works : him they admire 
 and surround with frequent 
 shoutings, and crowd about 
 him : and often carry him on 
 their shoulders, and for bis 
 sake expose their bodies in 
 war, 
 
 on the west by Media, on the 
 north by Hyrcania, on the east by 
 Ariana, and on the south by the 
 deserts of Carmania. These people 
 are reported to have been so sub- 
 missive to their king, as to kiss 
 his foot, and to touch the ground 
 with their mouths, when they ap- 
 proached him. 
 
 Medus HydaspesJ] The Hydaspes, 
 of which we find such abundant 
 mention among the ancient writers, 
 was a river of India. But here 
 Virgil seems to speak of a Median 
 river of the same name, which 
 however I do not find mentioned 
 by any of the ancient geographers. 
 Servius says expressly it is a river 
 of Media, but on what authority I 
 do not know. La Cerda says that 
 the Poet justly calls this river Me- 
 dian, because it washes Media be- 
 fore it empties itself into the In- 
 dus. If this were true, it would 
 have been a river of too much con- 
 sequence, to be passed over in si- 
 lence, as it must flow through a 
 greater extent of land than the In- 
 dus itself But no such river seems 
 to be known by any geographer, 
 either ancient or modern. Ruaeus 
 says that Virgil is singular in plac- 
 ing this river in Media, which I 
 believe is true. But Catrou, in his 
 note on this passage, says the Hy- 
 daspes was a river of Persia, and 
 
 gives us a caution, not to confound 
 this river with the Indian Hydas- 
 pes : " L'Hydaspe etoit un fleuve 
 *' de Perse, peu eloigne de la ville 
 ^' de Susa, I'une des capitales de la 
 " Perse. II ne faut pas confondre 
 " ce fleuve Hydaspe avec un autre 
 '' de m^me noni, qui fut dans les 
 '^ Indes, le terme des conquetes 
 " d'Alexandre." I wish this learned 
 Father had favoured us with some 
 good authority to support what he 
 says. The river meant by him 
 seems to be the Choaspes, which 
 perhaps Virgil might, with a poe- 
 tical liberty, call the Hydaspes of 
 the Medes. This river rising in 
 Media flows through Susiana, near 
 the city Susa, one of the capitals of 
 the Persian empire. The water of 
 it was so very famous, that accord- 
 ing to Plutarch, the Persian kings 
 would drink of no other. eTtaj im 
 
 uXviGli;, oTi TO Toy Xoeca-Ttov f^ovof v^ag 
 
 oiKovf^hviv. The reader may find in 
 Xenophon abundant instances of 
 the extraordinary obedience which 
 was paid by the Medes and Persians 
 to their monarch. 
 
 212. Mens omnibus una est.^ Est 
 is wanting in one of Dr. Mead's 
 manuscripts. 
 
 216. Frequentes.'] It is frementes 
 in the Bodleian manuscript. 
 3 c 2 
 
380 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 wo'ii^s^ ^so^me'b^infied by Objectaiit, pulchramque petunt per vulnera 
 
 these appearances, and follow- 
 
 iag these examples, mortem. 
 
 His quidam signis, atque haec exempla secuti 
 
 219. His quidam signis, &c.] The 
 Poet observes, that some philoso- 
 phers, considering the great' saga- 
 city of these insects, have supposed 
 them to partake of the divine mind ; 
 and hence takes occasion to speak 
 of the Platonic system of a soul 
 animating the universe. 
 
 At the latter end of the second 
 book our Poet declares himself an 
 admirer of Epiciirus 5 and in this 
 place he plainly follows the doc- 
 trines of Plato, in which he has 
 been accused of inconsistency. But 
 let it be observed, that he has not 
 shew^n himself attached to the whole 
 Epicurean philosophy. The doc- 
 trine of that philosopher, which 
 Virgil adopts, is, that happiness con- 
 sists in a constant tranquillity of 
 mind ; and that a wise man ought 
 to lay aside the fear of death. He 
 had indeed in his younger days been 
 a more strict follower of Epicurus, 
 as we may gather from the sixth 
 Eclogue. But perhaps in his riper 
 years he might, as well as his friend 
 Horace, lay aside some of those 
 doctrines. The belief of a divine 
 mind governing the universe, and 
 of a future state, plainly appears 
 in this Georgick, and in the sixth 
 iEneid. It may be objected, that 
 he does not here propose the Pla- 
 tonic system as his own opinion, 
 because he says only that some 
 have advanced this doctrine. But 
 then it must be considered, that he 
 has put the same sentiments in the 
 mouth of Anchises, in the Elysian 
 fields, which he would not have 
 done, if he had not thought them to 
 be true. I know it will be replied, 
 that the commentators are almost 
 unanimously of opinion, that Virgil 
 
 himself declares what he has said 
 of the future state, in the sixth 
 Mne'id, to be a fiction, which he 
 plainly expresses by the passage of 
 iEneas through the ivory gate. 
 But it seems improbable, that the 
 Poet should bestow so much pains 
 in composing that fine account of 
 the infernal regions ; should take 
 an opportunity of making so de- 
 licate a compliment to Augustus 
 and the Roman people, and at last 
 conclude with giving them to un- 
 derstand, that there was no truth 
 in what he had been saying. The 
 transparent gate of horn was that 
 through which the true shades were 
 sent ; and the opaque gate of ivory 
 served for the passage of false vi- 
 sions: 
 
 Sunt gerainas somni portas ; quarum al- 
 tera fertur 
 
 Cornea, qua veris facilis datur exitus 
 umbris : 
 
 Altera candentiperfectanitenselephanto; 
 
 Sed falsa ad cesium mittiint insomnia 
 manes. 
 
 Two gates of sleep there are : the one of 
 
 horn. 
 Through which with ease the real pJumtoms 
 
 pass : 
 With polished elephant the oilier shines. 
 Through which the Manes send false 
 
 dreams to light. 
 
 Dr. Trapp. 
 
 ^neas therefore being a solid body, 
 and no real shade, was not sent out 
 at the gate appropriated to true 
 visions, but at that through which 
 false visions, being bodies of a 
 more dense substance than the true, 
 were accustomed to pass : 
 
 His ubi turn natum Anchises unaque 
 
 Sybillam 
 Prosequitur dictis, portaque emittit ebur- - 
 
GEORG. LIB. IV. 
 
 381 
 
 Esse apibiis partem divinee mentis, et haustus 
 jEtherios dixere. Deum namque ire per omnes 
 Terrasque, tractusque maris, caelumque pro- 
 
 fundum. 
 Hinc pecudes, armenta, viros, genus omne fera- 
 
 rum, 
 Quemque sibi tenues nascentem arcessere vitas. 
 Scilicet hue reddi deinde ac resoluta referri 225 
 
 have said that the bees are 
 endowed with a part of the 
 divine mind, and with selhe- 
 rial influences. For their opi- 
 nion is that the Deity passes 
 through the whole earth, the 
 extent of the sea, and the 
 height of heaven. That hence 
 the flocks, the herds, men, 
 and all sorts of wild beasta, 
 nay all creatures, at their 
 birth draw in tlieir lives. 
 That all of them, when dis- 
 solved, are bither returned : 
 
 Here then the sire ^nchises lo'ith his son. 
 And his propJietic guide, in siich discourse 
 Confers ; and sends them through the iv'ry 
 gate. 
 
 Dr. Trapp. 
 
 Had he been let out at the horn 
 gate, the whole must have been 
 taken for a vision, though a true 
 one: but -(Eneas being yet a living 
 body, and no proper inhabitant of 
 those regions, had been admitted, 
 before the separation of his soul 
 from his body, to converse with 
 spirits, not in a vision, but in reality. 
 The opaque gate was therefore 
 the most proper for the passage of 
 a soul, whilst yet encumbered with 
 a terrestrial body. 
 
 220. Partem divince mentis.'] Ho- 
 race uses an expression like this, 
 for the human soul : 
 
 Quin corpus onustum 
 
 Hesternis vitiis mcntem quoque praegra- 
 
 vat una, 
 Atque aflBgit humo divinoe jjarticulam 
 
 ^21. Deum namque ire per omnes, 
 &c.] We are informed by Plutarch, 
 in his second book of the opinions 
 of philosophers, that all of them, 
 except Democritus, Epicurus, and 
 the rest, who assert the doctrine 
 of a vacuum and atoms, held the 
 universe to be animated : Oifih eixxoi 
 
 2iOiKCVfCiV0V. Anf^CK^iTOi di KUt 'EttUov- 
 
 §05 Kect oToi ru t^Tof^oc tis'Kyovvrxi kui to 
 
 XiVOV, 6VTS if/,-^V^OV, OVIi TTfOVOlOi OlOlKil- 
 
 (r6u(j ^vff-n 2i T<»< a>^oya>. This opi- 
 nion of the soul of the universe is 
 farther inculcated by our poet in 
 the sixth -^neid : 
 
 Principio, caelum, ac terras, camposque 
 
 liquentes, 
 liUcentemque globum lunae, Titaniaque 
 
 astra 
 Spiritus intus alit, totamque infusa per 
 
 artus 
 Mens agitat molem, et magno se corpore 
 
 miscet. 
 
 Know Jirst, that heaven and earth's com- 
 
 pacted frame. 
 And flowing waters, and the starry 
 
 flame. 
 And both the radiant lights, one common 
 
 soul 
 Inspires, and feeds, and animates the 
 
 whole. 
 TJiis active mind infused through all the 
 
 space. 
 Unites and mingles with the mighty mass, 
 Dbyden. 
 
 Thus also ^schylus : 
 
 Z.tvi rot •Teavra : 
 
 And Lucan, 
 
 Jupiter est quodcunque vides, quocunque 
 moveris. 
 
 224. Arcessere v^ias^^ Pierius 
 found accersere in some ancient ma- 
 nuscripts. In one of Dr. Mead's it 
 is accessere. The King's manuscript 
 has vitam instead of vitas. 
 
 225. Ac resoluta.] In the King's 
 manuscript it is ad resoluta: in one 
 of Dr. Mead's it is a;re soluta. 
 
p. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 that there is no place for 
 death, that they fly alive 
 among the stars, and rise up 
 to the high heaven. If at any 
 time you would open their 
 august mansion, and the honey 
 preserved in their treasuries, 
 first gargle your mouth with 
 water and spirt it out, and 
 drive in persecuting smoke 
 with your hand. 
 
 Omnia: nee morti esse locum, sed viva volare 
 Sideris in numerum, atque alto succedere caelo. 
 Si quando sedem augustam, servataque mella 
 Thesauris relines; prius haustu sparsus aquarum 
 Ora fove, fumosque manu praetende sequaces. 
 
 226. Nee morti esse locum.'] Ac- 
 cording to Plutarch, it was the opi- 
 nion of Pythagoras and Plato, that 
 the soul did not die, but that, when 
 it left the body, it returned to the 
 kindred soul of the universe: the 
 Stoics thought the souls of the igno- 
 rant perished with their bodies; and 
 that those of the wise endured till 
 the conflagration. Democritus and 
 Epicurus were of opinion, that the 
 soul and body died together: Py- 
 thagoras and Plato held, that the 
 irrational part perished, but not the 
 rational: the soul being (though 
 not God himself, yet) the work of 
 the eternal God : Uvd»yo^otg, Tlxdrm, 
 a^6cc^Tov slvou riiv "^v^Jfi^' l^tovcrxv y«g 
 tU TO rov TrxvTog "^v^yiv uvx^a^iTv TTgog 
 70 ofioyivig' 01 'ZtuIko], l^iov<rxv rm a-a- 
 fAoitOiV V7ro<p't^iT6xi , TKV f*lv uThna-Tigxv 
 Uf/ix rcig a-vyx^ffiUTi yivicrdocr (rccvrviv 
 ol iivxi rm UTTxidiiiToiv) riiv ^£ ia-^v^ori- 
 gasv, e/x la-Tt TCt^l rcvg co^ovg kxI f*^X^t 
 TJjf hcirv^da-iug. Avif^ox^iTOg , 'EviKov^og , 
 
 HvSxyo^xg, UXuTeov, to yXv MyiKov, 
 x^&x^Tov, (xxt yotg riiv '4^v;(j^v ov 6iov 
 uXX' i^yov Toy xt'^iov 6iov VTTci^^uy) to 
 ol uXoyov, (pSx^riv. 
 
 227. Succedere.'] Pierius found 
 se condere in the Roman manu- 
 script. 
 
 228. Si quando, &c.] In this pa- 
 ragraph the Poet speaks of the two 
 seasons of taking the honey, and of 
 the passionate temper of the bees. 
 
 Augustam.] Most editors read 
 augustam, as Pierius found it in the 
 Lombard and in some other manu- 
 scripts. It is angustam also in all 
 the manuscripts which I have col- 
 
 lated, except one of Dr. Mead's 
 But Servius, Grimoaldus, Paul Ste- 
 phens, Heinsius, Schrevelius, and 
 Masvicius read augustam. It is aw- 
 gustam also in the old Nurenberg 
 edition, and in two old editions 
 printed at Venice in folio^ in 1475 
 and 1476. 
 
 229- Prius haustu sparsus aqua- 
 rum ora fove.] This passage is very 
 variously read. Servius, Grimo- 
 aldus, Heinsius, Ruaeus, Masvicius, 
 and some others, approve the read- 
 ing which I have followed. Both 
 Dr. Mead's manuscripts have haustus 
 and ore Jove, which are admitted by 
 the three old editions quoted in the 
 preceding note, and by Paul Ste- 
 phens, La Cerda, and Schrevelius. 
 Servius says sparsus is used for spar~ 
 gens, one participle for another, 
 which is not unusual among the 
 poets. The construction therefore 
 will be Prius fove ora haustu aqua- 
 rum spargens, First gargle your mouth 
 with water spirting it. The same 
 commentator observes that some 
 read orefave, an expression used by 
 the ancients to command a religious 
 silence, as ore favete omnes in the 
 fifth ^neid, and favete Unguis in 
 Horace. According to this inter- 
 pretation the sense, will be. First 
 sprinkling them with a draught of 
 water, observe silence. In one of the 
 Arundelian manuscripts it is ore 
 fare, which I suppose was intended 
 for orefave. 
 
 230. Fumosque manu prcefende se- 
 quaces.] It is a custom to drive bees 
 with smoke. Columella speaks 
 largely on this subject. 
 
GEORG. LIB. IV. 
 
 383 
 
 Bis gravidos cogunt foetus, duo tempora messis, piSous'' honey^^"iE! 
 Taygete simul os terris ostendit honestum 
 Eleias, et oceani spretos pede reppulit amnes : 
 Aut eadem sidus fugiens ubi. piscis aquosi 
 
 Twice do they compress the 
 ere are 
 two seasons of taking it ; one 
 as soon as the Pleiad U'aygete 
 has shewn her beauteous face 
 to the earth, and has spurned 
 the despised waters of the 
 ocean : or when the same 
 star, flying from the constel- 
 lation of the watery fish, 
 
 23\. Foetus.] The commentators 
 agree, tliat by this word not the 
 young bees but the honey is meant. 
 
 Duo tempora messis^ The Poet 
 seems to follow Aristotle, who says 
 there are two seasons of making 
 honey, in spring and in autumn : 
 Tji 21 rov fcsXiTog isyuarioe, 2itto} koci^oI 
 ua-iy, lag Koti [ziroTTu^ny. Varro men- 
 tions three seasons ; the first at 
 the rising of the Pleiades, the se- 
 cond about the latter end of sum- 
 mer, before the whole constellation 
 Bootes rises, the third after the set- 
 ting of the Pleiades : " Eximendo- 
 '' rum favorum primum putant esse 
 " tern pus vergiliarum exortu ; se- 
 '^ cuntium aestate acta, ante quam 
 *' totus exoriatur Arcturus 5 tertium 
 " post vergiliarum occasum." Co- 
 lumella mentions the twenty-second 
 or twenty-third of April, and the 
 twenty-ninth of June : *' Tertio 
 '' calendas Julii ventosa tempestas. 
 " His diebus eadem quae supra. 
 '^ Sed et viciam in pabulum secare 
 *' oportet . . . alvos castrare, quas 
 '^ subinde nono quoque aut decimo 
 *' die ad calendas Maias considerare 
 ^' et curare oportet." Pliny speaks 
 of May and July : *' Dies status in- 
 " choandi, ut quadam lege naturae, 
 *' si scire aut observare homines ve- 
 '* lint, trigesimus ah educto exa- 
 " mine : fereque Maio mense in- 
 '^ cluditur haec vindemia. Alteram 
 '^ genus est mellis aestivi, quod ideo 
 *' vocatur horaeum, a tempestivitate 
 " praecipua, ipso sirio explendes- 
 *' cente post solstitium diebus tri- 
 *' ginta fere." Palladius places the 
 time of taking the honey in June. 
 
 232. Taygete.l Taygete was one 
 
 of the Pleiades : see the notes on 
 book i. ver. 138, and 221. 
 
 The Pleiades rise with the sun on 
 the twenty-second of April, accord- 
 ing to Columella : *' Decimo calen- 
 " das Maias Vergiliae cum sole ori- 
 " untur." 
 
 I cannot help observing in this 
 place, that Addison, in his transla- 
 tion, has given warmth and lustre 
 to the Pleiades : 
 
 Twice in the year their flow'ry toils 
 
 begin. 
 And twice they fetch their dewy harvest 
 
 in; 
 Once when the lovely Pleiades arise. 
 And add fresh lustre to the summer skies; 
 And once when hast'ning from the 'vat'ry 
 
 sign 
 They quit their station, and forbear to 
 
 shine. 
 
 And yet, in his letter from Italy, 
 he represents them as a northern 
 constellation : 
 
 We envy not the warmer clime, that 
 lies 
 
 In ten degrees of more indulgent skies. 
 
 Nor at the coarseness of our heaven re- 
 pine, 
 
 Tho' o'er our heads the frozen Pleiads 
 shine. 
 
 But the Pleiades do not shine 
 over our heads, but over those of 
 the Egyptians and Indians. I be- 
 lieve the Pleiades being called the 
 seven stars, occasioned this inge- 
 nious author to mistake them for 
 the seven stars called Charles's 
 wain, which do indeed shine over 
 our heads, and may be called frozen, 
 being so near the pole. 
 
 233. Oceani amnes.] Thus Ho- 
 mer : pooi aKixveTo. 
 
 234!» Aut eadem, &c.] It has 
 
384 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 descends mournfully into the 
 waters of winter. They are 
 wrathful above measure, and 
 if they are oflFended they 
 breathe venom into their 
 6tiitgs, and leave their hidden 
 darts fixe(W to the veins, and 
 part with their lives in the 
 wounds that they inflict. 
 
 Tristior hybernas caelo descendit in undas 
 Illis ira modum supra est, laesaeque venenum 
 Morsibus inspirant, et spicula caeca relinquunt 
 Adfixae venis, animasque in vulnera ponunt. 
 
 been already observed, in the note 
 on book i. ver. 221, that the morn- 
 ing setting of the Pleiades is about 
 the latter end of October, or begin- 
 ning of November. 
 
 Sidus fugiens ubi piscis aquosi] 
 The commentators are greatly di- 
 vided about the constellation, which 
 the Pleiades are here said to avoid. 
 Servius affirms it is the southern 
 fish, that receives the water of Aqua- 
 rius in his mouth, in which he is 
 followed by May : 
 
 Againe when she the southern fish doth 
 
 fiy. 
 
 To winter seas descending heavily : 
 Catrou says it is the constellation 
 Piscis : " fuyant la presence du 
 *^ signe des poissons." He observes 
 in his note, that the Pleiades set be- 
 fore the Fish arise : " Les Pleiades 
 " se couchent avant que le signe 
 " des poissons se leve." La Cerda 
 was of the same opinion, but he 
 says he will not dispute with any 
 one, who shall suppose it to be the 
 Dolphin. Ruaeus contends that the 
 Hydra is meant, which seems to 
 follow the Pleiades, and hang over 
 them. Dryden says it is the Scor- 
 pion : 
 
 Again when their affrighted quire sur- 
 veys 
 
 The wat'ry Scorpion mend his pace be- 
 hind, 
 
 With a black train of storms and winter 
 wind, 
 
 They plunge into the deep, and safe 
 protection find. 
 
 The setting of the Pleiades is con- 
 fessed to mean the latter end of Oc- 
 tober or beginning of November, 
 perhaps the eighth, for on that day 
 
 Columella says they set in the morn- 
 ing, and, according to the same au- 
 thor, winter begins the next. This 
 agrees very well with their descend- 
 ing into the wintery waters. Now 
 we may reasonably suppose, that 
 the constellation which they avoid, 
 is one that rises in the morning 
 about the same time, or soon after 
 they set. The Scorpion, according 
 to Columella, rises on the thirteenth 
 of December : ** Idibus Decembris 
 " Scorpio totus mane exoritur." 
 This is in favour of Dryden, only I 
 can see no reason for calling the 
 Scorpion by the name of piscis a quo- 
 sus. The Scorpion is no fish, nor 
 is its usual habitation in the water. 
 The Dolphin rises on the twenty- 
 seventh of December : " Sexto ca- 
 " lendas Januarias Delphinus in- 
 " cipit oriri mane." The sun does 
 not enter Aquarius till the middle 
 of January, nor Pisces till the mid- 
 dle of February. The Dolphin 
 therefore seems to be the constel- 
 lation meant, as it rises sooner 
 after the setting of the Pleiades, 
 than any other fish delineated on the 
 sphere. As for the Hydra, which 
 Ruaeus thinks is the constellation 
 intended, I cannot think Virgil 
 would call it a fish. 
 
 236. Illis ira modum supra est.'] 
 He now assigns a reason for spirting 
 water and smoking them : because 
 otherwise, being animals of strong 
 resentment, they would revenge 
 their quarrel on the person who 
 should offer to assail them. j 
 
 Pierius found super instead of sm- M 
 pra in some ancient manuscripts. * 
 
 238. Adjixce venis.'] Pierius found 
 
GEORG. LIB. IV. 
 
 Sin duram metues hyemem, parcesque futuro, 
 Contusosque animos, et res miserabere fractas ; 
 At suffire thy mo, cerasque recidere inanes 241 
 Quis dubitet ? nam saepe favos ignotus adedit 
 Stellio, et lucifugis congesta cubilia blattis. 
 
 385 
 
 But if you are afraid of a hard 
 winter, and would provide for 
 futurity, and take pity on 
 their broken strengtli, and 
 ruined affairs, yet who would 
 hesitate to fumigate them with 
 thyme, and cut away the 
 empty wax? for often the 
 skulking lizard has eaten the 
 combs, and the chambers are 
 full of beetles that avoid the 
 Jight, 
 
 adjixa venis in a very ancient manu- 
 script, and adnixa vents in the ob- 
 long one. It is qffixa in venis in 
 one of the Arundel ian manuscripts, 
 and adjixa in venis in the other, 
 making affixa to agree with spicula, 
 which is not amiss. 
 
 Animasque in vulnera ponunt."} So 
 I read with one of the Arundelian 
 manuscripts, and Heinsius. Pierius 
 found the same in the Roman, and 
 other manuscripts. The common 
 reading is vulnere. 
 
 It is said to be a vulgar error, that 
 bees lose their lives with their stings. 
 
 239. Sin duram metues, &c.] The 
 poet now proceeds to speak of the 
 manner in which those hives should 
 be treated, where the honey is not 
 taken, but left to support the bees 
 in winter, and mentions the plagues 
 that infest them. 
 
 Metues.'] Pierius found metuens 
 in some ancient manuscripts. It is 
 metuens also in the King's manu- 
 script. 
 
 240. Contusosque.'] In the King's 
 manuscript it is concussosque. 
 
 Miserabere.'] In the King's ma- 
 nuscript it is miserabile. 
 
 241. At suffire thy mo.] Pierius 
 found aut in some of the old manu- 
 scripts. 
 
 The sense seems to be, though 
 you think fit not to benefit yourself 
 by depriving them of their honey, 
 yet it will be worth the while to 
 take some pains about preserving 
 them. 
 
 This fumigation is recommended 
 also by other authors. Varro says 
 
 it should be twice or thrice in a 
 month, during the summer: " Ver- 
 *' no tempore et aestivo fere ter in 
 " mense mellarius inspicere debet 
 " fumigans leviter eas, et a spurci- 
 *' tiis purgare alvum, et vermiculos 
 *' ejicere." 
 
 Cerasque recidere inanes.] Servius 
 seems to understand the Poet to 
 mean, that some wax should be cut 
 into small pieces, and given the bees 
 for nourishment J in which he is fol- 
 lowed by May ; 
 
 Give them cut waxe. 
 
 But he is certainly to be understood 
 of taking away the superfluous wax, 
 lest the empty cells should afford 
 room for noxious animals. Thus 
 Columella': " Higinius quidem in 
 ^' eo libro, quem de apibus scripsit j 
 " Aristoniachus, inquit, hoc modo 
 **^ succurrendum laborantibus exis- 
 '* timat : Primum, ut omnes vitiosi 
 " favi tollantur, et cibus ex integro 
 " recens ponatur: deinde ut fumi- 
 " gentur." 
 
 242. Ignotus stellio.] The stellio 
 is a small spotted lizard, called also 
 a swift. The Poet sails it ignotus, 
 because of its creeping into holes 
 and corners. 
 
 Adedit.] Pierius found adhcesit in 
 the Roman manuscript, which lie 
 takes to be a corrupt reading. 
 
 243. Et.] Et is left out in some 
 editions ; but Pierius says it is re- 
 tained in all the ancient manu- 
 scripts. 
 
 Lucifugis blattis.] The blatla is an 
 insect something like a beetle : some 
 3 D 
 
386 
 
 P. VmOILII MARONIS 
 
 tlie drone also that sits, with- 
 out labouring, at the repast 
 belonging lo another, or the 
 fierce hornet has engaged them 
 with unequal arms, or the 
 dreadful race of moths, or the 
 s{)ider hated by Minerva 
 hangs her loose nets at their 
 doors. The more they are 
 exhausted, the more pains will 
 they take to repair the rUins 
 of tlieir falling family, and 
 will fill np their cells, and 
 form their combs of flowers. 
 But, seeing life afflicts bees 
 also with our misfortunes, if 
 their bodies shall languish 
 with a sad disease, which you 
 may know by certain signs; 
 immediately the sick change 
 their colour ; a horrid leanness 
 deforms their countenances; 
 then they carry the bodies of 
 the dead out of their houses. 
 
 Immunisquesedens aliena ad pabula fucUs, 
 Aut asper crabro imparibus se immiscuit armis; 
 Aut dirum tineae genus, aut invisa Minefvae 246 
 Laxos in foribus suspendit aranea casses. 
 Quo magis exhaustse fuerint, hoc acrius oranes 
 Incumbent generis lapsi sarcire ruinas, 
 Complebuntque foros, et floribus horrea texent. 
 Si vero, quoniam casus apibus quoque nostros 
 Vita tulit, tristi languebunt corpora morbo, 
 Quod jam non dubiis poteris cognoscere signis; 
 Continuo est aegris alius color : horrida vultum 
 Deformat macies ; turn corpora luce carentum 
 
 take the cock-roch to be the blatta. 
 They are called lucifugce, because 
 they do not appear by day-light. 
 
 245. CrahroJ] The hornet is an 
 insect like a wasp, but twice as big. 
 
 Imparibus armis.'] This insect is 
 too large and strong for the bees to 
 encounter with it. 
 
 Immiscuit.'] In one of Dr. Mead's 
 manuscripts it is miscuit, 
 
 246. Dirum tinece genus^ Many 
 read durum : but Pierius found dirum 
 in most of the ancient manuscripts. 
 In the King's, the Bodleian, and in 
 one of the Arundelian manuscripts 
 It is durum. But dirum is generally 
 received. Either of these readings 
 seems to be good. 
 
 The tinea is the moth, that eats 
 garments and many other things. 
 
 Invisa MinervcE aranea,'] Arachne, 
 a Lydian maid, disputed with Mi- 
 nerva the preference in weaving 
 tapestry. Arachne performed her 
 work to admiration. But as she 
 had represented in it the crimes of 
 several of the Gods, Minerva in a 
 rage destroyed it : at which Arachne, 
 being grieved, hanged herself. The 
 Goddess in compassion changed her 
 to a spider. This fable is related in the 
 fifth book of Ovid's Metamorphoses. 
 
 Servius and other grammarians 
 observe, that we ought to write 
 araneus,m the masculine gender: 
 but both Virgil and Ovid use ara- 
 nea. 
 
 248. Quo magis exhaustce, &c.] 
 It has been observed by the writers 
 on Agriculture, that if the bees have 
 too much honey left them, they will 
 be idle; whereas if you leave them 
 but little, they will be diligent in 
 repairing their loss. 
 
 251. Si vero, &c.] He speaks of 
 the diseases of bees, and the reme- 
 dies for them, whence he takes oc- 
 casion to give a beautiful description 
 of a plant, which he calls Amellus. 
 
 According to Pierius, the oblong 
 manuscript has sin instead of si. 
 
 254. Horrida vulium deformat 
 macies.] In one of the Arundelian 
 manuscripts it is d'lfformat. 
 
 Varro observes, that a rough look 
 is a sign that the bees are sick, un- 
 less it is about the time of their be- 
 ginning to work; for then they look 
 rough with labour, and grow lean : 
 " Minus valentium signa si sunt pi- 
 " losse et liorridse, ut pulverulentae, 
 '^ nisi opificii easurget tern pus: turn 
 *' enim propter laborem asperantur, 
 *' ac macescunt." 
 
GEORG. LIB. IV. 
 
 387 
 
 Exportant tectis, et tristia funera ducunt. 
 Aut illae pedibus connexae ad limina pendent, 
 Aut intus clausis cunctantur in aedibus omnes, 
 Ignavaeque fame et contracto frigore pigrae. 
 Turn sonus auditur gravior, tractimque susur- 
 rant, 260 
 
 Frigidus ut quondam sylvis immurmurat aiister; 
 Ut mare soUicitum stridet refluentibus undis, 
 :^stuat ut clausis rapid us fornacibus ignis. 
 Hie jam galbaneos suadebo incendere odores, 
 
 and make mournful proces- 
 sions. Or else they hang at 
 the entrance with clinging 
 feet, or all of thera loiter 
 within their closed up doors, 
 being faint with hunger, and 
 sluggish with contracted cold. 
 Then a <leeper sound is heard, 
 and they make a drawling 
 hum; as when a cold south 
 wind sometimes rustles in the 
 woods, or the troubled sea 
 murmurs at the reflux of the 
 waters, or as fire roars in a 
 pent up furnace. In this case 
 I would advise to burn strong 
 scented galbanum, 
 
 256. Tristia funera ducunt.'] Ari- 
 stotle only says the bees bring out 
 those which die in the hive : Tas ^' 
 
 g|6>. Pliny says they accompany the 
 dead bodies after the manner of n 
 funeral procession : '' Quin et mor- 
 '' bos suapte natura sentiunt. Index 
 *' eorum tristitia torpens, et cum 
 " ante fores in leporem soils pro- 
 *' motis alise cibos ministrant, cum 
 " defunctas progerunt, funeranti- 
 " umque more comitantur exe- 
 " quias." Dryden has amplified 
 what the Poet says of the funeral 
 procession : 
 
 And crowds of dead, that never must 
 
 return 
 To their lov'd hives, in decent pomp are 
 
 borne : 
 Their friends attend the herse, the next 
 
 relations mourn. 
 
 257. Pedibus connexa.'] " I do 
 *' not think that a cluster is meant 
 ** in this place, which is afterward 
 "mentioned as a sign of joy: it 
 " seems rather to be meant of a few 
 " bees, which being either dead or 
 " faint, hang by their feet about the 
 *' entrance," RuiEUs. 
 
 260. Tractimque.'] IntheBodleian 
 manuscript it is tractuque. 
 
 Frigidus ut quondam, &c.j For 
 the epithet /ri^tc/ws, see the note on 
 
 book iii, ver. 279- For quondam, 
 see the note on book iii. ver. gg. 
 
 These three similies are taken 
 from the fourteenth Iliad: 
 
 Owrs ia.'ktt.aavii KVfica roffov (ioda ^or) ;^s^ffav 
 Ovrt -Ttv^oi TOffffof yi ttot) ^^oftos cci^o/nivoio. 
 Out avi/^oi r'offtroi ys ttot) ^^virh uyptxo' 
 
 fXOlfftV 
 
 'R'ffvii, offTi fioi'kiff'ra. fAtya (i^ifurai ^aki- 
 
 Not half so loud the bellowing deeps re- 
 sound, 
 
 When stormy winds disclose the dark 
 profound ; 
 
 Less loud the winds, that from th' iEolian 
 hall 
 
 Roar through the woods, and make whole 
 forests fall; 
 
 Less loud the woods, when flames in tor- 
 rents pour. 
 
 Catch the dry mountain, and its shades 
 devour. 
 
 Mr, Pope. 
 
 Here, as Mr. Pope observes, Virgil 
 has beautifully softened these simi- 
 lies, and, by a kind of parody, ap- 
 plied them to the buzzing of a bee- 
 hive. 
 
 Sylvis.] Pierius found sylvas in 
 the Lombard manuscript. 
 
 262. Ut.] Pierius found aut in 
 the Medicean manuscript. It is aut 
 also in the King's manuscript. But 
 ut is certainly the true reading. 
 
 264!. Hie] In the King's, and in 
 3 D 2 
 
388 
 
 R VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 and to pttt in honey through 
 canals of reed, softly persuail- 
 ing the weary bees, and invit- 
 ing them to their well known 
 food. It will be of service 
 also to add thetaste of ponnded 
 galls, and dried roses, or wine 
 thickened over the fire, or 
 raisins from the Psythian vine, 
 and Cecropian thyme, and 
 strong smelling ceutaary. 
 
 Mellaque arundineis inferre canalibus, ultro 965 
 Hortantem, et fessas ad pabula nota vocantem. 
 Proderit et tunsum gallae admiscere saporem, 
 Arentesque rosas, aut igni pinguia multo 
 Defruta, vel psythia passos de vite racemos, 
 Cecropiumque thymum, et grave olentia cen- 
 taurea. 270 
 
 one of Dr. Mead's manuscripts, it is 
 hinc. 
 
 Galbaneos odores.'] See the note 
 on book iii. ver. 415. 
 
 Columella has mentioned Galba- 
 num and the other medicines here 
 spoken of, which he seems to borrow 
 from Virgil : *' Nee non etiam ille 
 " morbus maxime est conspicuus, 
 " quihorridas contractasque carpit, 
 " cum frequenter aliae mortuarum 
 " corpora domiciliis suis efferunt, 
 '* allae intra tecta, ut in publico 
 " luctu, moesto silentio torpent. Id 
 " cum accidit, arundineis infusi ca- 
 *' nalibus offeruntur cibi, maxime 
 '* decocti mellis, et cum galla vel 
 " arida rosa detriti. Galbanum 
 *' etiam^ ut ejus odore medicentur, 
 ** incendi convenit, passoque et de- 
 " fruto vetere fessas sustinere." 
 
 265. Mella.] We learn from the 
 passage just now cited from Colu- 
 mella, that the honey should be 
 boiled. 
 
 267. Tunsum.^ It is tonsum in 
 the Bodleian, and in one of Dr. 
 Mead's manuscripts, and in several 
 of the old editions. 
 
 GallcB.'] The gall is an excres- 
 cence or nest of an insect, formed 
 on the oaks in Italy, after the same 
 manner that oak-apples are in Eng- 
 land. All parts of the oak, espe- 
 cially the galls, are astringent ; they 
 are very proper therefore for the 
 purging, to which bees are subject 
 in the spring, occasioned by their 
 feeding greedily upon spurge after 
 
 their winter penury, according to 
 Columella : ** Maximus autem an- 
 " nuus earum labor est initio veris, 
 " quo tithymalli floret frutex, et 
 *' quo sameram ulmi promunt : 
 *' namque sicut novis pomis, ita his 
 " primitivis floribus illectae, avide 
 " vescuntur post hybernam famem, 
 *' nil alioquin citra satietatem, tali 
 " nocente cibo, quo se cum affatim 
 '* repleverint, profluvio alvi, nisi 
 " celeriter succurritur, intereunt : 
 '' nam et tithymallus majorum quo- 
 '' que animalium ventrem solvit, et 
 " proprie ulmus apium." 
 
 Admiscere.] In the King's ma- 
 nuscript it is immiscere. 
 
 268. Arentesque.'] In one of Dr. 
 Mead's manuscripts it is ardentesque, 
 which is manifestly wrong. 
 
 269. PsythicE passos de vite race- 
 mos.] See the note on book ii. v^er. 
 93. 
 
 270. Cecropiumque thymum.'] See 
 the notes on ver. 112, and I77. 
 
 Grave olentia centaurea.] Lu- 
 cretius has tristia centaurea. This 
 herb was so called from the centaur 
 Chiron, who was said to be thereby 
 cured of a wound accidentally in- 
 flicted by an arrow of Hercules, ac- 
 cording to Pliny: *' Centaurea cu- 
 '* ratus dicitur Chiron cum Hercu- 
 " lis excepti hospitio pertractanti 
 " arma, sagitta excidisset in pedem, 
 " quare aliqui Chironion vocant.*' 
 There are two sorts of centaury, 
 the greater and the less, which have 
 no other similitude, than in the 
 
GEORG. LTB. IV 
 
 389 
 
 Est etiam flos in pratis, cui nomen amello 
 Fecere agricola?, facilis quaerentibus herba. 
 Namque uno ingentem tollit de cespite sylvam. 
 Aureus ipse ; sed in foliis, quae plurima circum 
 
 Wc alsd bavc a (lower in the 
 meadows, which the country 
 people call Anielliis: the herb 
 IS very easy to be found, for 
 the root, which consists of a 
 great bunch of fibres, sends- 
 forth a vast number of stalks. 
 The flower itself is of a golden 
 colour, surrounded 
 
 bitterness of their taste. The 
 greater is cultivated in gardens, the 
 less grows wild in England in many 
 places, and is the best known. 
 
 271. Est etiam flos in pratis, &c.] 
 I think we may venture to affirm, 
 that the plant here described is the 
 Asler Afticus, or purple Italian Star- 
 wort. But let us see how Virgil's 
 description agrees with the^^^er At- 
 ticus. Ray says it is common in 
 the uncultivated valleys of Italy, 
 Sicily, and Narbonne. " Nascitur 
 " incultis et asperis convallibus, in 
 " Italia, Sicilia, et Gallia Narbo- 
 '' nensi passim obvius." There- 
 fore it is very easy to be found, fa- 
 cilis gucerentibus herba. The root 
 consists of a great bunch of fibres, as 
 I have rendered uno de cespite, for I 
 take cespes in this place not to sig- 
 nify the earth or turf, but radix ces- 
 pitosa, a root whose fibres are thick 
 matted together so as to form a kind 
 of turf. Non de terra, sed de radice, 
 says Phylargyrius. From this root 
 arise a vast number of stalks, which 
 Virgil poetically calls a great wood, 
 ingentem sylvam. The flower is of 
 that sort which botanists call a ra- 
 diated discous flower; the disk is 
 yellow, and the ray purple. To 
 make this plain to those who are 
 not acquainted with botany, I have 
 added a figure of this plant. A, re- 
 presents the yellow disk, which Vir- 
 gil calls the flower itself: aureus 
 ipse. B, represents the rays or pur- 
 ple leaves which surround the flower; 
 foliis, quce plurima circumfunduntur, 
 vioUe sublucet purpura nigrce. 
 
 Cui nomen amello.~\ He uses the 
 dative case here after the manner of 
 
 the Greeks ; as in other places^ 
 ** Cui nomen lulo," and ** Cui Re- 
 *' mulo cognomen erat." 
 
 272. Fecere agricolce.'] The Poet 
 tells us Amellus is a rustic name, 
 not that by which it was known at 
 Rome, and among the writers of 
 natural history. 
 
 273. Uno.'] It is imo in one of 
 Dr. Mead's manuscripts, and in se- 
 veral old printed editions, and in 
 most manuscript copies, according 
 to Pierius : but uno is generally re- 
 ceived, as the true reading. 
 
 274. Aureus ipse, &c.] Virgil 
 plainly speaks of the flower, as be- 
 ing golden or yellow, which Colu- 
 mella mistook, not being acquainted 
 with this herb himself; for he 
 makes it a yellow shrub with pur- 
 ple flowers : *' Optime tamen facit 
 " amelli radix, cujus est frutex lu- 
 *' tens, purpureus flos." Ruaeus 
 rightly interprets this description of 
 Virgil : " Quippe uno e cespite eri- 
 " git magnam copiam caulium : au- 
 *' reus ipse est, sed purpura violae 
 " nigricantis sublucet in foliis, quae 
 " multa in orbemambiunt floscula." 
 But our translators have greatly 
 erred : for May represents the leaves 
 of the stalk as being purple : 
 
 For from one roote he spreads a wood 
 
 of boughes, 
 W/iOse many leaves, although the flower 
 
 be gold, 
 Black violets dimme purple colour hold. 
 
 Addison has very much deviated 
 from the sense of his author : 
 
 A mighty spring works in its root, and 
 
 cleaves 
 The sprouting stalk, and shews itself in 
 
 leaves : 
 
390 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 with a great number of leaves, 
 which are purple, like viulels. 
 Tlie altars of the gods are 
 often adorned with wreaths 
 of these flowers. It has a 
 bitterish taste. The shepherds 
 gather it in the open valleys, 
 and near the winding stream 
 of the river Mella. 13oil the 
 roots of this herb in the best 
 flavoured wine, and place 
 baskets full of Ihera before the 
 door of the hive. B-t if the 
 ■ whole stock shall tail any 
 one on a sodden, and be shall 
 not know how to repair his 
 loss by a new family, it will 
 be time to unfold the memo- 
 rable discovery of iheArcadian 
 hi aster. 
 
 Funduntur, violae sublucet purpura nigroe. 275 
 Saspe deum nexis ornatae torquibus arae. 
 Asper in ore sapor. Tonsis in vallibus ilium 
 Pastores, et curva legunt prope flumina Mellae. 
 Hujus odorato radices incoque Baccho, 
 Pabulaque in foribus plenis appone canistris. 
 Sed si quern proles subito defecerit omnis, 
 Nee, genus unde novae stirpis revocetur, habebit, 
 Tempus et Arcadii memoranda inventa magistri 
 
 The flow'r itself is of a golden hue. 
 The leaves inclining to a darker blue. 
 The leaves shoot thick about the flow'r, 
 
 and grow 
 Into a bush, and shade the turf below. 
 * 
 Dryden took the folia quce plurima 
 circumfunduntur to be the branches 
 of the plant : 
 
 For from one root the rising stem be- 
 stows 
 
 A wood of leaves, and vVlet purple 
 loughs : 
 
 The flow'r itself is glorious to behold, 
 
 And shines on altars like refulgent 
 gold. 
 
 Dr. Trapp supposes the stem to be 
 golden, and the leaves to be purple: 
 
 For from one turf a mighty grove it 
 
 bears : 
 Its stem of golden hue, but in its leaves, 
 Which copious round it sprout, the purple 
 
 teint 
 Of deep-dy'd violets more glossy shines. 
 
 275. Violce vigrcB.'\ The com- 
 mon violet. It is called black, from 
 its dark purple colour. Thus Theo- 
 critus : KX) TO <ov f^iXctv IvTl. 
 
 277- Tonsis in vallibus.'] Servius 
 interprets this non sylvosis." Unde^," 
 says he/' est contraintonsimontes." 
 Jj3. Cerda takes it to mean after 
 mowing: " Cum valles jam sunt 
 " tonsae, et demessae segetes." Ser- 
 vius's sense agrees best with the 
 account which Ray gives of the 
 place where it grows. Ruaeus fol- 
 Icnvs La Cerda^ rendering this pas- 
 
 sage in pratis demessis. Dr. Trapp 
 adheres to this interpretation. 
 
 the swains. 
 
 In new mow'd vales, near Mella's wind- 
 ing stream 
 Gather this herb. 
 
 Though perhaps it may mean in 
 valleys where cattle have grazed ; for 
 tondeo is used for grazing j as 
 '' Tondent dumeta juvenci." 
 
 27s. Flumina Mellw.'] One of the 
 Arundelian manuscripts and the 
 Cambridge manuscript have it 
 Amellce. La Cerda reads Melee. 
 There are several rivers of this 
 name ; but that which Virgil means 
 here is a river of Lombardy. 
 
 280. Appone.'] Pierius tells us 
 that it is expone in the Roman and 
 some other manuscripts, 
 
 281. Sed si quern proles, &c.] The 
 Poet having already spoken of the 
 ways of driving noxious animals 
 from the bees, and of the method of 
 curing their diseases, now proceeds 
 to describe the manner after which 
 the total loss of them may be. re^ 
 paired, which he tells us was prac- 
 tised by the Egyptians. 
 
 Si quern.] Pierius found siquidem 
 in the Medicean and other ancient 
 manuscripts, I find it also in the 
 Bodleian, and in one of the Arunde- 
 lian manuscripts, andin some printed 
 editions. 
 
 283. Arcadii magistri.] The Ar» 
 
GEORG. LIB. IV. 
 
 391 
 
 Pandere, quoque modo caesis jam saepe juvencis bees lla^e oiiSffen^odS 
 
 . . oof '^'"""' "'^''" corrupted gore, I 
 
 Insincerus apes tulerit cruor, altius omnem %o5 shMii mmtionihe whole story 
 
 A ' at large, (racing it back from 
 
 -r\ T • , 1 • • P its tirsi source. For whtre the 
 
 iixpediam prima repetens ab origme lamam. happy nation of Pciuan 
 Nam qua Pellaei gens fortunata Canopi 
 
 cadian master is Aristseus. See the 
 note on ver. 317. 
 
 287. Nc^ qua Pellasi &c.] These 
 seven verses have greatly exercised 
 the skill of the commentators, who 
 have given very different interpre- 
 tations of them. La Cerda con- 
 tends, that the Poet, in the three 
 first lines, describes Egypt ; and in 
 the rest, Persia. That the three 
 first relate to Egypt, is universally 
 agreed: the difficulty consists in 
 solving the other. He takes the 
 amnts devexus ah Indis to be the In- 
 dus, to which Ptolomy has assigned 
 seven mouths, as well as to the Nile. 
 Now as the Indus does without 
 doubt descend from the Indians pro- 
 perly so called, as it really presses 
 the borders of Persia, and as it has 
 seven mouths, he thinks it agrees 
 better with the Poet's description 
 than the Nile, between which and 
 Persia all Arabia is interposed. As 
 for ver, ^91* he gets clear of that by 
 endeavouring to prove it not to be 
 genuine, and excluding it from the 
 text. Hardouin also understands 
 the Poet to speak of the Indus, but 
 retains the verse which La Cerda 
 rejects. He observes, that there 
 was an island called Prasiane, 
 formed by the mouths of the Indus, 
 as the Delta was by those of the 
 Nile. He derives the name of Pra- 
 siane from x^ctnoi, viridis, and thence 
 imagines, that Virgil meant this 
 island by viridem jEgyptum. Huet 
 opposes his learned countryman, 
 and understands the whole passage 
 to relate to Egypt. As for the Nile 
 being derived from India, he tells 
 us it was the universal opinion of 
 the ancients, that this river rose in 
 
 India, which he confirms by the au- 
 thority of Alexander, who thought 
 he had found the source of the Nile, 
 when he arrived at the Indus. Ru- 
 SEUS also rejects the Indus, inter- 
 preting the whole passage concern- 
 ing the Nile, deriving it from the 
 Ethiopians, who were called In- 
 dians by the ancients. He inter- 
 prets 
 
 Quaqtie pJiaretratoe vicinia Persidis urget, 
 
 " where the countries bordering 
 " on the quivered Persians touch 
 " Egypt." These countries, he says, 
 are Arabia, Syria, &c. all which are 
 comprehended by the Poet under the 
 name of Persia, because they were 
 all subdued by Cyrus, and his son 
 Cambyses. Catrou proposes a new 
 solution of this difficult passage. He 
 supposes Virgil to mean the whole 
 course of the Nile, the lower Egypt 
 in the three first verses, the upper 
 Egypt in the two next,and thesource 
 of the Nile in the two last, conclud- 
 ing with ver. 294. which plainly 
 shews that the Poet intended to de- 
 scribe only one country. For my 
 own part, I take Virgil, by all that 
 he has here said, to mean only a de- 
 scription of the Delta, or lower 
 Egypt. Canobus is the west angle 
 of that triangular region, Pelusium is 
 the east angle, being nearest to Per- 
 sia, and the south angle is the point, 
 where theNile is divided, to form the 
 Delta. I shall endeavour to explain 
 what has been said, in the following 
 notes on the particular expressions. 
 Fellcei Canopi.'] Strabo tells us, 
 that this city was so called from Ca- 
 nopus the pilot of Menelaus, who 
 died there, and that it is a hundred 
 and twenty stadia distant from Alex* 
 
392 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 S»atfw'th'f.s''JJ^^^^^ Accolit effuso stagnantem flumine Nilum, 
 
 iDg waters, and is carried . . . , . « t 
 
 round about its own fields in ii,t circum Dictis vchitur sua Tura faselis ; 
 
 painted gallej's; and where i^ ' 
 
 *even from tt' su'n'-burnt 7n° Quaque pharctratse viciiiia Persidis urget, 290 
 
 dians presses the borders of " 
 
 2rS'Egypt"^ch"b1ack oS ^t virideiii JEgyptum nigra fcecundat arena'. 
 
 tova-iv, iTFavvfAoq KetvaQov rev MsnXeicv 
 xvZigvvirov, aTTodavovTiig ecvrodt. Pella, 
 according to the same author, was 
 accounted the metropolis of Mace- 
 donia, being the birth-place both of 
 Philip and Alexander: TJjv dl IleA- 
 Aeew eoTTFig f^viT^OTroXiv yiyeviveci tZv M»- 
 x-i^ovav rhv (^iXiTrTrov Kxi 'AM^dvd^ov 
 '^UT^idec. The city Canopus gives 
 name to one of the most considerable 
 mouths of the Nile, being the near- 
 est to the city, which Alexander 
 built in Egypt, and called from his 
 own name Alexandria. Therefore 
 Virgil describes the west side of 
 the Delta, by calling it the Pellsean 
 Canopus, on account of the neigh- 
 bourhood of Alexandria. 
 
 Gens for lunata.'] The inhabitants 
 of this part of Egypt are called hap- 
 py on account of the great fertility 
 of their country. 
 
 288. Accolit effuso stagnantem 
 flumine Nilumr\ Strabo tells us, 
 that when the Nile overflows, the 
 whole country is covered with water, 
 except Iheir habitations, which are 
 built either upon natural hills, or 
 upon banks raised by art, which at 
 that time have the appearance of so 
 many islands : 'Ev Ti txTs ccvx'Zua-ia-i 
 rov Nit'Xcv, fcuXvTrTireti Trxret, xxt TrtXx- 
 yiC^i, 5rX«i» im oix^iriav' uvTxi ¥ Im 
 y^o(pav ecvTo^vav, h j^iffAdrav t^^vvrxi, 
 TToXstg n a.^ioXoy6i Keel Kafixi, vwitfiva-ect 
 xocrot TKv TTo^ahv o'4'<>'. 
 
 290. Pharetratce vicinia Persidis.'] 
 The Persians were famous for rid- 
 ing, hunting, and shooting arrows. 
 We are not to understand the Poet 
 in this place, as speaking of Per- 
 sia strictly so called, which was 
 
 bounded on the west by Susiana 
 and Media, on the north by Parthia, 
 on the east by Caramania, and on 
 the south by the Persian gulph, but 
 of the empire of those people ex- 
 tended by Cyrus. Xenophon tells 
 us that great monarch left behind 
 him an empire bounded on the east 
 by the mare erythrceum, on the north 
 by the Black sea, on the west by 
 Cyprus and Egypt, and on the 
 south by Ethiopia : K«/ Ix rovrov riiv 
 u.^^yiv a^i^iv ccvtS tt^o^ '{u jttsv, ii l^v6pei 
 6eiXecrrei' ■srgas «egxT6> §e, o Ei;|j*»65 
 Wo'vTfl?. 7rg05 IcTTFi^XV qI, KuTgoj Kcii A'i- 
 yvTCTog. 9rgoj fcttrnf^/i^iciv di AtdtoTrtet. 
 Here then we see plainly how the 
 Nile may press the borders of Per- 
 sia, since the Persians had extended 
 their dominion as far as to Egypt, 
 The Poet bad before spoken of the 
 west side of the Delta under the 
 name of Canopus : and now he 
 expresses the east side, or Pelusian 
 mouth of the Nile, as bordering on 
 the empire of the Persians. Catrou 
 finds some colonies of Persians 
 seated on each side of the Upper 
 Egypt, which he thinks the Poet 
 means in this verse. 
 
 291. Viridem Mgyptum.'] Har- 
 douin thinks the epithet viridis, 
 applied to Egypt, is cold and in- 
 animated: this being added to an- 
 other observation, that Virgil does 
 not use to be guilty of such tau- 
 tology, as to make a double de- 
 scription of the same place, he con- 
 cludes, that the Poet must speak of 
 two difiFerent countries. Then find- 
 ing mention in Pliny of a triangular 
 island at the mouth of the Indus, 
 he ventures to affirm, that Virgil 
 meant this island by viridem M- 
 
 \ 
 
GEORG. LIB. IV. 
 
 393 
 
 Et diversa ruens septem discurrit in ora 
 
 and poitriitg along divides it- 
 self into seven mouths: 
 
 gyptum, because it resembled the 
 lower Egypt or Delta, in its trian- 
 gular shape, and that the epithet 
 viridis is only a translation of Pra- 
 siane. But viridis is by no means a 
 cold epithet for Egypt, being very 
 proper to express the great fertility 
 of that country, when overflowed 
 by the Nile. As for the island 
 Prasiane, Pliny does not say it is 
 triangular. I do not find any 
 mention of it, except in the twenti- 
 eth chapter of the sixth book, where 
 he says it is a very large island, and 
 that there is another near it named 
 Patale : *' Amplissimam insulam 
 " efficiens, quae Prasianenominatur, 
 " et aliam minorem quae Patale." 
 As for Patale, he says in the next 
 chapter, that it is triangular : " Sed 
 " ante sunt aliae, Patale, quam sig- 
 " nificavimus, in ipsis faucibus Indi 
 *^ triquetra figura ccxx. M. pass. 
 *' latitudine." But he no where 
 says any thing of its greenness or 
 fertility. And to me it appears a 
 great %'iolence to make Virgil call 
 two Indian islands green Egypt, be- 
 cause one of them resembles it in 
 shape, and the other is derived from 
 a Greek word signifying green ; 
 which etymology, however, is not 
 very certain, since the learned 
 father himself confesses in another 
 place, that Prasiane is derived from 
 the name of the inhabitants, who 
 were called Prasii: " Prasiane, a 
 ** Prasiis, Indi amnis accolis, quo- 
 " rum ditionis fuit, nomen invenlt." 
 As for the imaginary tautology, it 
 has been observed already, that 
 Virgil does not describe the same 
 place twice ; but only distinguishes 
 Egypt, by describing the two sides 
 of the triangle, within which it is 
 contained. 
 
 Nigra are7ia.'] La Cerda thinks 
 these words are a proofs that Virgil 
 
 did not mean Egypt, because the 
 soil of the Nile is ooze, and not 
 sand. But arena is frequer^tly used 
 for any sort of soil ; and besides it 
 has been observed by travellers of 
 the best credit, that the natural soil 
 of Egypt is sand. 
 
 292. Sepiem discurrit in ora.'] 
 The seven mouths of the Nile are 
 so very famous, and so frequently 
 spoken of, that it may seem un- 
 necessary to say any thing here 
 concerning them. But as the sense 
 of this passage very much depends 
 on a right understanding of the 
 form of the lower Egypt, I shall 
 follow the description given of it 
 by Strabo. This famous geogra- 
 pher observes, that the Nile flows 
 directly northward, from the borders 
 of Ethiopia, till it comes to the 
 Delta, where being divided as from 
 a vertex, it makes a triangular 
 figure : the sides of the triangle are 
 two channels of the Nile, running 
 down on each side rf it to the sea ; 
 that on the right hand to Pelusium, 
 and that on the left to Canopus and 
 Heraclium : and the base is the 
 seacoast between Pelusium and 
 Heraclium. Thus the island is en- 
 compassed by the sea, and two 
 channels of the Nile ^ and is called 
 Delta, because it resembles the 
 Greek letter A : 'Atto yu^ rm AiSio- 
 
 TTixm Ti^^ivsjv, p«7 Itt ivdstoig TT^Oi; CJg- 
 XToyj 6 Ng^Aa?, 'iag rev fcaXovf^ivov y^a- 
 ^lov AgArcfr. tir Itt/ xc^viph o-yi^of^ivog 
 NsTAo?, eog (pvioriv TLxdrav, ag av r^i- 
 yavov Kopv^^v uTTonXii rov tottov tovtov 
 TrXiv^xg di r6v r^iymov ret, (ryi(^ofAtvoi 
 
 QxT^drrviq, ro fclv h ?g|<i5 tk? kocxo, Ua- 
 Xovcriov. ro ^' h ugia-r^ci rvig xctra, Kci- 
 v6t>Qov, Koii ro ^A'/j<r/oy 'H^daXuov, Tr^otra- 
 yo^ivof^ivov /ioccTiv 21 rhv Tvoc^u.'h.ictv rhv 
 (A.%TX%v rov XlYiXovTiov' Koci rov H^x- 
 kMiov' Tkyovz 21 y> y^irog 2« rs rKg P«- 
 3 E 
 
394 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 exp'^utioK^lhfs'^'rt! "^Z Usque coloratis amnis devexus ab Indis : 
 
 they choose out a small place, >-..., 
 
 S^cT^^J^T^^'forThls^r". ^"""is 1" ^ac certam regio jacit arte salutem. 
 
 ^^^^' Exiguus primum, atque ipsos contractus ad usus 
 
 XxTTvig, xMt rZv piVfAxraiv Mf£^o7y rev 
 7roTct[Aov. KXi KecXiTreci AsATflf, 2ic6 t«v 
 of*,oioTnrec rov a-^Hf^ccTog. A little af- 
 terwards he sets down the names 
 of the seven mouths of this river : 
 MgTfift ^6 crof^iec to Kay«S<xo» gW* to BoA- 
 
 C«T<*o'v ilrcC TO 'ZiQtiViriKOV X.Xt TO OflfT- 
 »<>to'» T«l ^£ (^XTVIkS G-VVXTTrU TO 
 
 Mg»^>}V<ov giToc TO TuvtrtKoVj Kxt nMv- 
 voucy TOK TlviXcvTtxKov . I wonder 
 none of the commentators have 
 proposed the Ganges, as the river 
 here meant j for Virgil himself, in 
 the ninth JLneid, describes it as 
 having seven mouths like the Nile: 
 
 ■ Medio dux agmine Tur- 
 
 nus 
 
 Vertitur arma tenens, et toto vertice 
 supra est. 
 
 Ceu septem surgens sedatis omnibus altus 
 
 Per taciturn Ganges: aut pingui flu- 
 mine Nilus, 
 
 Cum refluit campis, et jam se condidit 
 alveo. 
 
 293. Coloratis amnis devexus ab 
 Indis.^ Huet, to solve the difficulty 
 of the Nile's being said to flow 
 from the Indians, has discovered, 
 that the ancients imagined the 
 source of the Nile to be in India 
 properly so called, which doctrine 
 he supports by a relation, that 
 Alexander thought he had found it 
 in India. But this was far from 
 being a received opinion in Virgil's 
 time. For Strabo informs us, 
 that Alexander himself was con- 
 vinced of his error. When Alex- 
 ander, says he, saw crocodiles in 
 the Hydaspes, and Egyptian beans 
 in the Acesine, he fancied he had 
 found the source of the Nile, and 
 prepared a fleet in order to invade 
 Egypt that way. But he soon 
 found it was impossible to put it in 
 execution. For there are many 
 
 rivers and dangerous channels be- 
 tween, and above all the ocean, into 
 which all the rivers of India empty 
 themselves, and then there is Aria- 
 na, and the Persian and Arabian 
 gulphs, and all Arabia and Troglo- 
 dytica : 'AAg'|«t»^go» ^' g» yAi rS 'Y^at- 
 irTTtf xpox60UXevg tooirx, \i oi rS Axg- 
 triv*! xveifACvg AiyVTrrlovg, %v^nxkixi 2o- 
 |«< rxg rov NiiXov Tniydg, x-xi firx^x- 
 G-K6vci^tB-6xi orroMi stg rti* A'lyvTrrof, ag 
 rS TTcrxfAo rovra f^i^^t IziTo^ TrXivro- 
 fctvov' fiiK^lv ^ vFTi^ov yvavxi, ^iori ev 
 dvvxrxi ^XTTia-i. Msc-ok y«g (ZiyeiXot 
 'XOTxuoi, Kx] diTvx Dii&px. 'Clxiecvig ult 
 ^^arcv, itg o» ocoidoxa-ii 01 lioixot ^uvrtg 
 TTcrufAo/. iTFiirx, *i 'A^ixti}, Kui Hi^- 
 <riKog xo'^TTOf, xect 'Apci/Btog, xxi xvrn « 
 'AgatS/flC, »xi *i T ^uyXcihvriici. But 
 
 there is no occasion to have re- 
 course to so absurd an opinion, if 
 any did entertain it, since it is easy 
 to prove that the Ethiopians, from 
 whose country the Nile is allowed 
 to descend, were frequently called 
 Indians by the ancients. Thus our 
 Poet himself, in the eighth ^neid, 
 mentions Indians among the nations 
 that assisted Anthony and Cleo- 
 patra; 
 
 Omnis eo terrore ^gyptus et 
 
 Indus, 
 Omnis Arabs, omnes verterunt terga 
 
 Sabaei. 
 
 Here the Indians are generally al- 
 lowed to be the Ethiopians, for it 
 does not appear, that there were 
 any oriental Indians in that army. 
 
 294. Omnis regio.~\ By these 
 words the Poet plainly shews that 
 he has been speaking only of one 
 country. 
 
 295. Exiguus primum, &c.] It 
 was the general opinion of anti- 
 quity, that bees were produced from 
 
GEORG. LIB. IV. 
 
 395 
 
 Eligitur locus : hunc angustique imbrice tecti 
 Parietibusque premunt arctis, et quatuor addunt, 
 Quatuor a ventis obliqua luce fenestras. 298 
 Turn vitulus, bima curvans jam cornua fronte, 
 Quaeritur; huic geminae nares, et spiritus oris 
 Multa reluctant! obstruitur, plagisque perempto 
 Tunsa per integram solvuntur viscera pellem. 
 Sic positum in clauso linquunt, et ramea costis 
 Subjiciuntfragmenta5thymum,casiasquerecentes. 
 Hoc geritur, zephyris primum impellentibus 
 undas, 305 
 
 Ante novis rubeant quam prata coloribus, ante 
 Garrula quam tignis nidum suspendat hirundo. 
 
 Ihis they straiten with a 
 narrow roof, and confined 
 walls: and add four windows 
 receiving an oblique light 
 from the four quarters. Then 
 they seek a steer of two years 
 that just bends his horns : and 
 whilst he stfuggles mightily 
 they close up both liis nostrils, 
 and the breath of his mouth ; 
 and when he is bruised to 
 death, his crushed bowels 
 putrify, the skin remaining 
 entire. Being thus placed, 
 they leave him shut np : and 
 put sprigs under him, thyme 
 and fresh casia. This is done 
 when the zephyrs first begin 
 to stir the waters, before the 
 meadows blush with new 
 colours, before the chattering 
 swallow hangs her nest upon 
 the rafters. 
 
 the putrid bodies of cattle. Varro 
 says they are called /Sovyayui by the 
 Greeks, because they arise from 
 putrified bullocks : " Denique ex 
 ** hoc putrefacto nasci dulcissirnas 
 *' apes mellis matres, a quo eas 
 *' Graeci fiovyoncc^ appellant." And 
 in another place he mentions their 
 risin-g from these putrid animals, 
 and quotes the authority of Arche- 
 laus, who says bees proceed from 
 bullocks, and wasps from horses: 
 ** Apes nascuntur partim exapibus, 
 *' partim ex bubulo corpore putre- 
 " facto. Itaque Archelaus in epi- 
 ** grammate ait eas esse 
 
 '* — Boos <p0tvo/Aivns -rttoiyifiivei rixva. 
 
 " Idem : 
 
 ** Icr^uv fih ff(priKis ytvtoij fAotr^uv li fjiX- 
 " "KiffffctiV 
 
 Above all, we have the authority of 
 the holy Scriptures, that bees will 
 proceed from the putrid carcase of 
 an animal. For, as we read in the 
 fourteenth chapter of the book of 
 Judges, ♦' Samson went down, and 
 " his father, and his mother, to 
 " Timnath, and came to the vine- 
 " yards of Timnath : and behold a 
 
 " young lion roared against him. 
 " And the Spirit of the Lord came 
 '^ mightily upon him, and he rent 
 '* him as he would have rent a kid 
 ''.... and after a time , ... he 
 " turned aside to see the carcase 
 '*^ of the lion, and behold there was 
 " a swarm of bees, and honey in 
 " the carcase of the lion." It is 
 not however to be imagined, that 
 insects are generated from a putre- 
 faction. The truth is, such car- 
 cases are a proper receptacle for 
 their young; and therefore the 
 female parent chooses there to lay 
 her eggs, that the warmth of the 
 fermentingjuices may help to hatch 
 them, 
 
 301. Obstruitur.'\ Fulvius Ursi- 
 nus says it is obsuitur in the old 
 Colotian manuscript. 
 
 304. Thymum.'] See the note on 
 ver, 122. 
 
 Casias.'] See the note on book 
 ii. ver. 213. 
 
 205. Zephyris primum impellenii- 
 bus unclas.'] This wind is said by 
 Pliny to begin to blow about the 
 eighth of February. See the note 
 on book iii. ver. 273. 
 
 sen. Hirundo.'] The time of the 
 3e2 
 
396 
 
 r. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 In the mean time the mois- 
 ture, growing warm in his 
 tender bonts, ferments; and 
 animals, wonderful to behold, 
 are formed, at lirst without 
 feet, but in a little while hav- 
 ing also buz^ing wings, and 
 continually more and more 
 try the thin air: till at last 
 they burst out like a shower 
 pouring from the summer 
 clouds ; or like arrows driven 
 from the impelling string, 
 when the lisrht Parthians enter 
 into the battle. What god, O 
 ye Muses, who invented this 
 art for us! whence did thisnew 
 experience of men take its rise? 
 The shepherd Aristaeus fljing 
 from Peneian Tempe, 
 
 Interea teneris tepefactus in ossibus humor 
 ^stuat, et visenda modis animalia miris, 309 
 Truiica pedum primo, mox et stridentia pennis 
 Miscentur, tenuemque magis magis aera carpunt ; 
 Donee, ut asstivis efFusus nubibus imber, 
 Erupere ; aut ut nervo pulsante sagittae, 
 Prima leves ineunt si quando prcelia Parthi. 
 Quis deus banc, Musae, quis nobis extudit 
 artem ? 315 
 
 Unde nova ingressus hominum experientia cepit ? 
 Pastor Aristaeus fugiens Peneia Tempe, 
 
 swallows coming is said by Colu- 
 mella to be about the twentieth or 
 twenty-third of February : '* De- 
 ^' cimo Calendas Martii leo desinit 
 " occidere,venti septentrionales,qLn 
 *' vocantur ornithiae, per dies tri- 
 " ginta esse solent, tum et hirundo 
 " advenit :*' and " Septimo Ca- 
 " lendas Martii ventosa tempestas, 
 " hirundo conspicitur," Pliny says 
 it is on the twenty-second: '* Oc- 
 '' tavo calendas Martii hirundinis 
 " visus." 
 
 311. Tenuemque magis magis.'] 
 The King's, the Bodleian, one of 
 Dr. Mead's manuscripts, and most 
 of the old editions, have tenuem 
 magis ac magis. In the other of 
 Dr. Mead's manuscripts, it is tenu- 
 emque magis ac magiSj where que is 
 redundant. 
 
 Carpunt.'] Pierius found cuptant 
 in an old manuscript, which reading 
 is countenanced by frigus caplabis 
 opacum, and by captavit narihus 
 auras. 
 
 312. UL] It is et in one of Dr. 
 Mead's manuscripts. 
 
 313. Erupere; aut ut.] Pierius 
 found eripuere in some ancient ma- 
 nuscripts, and in others erupere 
 velut. The last reading he thinks 
 more sweet, and the former more 
 numerous. In one of the Arun- 
 
 delian manuscripts it is velut, and 
 in one of Dr. Mead's vel ut. 
 
 314. Parthi.] See the note on 
 book jii. ver. 31. 
 
 315. Quis deus, &c.] The Poet 
 concludes the Georgicks with the 
 fable of Aristaeus, which includes 
 that of Orpheus and Eurydice. This 
 j)aragraph contains the complaint 
 of Aristaeus for the loss of his bees, 
 and his mother's permission to him 
 to enter the sources of the rivers. 
 
 Extudit.] In the Bodleian, one of 
 the Arundelian, and in both Dr. 
 Mead's manuscripts, it is excudit. 
 
 317. Pastor AristcBus.] I have 
 already said something of Aristaeus, 
 in the notes on ver. 14. of the first 
 Georgick ; but as the fable of him 
 takes up so considerable a part of 
 the fourth, I shall say something 
 more of him in this place. 
 
 It is generally agreed , that he was 
 the son of Apollo, though Cicero, 
 in one of his orations against Verres, 
 makes him the son of Bacchus : 
 " Aristaeus, qui, ut Graeci ferunt, 
 *' Liberifilius, inventor olei esse di- 
 '' citur, una cum Libero paire apud 
 " illos eodem erat in templo conse- 
 " cratus." And yet Cicero himself, 
 in his third book de Natura Deorum, 
 allows him to be the son of Apollo : 
 " Aristaeus, qui olivae dicitur in- 
 
GEORG. LIB. IV. 
 
 397 
 
 1)18 bees, as is reported, being 
 lost by disease and famine. 
 the sacred 
 
 stood mournful 
 
 Amissis, ut fama, apibus morboque fameque, 
 
 rn • >• J i • . 1 .«,•. » aiouu iiiuuniiui ai iiie sacrea 
 
 1 nstis ad extremi sacrum caput adstitit amnis, ''e?** o». H'e rising stream, 
 
 * ' grievously complaining; an<l 
 
 Multa querens, atque hac afFatus voce parentem : iSoo^l'^cyren? 5'7noti.e?. 
 
 -.^ ^ • • 1 . ^^-. who inhabitcst the bottom of 
 
 Mater Cyrene, mater, quae gurgitis hujus 321 »'»» ^P"°g' 
 
 " ventor^ApoUinisfilius." He was 
 born in Libya, whither Apollo trans- 
 ported his mother, in order to enjoy 
 her, according to Pindar : Nvv ^' iv- 
 ^vMif^m TTorvid croi AiCyat di^irxi 6VK>^iu 
 
 .... Tc$i Tcui^x ti^irui jtt/ygy 
 
 l» -KoXv^c^vra AiZvatg. He married 
 Autonoe the daughter of Cadmus, 
 by whom he had Acteon. After the 
 death of this son, being informed 
 by the oracle of Apollo, that he 
 should receive divine honours in 
 the island Cea, he removed thither, 
 where, offering sacrifice to Jupiter, 
 he obtained the ceasing of a plague, 
 and was therefore honoured by them 
 as a god after his death. He is 
 said also to have visited Arcadia, 
 Sardinia, Sicily, and Thrace, in all 
 which countries he was adored, for 
 having taught mankind the uses of 
 oil and honey, and the manner of 
 curdling milk. The scene of the 
 fable, as it is here related by Virgil, 
 is placed in Thessaly. 
 
 Peneia Tempe.l Tempe, as was 
 observed in the note on book ii. 
 ver. 469, is used by the poets to 
 express any pleasant plain j but 
 here the epithet Peneia plainly de- 
 termines, that the real Thessalian 
 Tempe is meant. The river Peneus 
 rises in Pindus, a great mountain 
 of Thessaly, and flows through the 
 delightful plains of the Thessalian 
 Tempe. Thus Ovid : 
 
 Est neraus Haemoniae, praerupta quod 
 
 undique claudit 
 Sylva ; vocant^Tempe : per quae Peneus 
 
 ab imo 
 Eflfusus Pindo spumosi^ volvitur undis j 
 Dejectuque gravi tenues agitantia fumos 
 
 Nubila conducit, summasque aspergine 
 
 sylvas 
 Impluitj et sonitu plus quam vicina 
 
 fatigat, 
 
 A pleasant grove within JEmonia grows, 
 CaWd Tempe; which high ragged cliffs 
 
 inclose, 
 Through this PeneuSf poiir'd from Pin- 
 
 duSf raves J 
 And from the bottom rowles, with foaming 
 
 waves, 
 That by steep down-falls tumbling from on 
 
 hie, 
 Ingender mists, which smoke-like, upward 
 
 That on the dewy tops of trees distill. 
 And more than neighbouring woods with 
 noises fill. 
 
 Sandys. 
 
 Theocritus also mentions the beau- 
 tiful Peneian Tempe and Pindus 
 together : 
 
 "H xara, Uivtiai xuka Ti/x'^rtUf vi xura 
 
 319. ExiremL] Fieri us found 
 exiremum in some ancient manu- 
 scripts. 
 
 Caput.'] Some understand this of 
 the mouth of the river; but that 
 was near Tempe, where Aristaeus 
 was supposed to dwell. He for- 
 sook the plains, and retired to the 
 springs of the river, and the moun- 
 tain Pindus. 
 
 321. Mafer Cyrene.] Virgil makes 
 Cyrene the daughter of Peneus: 
 but Pindar makes her the daughter 
 of Hypseus, king of the Lapithae, 
 son ofthe Naiad Creusa, by Peneus: 
 "Evvhv u^f^o^cicret 6iS tt yecf^ov fii^Sevri 
 KovpcA ^"Y%^ao5 ivpvZlei' 05 Aet7ri6ay vtti^- 
 cttXui rovruKis ^* /^eto-iMvf, l| 'ClKtxvou 
 yhoi ^^as diVTi^og, ov ttots Uiv^ov xAesv- 
 
S98 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 'why did you bear me de- 
 tested by the fates, and yet 
 sprung trom the glorious race 
 of gods, if, as you pretend, 
 'ihymbraean Apollo is indeed 
 my father? or whilhtr is 
 your love for me fled ! why 
 did you bid me hope for hea- 
 ven I See, I lose, whilst you 
 ■are my mottier, even this 
 glory of mortal life, which 
 ti-ynig all things I had scarce 
 struck out from the diligent 
 care of fruits and cattle. But 
 proceed, and with your own 
 hand rodt up my happy 
 groves ; set hostile fire to my 
 stalls, and destroy my har- 
 vests ; burn down my plant- 
 ations, and exercise a strong 
 bill against my vines; if you 
 have taken such great offence 
 at my praise. But his mother 
 heani the voice under the bed 
 of the deep river : the Nymphs 
 were carding the Milesian 
 wool, dyed with a full sea- 
 green colour, around her; both 
 Drymo an<l Xanthe, and Ligea 
 and Phyllodoce, 
 
 Ima tenes, quid me praeclara stirpe deorum, 
 Si modo, quem perhibes, pater est Thymbraeus 
 
 Apollo, 
 Invisum fatis genuisti ? aut quo tibi nostri 324 
 Pulsus amor ? quid me caelum sperare jubebas? 
 En etiam hunc ipsum vitae mortalis honorem 
 Quem mihi vix frugum et pecudum custodia 
 
 solers 
 Omnia tentanti extuderat, te matre relinquo. 
 Quin age, et ipsa manu felices erue sylvas : 
 Per stabulis inimicum ignem, atque interfice 
 
 messes: 380 
 
 Ure sata, et validam in vites molire bipennem ; 
 Tanta meae si te ceperunt taedia laudis. 
 At mater sonitum thalamo sub fluminis alti 
 Sensit : eam circum Milesia vellera Nymphae 
 Carpebant, hyali saturo fucata colore : 335 
 
 Drymoque, Xanthoque, Ligeaque, Phyllodoce- 
 
 que, 
 
 Xi^st K^loir 'inxTtv Tuixg 6vyeirfi^. Al- 
 most the whole ninth Pythian ode 
 is taken up with the account of 
 Cyrene, of which I shall give an 
 abstract. This beautiful young lady 
 was educated by her father, in the 
 valleys of Pindus. Her whole de- 
 light was in hunting wild beasts, 
 which greatly tended to the secu- 
 rity of her father's cattle. Apollo 
 happened to see her fighting with 
 a lion, and fell in love with her, in 
 consequence of which he carried her 
 into Africa, where she was delivered 
 of our Aristaeus, and gave her name 
 to the famous city Cyrene. 
 
 323. ThymbrcEus Apollo.'] Apollo 
 had this surname from Thymbra, 
 a town of Troas, where he had a 
 famous temple. 
 
 328. Extuderat.'] In the King's, 
 one of the Arundelian manuscripts, 
 
 and in some of the old editions, it 
 is excuderat : in both Dr. Mead's 
 manuscripts it is excuterat. 
 
 331. Bipennem.'] The bipennis is 
 a sort of bill with two edges. 
 
 324!. Sensit.] Pierius found sentit 
 in some ancient manuscripts. 
 
 Milesia vellera.] See the note on 
 book iii. ver. 306. 
 
 335. Hyali] This colour is a sea- 
 green, or glass colour, y^Ao? signify- 
 ing glass. 
 
 336. Drymoque, &c.] The poets 
 seem fond ofmakinglong catalogues 
 of nymphs 5 as may be seen in He- 
 siod. Homer, and others. 
 
 Ruaeus gives the following ety- 
 mology of their names : Drymo 
 from "^^vfici, a wood of oaks j Xantho 
 from |fl6>d?, yellow or golden; Ligea 
 from >>iyna,, canorous; Phyllodoce 
 from ^vXXovj a leaf, and Tsjc^fMi, I 
 
GEORG. LIB. IV. 
 
 399 
 
 Caesariem efFusae nitidam per Candida coUa : 
 Nesaee, Spioque, Thaliaque, Cymodoceque, 
 Cydippeque, et flava Lycorias ; altera virgo, 
 
 having their shining hair dif- 
 fused over their snowy neck:* ; 
 Nesa;e, and Spio, and Thalia, 
 and Cymo<ioce, and Cydippe, 
 and golden Lycorias, the one 
 a virgin. 
 
 take ; Nessee from v?ero?, an island ; 
 Spio* from c-Tnlov, a den ; Thalia 
 from 6etXXcjf 1 flourish j Cymodoce 
 from KVfcx, a wave, and ds^of^xi, 
 I take ; Cydippe from Kv^og, glory, 
 and Yttttos, a horse ; Lycorias from 
 XvKc^, a wolf ; Clio from «Ag/», I 
 praise; Ephyrefrom (pv^a, I water; 
 Opis from a>yp, uTrog a countenance j 
 Deiopea from Jjjiof, ardent, and 'o^p, 
 oTToi, a voice. Dryden lias added 
 epithets to several of these names, 
 which are not warranted either by 
 the original, or their etymologies :* 
 
 Spio with Drymo brown, and Xanthe 
 
 fair. 
 And sweet Phyllodoce, 
 Opis the meek, and Deio]peia. proud, 
 Nisea lofty, 
 Thalia joyous f Ephyre the sad. 
 
 Grimoaldus has given a large 
 paraphrase on all these names, which 
 it may not be amiss to translate : 
 " In the first place Drymo, so called 
 " from a grove of oaks. Then 
 " Xantho, named either from a 
 *' yellow colour, or from a river of 
 *' Troy of the same name, which is 
 '' called also Scamander. After- 
 " wards Ligea, who had her name 
 *' from the sound of flowing waters, 
 '* or from a tree or herb, called by 
 ** the Greeks Ligeon. Then Phyl- 
 *' lodoce, so called from receiving 
 *' leaves. And Nesaea, who had 
 *' her name either from spinning, 
 '' swimming, or washing. Speio 
 '^ also, so called from dens and ca- 
 '^ verns of rivers. Thalia also, 
 '^ named from greenness, joy, and 
 *' mirth. And Cymodoce, so called 
 '* from receiving and quieting 
 '^ waves. Also Cydippe, a riding 
 *' virgin, who had her name from 
 
 " the excellence and glory of her 
 '^ horses. Also Lycorias, who was 
 " married, and had the manners of 
 " a wolf. And Clio, who uses to 
 " bring praise and glory to men. 
 " And her sister Beroe, who retain- 
 " ed the name of an old woman of 
 " Epidaurus, into whom Juno 
 " changed herself, to persuade Se- 
 " mele, to entreat of Jupiter, that 
 '' he would appear to her with his 
 " full glory. Ephyre also was pre- 
 " sent, from whom the city Corinth 
 " took its ancient name. Opis 
 " also, a nymph full of care and 
 " consideration. There was Asian 
 " Deiopeia also, a warlike and 
 '' strong virago. And lastly Are- 
 •* thusa, a huntress, and companion 
 " of Diana, who took her name 
 " from a Sicilian fountain, who 
 " throwing away her arrows fled 
 " from Alpheus pursuing her." 
 
 336. Phyllodoce.] In both the 
 Arundelinn, and in one of Dr. Mead's 
 manuscripts, it is Phyledoce. In Dr. 
 Mead's other manuscript it is Phil- 
 lldoce. 
 
 33S. Nescee, &c.] This verse is 
 omitted in one of Dr. Mead's manu- 
 scripts : and in some others, accord- 
 ing to Pierius, and Fulvius Ur- 
 sinus. 
 
 Cymodoce.'] In one of the Arun- 
 delian manuscripts it is Cynodoce. 
 
 339. Cydippeque et flava Lycorias.] 
 In the King's, the Cambridge, one 
 of the Arundelian manuscripts, and 
 in the old Nurenberg edition, it is 
 Cydippe et jiava Lycorias. Pierius 
 found Cydippeque et Jiava Lycorias 
 in the Lombard manuscript, which 
 he thinks is Virgil's manner. This 
 reading is generally admitted. 
 
400 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 the other having jnst expe- 
 rienced the first labours of 
 Lacina; and Clio and her sis- 
 ter Beroe, both daughters of 
 Oceanus : both begirt with 
 gold, both with painted skins ; 
 and Ephyre, and Opis, and 
 Asian Deiopeia, and Arethusa 
 having at length laid her 
 shafts aside. Among whom 
 Clymene was relating the vain 
 care of Vulcan, and the de- 
 ceits of Mars, and his sweet 
 thefts, and enumerated the 
 frequent amours of the gods 
 down from Chaos. Whilst 
 the nymphs were hearkening 
 to this song, as they turned 
 tlie soft work, i^gain the la- 
 mentations of Aristaeus struck 
 his mother's ears ; and all 
 were astonished in their glassy 
 «eats : 
 
 Altera turn primes Lucinae experta labores: 340 
 Clioque et Beroe soror, Oceanitides ambae, 
 Ambae auro, pictis incinctae pellibus ambae ; 
 Atque Ephyre, atque Opis, et Asia Deibpea ; 
 Et tandem positis velox Arethusa sagittis. 
 Inter quas curam Clymene narrabat inanem 345 
 Vulcani, Martisque dolos, et dulcia furta : 
 Aque Chao densos divum numerabat amores. 
 Carmine quo captae, dum fusis mollia pensa 
 Devolvunt ; iterum maternas impulit aures 
 Luctus Aristaei, vitreisqUe sedilibus omnes 350 
 
 343. EtAsiaBeiopea.'] Paul Ste- 
 phens and Schrevelius read atque 
 Asia De'iopea. Some read atque Asia 
 et Deiopeia, making Asia and Deio- 
 peia two nymphs. But I believe Asia 
 is an adjective, meaning that she be- 
 longed to the Asian Jen: see the 
 note on book i. ver. 383. 
 
 344<. Tandem positis velox Are- 
 thusa sagittis^ The nymph Are- 
 thusa, according to the fable, was 
 the daughter of Nereus and Doris, 
 and one of Diana's companions. 
 Being pursued by the river god Al- 
 pheus, she was changed into a foun- 
 tain by Diana. 
 
 345. Curam Clymene narrabat in- 
 anem Vulcani, &c.] This story of 
 the amour of Mars and Venus, and 
 their being caught in a net by Vul- 
 can, is sung by Demodocus, in the 
 eighth Odyssey. The Poet calls 
 Vulcan's care vain, either because 
 it did not hinder the lovers from 
 enjoyment, or perhaps because, ac- 
 cording to the song in Homer, the 
 discovery of Mars seemed to be en- 
 vied by the gods : 
 
 'E^/t*?v ti. T^affitt^ty ava| Aio; v!os 'Ata'A,- 
 
 X.ut. 
 'E^fi6icc Atos vit, ha»,ro^i, ^eHro^ iduv. 
 'U^a, xiv iv ^ifffAOiffi 6iXois K^an^oTtri Ti- 
 
 Toy ^' ijfiuSiT 'i^etTa^iaxro^e; 'A^yutpivTn;. 
 A'i ya,^ TOVTO y'ivoiTO, a,va^ ix.a.TriQo^J 'A^iX^ 
 
 'Tfjcui V Uffo^ou/Tt ho), vutrai ti Siocivcct, 
 "flj %(paT iv ^l y'iXus ugr adavaroKri 6ia1- 
 
 He who gilds the skies. 
 
 The gay Apollo thus to Hermes cries. 
 
 Wou'dst thou enchain'd like Mars, oh 
 Hermes, lie 
 
 And bear the shame like Mars, to share 
 the joy ? 
 
 O envied sharae ! (the smiling youth 
 rejoined,) 
 
 Add thrice the chains, and thrice more 
 firmly bind ; 
 
 Gaze all ye gods, and ev'ry goddess gaze. 
 
 Yet eager I would bless the sweet dis- 
 grace- 
 Loud, laugh the rest. 
 
 Mr. Pope. 
 
 347. Aque Chao.] According to 
 Hesiod, Chaos was before the other 
 gods; and from him the rest were 
 generated : 
 
 "Ktbi fciv ^^uTiffTa Xdag yivir. 
 
 'E» Xdsos S* 'E^s€os ts fiikaivd ri Ny| 
 iyitevra. 
 
 Numerabat.'] It is narrabat is one 
 of Dr. Mead's manuscripts, and in 
 the old Venice edition of 1476 and 
 1482. 
 
 3 50. Viireisque sedi libus.] I n t h e 
 
GEORG. LIB. IV. 
 
 401 
 
 Obstupuere: sed ante alias Arethusa sorores 
 Prospiciens, summa flavum caput extulit unda, 
 Et procul: O gemitu non frustra exterrita tanto, 
 Cyrene soror ; ipse tibi tua maxima cura 
 Tristis Aristaeus Penei genitoris ad undam 355 
 Stat lachrymans, et te crudelem nomine dicit. 
 Huic percussa nova mentem formidine mater. 
 Due age due ad nos ; fas illi limina divum 
 Tangere, ait : simul alta jubet discedere late 
 Flumina, qua juvenis gressus inferret : at ilium 
 Curvata in montis faciem circumstetit unda, 361 
 Accepitque sinu vasto, misitque sub amnem. 
 Jamque domum mirans genetricis, et humida 
 regna, 
 
 but Arethusa lookins for- 
 wartis beyond the other sis- 
 ters, raised Jier golden heatl 
 above the lop ol the water; 
 and called IVom afar ; O sister 
 Cyrene, not in vain astoni»lied 
 at so great a wailing; yonr 
 own Arislaeiis, your greatest 
 care, stands grievously la- 
 menting, by the spring of 
 your father Peneus, and calls 
 yoH cruel by name. Hence 
 the mother having her mind 
 smitten with a new dread, 
 cries, Come, bring him, bring 
 bim to us: it is lawful for 
 him to touch the thresholds 
 of the gods. At the same 
 time she commands the deep 
 river to open wide, for the 
 youth to enter : and the water 
 stood round him heaped up 
 like a mountain, and received 
 him into its vast bosom, and 
 admitted him under the river. 
 And now admiring the habit- 
 ation of bis mother, and the 
 watery realms, 
 
 King's manuscript it is vitreis quoque 
 sedibus. 
 
 S5^. Flavum.] jierius reads pla- 
 cidum: but he is better pleased with 
 flavum f which he found in most of 
 the ancient manuscripts. 
 
 355, Penei genitoris.'] We have 
 seen already, that Peneus, according 
 to Pindar, was the grandfather of 
 Cyrene. 
 
 357. Huic,'] In one of the Arun- 
 delian, one of Dr. Mead's manu- 
 scripts, and in some old printed edi- 
 tions, it is kinc. 
 
 359. Discedere.] It is descendere 
 in one of Dr. Mead's manuscripts. 
 
 361. Curvata in montis faciem.] 
 Thus Homer : 
 
 Thus also Ovid : 
 
 Cum mare surrexit; cumulusque im- 
 
 manis aquarum 
 In montis speciem curvari, et crescere 
 
 visus, 
 
 3QS. Jamque domum, &c.] This 
 paragraph contains the entrance of 
 Aristaeus within the earth, and his 
 
 astonishment at the sight of the 
 sources of the several rivers. 
 
 Servius observes, that what is 
 here said is not by a poetical liberty, 
 but is taken from the sacred mys- 
 teries of the Egyptians. For on 
 certain days sacred to the Nile, 
 some boys, born of holy parents, 
 were delivered to the nymphs by 
 the priests. Who, when they were 
 grown up and returned back, related 
 that there were groves under the 
 earth, and an immense water con- 
 taining all things, and from which 
 every thing is procreated. Whence, 
 according to Tliales, Oceanumque 
 patrem rerum. 
 
 Homer makes the ocean to be 
 the source of all rivers : 
 
 ————— (iu^vpfiirao (Aiyet trdives uxiu,' 
 
 *E| OUSTER Tcivris <rtra.fji.oi xtti ^rucra 6ci- 
 
 Xuffffci 
 Ket) ^uffUi x^^vcu XKt (p^ticera fiax^a vuov- 
 
 ff'tv. 
 
 Th' eternal ocean, from "whose fountains 
 
 fio-w 
 The seaSf the rivers, and the sfrings le- 
 lotc', 
 
 Mr. Pope. 
 3 F 
 
4m 
 
 p. VIRGILIT MARONIS 
 
 aiid the lakes ehut up in dens, 
 and the sounding groves, be 
 went along, and astonished at 
 the vast motion of the waters, 
 he surveyed all the rivers glid- 
 ing under the earth in differ- 
 ent places. Phasis and Lycus, 
 and the head whence great 
 Enipeus first breaks forth, 
 whence father Tyher, and 
 whence the floods of Anio, 
 and Hypanis sounding over 
 the rocks, and Mysian Caicns, 
 
 Speluncisque lacus clauses, lucosque sonantes, 
 Ibat, et ingenti mota stupefactus aquarum, 365 
 Omnia sub magna labentia flumina terra 
 Spectabat diversa locis, Phasimque, Lycumque, 
 Et caputjunde altus primum se erumpit Enipeus, 
 Unde pater Tiberinus, et unde Aniena fluenta, 
 Saxosumque sonans Hypanis, Mysusque Caicus, 
 
 i 
 
 But Plato, whom Virgil seems to 
 follow here, as he did before con- 
 cerning the soul 'of the world, sup- 
 poses all the rivers to rise from a 
 great cavern, which passes through 
 the whole earth, and is called by 
 the poets Barathrum, and Tartarus.: 
 "Ev t< rav ^eta-fiecTm rtig yyig, ciXXag ri 
 
 gflj iiTn Xiycifv ctvTo, 
 
 S KCCl UXXodt KOCt tKiTvog KXt CCXXoi TTOXXot 
 
 rav TrcinrZv T«gT«gflv xtKX^Kctff-ty. This 
 opinion of Plato is largely opposed 
 by Aristotle, in his second book of 
 Meteorology; To dl h ^xl^avi^ys- 
 y^xf/.fiivov Tii^i Tg rm Trorecfcm xai rtig 
 ictXoiTTyig, oi^vvocTov Itrri. The doctrine 
 however of a subterraneous abyss 
 of waters has been of no small use 
 to some modern philosophers in the 
 construction of their theories. 
 
 367. Phashnque Lycumque.'] These 
 rivers, according to Strabo, are two 
 of the most famous of Armenia, and 
 fall into the Black sea: Uotcc^oi Tt 
 ^Xii'ovg ft£v iia-iv h t^ X^^i^- yva^if^a- 
 tUToi "hi <^oc<rig ft£v x.tit Ayxoj, iU i'«>' 
 
 UoVTiKViy iTCTTiTTTOVTig 6eiXc6T7ciy. [E^eCTO- 
 
 <r6mg ^' «vTi rev Avmv ri'h'ri Qi^fia^oylx, 
 cvx, iv.) itg T«i/ Keco-TTiccv 21 Kvgo;, Kxi 
 'Ag«|»}5' iig ^s T>iv 'E^vd^eiv n Ev- 
 (p^urr,g, x,eti o Tiy^ig. 
 
 368. Primum se erumpit Enipeus.'] 
 Pierius found primum se rumpii in 
 the Roman manuscript : and pri- 
 
 mum erumpit in that oblong one, 
 which Pomponius Laetus used to 
 call his darling ; also in the Medi- 
 cean it had been altered from the 
 same reading. I find primus erupit 
 in the King's manuscript, primum 
 erupit in one of Dr. Mead's, and pri- 
 mum se erupit in the Cambridge ma- 
 nuscript, and in the old Venice edi- 
 tion of 14-75. 
 
 Pierius found Enipheus in some 
 old manuscripts. It -is Enitheus in 
 one of Dr. Mead's. 
 
 Enipeus is a river of Thessaly 
 flowing through Pharsalus,'and fall- 
 ingintoPeneus,accordingtoStrabo: 
 'O S' 'EiiTTivg UTFo T?5 'O^^yoj -tca^o, <^ag- 
 (TccXov Dviig, iig rov 'Airt^ccyov "ttcc^xZxXXh, 
 5' iig Tov Urimoi. 
 
 Homer calls this river the divine 
 Enipeus, and the beautiful streams 
 of Enipeus : 
 
 O^^E K^tlSfios yvtv efifi.tia.1 AiokiBao, 
 "K ^eretfiou h^diTffetT 'EftTTios 6u»to 
 
 Kai p W 'Evi-rrio; -^ruXiffxiro KaXk psi&^a- 
 
 369. Pater Tiberinus.] The Ty- 
 ber, on the banks of which Rome 
 is built. 
 
 One of Dr. Mead's manuscripts 
 has caput instead oi pater. 
 
 Aniena fiuenta.] The Anio is a 
 river of Italy. 
 
 370. Hypanis.] The Hypanis is 
 a river of Scythia. 
 
 Mysusque Caicus.] The Caicus 
 rises in Mysia. 
 
GEORG. LIB. IV. 
 
 403 
 
 Et gemina auratus taurino cornua vultu 371 
 Eridanus ; quo non alius per pinguia culta 
 111 mare purpureum violentior effluit amnis. 
 Postquam est iq thalami pendentia pumice tecta 
 Perventum ; et nati fletus cognovit inanes 375 
 Cyrene ; manibus liquidos dant ordine fontes 
 Germanae, tonsisque ferunt mantelia villis. 
 
 and Eridanus having the face 
 of a bull wi(h gilded horns ; 
 than which no river rushes 
 more violently through the 
 fruitful (iehls into the shining 
 sea. After he was arrived 
 under the roof of the chamber 
 hanging with pumice stones, 
 and Cyrene knew the vain 
 lamentations of her son ; her 
 sisters in order pour pure 
 water on his hands, and bring 
 smooth towels: 
 
 ' 371. Gemina auratus taurino cor- 
 nua vuliu Eridanus.] The Eridanus, 
 called also the Po, is a great and fa- 
 mous river of Italy. It is common 
 with the' poets to represent great 
 rivers with the face of a bull. 
 
 373. In mare purpureum.'] Vic- 
 torinus, according to Servius, ima- 
 gined the Poet to mean the Red 
 sea: a monstrous supposition, that 
 a river should rise in Italy, and have 
 its outlet near India. Purple is an 
 epithet frequently given to the sea 
 by the ancients. See the note on 
 book iii. ver. 359. 
 
 Effluit.'] I follow Heinsius j 
 though influit is the common read- 
 ing. Pierius found efflu'U in the 
 Roman and other most ancient ma- 
 nuscripts. 
 
 374. Postquam est, &c.] This 
 paragraph contains the reception of 
 Aristaeus by his mother, her instruc- 
 tions, and the character of Proteus. 
 
 375. Perventum et natijletus.] In 
 the King's manuscript it is Perven- 
 tum nati Jlentes ', where flejites is ma- 
 nifestly a mistake. 
 
 Inanes.] Servius says these la- 
 mentations were vain, because they 
 were moved by things easy to be re- 
 paired, in which he is followed by 
 Grimoaldus and La Cerda. Ruaeus 
 interprets inanes, immoderatos : but 
 on what authority I do not know. 
 
 376. Manibus liquidos dant ordine 
 fontes.] Dare aquam manibus is a 
 frequent Latin expression. Thus 
 our Poet again in the first ^neid ; 
 
 Dant famuli manibus lymphas, Cere- 
 
 remque canistris 
 Expediunt, tonsisque ferunt raantelia 
 
 villis. 
 
 377. Tonsisque ferunt mantelia 
 villis.] It is commonly spelt man- 
 iilia: but Heinsius and Masvicius 
 read mantelia^ which I find also ia 
 the Bodleian, and in one of Dr. 
 Mead's manuscripts. Vossius also 
 prefers mantelia, and observes that 
 this word is written mantelum, man- 
 tellum, ,and mantelium. He also 
 quotes a comment of the Servius of 
 Fabricius, for it is not in that of 
 Daniel, which I have by me, wherein 
 Servius observes, that Varro called 
 them mantelia, as it were manutenia, 
 and that Plautus used mantelium, 
 and Lucilius mantelia : '' Varro ap- 
 " pellat mantelia, quasi manutenia. 
 '' Caeterum Plautus hujus singulare 
 " mantelium posuit in Captivis : 
 
 " Nee his sycophantiis, nee fucis uUum 
 
 " mantelium inveniam. 
 " Lucilius autem mantelia dicit : 
 *« Mappas, mantelia, merum- 
 
 " que, 
 
 '* qu8eGraeci/t4««v^t/«c vocant." Vos- 
 sius farther observes, that there is 
 probably an error in this note of 
 Servius, and that it should be manu-^ 
 teria, rather than manutenia, be- 
 cause Varro derives it a tergendo, 
 and not a tenendo ; " Mantelium 
 " quasi manuterium, ubi manus 
 " terguntur," says Varro. 
 
 Mantelium certainly signifies a 
 toivel, and it seems to have been 
 3 F 2 
 
404 
 
 p. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 some load the tables with 
 viands, and place full cnps; 
 the altars blaze with Pan- 
 chaean tires. Then, says the 
 mother, take these goblets of 
 Maeonian wine; let us make 
 a libation to Oceanns. At 
 the same time she prays to 
 Oceanus, the father of all 
 things, and to the sister 
 nymphs, of whom a handred 
 preserve the groves, a hun- 
 dred the rivers. Thrice she 
 poured liquid nectar on the 
 burniug fire ; thrice the rising 
 flame shone up to the top of 
 the roof. With which omen 
 being confirmed, she thas 
 began : There is a prophet 
 in the Carpathian gulph of 
 Neptone, 
 
 Pars epulis onerat mensas, et plena reponunt 
 Pocula. Panchaeis adolescunt ignibus arae. 
 Et mater, cape Maeonii carchesia Bacchi ; 380 
 Oceano libemus, ait, simul ipsa precatur 
 Ocean umque patrem rerum, Nymphasque so- 
 
 rores, 
 Centum quae sylvas, centum quas flumina servant. 
 Ter liquido ardentem perfudit nectare Vestam ; 
 Ter flamma ad summum tecti subjecta reluxit. 
 Omine quo firmans anlmum, sic incipit ipsa, 386 
 Est in Carpathio Neptuni gurgite vates, 
 
 made of some woolly or nappy sort 
 of cloth, which nice people had 
 shorn or clipped, for the greater 
 smoothness and delicacy. Our nap- 
 kins were probably of the same sort 
 formerly, the word seeming to have 
 been derived from nap. 
 
 379' PanchcBis igniius.'l Panchasa 
 is a country of Arabia felix, fa- 
 mous for frankincense. Thus our 
 Poet in the second Georgick: 
 
 Totaque thuriferis Panchaia pinguis are- 
 nis. 
 
 380. Masonii carchesia Bacchi.'] 
 Servius interprets M(EO?iii, Lydii. 
 Philargyrius adds, that Lydia was 
 anciently called Maeonia, and that 
 the mountain Tmolus, famous for 
 good wine, is in that country. 
 Strabo mentions a country called 
 Catacecaumene, which is otherwise 
 called Mysia and Maeonia, and was 
 remarkable for affording no other 
 tree than that sort of vine from 
 which the catacecaumenian wine is 
 obtained, which yields to none in 
 elegance : Miru ^\ xmn Ivri* Kxtuki- 
 
 e-lav, sm Mva-Uv ^^h xccXui, sm Mso- 
 yixr AsySTflt* y«g ufA(poTi^ei)g' uTrecvrx 
 k^iv^^oi, TrXijv «ft;r£Aov t»j$ tov Kecrxm- 
 
 tcxvfisvtmsv <psgfly5-9)5 oivoy, ovSivog Ten Ia- 
 Xcylfiuv ugn^ XUTTofciior. 
 
 i he rnrchesium was an oblong 
 sort of cup, a little flatted about the, 
 middle, and having the handles 
 reaching from top to bottom. 
 
 382. Oceanumque patrem rerum,'] 
 This expression is according to the 
 philosophy of Thales, who was of 
 opinion, that all things were ori- 
 ginally derived from water. Homer 
 makes Oceanus the father of all the 
 gods : 
 
 384. Perfudit nectare Vestam.] In 
 one of Dr. Mead's manuscripts it is 
 perfundit. 
 
 Nectar is here used for wine, as 
 in the tifth Eclogue : 
 
 Vina novum fundam calathis Arvisia 
 nectar. 
 
 The ancients had two Vesta's, one 
 the mother of Saturn, who is the 
 same with the earth ; and the other 
 the daughter of the same deity, who 
 presides over hearths. See the note 
 on book i. ver. 498. 
 
 387. Carpathio.] Carpathus, now 
 called Scarpanto, is an island of the 
 Mediterranean, over against Egypt, 
 from which the neighbouring sea 
 was called Carpathian. 
 
GEORG. LIB, IV. 
 
 405 
 
 Caefuleus Proteus, magnum qui piscibus aequor 
 Et juncto bipedum curru metitur equorum. 
 Hie nuac Emathiae portus patriamque revisit 390 
 Pallenen : hunc et nymphae veneramur, et ipse 
 Grandaevus Nereus : novit namque omnia vates. 
 Quae sint, quae fuerint, quae mox ventura tra- 
 
 hantur. 
 Quippe ita Neptuno visum est : immania cujus 
 Armenta, et turpes pascit sub gurgite phocas. 395 
 Hie tibi, nate, prius vinclis capiendus, ut omnem 
 
 blue Proteas, who inea8ure6 
 JJie great sea with fishes, and 
 with his chariot drawn by 
 two-legged horses. He now 
 revisits the ports of Emathia, 
 and his own country Pallene; 
 him we nymphs reverence, as 
 does also aged Neieus; tor 
 the prophet knows every 
 thing, what is, what was, and 
 what is to come. For so 
 Neptune has thought fit : 
 whose monstrous herds, and 
 ugly sea calves he feeds under 
 the gnlph. Him, my son, yoi» 
 must first take in chains, that 
 he may 
 
 388. Proteus.'] It does not ap- 
 pear certainly from ancient history, 
 who this Proteus really was. Ho- 
 mer makes him an Egyptian. He- 
 rodotus represents him as a king of 
 Egypt. Some suppose him to have 
 been a sophist, others a tumbler, 
 &c. Sir Isaac Newton, finding him 
 to have been contemporary with 
 Amenophis or Memnon, takes him 
 to have been only a viceroy to Ame- 
 nophis, and to have governed some 
 part of the lower Egypt, in his ab- 
 sence. The poets however have 
 made him a sea-god, and servant 
 to Neptune. This whole fable of 
 Proteus is an imitation of the fourth 
 Odyssey, where Homer represents 
 Menelaus consulting this deity, by 
 the advice and with the assistance 
 of his own daughter Eidothea. 
 
 389. Ei juncto.'] It is evincto in 
 one of Dr. Mead's manuscripts. 
 
 Bipedum equorum.] These ficti- 
 tious sea-horses are supposed to re- 
 semble horses in their foreparts with 
 two legs, and to end in a tail like 
 fishes. Therefore Virgil calls them 
 both fishes and horses. 
 
 390. Emathice.] See the note on 
 book i. ver. 489. 
 
 391. Pallenen^ Pallene is a pen- 
 insula of Macedon. Virgil makes 
 this the native country of Proteus, 
 though it has been already observed. 
 
 Homer calls him an Egyptian. He 
 might perhaps be born in Macedon, 
 and then travel into Egypt j for ac- 
 cording to Herodotus, he was an 
 obscure person in that country. 
 
 Veneramur.] It is venerantur in 
 the King's and in one of the Arun- 
 delian manuscripts, and in the old 
 Paris edition of 1494. 
 
 393. Sint.] It is sunt in one of 
 Dr. Mead's manuscripts. 
 
 Fuerint.] It is fuerant in one of 
 the Arundelian manuscripts. 
 
 Trahaniur.] It is trahuntur in 
 the King's manuscript. 
 
 394. Ita Neptuno visum est.] 
 Homer makes Proteus a servant of 
 Neptune : 
 
 'nd<rns (iivhet etis. Ilofftt^davos v-To^ftds . 
 
 Proteus a name tremendous o'er the 
 
 main, 
 The delegate of Neptune's wat'ry reign. 
 Mr. Pope. 
 
 SQ6. Vinclis capiendus.] Homer 
 says he must be seized, in order to 
 make him discover what is required 
 of him : 
 
 "Os »iv rot i/^etitriv ohov xa) fitir^et KiXtudou 
 NofTovf US Wt 9revr9v Ikiva'ien lx,$uoivru. 
 Watch with insidious care his known 
 abode ; 
 
406 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 discover the whole cause of 
 the disease, and give you 
 good success. For without 
 force, he will not give you 
 any advice, nor can you win 
 him by prayers: when you 
 have taken him, use violence 
 and chains; against these his 
 tricks will be vain. When 
 the sun has scorched the mid- 
 dle of the day, when the 
 herbs wither, and the shade 
 is grateful to the cattle, then 
 1 myself will lead you to the 
 senior's retirement, where be 
 withdraws from the waters; 
 that you may easily attack 
 him whilst he is overcome 
 with sleep. But when you 
 hold him fast with your hands 
 and chains; then will he 
 deceive you with various 
 forms and appearances of wild 
 beasts. 
 
 Expediat niorbi causam, eventusque secundet. 
 Nam sine vi non uUa dabit praecepta, neque ilium 
 Orando flectes : vim duram et vincula capto 
 Tende : doli circiim haec demum frangentur 
 
 inanes. 400 
 
 Ipsa ego te, medios cum sol accenderit aestus, 
 Cum sitiunt herbas, et pecori jam gratior umbra 
 
 est, 
 In secreta senis ducam, quo fessus ab undis 
 Se recipit ; facile ut somno aggrediare jacentem. 
 Verum ubi correptum manibus, vinclisque te- 
 
 nebis ; 405 
 
 Turn variae eludent species atque ora ferarum. 
 
 There fast in chains constrain the various 
 
 god : 
 Who bound obedient to superior force, 
 Unerring will prescribe your destin'd 
 
 course. 
 
 Mr. Pope. 
 
 399- Flectes.] Pierius found vinces 
 in the Medicean manuscript. It is 
 'the same in the King's, the Cam- 
 bridge, the Bodleian, and in both 
 the Arundelian manuscripts. 
 
 401. Medios cum sol accenderit 
 (Estus^ It is accederit in one of 
 Dr. Mead's manuscripts. 
 
 The heat of the day is mentioned 
 also by Homer : 
 
 ^KfAOS y ri'tXios fittre* ov^avhv afA{ptStSjnxu. 
 
 When through the zone of heav'n the 
 
 mounted sun 
 Hath journey'd half, and half remains to 
 
 run. 
 
 Mr. Pope. 
 
 403. Senis.] Thus Homer : 
 
 ■ oXo<pa)ia, toio yi^ovres, 
 
 405. Verum ubi correptum, &c.] 
 These changes of Proteus are evi- 
 dently taken from Homer: 
 
 Hdvrcc Ti yivofAivos Ttt^wtrai offa ta-/ yalct* 
 
 'AXX' on Kiv ^^ y ulros avu^VTat t-riiffffiy^ 
 
 Tolas e&'v oliv ki xanvvtifivra 'l^^trh, 
 
 Ka) Ton ^ri ff^icSai n (iivis, kuffa'i n yi- 
 
 ^ovra 
 "U^us- 
 
 Instant he wears, elusive of the rap>e. 
 The mimic force of every savage shape : 
 Or glides with liquid lapse a murm'ring 
 
 stream, 
 Or wrapt in flame, he glows at ev'ry 
 
 limb. 
 Yet still retentive, with redoubled might 
 Through each vain passive form con- 
 strain his flight. 
 But when, his native shape resum'd, he 
 
 stands 
 Patient of conquest, and your cause 
 
 demands. 
 The cause that urg'd the bold attempt 
 
 declare, 
 And soothe the vanquish'd with a victor's 
 
 pray'r. 
 The bands relax'd, implore the seer to 
 
 say 
 What Godhead interdicts the wat'ry way. 
 Mr. Pope. 
 
 406. Eludent.^ So I read with the 
 Cambridge and one of Dr. Mead's 
 manuscripts, with most of the old 
 editions, and Heinsius and Musvi- 
 cius. Pierius found ludeni in the 
 Roman manuscript, eludunt in the 
 old oblong one, eludent in the Lom- 
 bard, the Medicean, and most of the 
 ancient ones. It is illudent in both 
 the Arundelian, and in the othcF 
 
GEORG. LIB. IV. 
 
 407 
 
 Fiet enim subito sus horridus, atraque tigris, 
 Squamosusque draco, et fulva cervice leaena : 
 Aut acrem flammas soiiitum dabit, atque ita 
 
 vinclis 
 Excidet, aut in aquas tenues dilapsus abibit. 410 
 Sed quanto ille magis formas se vertet in omnes, 
 Tanto, nate, magis contende tenacia vincla ; 
 Donee talis erit mutato corpore, qualem 
 Videris, incepto tegeret cum lumina somno. 
 Haec ait, et liquidum ambrosias difFundit odorem; 
 Quo totum nati corpus perduxit : at illi 416 
 Dulcis compositis spiravit crinibus aura, 
 Atque habilis membris venit vigor. Est specus 
 
 ingens 
 Exesi latere in montis, quo plurima vento 
 Cogitur, inque sinus scindit sese unda reductos; 
 Deprensis olim statio tutissima nautis. 421 
 
 Intus se vasti Proteus tegit objice saxi. • 
 
 Hie juvenem in latebris aversum a lumine 
 
 Nympha 
 CoUocat : ipsa procul nebulis obscura resistit. 
 
 For on a sudden he will be- 
 come a brislly boar, and a fell 
 tyKcr.and a scaly dragon, and 
 a lion witli a yellow mane : 
 or else he will make a roar- 
 ing like fire, to escape the 
 chains, or glide away in the 
 form of flowing water. Kut 
 the more he varies himself 
 into all shapes, do you, my 
 son, so mnch the more 
 straiten the binding chains: 
 till he shall transform his body 
 into the same shape that you 
 saw him have when he first 
 went to sleep. Having said 
 thus, she poured the liquid 
 odour of Ambrosia upon her 
 son, anointing his whole body 
 with it ; whence a fragrant 
 gale breathes from his liair, 
 and strong vigour is infused 
 into his limbs. I'here is a 
 great den in the hollow side 
 of a mountain, where much 
 water is driven in by the wind, 
 and is divided into many bays, 
 sometimes a most safe station 
 for mariners in distress. 
 Within this place Proteus 
 hides himself behind a vast 
 rock. Here the Nymph places 
 the young man in ambush 
 concealed from the light, and 
 stands herself at a distance 
 involved in a cloud. 
 
 manuscript of Dr. Mead, which is 
 admitted by La Cerda, Schrevelius, 
 and Ruaeus. Many read illudunt. 
 
 407. ^tra.'] Id est sceva, says 
 Servius. 
 
 411. Fertet.] It is vertit in one 
 of the Arundelian, and in one of 
 Dr. Mead's manuscripts. 
 
 415. Hcec ail.'] This paragraph 
 contains the seizing of Proteus. 
 
 Amhros'ice.'] Pierius found am- 
 brosia, in the ablative case, in some 
 manuscripts. 
 
 Difundit.] Pierius says it is de- 
 promit in the Roman manuscript. I 
 find diffudil in the King's, both Dr. 
 Mead's manuscripts, and in some 
 printed editions. 
 
 416. Perduxit.] Pierius found per- 
 fudit in the Roman manuscript. 
 
 417. Aura] It is auras in the 
 Roman manuscript, according to 
 Pierius. 
 
 421. Deprensis,] It Is depressis in 
 the Cambridge manuscript. 
 
 422. Intus.] In some copies it is 
 inter. 
 
 Vasti.] In the old Nurenberg 
 edition it is casti. 
 
 Objice.] In all the manuscripts 
 that I have collated, and in many of 
 the printed editions, it is obice. 
 
 4-23. Aversum alumine.] In one of 
 Dr. Mead's manuscripts it is aver- 
 sum lumine without a. Pierius found 
 the same reading in nTost of the an- 
 cient manuscripts. 
 
 424. Resistit.] Some read recessit; 
 but all the ancient manuscripts, ac- 
 cording to Pierius, have resistit. It 
 
408 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 Now rapid Sirius, scorching 
 the thirsty Indians, blazed in 
 the heavens, and the tiery sun 
 had finished half his course: 
 the herbs were parched, and 
 the rays boiled the hollow ri- 
 vers to mud being heated 
 with dry channels: when 
 Proteus went to his accus- 
 tomed den from the waves: 
 the watery race of the vast 
 sea rolling about him, scat- 
 tered the bitter spray far 
 about. The sea calvt-s spread 
 themselves asleep on the floor. 
 He, like a herdsman on the 
 mountains, when evening 
 brings home the calves from 
 feeding, and the lambs sharpen 
 Uie wolves with loud bleat- 
 ings. 
 
 Jam rapidus, torrens sitientes Sirius Indos, 425 
 Ardebat caelo ; et medium sol igneus orbem 
 Hauserat : arebant herbae, et cava flumina siccis 
 Faucibus ad limum radii tepefacta coquebant. 
 Cum Proteus consueta petens a fluctibus antra 
 Ibat : eum vasti circum gens humida ponti 430 
 Exultans rorem late dispersit amarum. 
 Sternunt se somno diversae in littore phocae. 
 Ipse, velut stabuli custos in montibus olim, 
 Vesper ubi e pastu vitulos ad tecta reducit, 
 Auditisque lupos acuunt balatibus agni, 435 
 
 is resistit in all the manuscripts that 
 I have seen. 
 
 425. Jayn rapidus, &c.] Here the 
 Poet Uses a beautiful circumlocution 
 to express the middle of one of the 
 hottest days in summw. Sirius, a 
 star of the first magnitude in the 
 mouth of the dog, rises about the 
 time of the sun's entering into Leo, 
 towards the latter end of July, 
 making what we call the dog days. 
 He shews it to be the time of noon, 
 by saying the sun had finished the 
 middle or half of his course. All 
 these words, rapidus, torrens, siti- 
 entes, Ijidos, ardebat, igneus, are ex- 
 pressive of great heat. He enlarges 
 the idea^ by representing the grass 
 burnt up, and the rivers boiled to 
 mud. It was the violent heat that 
 caused Proteus to retire into his 
 cave, where he would be the more 
 easily surprised, being fatigued, and 
 glad to sleep. 
 
 427. Arebant. ^ It is ardebant in 
 the King's manuscript. 
 
 431. Dispersib] It is commonly 
 read disperg'd: but Pierius found 
 dispersit in the Medicean and other 
 manuscripts. I find dispersit in the 
 King's, both the Arundelian, and in 
 both Dr. Mead's manuscripts. This 
 
 reading is admitted also by Hein- 
 sius and Masvicius. 
 
 Amarum.'] The sea water is really 
 bitter as well as salt. Homer has 
 used the same epithet : 
 
 432. Divers(F.~\ So Pierius found 
 it in the Roman and other manu- 
 scripts of greater note. In one of 
 the Arundelian manuscripts, in the 
 old Nurenberg edition, and in Schre- 
 velius, it is diverso. But diversce is 
 received by Heinsius, and most of 
 the good editors. 
 
 433. Ipse, velut stabuli custos, &c.] 
 This simile also is in Homer : 
 
 Ai^STa,i h fjuffffoiffi vefiiv; ug ^eoig-i fir,Xu>. 
 
 . Repos'd in sleep profound 
 
 The scaly charge their guardian god 
 
 surround : 
 Sa with his batt'ning flocks the careful 
 
 swain 
 Abides, pavilion'd on the grassy plain. 
 Mr. Pope. 
 
 434. Reducit.'] It is reduxit in 
 one of the Arundelian manuscripts. 
 
 435. Auditisque.l So Pierius 
 found it in the Roman and Medi- 
 cean manuscripts. It is the same 
 in the Cambridge manuscript. All 
 the other copies have auditique. 
 
GEORG. LIB. IV. 
 
 409 
 
 Coiisidit scopulo medius, numerumque recenset. 
 Cujus Aristaeo quoniam est oblata facultas ; 
 Vix defessa senem passus componere membra. 
 Cum clamore ruit magno, manicisque jacentem 
 Occupat. Ille suae contra non immemor artis, 
 Omnia transformat sese in miracula rerum, 441 
 Tgnemque, horribilemque feram, fluviumque 11- 
 
 quentem, 
 Verum ubi nulla fugam reperit pellacia, victus 
 In sese redit, atque hominis tandem ore locutus : 
 Nam quis te, juvenum confidentissime, nostras 
 Jussit adire domos ? quidve hinc petis ? inquit. 
 
 At ille: 446 
 
 sits in the inklst on a rock, 
 and reviews his number. As 
 soon as Arisiajus had got this 
 oppoituuity, scarce sufi'ering 
 the old deity to compose his 
 wearied members, he rushes 
 npon him with a great shout, 
 and binds him. lie on the 
 other side, not forgetful of 
 bis wonted art, transforms 
 himself into all sorts of won* 
 derful shapes, a fire, a dread- 
 ful wild beast, and a flowing 
 river. But when his deceit 
 found no escape, being con- 
 qtiei^d, he returned to his 
 own form, and at length spoke 
 with human voice: Who, O 
 most presumutHous youth, 
 who commanded you to ap- 
 proach my habitation ? or what 
 do you want here? says he. 
 To which h€ answered. 
 
 Heinsius and most of the editors 
 read auditisyue. 
 
 436. Considit.'] Pierius reads con- 
 ^editi and mentions considit, as being 
 only in the Roman manuscript. It 
 is consedit in both the Arundelian, 
 and in both Dr. Mead's manu- 
 scripts ; conscendit in the King's, 
 but considU in the Bodleian and 
 Cambridge copies j which last is 
 admitted by Heinsius, and most of 
 the editors. 
 
 439. Cum clamore ruit magno, 
 &c.] Thus Menelaus in Homer : 
 
 'HftiTs y aJiy lap^ovns irtirffvftsf. xfctp) Ti 
 
 'Ba.K'kefiLiv, ovV o yi^uv ^oXitjs WeXyihra 
 
 'AXX* ^Tot v^uTiffra Xiuv yinr hvyinioit 
 Avra^ sTiiTCi ^^dxav, xui ^d^aXti, i^\ 
 
 fAiyas ffvS' 
 TiViro uy^v vtu^, TcttiViv^^tov v'^frirnKov. 
 *Hfii7s acrrsfA<pia>s £;^fljK£y nrXyiort 6vf/,u. 
 AXX' 0T£ in ^ aviaZ^ o y't^av oKo(puicc uoeus, 
 
 T<j v6 rot 'Ar^ioi v!i 6imv ffv/Ltf^difa'ciTo 
 
 (iouXas, 
 0(p^c6 fA iXois oc'iKovra Xs^Turdftivas ; rso at 
 
 Rushing impetuous forth we strait pre- 
 pare 
 A furious onset with the sound of war. 
 
 And shouting seize the god : our force t' 
 evade 
 
 His various arts he soon resumes in aid : 
 
 A lion now, he curls a surgy mane ; 
 
 Sudden, our bands a spotted pard re- 
 strain ; 
 
 Then arm'd with tusks, and lightning 
 in his eyes, 
 
 A boar's obscener shape the god belies : 
 
 On spiry volumes there a dragon rides : 
 
 Here, from our strict embrace a stream 
 he glides ; 
 
 And last, sublime his stately growth he 
 rears, 
 
 A tree, and well dissembled foliage 
 wears. 
 
 Vain efforts ! with superior pow'r com- 
 press'd 
 
 Me with reluctance thus the seer ad- 
 dress' d ; 
 
 Say, son of Atreus, say what god inspir'd 
 
 This daring fraud, and what the boon 
 desir'd ?" 
 
 Mr. Pope. 
 
 439- Manicisque.'] It is vinclisque 
 in the King's manuscript. 
 
 443. Pellacia,'} The common 
 reading is fallacia. I have restored 
 pellacia, on the authority of Hein- 
 sius. Pierius also found pellacia in 
 some manuscripts. In the second 
 iEneid we find 
 
 3 G 
 
 Invidia postquam pellacis Ulyssei. 
 
410 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 Yon know, O Proteus, you 
 know yourself; nor is it in 
 any one's power to deceive 
 you. But do yon cease to do 
 so ; I came by the command 
 of the gods, to consult you 
 about ray ruined affairs. When 
 he had thus spoken, the seer, 
 with great violence, rolled his 
 eyes flashing with bluish 
 light; and grinding his teeth, 
 thus opened Lis mouth to re- 
 veal the fates. It is not with- 
 out some deity that you are 
 punished: you sutfer for a 
 great crime: Orpheus, not 
 miserable for any desert of 
 his, calls for these punishments 
 on you, unless the fates 
 resist. 
 
 Scis,Proteu,scis ipse: nequeesttefallerecuiquam. 
 Sed tu desine velle : deum praecepta secuti 
 Venimus hinc lapsis quaesitum oracula rebus. 
 Tantum efFatus ; ad hagc vates vi denique multa 
 Ardentes oculos intorsit lumine glauco, 451 
 Et graviter frendens, sic fatis ora resolvit : 
 Non te nullius exercent numinis irae. 
 Magna luis commissa : tibi has miserabilis Or- 
 pheus 
 Haudquaquam ob meritum, poenas, ni fata re- 
 sistant, 455 
 
 447. Scis, Proteu, scis ipse.] Thus 
 also Menelaus. 
 
 i^tiivus. 
 
 Neque est ie Jallere cuiquam.] A 
 Graecism, for nee licet cuiquam; 
 thus in the second Eclogue, nee sit 
 mihi credere. Thus also Horace, 
 quod versu dicere non est. 
 
 449. Venimus, hinc lapsis.'] This 
 reading was found by Pierius in 
 the Roman and other ancient ma- 
 nuscripts. It is the same in one 
 of the Arundelian, and in both Dr. 
 Mead's manuscripts. It is admitted 
 also by Heinsius, Masvicius, and 
 several of the old editors. 
 
 450. Tantum effatus, &c.] The 
 Poet now proceeds to the answer of 
 Proteus, wherein lie tells Aristaeus, 
 the cause of his disaster was the 
 injury offered by him to Eurydice, 
 the wife of Orpheus. This whole 
 story is toid by V^irgil in so beau- 
 tiful a manner, that it does not 
 seem unworthy of the mouth of a 
 deity. 
 
 453. Non te nullius.'] Servius 
 interprets this non humilis sed magni ,- 
 but the Nymphs, who were of- 
 fended with Aristaeus, were not 
 great deities: and as for Orpheus 
 and Eurydice, they were no deities 
 at all 
 
 454. Magna luis commissa.] La 
 Cerda reads lues, and interprets it 
 nam commissa quidem est magna lues 
 tuarum apum, deletceque omnes ingenti 
 occidione. But luis is generally un- 
 derstood to be a verb, which seems 
 to be the best interpretation. 
 
 Orpheus.] He was tiie son of 
 CEagrus, a king, or, according to 
 Servius, a river of Thrace, by the 
 muse Calliope. Some will have 
 him to be the son of Apollo : but 
 I believe Virgil was not of that 
 opinion J because, in the fourth 
 Eclogue, he derives the poetical skill 
 of Linus from his father Apollo, 
 and that of Orpheus from his 
 mother Calliope : 
 
 Non me carminibus vincet nee Thracius 
 
 Orpheus, 
 Nee Linus : huic mater quamvis, atque 
 
 huic pater adsit, 
 Orphei Calliopea, Lino formosus Apollo. 
 
 N'ot Thracian Orpheus^ self should me 
 
 excel, 
 Nor Linus: tho* his mother him should 
 
 aidy 
 His father him : Calliope inspire 
 Orpheus, Apollo dictate Linus'' verse. 
 
 Dr. Trapp. 
 
 Ho is highly celebrated for his extra- 
 ordinary skill in music and poetry, 
 and was one of the Argonauts. 
 
 455. Haudquaquam oh meritum.] 
 Some refer these words to poenas. 
 
GEORG. LIB. IV. 
 
 411 
 
 Suscitat ; et rapta graviter pro conjuge soevit. 
 Ilia quidem, dum te fugeret per flumina praeceps, 
 Immanem ante pedes hydrum moritura puella 
 Servantem ripas alta non vidit in herba. 
 At chorus aequalis Dryadum clamore supre- 
 mos 460 
 Implerunt montes: flerunt Rhodopeiae arces, 
 Altaque Pangaea, et Rhesi Mavortia tellus, 
 Atque Getas, atque Hebrus, et Actias Orithyia. 
 Ipse cava solans aegrum testudine amorem, 
 Te, dulcis conjux, te solo iu littore secum, 465 
 
 and L'rievously races for his 
 ravished wite. Whilst she 
 fled hastily from you along 
 the river's aide, the dying 
 maid did not see a cruel water 
 snake before her feet, that 
 was guarding the banks in the 
 high grass. Bnt the choir of 
 her sister Dryads filled the 
 tops of the moontains with 
 their cries: the rocks of Rho- 
 dope wept, and high Paneaea, 
 and the martial land of Rhe- 
 sus, and the Getae, and He- 
 brus, and Attic Orithyia. He 
 assuaging his love-sick mind 
 with his hollow lyre, lamented 
 thee, sweet wife, thee on the 
 solitary, shore, 
 
 in which sense they are understood 
 by May : 
 
 To thee this punishment 
 
 Though not so great as thou deserv'st is 
 sent. 
 
 Others refer them to miserabilis 
 Orpheus. Thus Dryden : 
 
 For crinoes, not his, the lover lost his 
 life : 
 
 And Dr. Trapp : 
 
 Orpheus, unhappy by no guilt of his. 
 
 461. Rhodope'icB arces.'] Rhodope 
 and Fangsea are mountains of 
 Thrace. 
 
 462. Pangcea.] Some copies have 
 Panchaia, but it is an absurd read- 
 ing J for Panchaia belongs to Ara- 
 bia, whereas Orpheus was con- 
 fessedly a Thracian. 
 
 Rhesi Mavortia tellus.] Mars was 
 said to be born in Thrace. Rhesus 
 was the son of Mars, and king of 
 Thrace in the time of the Trojan 
 war, which was after the death of 
 Orpheus. 
 
 463. Geta.'] The Getae were a 
 people dwelling in the neighbour- 
 hood of Thrace. 
 
 Hebrus.'] A river of Thrace. 
 Et Actias Orithyia.'] Some read 
 atque instead of et. 
 
 Orithyia was the daughter of 
 
 Erectheus, king of the Athenians. 
 She was ravished by Boreas, and 
 carried into Thrace. 
 
 464. Cava testudine.J The Poet 
 calls the lyre cava testudo, because 
 the ancient lyres were really made 
 of the shells of tortoises. It was a 
 received story among the ancients, 
 that Mercury, finding accidentally 
 a dead tortoise on the banks of the 
 Nile, made a lyre of it: whence 
 Horace calls him curves lyrceparen-. 
 tern. To this story the same Poet 
 also alludes, in the eleventh ode of 
 the third book : 
 
 Tuque, Testudo, resonare septem Cal- 
 
 lida nervis. 
 Nee loquax olim, neque grata : 
 
 And in the third Ode of the fourth 
 book : 
 
 O Testudinis aurese 
 Dulcem quae strepitum. Fieri, temperas ! 
 
 O mutis quoque piscibus 
 Donatura cygni, si libeat, sonum I 
 
 See the Philosophical Transactions, 
 numb. 282. pag. 126?. Jones's 
 Abridgment, vol. iv. page 474. 
 
 465. T e, dulcis conjux, he] There 
 is something wonderfully pleasing 
 in the repetition of te in these lines. 
 But Dryden has omitted it in his 
 translation : 
 
 3 G 2 
 
412 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 thee when day approached, 
 thee when it disappeared. 
 He also approached the jaws 
 of Taenanis, the lofty gates of 
 Pluto, and entering the grove 
 gloomy with black horror, he 
 approached tlie Manes, and 
 the tremendous king, and the 
 hearts that know not how to 
 relent at hnman prayers. Bat 
 the thin sliades being stirred 
 np by his song from the lowest 
 mansioDS of Erebus moved 
 along, and ghosts, deprived 
 of light: innnmerabie as birds 
 when they hide themselves in 
 the leaves by thousands, at 
 the approach of evening, or 
 driven from the hills by a 
 wintery storm: mothers and 
 husbands, and the departed 
 bodies of magnanimous heroes, 
 boys and unmarried girls, and 
 youths laid on funeral piles 
 beforethe faces of their pareui s, 
 whom the black mnd and 
 squalid reeds of Cocytns, and 
 the lake hateful with stagnant 
 water incloses around, and 
 Styx nine times interfused 
 restrains. But the very habit- 
 ations, and deepest dungeons 
 of death were astonished, and 
 the furies having their locks 
 twisted with blue snakes, and 
 gaping Cerberus restrained his 
 three mouths, and the whirling 
 of Ixion's wheel rested at his 
 singuig. 
 
 Te veniente die, te decedente canebat. 
 Taenarias etiam fauces, alta ostia Ditis, 
 Et caligantem nigra formidine lucum 
 Ingressus, Manesqueadiit, regemque tremendum, 
 Nesciaque humanis precibus mansuescere corda. 
 At cantu commotse Erebi de sedibus imis 471 
 Umbrae ibant tenues, simulachraque luce ca- 
 
 rentum : 
 Quam multa in foliis avium se millia condunt, 
 Vesper ubi,authybemus agit de montibus imber : 
 Matres atque viri, defunctaque corpora vita 475 
 Magnammumheroum,pueri,innuptaequepuellap, 
 Impositique rogis juvenes ante ora parentum, 
 Quos circum limus niger, et deformis arundo 
 Cocyti, tardaque palus inamabilis unda 
 Alligat, et novies Styx interfusa coercet. 480 
 Quin ipsae stupuere domus, atque intima Lethi 
 Tartara, caeruleosque implexae crinibus angues 
 Euraenides, tenuitque inbians tria Cerberus ora, 
 Atque Ixionii cantu rota constitit orbis. 
 
 On thee, dear wife, in deserts all alone. 
 He call'd, sigh'd, sung, his griefs with 
 
 day begun. 
 Nor were they finishM with the setting 
 
 sun. 
 
 467. Tcenarias fauces.'] Taenarus 
 is a promontory of Peloponnesus, 
 fabled to be the entrance into the 
 infernal regions. 
 
 469. Manes. "^ This word is used 
 for departed souls, for the places 
 where they dwell, and also for the 
 infernal deities. 
 
 471. Erebi,'] Erebus, according 
 to Hesiod, was the son of Chaos ; 
 
 'Ex Xetios y "E^tSos Tt fiiXaivd ts Ny^ 
 lytvovre ; 
 
 but according to some, it is the 
 name of the profoundest mansion 
 of hell. 
 
 472. Ibant.'] In the King's ma- 
 nuscript it is slant. 
 
 473. Foliis.] The common read- 
 ing is sylvis; but Pierius found foliis 
 in all the ancient mEmuscripts. I 
 find foliis in one of the Arundelian, 
 and in one of Dr. Mead's manu- 
 scripts. Heinsius also reads foliis. 
 
 479- Cocyti.] Cocytus and Styx 
 are rivers of hell. 
 
 480. Inamabilis.] Some read i»- 
 nabiliSj as I find it in the King's and 
 in one of Dr. Mead's manuscripts. 
 But inamabilis seems to be the true 
 reading, and is generally received. 
 
 481. Stupuere.] It is obstupuere 
 in one of Dr. Mead's manuscripts. 
 
 482. Implexce.] Pierius found 
 amplexcB in the Lombard and other 
 manuscripts, and innex(£ in the Ro- 
 man. It is ampltxcE in the King's 
 manuscript, and in the old Nuren- 
 berg edition. 
 
 484. Cantu.] The usual reading 
 
GEORG. LIB. IV. 
 
 413 
 
 Jamque pedem referens casus evaseratomnes^ 485 
 Redditaque Eurydice sup^ras veniebat ad auras, 
 Pone sequens; namque banc dederat Proserpina 
 
 legem : 
 Cum subita incautum dementia cepit amantem, 
 Ignoscenda quidem, scirent si ignoscere Manes. 
 Restitit, Eurydicenque suam jam luce sub ipsa, 
 Immemor heu! victusque animi respexit, Ibi 
 
 omnis 491 
 
 Effusus labor, atque immitis rupta tyranni 
 
 And now returning he hart 
 escaped all dangers; and bis 
 restored Eurydice was coming 
 to the upper air following be- 
 hind; for Proserpina had 
 given those conditions: when 
 a sudden madness seized fhe 
 nnwary lover, pardonable 
 however, did the Manes know 
 how to pardon. He stopped, 
 and now, even at the confines 
 of light, thoughtless alas ! and 
 deprived of understanding; be 
 looked back at his Eurydice, 
 there all his labour vanished, 
 and the conditions of the crael 
 tyrant 
 
 is vento, which I do not find any of 
 the commentators can make tolera- 
 ble sense. Servius says cum is un- 
 derstood, and therefore the meaning 
 is, that Ixion's wheel stood still 
 with its wind, that is, with the 
 cause of its volubility. Philargyrius 
 thinks vento is put for veniu, and 
 that for adventu, and so the sense 
 will be, the wheel stood still at 
 his approach. La Cerda interprets 
 vento, in aere, in the air. Ruaeus 
 strains it to flante vento contrario, a 
 contrary wind blowing. If the 
 reader approves of any of these 
 interpretations, he is welcome to 
 restore vento. For my own part, I 
 find them so unsatisfactory, that I 
 have thought it necessary to read 
 caniUf which Pierius found in several 
 manuscripts, and seems to approve; 
 only he is weighed down by the 
 authority of Servius, who reads 
 vento. But surely Servius was not 
 infallible. 
 
 The story of Ixion is, that he 
 was condemned to a perpetual 
 turning upon a wheel in hell, for 
 attempting to violate the chastity 
 of Juno. 
 
 485. Jamque pedem referens, ^c] 
 The Poet proceeds to relate the 
 return of Eurydice ta light, the 
 unhappy impatience of Orpheus to 
 gaze at her, his lamentations for 
 
 his second loss, and the miserable 
 death of that great poet, which 
 concludes the speech of Proteus. 
 
 487. Namque hanc dederat Pro- 
 serpina legem.'] The condition of 
 not looking at his wife, till they 
 were quite retired from the infernal 
 dominions, is inferred, though not 
 directly expressed by the Poet. Ovid 
 has mentioned it more at large : 
 
 Hanc simul et legem Rhodopeius accipit 
 
 heros, 
 Ne flectat retro sua lumina ; donee 
 
 Avernas 
 Exierit valles ; aut irrita dona futura. 
 
 Given Orpheus with this law; till thou 
 
 the hound 
 Of f ale Avcrnus passe, if lack thou cast 
 Thy careful eyes, thou loosest what thou 
 hast. 
 
 Sandys. 
 4:^S. Suhita.'] Pierius found sM6i<o 
 in the Roman, and in some other 
 manuscripts. 
 
 489. Ignoscenda quidem.'] Ovid 
 says Eurydice herself did not blame 
 him, because his error proceeded 
 from love of her : 
 
 Jamque iterum moriens non est de con- 
 
 juge quicquam 
 Questa suo : quid enim sese quereretur 
 
 amatam ? 
 
 Nor did she, dying twice^ her spouse re- 
 prove: 
 
 For what could she complain of but his 
 love? 
 
 Sandys. 
 
414 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 were broken, and a groan was 
 thrice heard in the Avernian 
 lake. Then she: Who is it, O 
 Orpheus, that has destroyed 
 miserable me, and thee also ? 
 \Vhat great madness was this? 
 lx>, again the cruel Fates call 
 me back, and sleep seals up 
 my swimming eyes. And 
 now adiea : 1 am carried away 
 encompassed with thick dark- 
 ness, and stretching out my 
 hands to you in vain alas! 
 being no longer yours. She 
 said, and fled suddenly from 
 his sight a ditferent way, like 
 smoke mixing with the thin 
 air : nor did she see him catch- 
 ing in vain at shadows, and 
 desiring to say a great deal 
 more; nor did the ferry-man 
 of hell suffer him again to 
 
 f»ass over the withstanding 
 ake. What should he do? 
 whither should he betake 
 himself, having twice lost his 
 wife ? with what complaint 
 should he move the Manes, 
 with what song the deities? 
 she already sat shivering in 
 the Stygian boat. It is saifl, 
 that he lamented seven whole 
 continnedmonihsnnder a lofty 
 rock, by the waters of deserted 
 Strymon, 
 
 Foedera, terque fragor stagnis audit us Avernis^ 
 Ilia, quis et me, inquit, miseram, et te perdidit 
 
 Orpheu ? 
 Quis tantus furor ? en iterum crudelia retro 495 
 Fata vocant, conditque natantia lumina somnus. 
 Jamque vale: feror ingenti circumdata nocte, 
 Inyalidasque tibi tendens, heu ! non tua, palmas. 
 Dixit, et ex oculis subito, ceu fumus in auras. 
 Commixtus tenues, fugit diversa : neque ilium 
 Prensantem nequicquam umbras, et multa vo?- 
 
 lentem 501 
 
 Dicere prasterea, vidit : nee portitor Orci 
 Amplius objectam passus transire paludem^ 
 Quid faceret ? quo se rapta bis conjuge ferret ? 
 Quo fletu Manes, qua numina voce moveret? 505 
 Ilia quidem Stygia nabat jam frigida cymba. 
 Septem ilium totos perhibent ex ordine menses 
 Rupe sub aeria deserti ad Strymonis undam 
 
 493. Fragor.'] Servius under- 
 stands /rag^or to mean an exultation 
 of the shades at the return of Eu- 
 rydice, and quotes a passage of 
 Lucan in confirmation of his opi- 
 nion : 
 
 . Gaudent a luce relictam 
 
 Eurydicen, iterum sperantes Orphea 
 Manes. 
 
 But 1 think fragor is not used for a 
 sound of joy : at least I am sure 
 Virgil never uses it in that sense, 
 but for some great crash, or horrid 
 noise. I take it in this place to 
 mean a dismal sound given by the 
 earth, or perhaps a clap of thunder, 
 to signify the greatness of the mis- 
 fortune. Milton has a thought 
 like this, on our first parents tast- 
 ing the forbidden fruit ; 
 
 Earth felt the wound, and nature from 
 
 her seat 
 Sighing thro' all her works gave signs of 
 
 woe 
 That all was lost. 
 
 And again. 
 
 Earth trembled from her entrails, as 
 
 again 
 In pangs, and nature gave a second 
 
 groan. 
 Sky low'r'd, and mutt'ring thunder, some 
 
 sad drops 
 Wept at completing of the mortal sin 
 Original. 
 
 Stagnis auditus Avernis.'] Pierius 
 found stagni est auditus Averni in the 
 Roman manuscript. It is the same 
 in one of Dr. Mead's. In the other, 
 and in one of the Arundelian copies 
 it is stagnis auditur Averni. In the 
 old Paris edition of 1494, and in 
 some others, it is stagnis auditus A- 
 verni. In the old Nurenberg edi- 
 tion it is stagnis auditur Avernis. 
 
 504. Rapta bis conjuge.'] Pierius 
 says it is his rapta conjuge, in some 
 of the ancient manuscripts. 
 
 508. Strymonis.] Strymon is a ri- 
 ver of Macedon, on the borders of 
 Thrace. 
 
GEORG. LIB. IV. 
 
 415 
 
 Flevisse, et gelidis haec evolvisse sub antris, 
 Mulcentem tigres, et agentem carmine quer- 
 cus. 510 
 
 Qualis populea moerens Philomela sub umbra 
 
 and that be gung his niitfur- 
 tunes under the cold caves, 
 appeasing tygeis, and leading 
 oaks wilt) his song. So the 
 mourning nighiiugaie, under a 
 poplar shade, 
 
 509. Flevisse.] Pierius found 
 Jlesse sibi in the Roman manuscript. 
 
 Antris.'] Pierius says it is astris 
 in the Roman and in some other 
 maimscripts. 
 
 511. Qualis populea, &c.] This 
 simile is no less justly than gene- 
 rally admired, as one of the most 
 beautiful that ever came from the 
 mouth of a poet. None that ever 
 attempted to translate it^, seem to 
 come up to the original. May's is 
 not worth repeating. Dry den's is 
 not contemptible; 
 
 So close in poplar shades, her children 
 gone, 
 
 The mother nightingale laments alone : 
 
 Whose nest some prying churl had found, 
 and thence 
 
 By stealth convey'd th* unfeather'd in- 
 nocence. 
 
 But she supplies the night with mourn- 
 ful strains. 
 
 And melancholy musick?fills the plains. 
 
 Dr. Trapp's translation is thus : 
 
 As when, complaining in melodious 
 
 groans. 
 Sweet Philomel, beneath a poplar shade. 
 Mourns her lost young, which some 
 
 rough village hind 
 Observing, from their nest, unfledg'd, 
 
 has stole : 
 She weeps all night : and perch'd upon a 
 
 bough. 
 With plaintive notes repeated fills the 
 
 grove. 
 
 Lee also has attempted it, in the 
 last act of his tragedy of Theodo- 
 sius: 
 
 As in some poplar shade the nightingale 
 With piercing moans does her lost young 
 
 bewail. 
 Which the rough hind, observing as they 
 
 lay 
 
 Warm in their downy nest, had stol'n 
 
 away ; 
 But she in mournful sounds does still 
 
 complain, 
 Sings all the night, tho' all her songs are 
 
 vain, 
 And still renews her miserable strain. 
 
 To these 1 shall add another trans- 
 lation, which was made by a lady, 
 and has not yet I believe appeared 
 in print: 
 
 So Philomel, beneath a poplar shade. 
 Laments her young by some rude hand 
 
 betray'd. 
 All night in mournful notes she seeks 
 
 relief. 
 And the wide woods re-echo to her grief. 
 
 Populea.] The poplar is judici- 
 ously chosen by the Poet, on this 
 occasion^, because the leaves of this 
 tree trembling with the least breath 
 of air, make a sort of melancholy 
 rustling. 
 
 Philomela.] Servius thinks the 
 Poet puts the nightingale here for 
 any bird : but surely what the Poet 
 says here could not be applied to any 
 other bird. 
 
 We have already seen the story of 
 Philomela and Procne, in the note 
 on ver. 15. There is a different story 
 of Philomela, which is related by 
 Mr. Pope, in a note on the nine- 
 teenth Odyssey, in the following 
 manner ; *' Pandareus, son of Me- 
 '* rops, had three daughters, Merope, 
 *' Cleothera, and Aedon: Pandareus 
 " married his eldest daughter Aedon 
 " to Zethus, brother of Amphion, 
 " mentioned in the eleventh Odys- 
 " sey; she had an only son named 
 '^ Itylus J and being envious at the 
 " numerous family of her brother- 
 
416 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 laments her lost young, which 
 some hard-hearted ploughman 
 observing, has tanen from 
 their nest unfeathered; but 
 she wails all night, and sitting 
 on a bongh continues her 
 melancholy song, and tills the 
 places all around wiih her 
 complaints. No love, no mar- 
 riage rites could bend his 
 mind. Alone he surveys the 
 Hyperborean ice, and snowy 
 Tanais, and the plains never 
 free from Ripliaan frosts ; 
 lamenting his ravished Eary- 
 dice, and the fruitless gift of 
 Pluto. The Ciconian dames 
 «nraged at his neglect oi 
 them. 
 
 Amissos queritur foetus ; quos durus arator 
 Observans, nido implumes detraxit : at ilia 
 Flet noctem, ramoque sedens, miserabile carmen 
 IntegratjCt mcestis late loca questibusimplet. 515 
 Nulla Venus, non ulli animum flexere Hymenaei. 
 Solus Hyperboreas glacies, Tanaimque nivalem, 
 Arvaque Riphaeis nunquam viduata pruinis 
 Lustrabat, raptam Eurydicen, atque irrita Ditis 
 Dona querens : spretae Ciconum quo munere 
 matres, 520 
 
 " in-law Amphion, she resolves to 
 ^* murder Amaleus, the eldest of 
 " her nephews -, her own son Itylus 
 '* was brought up with the children 
 *' of Amphion, and lay in the same 
 *' bed with this Amaleus. Aedon 
 *' directs her son Itylus to absent 
 " himself one night from the bed, 
 '*' but he forgets her orders ; at the 
 *' time determined she conveys her- 
 *' self into the apartment, and mur- 
 ** ders her own son Itylus, by mis- 
 *' take, instead of her nephew Ama- 
 '' leus : upon this, almost in dis- 
 *' traction, she begs the gods to re- 
 '* move her from the race of hu- 
 *' man-kind; they grant her prayer, 
 " and change her into a nightin- 
 " gale." Aedon is the Greek name 
 for a nightingale, and is therefore 
 the same with Philomela, It is to 
 this story that Homer alludes in 
 the nineteenth Odyssey: 
 
 Kakiv dii^mtv 'iagos viov Itrrafiivoio, 
 Aiv^^iuv iv firctXeta-t xethXafjiUn fUKivoTatv^ 
 
 na7y okoipv^ofiUti "irvXev (pikoi, of Ton 
 
 Krsrvs 5/ dtp^a^tas, xev^ov Znioio avaxTo;. 
 As when the months are clad in flow'ry 
 
 green, 
 Sad Philomel, in bow'ry shades unseen. 
 To vernal airs attunes her varied strains. 
 And Itylus sounds warbling o*er the 
 
 plains : 
 
 Young Itylus, his parent's darling joy ! 
 
 Whom chance misled the mother to de- 
 stroy : 
 
 Now doom'd a wakeful bird to wail the 
 beauteous boy. 
 
 Mr. Pope. 
 
 Virgil seems also io allude to the 
 same story in this place, the grief of 
 the nightingale being for the loss 
 of her young. According to the 
 other fable, Philomela was not a 
 mother. 
 
 514. Sedens.'] It is canens in one 
 of Dr. Mead's manuscripts. 
 
 51 6. Non ulli.'] The common 
 reading is nullique ; but Heinsius 
 and Masvicius read non ulli. Pie- 
 rius found non ulli in the Roman, 
 Medicean, and other ancient manu- 
 scripts. 
 
 517. Hyperboreas glacies.'] See 
 the note on book iii. ver. 196. 
 
 Tana'im.] The Tanais or Don is 
 a river of Muscovy, which empties 
 itself into the lake Mseotis, and di- 
 vides Europe from Asia. 
 
 518. Riphceis.] See the notes on 
 book iii. ver. I96, 382. 
 
 520. SpreicB Ciconum quo munere 
 matres.] In the Bodleian manu- 
 script, and in many printed edi- 
 tions, we read spreto, which Pierius 
 also found in some ancient manu- 
 scripts. But the King's, the Cam- 
 bridge, both the Arundelian, and 
 
GEORG. LIB. IV. 
 Inter sacra deum, nocturnique orgia Bacchi, 
 
 417 
 
 tore the young man in pieces, 
 even at the sacred rites of the 
 Uo<l», and nocturnal orgies of 
 Bacchus, 
 
 both Dr. Mead's manuscripts have 
 spretce, which is admitted also by 
 most of the old editors, and by Paul 
 Stephens, Heinsius, La Cerda, 
 Schrevelius, and Masvicius. 
 
 The Cicones were a people of 
 Thrace, living near the mountain 
 Ismarus, and the outlets of the river 
 Hebrus. 
 
 Some authors have related, that 
 the Thracian women had a more 
 just cause of resentment against 
 Orpheus ^ his being guilty of an un- 
 natural vice, and even of teaching 
 it to the Thracians. With this he 
 is charged by Ovid : 
 
 ' Omnemque refugerat Orpheus 
 
 Foemineam Venerem : seu quod male 
 illi: 
 
 Sive fidem dederat. Multas tamen ardor 
 
 habebat 
 Jungere se vati: multae doluere repulsae. 
 Ille etiam Thracum populis fuit auctor, 
 
 amorem 
 In teneros transferre mares : citraque 
 
 juventam 
 iEtatis breve ver, et primes carpere flores. 
 
 But it is not probable, that this vice 
 should have its rise in Thrace, as it 
 isknown to be the growth of'warmer 
 climates. Nor is such a guilt con- 
 sistent with the extraordinary pas- 
 sion of Orpheus for his Eurydice. 
 Our Poet himself has been accused 
 of the same unnatural inclinations, 
 but, I think, without any goocj 
 reason. The principal argument is 
 taken from the second Eclogue, 
 where the Poet describes the pas- 
 sion of Corydon for Alexis. Here 
 he is supposed to mean himself 
 under the name of Corydon, which 
 however cannot be proved. Nor is 
 it at all to be wondered at, that he 
 should describe his shepherds as 
 subject to that vice, which is still 
 too common in the country where 
 he lived, A poet must represent 
 
 mankind as they are, given up to 
 various follies, vices, and passions. 
 Therefore he makes the shepherds 
 subject to such passions, as he else- 
 where sufficiently shews that he 
 does not approve. And at the close 
 of that very Eclogue, Corydon be- 
 gins to discover his folly, and re- 
 pent of it : 
 
 Ah Corydon, Corydon, quae te dementia 
 cepit ! 
 
 Dryden endeavours to vindicate his 
 author from this censure, but at the 
 same time takes pains to shew that 
 he was averse from the fair sex, 
 which, if true, would strengthen 
 the accusation. He adds, that there 
 is hardly the character of one good 
 woman in all his poems. But not- 
 withstanding these concessions of 
 his celebrated translator, I shall 
 venture to affirm, that Virgil had 
 other thoughts of women. He has 
 indeed represented Dido under no 
 very advantageous character. But 
 this was not with any design of 
 casting a slur upon the sex, but on 
 the Carthaginians, the most invete- 
 rate enemies of the Roman people. 
 And, on the other side, Virgil never 
 fails of setting conjugal love in a 
 beautiful light. In the passage be- 
 fore us, we have a husband ven- 
 turing even to the infernal regions, 
 to fetch back his wife, totally in- 
 consolable for the loss of her, and 
 invoking her with his dying lips. 
 His hero, the great ^Eneas, leaves 
 his father and son, and rushes 
 through the flames of Troy, and the 
 victorious enemies, to seek his lost 
 Creiisa, and continues his pursuit of 
 her, till her ghost appears, and ex- 
 horts him to desist. Thus, though 
 our Poet condemns impure and idle 
 passions, yet he applauds the love 
 of women, when it does not deviate 
 3h 
 
418 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 and scattered over the wide 
 plains his limbs. Even then, 
 whilst CEagrian Ilebrus bore 
 his bead, and rolled it down 
 the middle of the tide, his 
 voice and even his cold tongue 
 called Eurydice, 
 
 Discerptum latos juvenem sparsere per agros. 
 Turn quoque marmorea caput a cervice revulsum 
 Gurgite cum medio portans CEagrius Hebrus 
 Volveret, Eurydicen vox, ipsa et frigida lingua, 
 
 from virtue : and this, I hope, will 
 not be imputed to him as a crime. 
 The virgin Camilla is far from a 
 bad character} and the description 
 of Lavinia shews, that the Poet was 
 by no means insensible of the 
 charms of beauty, when supported 
 by modesty. To conclude this di- 
 gression, I shall beg leave to ob- 
 serve, that had our Poet been 
 thought fond of the vice of which 
 he is accused by the defaming pens 
 of some later writers j those of his 
 own and the next succeeding ages 
 would never have celebrated him as 
 a pattern of modesty and virtue. 
 Ovid indeed, who was under the 
 displeasure of Augustus Caesar, on 
 account of the obscenity of his 
 verses, excuses himself by the ex- 
 ample of Virgil, who described the 
 flames of Amaryllis and Phillis, and 
 the unlawful commerce of .^Eneas 
 and Dido: 
 
 Et tamen ille tuae felix ^tieidos author 
 
 Contulit in Tyrios arma virumque toros. 
 Nee legitur pars uUa magis de corpora 
 
 toto, 
 Quam not! legitimo foedere functus amor, 
 Phyllidis hie idem, teneraeque Amaryl- 
 
 lidis ignes 
 Bucolieis juvenis luserat ante modis. 
 
 Had this contemporary poet known, 
 and he could not but have known it 
 if it had been true, that Virgil de- 
 scribed his own impure thoughts 
 under the fictitious name of a shep- 
 herd, he would not have failed to 
 mention it on this occasion. But 
 we find that Ovid had not the least 
 suspicion of any such thing, and 
 therefore charged him only with the 
 mention of such passions as are ac- 
 cording to nature, however criminal 
 they are in other respects. 
 
 521. Noclurnique orgia Bacchi.'] 
 Some read nocturnaque, which seems 
 to be approved by Pierius. But he 
 found nocturnique in the Medicean 
 and other ancient manuscripts, 
 which last reading is generally re- 
 ceived. 
 
 The Orgies were a mad solem- 
 nity sacred to Bacchus, which was 
 celebrated with a kind of drunken 
 fury. The word is derived from 
 o^yh, fury. It was in one of these 
 drunken fits, it seems, that Orpheus 
 was torn in pieces. 
 
 524.. CEagrius Hebrus] The He- 
 brus is called CEagrian, from (Ea- 
 grus the Thracian king or river 
 mentioned before to be the father 
 of Orpheus. 
 
 525. Eurydicen.'] The repetition 
 of the name of Eurydice, in this and 
 the following verses, is exceedingly 
 beautiful. 
 
 The reader will not be displeased 
 perhaps, if I give him the satisfac- 
 tion of knowing, that Orpheus soon 
 after found his Eurydice in the 
 happy mansions of the other world, 
 where he could gaze on her inces- 
 santly, without any fear of losing 
 her, as it is beautifully described by 
 Ovid: 
 
 Umbra subit terras : et quas loca viderit 
 ante, 
 
 Cuncta recognoscit. Quaerensque per 
 arva piorum 
 
 Invenit Eurydicen, cupidisque amplecti- 
 tur ulnis. 
 
 Hie modo conjunctis spatiantur passibus 
 ambo : 
 
 Nunc praecedentem sequitur, nunc pras- 
 vius anteit : 
 
 Eurydicenque suam jam tuto respicit Or- 
 pheus. 
 
 His ghost retires to under shades: once 
 more 
 
GEORG. LIB. IV. 
 
 419 
 
 Ah miseram Eurydicen anima fugiente vocabat: 
 Eurydicen toto referebant flumine ripae. 
 Haec Proteus, et se jactu dedit gequor in altum : 
 Quaque dedit, spumantem undam sub vertice 
 
 torsit. 
 At non Cyrene : namque ultro affata timentem : 
 Nate, licet tristes animo depellere curas. 531 
 Hagc omnis morbi causa: hincmiserabile Nymphae 
 Cum quibus ilia chores lucis agitabat in altis, 
 Exitium misere apibus. Tu munera supplex 
 Tende petens pacem, et faciles venerare Napa?as. 
 Namque dabunt veniam votis, irasque remittent. 
 Sed, modus orandi qui sit, prius ordine dicam. 
 Quatuor eximios praestanti corpore tauros. 
 Qui tibi nunc viridis depascunt summa Lycaei, 
 Delige, et intacta totidem cervice juvencas. 540 
 Quatuor his aras alta ad delubra dearum 
 Constitue, et sacrum jugulis demitte cruorem : 
 Corporaque ipsa boum frondoso desere luco. 
 Post, ubi nona suos Aurora ostenderit ortus ; 
 
 ah! poor Eiirydice, as his life 
 departed, and all the rocks re- 
 peated Eiirydicc through the 
 whole river. Thus spake 
 Proteus; and threw himself 
 into the deep sea, and as he 
 went, the water foamed about 
 Ills head. But Cyrene did not 
 plunge into the sea : for she 
 came and spoke to her trem- 
 bling son, and bid him lay 
 aside his vexatious cares. 
 Hence, says she, is all (he 
 cause of your disaster: hence 
 the Nymphs, with whom she 
 was dancing in the thick 
 groves, have sent a miserable 
 destruction on your bees. But 
 do you in a suppliant manner 
 offer gifts, and ask peace, and 
 worship the favourable wood 
 Nymphs. Tor prayers will 
 movt them to pardon, and 
 they will remit their anger. 
 But first I will tell you in order, 
 in what manner they must 
 be entreated. Pick out four 
 chosen bulls of the largest 
 size, that now graze on the 
 summit of green Lycaeus, 
 and as many heifers un- 
 touched by the yoke. Kaise 
 four altars for them at the 
 high temples of the goddesses, 
 and let out the sacred blood 
 from their throats, and leave 
 the bodies of the cattle in the 
 shady grove. Afterwards 
 when (he ninth morning has 
 appeared rising, 
 
 He sees and knows "what he had seen hefare. 
 Then through the Ely sian fields among the 
 
 llest 
 Seeks his Eurydice. Now repossest 
 With strict imbraces, guided by one minde, 
 They walke together : oft he comes behinde. 
 Oft goes before : now Or_pheiis safely may 
 His following Eurydice survay. 
 
 Sandys. 
 
 529- Vertice,] Some read vor- 
 iice. 
 
 530. At non Cyrene^ Proteus 
 having delivered his oracular an- 
 swer, Cyrene advises her son to 
 offer sacrifices to the offended 
 Nymphs, and to appease the manes 
 of Orpheus and Eurydice. Aristaeus 
 follows the instructions of his 
 mother, and is surprised to see a 
 swarm of bees come out of the 
 carcases of the sacrificed oxen. 
 
 531. Deponere.] In one of Dr. 
 Mead's manuscripts it is depellere. 
 
 535. Napceas.] The Napcece have 
 their nanne from vu-xv^ a grove ; they 
 are the same with the Dryades. 
 
 537. Q.ui7\ It is quis in one of 
 Dr. Mead's manuscripts, and in 
 most of the old editions. 
 
 53^. Eximios prcostanti corpore,] 
 Pierius found eximio prcestantes cor- 
 pore in the Roman manuscript. 
 
 La Cerda observes that eximios 
 is no superfluous epithet, being a 
 sacerdotal word, and derived from 
 eximere, to pick or choose. 
 
 540. Intacta.'] Pierius found in- 
 tactas in the Roman manuscript. 
 
 543. Corporaque.'] In the King's 
 manuscript it is corpora quaque. 
 
 544, Os tender it. ~\ In one of the 
 3 H 2 
 
420 
 
 P. VIRGILII MARONIS 
 
 you shall offer Lcthnean pop- 
 pies (o the manes of Orpheus, 
 and worship appeased Eury- 
 dice with a slain calf, ami sa- 
 crifice a black sheep, and 
 revisit the grove. Without 
 delay, he immediately obeys 
 Lis mother's commands: he 
 comes to the temple, and 
 raises the altars as directed, 
 he leads four chosen bulls of 
 the largest size, and as many 
 heifers untouched by the yoke. 
 Afterwards as soon as the 
 ninth morning appeared rising; 
 he offers to tlie manes of 
 Orpheus, and levisits the 
 grove. And how they behold 
 a sudden sight, and wonder- 
 ful to relate, bees humming in 
 the putrid bowels of the 
 victims through all their bel- 
 lies, and bursting out of their 
 sides; then forming thick 
 clouds; and settling on the 
 top of a tree, and hanging like 
 a cluster of grapes from the 
 bending boughs. Thus did J 
 sing of the management of 
 fields, of cattle, and of treps : 
 whilst great Ciesar thunders in 
 war at deep » 
 
 Inferias Orphei Icthaga papavera mittes, 545 
 Placatam Eurydicen vitula venerabere caesa, 
 Et nigram mactabis ovem, lucumque revises. 
 Hand mora; continue matris praecepta facessit : 
 Ad delubra venit ; monstratas excitat aras ; 
 Quatuor eximios praestanti corpora tauros 550 
 Ducit, et intacta totidem cervice juvencas. 
 Post ubi nona suos Aurora induxerat ortus, 
 Inferias Orphei mittit, lucumque revisit. 
 Hie vero subitum ac dictu mirabile monstrum 
 Aspiciunt, liquefacta bourn per viscera toto 555 
 Stridere apes utero, et ruptis effervere costis ; 
 Immensasque trahi nubes: jamque arbore surama 
 Confluere, et lentis uvam demittere ramis. 
 Haec super arvorum cultu pecorumque cane- 
 bam, 
 Et super arboribus : Caesar dum magnus ad 
 altum 560 
 
 Arundelian manuscripts it is indux- 
 erit. 
 
 545. Inferias.] The inferice were 
 sacrifices offered to the Manes. 
 
 Lethcea papavera.'] See the note 
 on book i. ver. 78. 
 
 5^6 and 54?.] These two lines 
 are transposed in both the Arunde- 
 lian, both Dr. Mead's manuscripts, 
 in the old Nurenberg edition, those 
 of Paul Stephens, Schrevelius, and 
 others. 
 
 550. Ad delubra vejiit.'] In one 
 of the Arundelian manuscripts it is 
 at delubra petit. 
 
 552. Intacta.'] It is intactas in 
 the old Venice edition of 1 482. 
 
 Induxerat.] It is induxerit in one 
 of the Arundelian, and in one of 
 Dr. Mead's manuscripts. 
 
 556. Et ruptis.] It is erupiis in 
 the King's, and in the Cambridge 
 manuscripts. 
 
 558. Uvam.] See the note on 
 book ii. ver. 60. 
 
 559. Hcec super, &c.] Virgil 
 having now finished this noble 
 Poem, takes care to inform the 
 reader of the time when it was 
 written, and of the name of the 
 author, asserting it to himself, that 
 no future plagiary might pretend 
 to so great an honour. 
 
 560. Ccesar dum magnis, &c.] 
 These lines are a fresh argument, 
 that Virgil continued the care of 
 his Georgicks, as long as he lived, 
 for the time here mentioned is the 
 year before his death. It was then 
 that Augustus Caesar was at the 
 head of the Roman legions in 
 person, on the banks of the Eu- 
 phrates, and compelled Phraates to 
 restore the Eagles, which the Par- 
 thians had taken from Crassus, and 
 drew the neighbouring nations, and 
 
GEORG. LIB. IV. 
 
 421 
 
 Fulminat Euphraten bello, victorque volentes 
 Per populos dat jura, viamque afFectat Olympo. 
 lUo Virgilium me tempore dulcis alebat 
 Parthenope, studiis florentem ignobilis oti : 
 Carminaqui lusipastorum,audaxque juventa 565 
 Tityre, te palulae cecini sub tegraine fagi. 
 
 Euphrates, and being con- 
 mieror gives laws tlirongh 
 the willing people, and affects 
 the way to heaven. At that 
 time did sweet Parthenope 
 nourish n)e Virgil, flourishing 
 in the studies of ignoble ease : 
 who recited the verses of 
 shepherds, and, being bol<l in 
 youth, sung thee, Tit>ru3, 
 under the covering ot a 
 spreading beecb. 
 
 even the Indians, to make a volun- 
 tary submission to him. See the 
 notes on ver. 27, 30. book iii. 
 
 663. Alebat.'] In the King's ma- 
 nuscript it is habebat. 
 
 564i. Parthenope.'] This was the 
 
 name of an ancient city, which when 
 rebuilt was called Naples. 
 
 5Q5. Audaxque juventa.'] Accord- 
 ing to Servius, Virgil was twenty- 
 eight years old when he wrote his 
 Eclogues. 
 
ADDENDA. 
 
\ 
 
ADDENDA. 
 
 The following Remarks were sent me, after the publication of the 
 Georgicksy by the learned Edward King, Esq. in two Letters dated 
 from Bromley in Kent, Nov. 20, 1740, and May 11, 1743. 
 
 GeORGICK i. 38. It is the 
 cheapest and best way of improving 
 land in the old husbandry j but 
 it must be ploughed more than 
 four times, 
 
 97. Mr. B — 's remark is wrong 
 in another particular ; for when 
 these cninks are thus filled up, and 
 then corn sowed, there will not be 
 fine mould enough to cover the 
 seed. Virgil does not speak of sow- 
 ing in this place. 
 
 208. When Libra has made the 
 day and hours of. sleep equal. 
 
 247. 
 
 lUic, ut perhibent, aut intempesta silet 
 
 nox 
 Semper, et obtenta densentur nocte te- 
 
 nebrae. 
 
 Mr. B — , not content with having 
 observed, and kept to the beauty of 
 the first line in his translation, in- 
 judiciously observesapalpable dark- 
 ness in the second ; thus it is, says 
 he, wove closer with thickening let- 
 ters than any other line in the Latin 
 language that 1 can recollect. I sup- 
 pose he means chiefly the letter e, 
 (or his observation is nothing;) and 
 he has used one too many in densen- 
 tur. But to my ear the night would 
 be full as dark, and more still, if 
 four of the e*s were not in the verse : 
 thus 
 
 Et circumfusa densantur nocte teiie- 
 brae. 
 
 357. The limbs of the trees being 
 
 dry increases the friction and noise, 
 when they rub against each other, 
 and makes this aridus fragor. There 
 would be no fragor if the trees 
 were wet 5 for that would take off 
 the friction. 
 
 388. I prefer rauca voce, which 
 is the opposite to liquidas voces, ver. 
 410. Angelus Politianus, in his to- 
 kens of wet weatiier, has latrant 
 corvi, which I have often heard. 
 
 403. Virgil here speaks of the 
 signs of fair weather. Nequicquam 
 translated in vain, and applied to 
 the owl's singing, suits but ill with 
 Virgil's exactness -, for that would 
 be making him say, that the owl's 
 singing, which is a sign of foul 
 weather, is a vain omen, because it 
 will be fair : it is saying that one 
 sign of foul weather, is not a sign of 
 foul weather. But Virgil has not 
 been guilty of any thing like this 
 in his tokens of foul or fair weather. 
 He says before Necfratris radiis oh- 
 noxia luna: which in the familiar 
 English expression is. The moon 
 rises as bright as day. It seems to 
 me therefore, that there should be a 
 stop at nequicquam, and then the 
 sense will run thus ; The owl from 
 the top of the roof observes (or waits) 
 the setting of the sun in vain, because 
 the night will be poetically as bright 
 as day, Seros cantus is peculiar to 
 the owl ; I know no bird besides, 
 that sings only in the night. The 
 nightingales with us sing in the day- 
 3i 
 
426 
 
 ADDENDA. 
 
 time from about the middle of May, 
 to the time they leare us. This 
 perhaps has not been attended to, 
 because her voice in the day-time is 
 drowned in the neighbouring cho- 
 rus. Thus most will readily say 
 that blossoms are antecedent to 
 leaves, but upon examination will 
 find, that leaves are equally forward 
 (at the same time) in proportion to 
 their full growth, with blossoms in 
 respect to the fruit that follows them, 
 as in the peach, nectarine, almond, 
 &c. The glaring appearance of the 
 bloom takes up all the common at- 
 tention; as the chirping, whistling, 
 discord notes of various other birds 
 divert the undistinguishing ear from 
 attending to the single part of the 
 musical nightingale. We are only 
 apt to consider her solo part per 
 arnica silentia Lunce, and with the 
 best poets listen to her chiefly, when 
 she does^ere noctem, Virg. sing dark- 
 ling. Milt. 
 
 416. By the fate of things a greater 
 prudence; and this carries on the 
 Epicurean principle. 
 
 419. Aut qu(S densa relaxat-, 
 for it is impossible that both should 
 happen in the same instant. 
 
 462. I never could be reconciled 
 to quid cogitet humidus Auster, I 
 had rather read cogat et or concitet 
 {contra omnes codices) than cogitet. 
 
 480. Mcestum illacrymat ehur, O- 
 vid's mille modis lacrymavit ehur, and 
 Tibullus's lacrymas fudisse tepentes, 
 are nothing more than what is 
 common in moist weather : but 
 Virgil expressly refers the weeping 
 into a prodigy by mcestum. 
 
 Georg. ii. 10. Those that rise 
 from suckers, or from scattered 
 seeds. Thereisnooccasion,Ithink, 
 to resort to the old opinion of spon- 
 taneous generation. 
 
 20, Hos natura modus primum de- 
 dit, are those which rise sponte sua. 
 
 22. I cannot construe this line 
 
 without reading Sunt alii queis ipse 
 viam sihi repperit usus. The alii 
 (viz. modi) queris, &c. answers what 
 went before. His genus omne. 
 
 59. This relates to the seminibus 
 jactis. The apples produced from 
 kernels do not taste like the apples 
 that produced the kernels. 
 
 60. So the kernels of a bunch of 
 grapes produce iurpes racemos. I 
 never saw a vine raised from a ker- 
 nel ; but a curious friend of mine 
 informed me he had seen in Barba- 
 does vines raised from the kernels 
 of raisins. 
 
 78. Aut rursum. Perhaps this 
 means, that the same stocks, which 
 were inoculated, upon the buds 
 failing, are again cut for ingraft- 
 ing. 
 
 97- These mountains rise, or 
 grow still higher, with vineyards 
 of these grapes upon them. 
 
 149. It w^ould somewhat abate 
 Virgil's compliment to his own 
 country, if, with Mr. B — we were 4 
 to attribute the Ver assiduum only to " 
 foreign grasses. 
 
 153. 
 Nee rapit immensos orbes per humum 
 
 neque tanto 
 Squameus in gynim tractu se colligit 
 anguis. 
 
 Here Mr. B — says the beginning 
 and ending of the first line are 
 snatched up like the motion of that 
 frightful creature 3 and the immen- 
 sos orbes betwixt makes the dreadful 
 circle. No doubt of it, Virgil de- 
 signed it should : but leaves this to 
 the sound, and immensos orbes are 
 full as like a square as a circle. 
 
 251,252,253. This wish is, that 
 in moist soils the rank grass should 
 not be too prevalent, Ne sit ilia 
 terra, quce majores herbas alit, nimium 
 fertilis, viz. majoribus herbis, with 
 the inexpugnabile gramen^ as Ovid 
 calls it. He would not wish his 
 crop should not be prcevalida, for it 
 
ADDENDA. 
 
 427 
 
 was like to be too rank, there is a 
 remedy prescribed, Gei»rg. i. 112. 
 Luxuriem segetum tenera depascit in 
 herba. 
 
 279. I am well satisfied this does 
 not mean two armies, dubius mediis 
 Mars errat in armis : I think it sig- 
 nifies, that the ranks were so very 
 regular, that Mars mistook the 
 middle ranks one for another. Me- 
 diis armis is as medias acies. 
 
 Ipsi per medias acies insignibus alls. 
 
 357. Presso vomere signifies deep 
 ploughing. Mr. Dryden translates 
 it loosens it (the earth) above ; but 
 that would be by pressing the han- 
 dles, not by pressing the share. 
 
 408. Contains a double precept: 
 1. That you should be early in 
 cutting o£F the shoots. 2. That they 
 should not be burnt in the vineyard. 
 If they were burnt there, they would 
 scorch the vines, or perhaps totally 
 consume them. The burning small- 
 coal in our woods greatly damages 
 the trees that are to be left. 
 
 441. Mr. B says the storm 
 
 roars through the line. To me it 
 sounds whistling. Quas animos' Eur 
 assidue is strong sibilation. 
 
 I believe Virgil in some instances 
 designed the sound should answer 
 the sense 5 but not in near so many 
 
 as Mr. B imagined he did. I 
 
 shall mention no more, as I find you 
 have avoided following him where 
 he is wrong. 
 
 455. Mr. B — 's remark amounts 
 to nothing j for his reasoning re- 
 turns to what he objected against. 
 Though Rhoetus and Pholus were 
 not slain, yet in general may be 
 said hostes domare letho, though all 
 are not killed. 
 
 458. Ofortunatosnimium! 'Nimium 
 is greatly. It has in this place the 
 sense oi plurimum or maxime, as in 
 Claudian, nimium dilecte Deo! 
 
 508. Hie stupet ationitus rostris. 
 I believe he means those who set 
 up for politicians, who received the 
 
 news of the Senate from the rostra. 
 See Middleton's Life of Cicero. It 
 does not relate to those who studied 
 the law, or were concerned in law- 
 suits ; for that was mentioned be 
 fore, ver. 501. 
 
 519. I am of Mr. B — 's mind, 
 that hyems does not signify winter. 
 If winter was the middle time of 
 gathering, there certainly was a 
 previous one. The subsequent lines 
 put this out of doubt, Varios ponit 
 foetus Autumnus. 
 
 Georg. iii. 52. I think none of 
 the quotations expound turpe caput. 
 But if it is like the bull's, which 
 Virgil recommends, ver. 58. it will 
 be turpe. The curling of the hair 
 upon the head will retain more dust 
 and chaff than is lodged upon a 
 smooth headed cow ; so that the 
 meaning is rather rough or shock- 
 headed than large. A cow with a 
 large long neck and a great head 
 would be a monstrous un proportion- 
 able figure. 
 
 I take plurima cervix to be thick 
 necked. Virgil says omnia magna ; 
 that is, proportionably so. 
 
 85. But what ignis is this? It is 
 either the smoke of his nostrils, or 
 the remarkable flame colour of the 
 fine membrane within them. The 
 action of neighing throws the blood 
 over the membrane, and makes the 
 flame colour appear more red and 
 lively j and this answers every part 
 of the verse, viz. premens collectum 
 ignem volvit sub narihus. This I 
 take to be the glory of his nostrils. 
 
 87. Duplex spina, a kind of fur- 
 row thrown up on each side of the 
 spine, by which the spine itself 
 would not be seen, but each furrow 
 would look like a spine. 
 
 100, 101. I take this to mean his 
 own qualifications, and those of his 
 brothers and sisters, et quis cuique 
 dolor victo, quae gloria pabncB, or it 
 may be the offspring of his father 
 3 I 2 
 
428 
 
 ADDENDA. 
 
 or grandfather, in whicli sense the 
 civilians are used to consider pa- 
 rentes. Our countrymen value stal- 
 lions at this rate. It may be too 
 late to choose a horse for a stallion, 
 by observing the excellencies of his 
 colt : it may be better ahdere domo ; 
 as ver. 95. 
 
 106 ■ Verhere torto rather describes 
 the manner of lashing, than the 
 whip or lash. 
 
 118. JEque juvenemque magistri 
 exquirunt, Juvenem rather signifies 
 a young man, than a young horse : 
 cequus uterque labor and ceque juve- 
 nem exquirunt relate to what went 
 immediately before, which is break- 
 ing horses for the chariot or riding. 
 
 130. Dryden and B have ma- 
 nifestly mistaken this. I shall only 
 add to your just observation upon 
 this line, a representation of this 
 desire in Proserpina, Claud, de Rapt. 
 Proserp. 
 
 Jam vicina toro plenis adoleverat annis 
 Virginitas : tenerum jam pronuba flam- 
 ma pudorem 
 SoUicitat; mistaque tremit formidine 
 votum. 
 
 134. The surgens zephyrus, I be- 
 lieve, means the spring, as in G. 
 ii. 330. 
 
 Zephyrique tepentibus auris 
 
 Laxant arva sinus. 
 
 147. I should be glad to read 
 
 Ilicibusque virentem 
 
 Pluribus. 
 
 It seems forced to make volitans a 
 substantive. 
 
 162. Ccetera pascuntur virides ar- 
 menta per herbas. He may properly 
 mean cows kept for the pail, which 
 require a different management 
 from the rest. 
 
 219. This line is much below 
 Virgil, is a very bad one, and breaks 
 the context to no purpose. 
 
 391. I must beg leave to differ 
 from your opinion on this line; for 
 though the aries was candidus ipse, 
 
 yet the blackness of his tongue, M 
 which the Moon did not examine, ^ 
 was a reason against choosing him. 
 Candidus ipse is the principal parts 
 of him, as aureus ipse, G. iv. 274. 
 
 409. Timidos agitabis onagros, 
 Tumidos is a good reading, accord- 
 ing to the accounts we have of the 
 wild ass's being more than a match 
 for the tyger in fighting. 
 
 471. He seems to mean, that the 
 plagues of different cattle were more 
 numerous than the storms before 
 winter J as ver. 480. 
 
 Et genus omne neci pecudum dedit, 
 omne ferarum. 
 
 482. Nee via mortis erat simplex : 
 I take this to mean that the manner 
 of their death was various; ver. 496. 
 
 Canibus blandis rabies venit, et 
 
 quatit aegros 
 
 Tussis anhela sues. 
 
 Speaking of the horse, ver. 501. 
 
 Aret 
 
 Pellis, et ad tactum tractanti dura re- 
 sistit. 
 
 According to your note on this verse, 
 horses were differently affected. 
 
 513. I cannot help thinking er- 
 rorem ilium signifies some mistake 
 in the practice or application, and do 
 somewhat incline to Dryden's inter- -a 
 pretation; for if the giving wine J 
 was always bad in its consequence, 
 he would hardly have said profuit. 
 But there may be another interpre- 
 tation, which will favour my opinion, 
 viz. that wine, which was of ser- 
 vice to some of them, (or which 
 was sometimes of service,) increased 
 the distemper of others to madness, 
 (or at other times increased the dis- 
 temper to madness.) And this 
 comes to what Lucretius says in his 
 sixth book, and is in your note upon 
 ver. 549. And the critics agree, 
 that Virgil had Lucretius in his 
 eye, when he wrote this account of 
 the murrain. The difficulty was 1 
 to know when to apply this me- S 
 dicine, and the misapplication of it 
 
ADDENDA. 
 
 429 
 
 is what Virgil deprecates : Errorem- 
 que hostibus ilium. Either of these 
 interpretations naturally introduces 
 the exclamation of this line: Let 
 the gods deal better with good merij 
 and let their enemies only suffer by 
 such a mistake. 
 
 536. I fancy contenta signifies 
 yoked, which is a natural significa- 
 tion of the word, from the manner 
 of using oxen in a team, at the time 
 when Virgil wrote. And it conveys 
 a melancholy idea, when we consi- 
 der men drawing the waggon, in 
 the place of oxen. Strideniia plau- 
 stra I would translate creaking wag- 
 gons : the stridor I imagine to pro- 
 ceed from the inequality of the mo- 
 tion, and the inequality of the mo- 
 tion from the weakness of those who 
 drew them, in proportion to the 
 weight they drew. 
 
 I had marked several lines that 
 
 Mr. B had taken notice were an 
 
 echo to tlie sense. He seemed to 
 
 me too fond of attributing to the 
 sound, Virgil's great care of convey- 
 ing the idea of the thing spoken of, 
 by strength of expression. Much of 
 this depends upon fancy ; but I will 
 mention an instance or two, in which 
 
 I think Mr. B carries this much 
 
 too far. 
 
 Georg. iv. 82. Directs acies is 
 just the reverse of turbatce acies; 
 
 Extemplo turiate acies versique Latini 
 Rejiciunt parmas. 
 
 iEN. xi. 618. 
 
 85. In the common translations, 
 it is left uncertain, which side the 
 conqueror will oblige to yield. But 
 surely he would hardly endeavour 
 to demolish his own party. There- 
 fore it comes to this sense, dum aut 
 hos aut hos, that is of the other 
 party, victor subegit dare terga, ob- 
 nixi tamen sunt non cedere. 
 
 203. Sir Daniel Molyneux's ob- 
 servation I think is quite right. 
 
430 
 
 ADDENDA. 
 
 The following Remarks were sent me by the Reverend and learned 
 Dr. William Greenwood, dated from Warwick, May 14, 1748. 
 
 GeORGICK i. 32. Anne novum-^ 
 This passage receives great light 
 and beauty from the Farnese grove, 
 and some gems, &c. representing 
 the Zodiac. The ancients were at 
 a loss how to have the balance sup- 
 ported, and therefore it was origi- 
 nally held up by Scorpius ^ who 
 extended his claws for that purpose 
 out of his own proper dominions, 
 and thus took up the space of two 
 signs in the Zodiac. But under 
 Augustus, or a little after his death, 
 they made Scorpius contract his 
 claws, and introduced a new per- 
 sonage to hold the balance. On 
 the Farnese globe it is supported 
 by Scorpius 3 and in several gems 
 and medals of later date, it is held 
 by a man; probably intended for 
 Augustus himself. Vide Spence's 
 Polymetis,p. 170. pi. 24. and pi. 25. 
 fig. 3. 
 
 How does your remark in the 
 notes, that Augustus was born un- 
 der Libra, agree with Suetonius, 
 who says he was born under Capri- 
 corn ? In Aug. §. 94. 
 
 Suetonius, in the section referred 
 to, does indeed speak of the birth of 
 Augustus being in December ^ Au- 
 gustum natum mense decimo, et 
 ob hoc ApoUinis filium existima- 
 tum 3 and at the latter end that he 
 was born under Capricorn; Num- 
 mumque argenteum nota sideris 
 Capricorni, quo natus est, percus- 
 serit. In that section Suetonius seems 
 to relate what various authors had re- 
 ported : but in §. 5. where he plainly 
 
 speaks in his own person, he expressly 
 declares^ that Augustus was born on 
 the ninth of the calends of October, 
 which is certainly under Libra ; Na- 
 tus est Augustus, M. TuUio Cice- 
 rone, et Antonio Coss. ix. Cal. Oc- 
 tobr. pauUo ante solis exortum. 
 This is confirmed by §. 100. where we 
 are told that Augustus died on the 
 fourteenth of the Calends of Septem- 
 ber, in the seventy -sixth year of his 
 age, wanting five and thirty days ; 
 Obiit in cubiculo eodem quo pater 
 Octavius: duobus Sextis, Pompeio 
 et Appuleio Coss. xiv. Cal. Septem- 
 bris, hora diei nona, septuagesimo 
 et sexto aetatis anno, diebus quin- 
 que et triginta minus. 
 
 42. Ingredere — I should rather 
 think with Catrou, that Virgil in- 
 serted this passage, when he revised 
 his Georgicks: and not when he 
 first composed or published them. 
 
 152. Aspera sylva — In your trans- 
 lation you say, A prickly wood of 
 burrs and caltrops: whereas I take 
 them all to be of the nominative 
 case, as they certainly are in Georg. 
 iii. 384. where the very same words 
 are used : and therefore they should 
 likewise be construed thus, prickly 
 brambles, and burrs, and caltrops. 
 
 I did not take lappaeque tribulique 
 to be the genitive case, as appears, I 
 think, by the comma after sylva. It 
 might indeed have been translated 
 more literally thus ; A prickly wood 
 arises, both burrs and caltrops. 
 
 195. Grandior — Catrou places the 
 full stop at the end of the next 
 
ADDENDA. 
 
 431 
 
 verse, and makes the sense run 
 thus ; that the legumes may he larger, 
 and boil belter with a very little Jire. 
 211. Sub extremum — Virgil can- 
 not possibly mean the last by ex- 
 tremum, because it would contradict 
 his epithet, intractabilis ; which im- 
 plies that this season is unfit for bu- 
 siness. But as there are two ex- 
 tremes, and extremus is sometimes 
 used to signify the first, as well as 
 the last; if it can be allowed to 
 have that construction in this place, 
 the sense will be very clear and 
 consistent : that the time of sowing 
 barley is from the autumnal Equinox 
 to the first heavy rains of the winter 
 Solstice, when the inclemency of the 
 weather will put a stop to all works 
 of this kind. 
 
 227. Faselum — I will not pretend 
 to say what the Faselus was: but 
 by these directions I think it can- 
 not be the very same as our kidney- 
 bean. For this is one of the ten- 
 derest plants we have in the natu- 
 ral ground; and the least able to 
 ^ bear the severe cold, either when 
 it is young or old. It is therefore 
 sown the latest in the spring of all 
 legumes: and as the seed will be 
 melted in the ground, if much rain 
 falls before it is come up ; so the 
 plant itself will be cut oflf by the 
 first sharp frost in April or May, 
 though it is ever so flourishing, or 
 in October, when it is at its full 
 growth. 
 
 255. Deducere classes — I think we 
 should understand deducere classes, 
 to bring back the fleets ; and thus 
 the same opposition will be con- 
 tinued that was in a preceding 
 verse. Hence we learn when to sow, 
 and when to reap; when to venture 
 out to sea, and when to retire into 
 port again. 
 
 268. Quippeeliam — I observe the 
 commentators give reasons why 
 some of these works may be done 
 upon a holiday; but do not take 
 
 any manner of notice of the rest. 
 Now since they are only to be jus- 
 tified by charity or necessity, all 
 the following passages must be 
 considered in that light. So that 
 husbandmen are allowed, rivos de- 
 ducere, to let out the flashes of wa- 
 ter which are brought upon the 
 fields by sudden showers and land 
 floods : they may, segeti prcetendere 
 sepem, secure the fences of their 
 corn, when by the omission it would 
 be exposed to immediate damage 
 from trespassing cattle : they may, 
 insidias avibus moliri, guard against 
 the feathered robbers, who make 
 no distinction of days, but are al- 
 ways pilfering the seeds wlienever 
 they can come at them ; and they 
 may, gregem fluvio mersare salubri, 
 bathe the flock in the river, if it 
 is required for the health of the 
 sheep. But why they should then 
 burn the thorns, which may be 
 conveniently done at anytime; or 
 carry oil and fruits to town, for 
 which there were probably other 
 market days j though so correct a 
 writer as Virgil had undoubtedly 
 his reasons for it, yet I must own 
 myself at a loss to discover. Un- 
 less for the latter there might be 
 the same necessity, as there is to 
 cry milk and mackarel in London 
 upon a Sunday: and if this could 
 be proved, we may easily suppose 
 they might be permitted to return 
 with some other loading for back- 
 carriage. And if the former ap- 
 peared to be any thing like our 
 burning of charcoal, this would be 
 a work that might be continued, 
 though not begun, upon a day that 
 was esteemed sacred. 
 
 Georg. ii. 97. Amminea was near 
 to Falernus, and Pliny says, Prin^ 
 cipatus datur Ammineis propter fir mi- 
 tatem, 1. xiv. 2. Expressions very 
 like these of Virgil. So that these 
 three lines may be thus rendered; 
 
432 
 
 ADDENDA. 
 
 There are also Amminean vines, which 
 yield the best bodied wines : to which 
 the Tmolian, and Phancean, and 
 smaller Argitis must give the prefer- 
 ence ; though the two first are reck- 
 oned prime wines, and the last none 
 can rival, &c. Or suppose the 98th 
 verse to be in a parenthesis, which 
 would be more poetical, and then 
 the construction will run thus ; 
 There are also Amminean vines, which 
 yield the best bodied wines, {to which 
 the Tmolian and Phanaan, though 
 reckoned prime wines, must give the 
 preference,) and there is the smaller 
 Argitis, which none, &c. 
 
 206. Tardis — I think the epithet 
 iardis alludes to the largeness of 
 the loads, which occasioned the 
 bullocks to move more slowly. So 
 that the whole verse gives one a 
 strong idea of the quantity of corn 
 both in number and weight of 
 loads, that is produced upon such 
 land. 
 
 321. Prima — I do not know any 
 passage more crowded with fine 
 expression, than these two lines. 
 But in my opinion the beauty of it 
 is greatly tarnished by supposing 
 that cestas means nothing more than 
 heat. The ancient and natural di- 
 vision of the year was into summer 
 and winter: and to which many 
 authors allude both in prose and 
 verse. But since between the ex- 
 tremities of heat and cold in these 
 seasons, there were intermediate 
 spaces of moderate weather, the 
 two others of spring and autumn 
 were added ; which at their begin- 
 ning and end generally partake of 
 the qualities of the preceding and 
 following season. So that Virgil 
 joints out in the most poetical 
 manner the very particular time in 
 autumn that is most proper for this 
 work. For, says he, one of the best 
 times for planting vineyards is, 
 upon the coming in of the first cool 
 Weather in autumn, before you 
 
 touch upon winter, and when the 
 summer is quite gone. 
 
 389, 392. Oscilla— caput— Mr. 
 Spence in his Polymetis, p. I29. 
 hath cleared up these passages by 
 a gem in the great Duke's collec- 
 tion at Florence, pi. 20. fig. 2. 
 which represents a tree with seve- 
 ral little heads of Bacchus hanging 
 upon it, that turn every way. 
 
 Georg. iii. 10. Before I had read 
 Catrou I was of opinion, and am 
 very glad to be supported by him 
 in it, that all this following passage 
 to the 40th verse is a most masterly 
 allegory, whereby the Poet pro- 
 mises to perform and publish the 
 iEneid after his return from Greece. 
 And if we take it in this light, it 
 will greatly heighten the many beau- 
 ties that are to be found in these 
 lines. The Eneide was the temple : 
 Augustus was the divinity, for 
 whom it was formed, and to whom 
 it was dedicated: his ancestors, as 
 they are the principal actors in the 
 one, so are they represented as the 
 capital statues to adorn the other: ji 
 and his victories, like basso re- fl 
 lievos, were to embellish the work. 
 
 37. Invidia — I cannot forbear ob- 
 serving Virgil's genteel manner of | 
 reflecting upon the factious and dis- 
 contented, that were enemies of 
 Augustus J by representing them 
 under the figure of envy, trembling 
 for fear of the severest tortures, 
 that the poets have allotted to the 
 most enormous offenders. 
 
 81. — honesti. I think honesti re- 
 lates only to the outward appear- 
 ance, and that those colours are 
 most graceful and pleasing to the 
 eye: for otherwise it is true as the 
 English proverb says, A good horse 
 is never of a bad colour. 
 
 81, 86. Luxuriat toris pectus — 
 Densa Juba. It must be remem- 1 
 bered that Virgil describes the fine u 
 horse for the menage to be trained 
 
ADDENDA. 
 
 433 
 
 either for war, or the chariot : 
 an English jockey will never agree 
 with him, that a brawny chest and 
 a thick mane are beauties in a 
 horse. 
 
 132. Cursu — As Virgil, according 
 to your observation, seems to intend 
 these precepts for both species, I 
 think cursu qualiunt refers to the 
 exercise proper for the mares, and 
 sole fatig ant, &c. for the cows. 
 
 299' Turpesque podagras. Many 
 farmers, particularly in Warwick- 
 shire, call this distemper, the Fouls : 
 which, considering the part af- 
 fected, is a literal translation of 
 Virgil. 
 
 400. Quod surgente — I think Vir- 
 gil, in his short manner of hinting 
 a direction, plainly points out to us 
 which milk is best for cheese, and 
 which for butter. What you milk 
 in the morning and the day time, 
 is to be pressed into cheese at 
 night: and what you milk in the 
 evening and the night, is to be 
 made into butter; and either car- 
 ried, sub luceniy very early in the 
 morning to market in baskets, be- 
 fore the sun will have power to 
 melt it, or seasoned with a little 
 salt and laid up for use in the win- 
 ter. This construction will render 
 the passage very clear and expres- 
 sive, and remove the difficulties, 
 which have so much puzzled the 
 commentators in explaining the 
 meaning of the word Calathis. 
 
 478. Hie quondam — It appears 
 plain to me that the Poet is speak- 
 ing only of a pestilential distemper 
 that many years ago invaded the 
 Alpine countries; but in what pe- 
 riod of time cannot fairly be col- 
 lected, neither is it material, not- 
 withstanding the name of Chiron 
 and Melampus are mentioned; for 
 these I take to be used in general 
 for the most eminent physicians. 
 And as all raging plagues are at- 
 tended with many like circum- 
 
 stances, it is wo wonder that his 
 relation should very much agree 
 with those, which Thucydides and 
 Lucretius have given us of the 
 plague at Athens: though proba- 
 bly he might take several hints 
 from them to heighten the descrip- 
 tion. 
 
 500. Incertus sudor — That incertus 
 means it was doubtful whether a 
 sweat was a good or bad symptom, 
 and that at first they could not 
 guess at the event of it, is evident 
 I think from the words that follow; 
 where he tells us when it comes 
 to be a bad one : for when it grows 
 cold, it is the forerunner of certain 
 death, and consequently till that 
 fatal turn, there might be some 
 hopes of a recovery. 
 
 553. Inque dies — This represent- 
 ation, of the fury's growing larger 
 every day, is one remarkable in- 
 stance, among many others, of the 
 strength of Virgil's imagination: 
 and is intended to point out to us 
 the gradual increase of a pestilen- 
 tial infection till it arrives at the 
 full height. There are two other 
 instances of growing figures in the 
 2Eneid, the one of Fame, lib. iv. 
 ver. 175. and the other of Alecto, 
 1. vii. ver. 448. 
 
 558. Donee hunio — I cannot sup- 
 pose that before this they did not 
 know how to bury any offensive 
 carcases : but I take the meaning 
 of this passage to be, that they at- 
 tempted to make some profit from 
 them, after they were dead ; till they 
 learnt by experience there was no- 
 thing for them to do but to bury 
 them. For, as it follows after- 
 wards, neither the hides, nor the 
 wool, nor the flesh were found to 
 be of any service : but on the con- 
 trary some of them produced the 
 most dreadful effects upon those 
 that ventured to make use of them. 
 I cannot conclude this note without 
 making a short remark of the great 
 
 3 K 
 
434 
 
 ADDENDA. 
 
 conformity between the directions 
 of Virgil and those of his Majesty's 
 order in Council; and the reasons 
 for them both. Here is advice to 
 kill and bury, because no remedy 
 was found to have any good effect, 
 and the infected skins and carcases 
 proved of such fatal consequences. 
 For the immediate killing, see ver. 
 468. for the burying, ver. 558. for 
 the insufficiency of medicines, ver. 
 548. and for the hurtfulness of the 
 infected skins and carcases, ver. 
 559. 
 
 Georg. iv. 153. Solce — I wonder 
 that the commonwealth of ants 
 should escape the observation, or 
 the memory of this accurate writer : 
 for many of these particulars are as 
 justly applicable to them, as to the 
 monarchy of bees. 
 
 179 Doedala — This word gives 
 one a stronger idea than to be 
 barely rendered, artificial: as it 
 seems to resemble the works of 
 
 these little animals to the famous 
 labyrinth built by Daedalus in Crete^ 
 372. Eridanus — All travellers 
 agree that the Po is not a rapid 
 river: neither is it likely that it 
 should be so. For the force of a 
 current is occasioned by its fall from 
 a chain of mountains, or running 
 down a steep descent of country: 
 but the Po, very soon after its 
 source, flows on through the vale 
 of Piedmont; and afterwards tra- 
 verses all the rich vale of Lom- 
 bardy. These are the pinguia culta 
 which Virgil speaks of: and there- 
 fore very probably he means that 
 no river, which runs through so 
 long a tract of fertile plains, is 
 more violent than the Po. So that 
 I think, if Dr. Trapp instead of the, 
 had said, 
 
 Thro' such fertile fields, v. 444. 
 
 his translation would have come 
 something nearer to the spirit of 
 the original. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Abies, the yew-leaved fir-tree, ii. 
 68. 
 
 Abydos, famous for oysters, i. 207. 
 
 Acalanthis considered, iii. 338. 
 
 Acanthus considered, ii. 1 1 9. iv. 123. 
 
 Acerrae, ii. 225. 
 
 Achelous, a solemn word used for 
 water, i. 9- 
 
 Acheron, ii. 492. 
 
 Acinus explained, ii. 60. 
 
 Aconite, a poisonous herb, ii. 152. 
 
 Adder or Viper, iii. 417. 
 
 Adeo signifies chiefly, i. 24. ii. 322. 
 
 Aduro applied to cold, i. 93. 
 
 .^mathia, see Emathia. 
 
 JEstas means warm weather, iii. 322. 
 
 jEstiva explained, iii. 472. 
 
 African shepherds, their manners, 
 iii. 339. 
 
 Africus the south-west, iii. 278. 
 
 Alburnus, iii. 147. 
 
 Albus not a different colour from 
 candidus, iii. 82. 
 
 Alcinous, his gardens, ii. 87. 
 
 Alder-trees gave the first hint to- 
 wards navigation, i. 136. their 
 proper soil, ii. 109, 110. grow on 
 the banks of the Po, ii. 451. 
 
 Alexander's error concerning the 
 source of the Nile, iv. 293. 
 
 Alienis mensibus explained, ii. 149. 
 
 Alpheus, iii. 18. 
 
 Alps, iii. 474. 
 
 Altum used for the air, i. 443. sea, 
 i. 324, 443. 
 
 Amba'rvalia described, i. 335, 338. 
 
 Amellus described, iv. 251, 271. 
 
 Ameria famous for willows, i. 265. 
 
 Amphrysus, a river of Thessaly, 
 iii. 2. 
 
 Amurca, iii. 448. 
 
 Amyclae, iii. 89. famous for dogs, 
 
 iii. 345. 
 Anio, a river of Italy, iv. 369. 
 Antipodes, i. 231. 
 Aonia, iii. 11. 
 
 Aparctias the North, iii. 278. 
 Aparine, i. 153. 
 Apeliotes the East, iii. 278. 
 Apiaster, iv. 14. 
 Apiastrum, iv. 63. 
 Apium considered, iv. 121. 
 Apollo, why called Thymbraeus, iv. 
 
 323. 
 Apples, the various sorts of them, 
 
 ii. 87. 
 Aquarius, iii. 303. 
 Aquilo the North-East, iii. 278. 
 Arachne changed to a spider, iv. 246. 
 Arbutus, i. I4S, I66. iii. 300. why 
 
 called horrida, ii. 69. 
 Arcturus, when it rises, i. 67. a 
 
 stormy sign, i. 204. when it sets, 
 
 i. 228. 
 Ardua explained, ii. 66. 
 Arethusa, iv. 344. 
 Argestes, iii. 278. 
 Argilla explained, ii. 180. 
 Arimaspians, theancient inhabitants 
 
 of Muscovy, iii. 196. 
 Arista explained, i. 220. 
 Aristaeus, i. 14, 15. iv. 315, 317- 
 Ascanius, a river of Bceotia, iii. 270. 
 Ash used to make spears, ii. 447. 
 Asia palus, i. 383. 
 Asilus, an insect injurious to kine, 
 
 iii. 138, 148, 149. 
 AsiuS campus, i. 383. 
 Aspect of a vineyard, ii. 298. 
 Asphaltus, iii. 451. 
 Ass wild, iii. 409. 
 Astraea, ii. 473. 
 
 3 k2 
 
4S6 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Athenians, why called Theseidae, ii. 
 
 383. 
 Athos, i. 332. 
 Atlantides, i. 138, 221. 
 Atque used for statim, i. 203. 
 Avernus, ii. l6l. 
 Augustus complimented, i. 24, 28, 
 
 43. iii. 35. his wars, iii. 32. the 
 
 genealogy of his family, iii. 35. 
 Aures, parts of a plough, i. 172. 
 Aurora, i. 447. borealis, i. 474. 
 Auster, the South, iii. 278. why 
 
 called cold, iii. 279. 
 Autumn, when it begins, i. 311. 
 Avulsio explained, ii. 23. 
 Azof, iii, 349- 
 
 B. 
 
 Bacchus, peculiarly called pater, ii. 
 4. the inventor of wine, ibid. 
 worshipped jointly with Ceres, i. 
 
 7, 344. 
 Bactra, ii, 138. 
 Balearides, i. 309. 
 
 Balius, one of the horses of Achilles, 
 
 iii. 91. 
 Balsam, ii. II9. 
 Barbadoes tar, iii. 451. 
 Barley, when sown, i. 208. 
 Barren fields, how cured, i. 84. 
 Bavaria, iii. 474. 
 Bavius, i. 210. 
 Baum, good for bees, iv. 62. 
 Bay, i. 306. ii. 18. 
 Beans, i. 74. when sown, i. 215. 
 Bear, the constellation, i. 138. 
 Beaver, i. 58. 
 Bees, a proper station for them, iv. 
 
 8. their swarming, iv. 51. fight- 
 ing, iv. 67. difference, iv. 88, 92. 
 how kept at home, iv. 103, how 
 theirwingsmaybeclipped,iv.]06. 
 their polity, iv. 149- compared to 
 the Cyclops, iv. I70. their gene- 
 ration, iv. 197, 295. sex, iv. 197- 
 life, iv. 207. loyalty, iv. 210. 
 passionate temper, iv. 228, 236. 
 plagues, iv. 239. diseases and re- 
 medies, iv. 251. how the loss of 
 them may be repaired, iv. 281. 
 
 Bee bread, iv. 38. 
 
 Bee-eater, iv. 14. 
 
 Bee-hives, how made, iv. 33. 
 
 Beech is not the Esculus, ii. 15. 
 preferred by the ancients to the 
 chesnut, ii. 71. 
 
 Benacus, ii. 16O. 
 
 Bidens, an instrument of agricul- 
 ture, ii. 355. 
 
 Bipennis, iv. 331. 
 
 Birds to be scared away, i. 118. 
 
 Bisaltae, iii. 46l. 
 
 Bite of a mad dog, how cured, iii. 
 496. 
 
 Biton, iii. 531. 
 
 Bitumen, what it is, iii. 451. 
 
 Blatta, an insect, iv. 243. 
 
 Blight, i. 151. 
 
 Blood of horses drunk by the Scy- 
 thians, iii. 462. 
 
 Boars, their manner of fighting, iii. 
 265. 
 
 Boas, a sort of serpent, iii. 418. 
 
 Bootes, i. 228. 
 
 Boreas, the north-east, iii. 278. 
 
 Bows made of yew, ii. 437. 
 
 Box, ii. 437, 449. 
 
 Brambles used to bind vines, i. 266. 
 
 Brass, how made, ii. l65. 
 
 Broom, ii. 12. 
 
 Bruma the winter solstice, i. 211. 
 
 Bull, when to be admitted to the 
 cow, iii. 133. 
 
 Bulls, the fighting of these animals 
 described, iii. 209- 
 
 Bullocks, how tamed, iii. 157, I68, 
 &c. 
 
 Burdock, i. 153. 
 
 Burgundy trefoil, i. 215. 
 
 Burning the fields, i. 84. 
 
 Burr, i. 153. 
 
 Busiris, iii. 4. 
 
 Butcher's broom, ii. 413. 
 
 Cado, used to express the ceasing 
 
 of the wind, i. 354. 
 Caestus, iii. 20. 
 Caicus, a river of Mysia, iv. 370. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 4!3J 
 
 Calathus explained, iii. 402. 
 
 Callisto, i. 138. 
 
 Caltrop, i. 153. 
 
 Calves, how to be treated, iii. 157. 
 
 Camilli, ii. I69. 
 
 Canopus, where situated, iv. 287- 
 why called Pellaean, ibid. 
 
 Capistrum ferratum ex[)lained, iii. 
 399' 
 
 Carbuncle described, iii. 564!. 
 
 Carchesium explained, iv. 380. 
 
 Carex considered, iii. 231. 
 
 Carpathus, an island of the Medi" 
 terranean, iv. 387- 
 
 Casia explained, ii. 213. iv. 30. 
 
 Castalian spring, iii. 291. 
 
 Castor, a drug, i. 58. 
 
 Castor and Pollux, iii. 89. 
 
 Catacecauaienian wine, iv. 380. 
 
 Caucasus, ii. 440. 
 
 Caudex explained, ii. 78. 
 
 Caveaof the Roman theatre, ii. 381. 
 
 Caurus, the north-west, iii. 277» 
 278. 
 
 Cayster or Caystrus, i. 384. 
 
 Cedar of the Greeks diflferent from 
 that of Lebanon, ii. 443. good to 
 drive away serpents, iii. 414. 
 
 Celeus, i. 165, 212. 
 
 Centaurs, their fight with the La- 
 pithae, ii. 454, 455, 457- 
 
 Centaury, iv. 270. 
 
 Ceraunia, i. 332. 
 
 Ceres, the inventor of agriculture, 
 i. 122. worshipped jointly with 
 Bacchus, i. 7, 344. why called 
 Eleusina mater, i. l63. why pop- 
 pies were consecrated to her, i. 
 212. the sacrifice to her de- 
 scribed, i. 335. wine offered to 
 her, i. 344. wreaths of oak worn 
 in honour of her, ibid. 
 
 Cerinthe, iv. 63. 
 
 Cerinthum, ibid. 
 
 Chalybes, i. 58. 
 
 Chagrin, iii. 409- 
 
 Chaones, a people of Epirus, i. 8. 
 
 Chaonia, a name of Epirus, ibid. 
 
 Chaos, the original of the gods, iv. 
 347. 
 
 Chelydrus, a sort of serpent, iii 415. 
 
 Cherries, ii. 18. 
 
 Chersydrus, a sort of serpent, iii. 
 
 425. 
 Chesnutjii. 15. its fruit not esteemed 
 
 by the ancients, ii. 71. 
 Chian wines famous among the an- 
 cients, ii. 98. 
 Chiron, the son of Saturn and Phi- 
 
 lyra, iii. 92. when he lived, iii. 
 
 478. his studies, iii. 550. 
 Choaspes, iv. 211. 
 Cicada explained, iii. 328. 
 Cicones, iv. 520. 
 Cimmerians, iii. 357- 
 Cinyphus, or Cinyps, a river and 
 
 country of Africa, where Tripoly 
 
 now stands, iii. 311. 
 Circensian games, iii. 18. 
 Citron, a fruit of Media, ii. 126. its 
 
 taste, ii. 109, 126. a remedy for 
 
 poison, ii. IO9, 130. a stinking 
 
 breath, ii. I09, 134. the plant 
 
 described, ii. 109. 
 Clanius, ii. 214. 
 Cleaver, i. 153. 
 Cleobis, iii. 531. 
 Clitumnus, ii. 146. 
 Clivers, i. 153. 
 Clivus explained, iii. 293. 
 Cneoron, the same with Casia, ii. 
 
 213. 
 Cocytus, iv. 479. 
 Cold, the effects of it in the northern 
 
 regions, iii. 349, 360, &c. 
 CoUigere sitim explained, iii. 327. 
 Colt, his good signs, ii. 77, 78, 79, 
 
 &c. 
 Compass of the ancients, iii. 278. 
 Continuo explained, iii. 75. 
 Cork-tree, its bark called cortex by 
 
 way of eminence, iv. 33. 
 Corn, the proper soil for it, ii. 177> 
 
 203. 
 Cornel used to make spears, ii. 447. 
 Cornelian cherry, ii. 34. 
 Corn-flag not the hyacinth of the 
 
 poets, iv. 183. 
 Corsica infamous for its bad honey, 
 
 iv. 47. 
 Corus. See Caurus. 
 Corycus, iv. 127. 
 
438 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Cotton, ii. 120. 
 
 Country life, its pleasures in oppo- 
 sition to those of courts and ci- 
 ties, ii. 458. compared to that of 
 a philosopher, ii. 490. 
 
 Cow described, iii. 49. 
 
 Cranes, i. 120. 
 
 Crates explained, i. 95, 166. 
 
 Crowns madeof theEsculus, ii. 15. 
 
 Cucumber beautifully described, iv. 
 121. 
 
 Cunei, ii. 381, 508. 
 
 Cunila, iv. 31. 
 
 Curbs, why called Lupata, iii. 208. 
 
 Curetes, the preservers of Jupiter, 
 iv. 150. 
 
 Currus signifies a wheel-plough, i. 
 173. 
 
 Cuttings, ii. 9$. of vines how to be 
 chosen, ii. 299, 300. 
 
 Cylinder, an instrument of agricul- 
 ture, i. 178. 
 
 Cyllarus, iii. 89- 
 
 Cypress, why called Idaean, ii. 84. 
 a native of Crete, ibid. 
 
 Cyrene, iv. 321. 
 
 Cythaeron, iii. 43. 
 
 Cytisus, ii. 431. 
 
 Cy torus, ii. 437- 
 
 D. 
 
 Dacians, ii. 497. iii. 462. 
 
 Daflfodil considered, iv. 122, l60. 
 
 Danube, ii. 497^ 
 
 Darnel, i. 154. 
 
 Darts, of what wood made, ii. 447. 
 
 Days, lucky and unlucky, i. 276, 
 
 277, 284. 
 Decii, ii. I69. 
 
 Deducere rivos explained, i. '^69. 
 Delos, iii. 6. 
 Delphi, iii. 291. 
 Delta or lower Egypt described, iv. 
 
 287, 292. 
 Densum explained, ii. 227. 
 Dentale explained, i. 172. 
 Deucalion, i. 60. 
 Diacodium, i. 78. 
 Dicte, a mountain of Crete, ii. 536. 
 
 iv. 152. 
 
 Dies, the genitive case, i. 208. 
 Dii patrii and Indigetes explained, 
 
 i. 498. 
 Dodona, i. 8. 
 Dogs, how to be treated, iii. 404. 
 
 the different sorts of them, iii. 
 
 405. their madness, iii. 496. 
 Dolphin, wiien it rises, iii. 133. iv. 
 
 234. 
 Don, a river of Muscovy, iv. 517. 
 Donaria explained, iii. 533. 
 Dragon, a northern constellation, i. 
 
 205, 244. 
 Draining a wet soil, i. 104. 
 Drones, the male bees, iv. 168. 
 Dryads, i. 10. ii. 494. 
 Dunging, ii. 346, 347. 
 Dwarf-oak not the Esculus, ii. 453. 
 
 E. 
 
 Ebony, ii. 11 6. 
 
 Edurae explained, ii. 65. 
 
 Egyptians adored their kings, iv. 
 210. 
 
 Elaeagnus, ii. 182. 
 
 Eleusina mater, i. l63. 
 
 Elis, i. 59. iii. 202. 
 
 Elms, four sorts of them, ii. 83. 
 used to prop vines, ii. 18. feed 
 cattle, ii. 446. 
 
 Emathia, the ancient name of Thes- 
 saly,Macedon,and Epirus, i. 489* 
 
 Endive, not the wild but the garden 
 Intybum, i. 120. iv. 120. 
 
 EncJymion beloved by the Moon, 
 iii. 391. 
 
 Enipeus, a river of Thessaly, iv. 
 368. 
 
 Eniteo explained, ii. 211. 
 
 Eoae explained, i. 221. 
 
 Eous, the morning star, and one of 
 the horses of the sun, i. 288. 
 
 Ephyre, a name of Corinth, ii. 464. 
 
 Epicurus admired, ii. 490. his writ- 
 ings, ibid, wrote against the fear 
 of death, ii. 49I. avoided public 
 offices, ii. 495. his notion of 
 happiness, ii. 498. his temper, 
 ibid, a pattern of temperance, ii. 
 500. 
 
 I 
 
INDEX. 
 
 439 
 
 Epidaurus^ iii. 44. 
 
 Epirus, whence so called, i. 59. 
 famous for horses, ibid, iii. 121. 
 called Chaonia, i. 8. 
 
 Equinox autumnal, i. 211. 
 
 Erebus, iv. 471. 
 
 Ericthonius, the inventor of cha- 
 riots, iii. 95, 113. 
 
 Eridanus, i. 482. 
 
 Erigone, is the sign Virgo, i. 33. 
 
 Erithace, iv. 38. 
 
 Esculus considered, ii. 15, 453. 
 
 Esseda, a sort of chariots used by 
 the Britons, iii. 204. 
 
 Ethiopians called Indians, iv. 293. 
 
 Etruria, ii. 533. 
 
 Eurus, the South-East, iii. 277, 
 278. 
 
 Eurystheus, iii. 4. 
 
 Eximius, a sacerdotal word, iv. 
 528. 
 
 Fair weather, signs of it, i. 393. 
 
 Falernus, ii. 96. 
 Fallow of two years, i. 48, S3. 
 
 every other year, i. 79, 83. 
 Fan for corn, i. l66. 
 Far, i. 73. 
 Fasces carried before the Roman 
 
 magistrates, ii. 495. 
 Faims, i. 10. 
 
 Favonius, iii. 323. the West, iii. 278. 
 Fear, not the horse but the com- 
 panion of Mars, iii. 91. 
 Feeding the corn, i. 104, 112. 
 Fens very subject to be scorched, 
 
 iii. 432. 
 Fermentum explained, iii. 379- 
 Fern, ii. I89. 
 
 Ferrugineus considered, iv. 183. 
 Ferrugo explained, i. 467. 
 Festivals, what works were lawful 
 
 to be done on them, i. 267, 269, 
 
 270, 272. 
 Fir, ii. 267. 
 Fishes not subject to the plague, 
 
 iii. 541. 
 Fishing, i. 141, 142. 
 Flax, i. 77. when sown, i. 212. 
 
 Flints beneficial to vines, ii. I89. 
 Floor, how to be made, i. I76, 178. 
 Foveo considered, iii. 420. 
 Fragor considered, iv. 493. 
 Frankincense peculiar to Arabia, i. 
 
 .'i7. ii. 117, 139. 
 Friuli, iii. 474. 
 Fucus, iv. 38, 39. 
 Fumigation of bees, iv. 241. 
 
 Galbanum, iii. 415. iv. 264. Ga- 
 les us, iv. 126. 
 Galls, what they are, iv. 267. 
 Gangarides, iii. 27. 
 Ganges, ii. 137. 
 Gardens, a digression concerning 
 
 them, iv. II6. of the ancients, 
 
 iv. 118. 
 Gargarus, i. 102, 269. 
 Gate of heaven considered, iii. 261. 
 Geloni, ii. 115. 
 
 Genista considered, ii. 12, 434. 
 Georgicks, when written, i. 500, 
 
 509. iii. 27. iv. 560. 
 Germans lived in caves in winter, 
 
 iii. 376. 
 Get?e, iii. 462. iv. 463. 
 Gilvus explained, iii. 83. 
 Gladdon stinking, not the hyacinth 
 
 of the Poets, iv. 183. 
 Gladiolus, not the hyacinth of the 
 
 Poets, ib. 
 Glans explained, i. 305. 
 Glaucus, i. 437. iii. 267. a colour, 
 
 considered, iii. 82. 
 Goats injurious to vines, ii. I96. 
 
 why sacrificed to Bacchus, ii.380. 
 
 the care of them, iii. 295, 322. 
 
 their value, iii. 306, &c. 
 Gods in general invoked, i. 21. 
 Goose, injurious to corn, i. 119. 
 
 dung burning the grass a vulgar 
 
 error, i. 119* 
 Goose-grass, i. 153. 
 Grafting, ii. 32, 69, 73. distin- 
 guished from inoculating, ii. 73. 
 Granum gnidium, ii. 213. 
 Gyrus explained, iii. 115. 
 
440 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 H. 
 
 Haemus, ii. 488. 
 
 Halcyon days, i. 398. 
 
 Harpye, impregnated by the west 
 wind, iii. 91. 
 
 Harrowing, i. 94. 
 
 Harvest, the time of it among the 
 Romans, iii. 133. 
 
 Hazel destructive to vineyards, ii. 
 299. used to bind vines, i. ^66. 
 
 Heat of the weather beautifully 
 described, iv. 425. 
 
 Hebrus, iv. 463. why called CEa- 
 grian, iv. 524. 
 
 Helicon, where situated, iii. 11. 
 
 Hellebore of two sorts, iii. 451. 
 
 Hermus, ii. 137. 
 
 Hippocrates described the plague at 
 Athens, iii. 478. when he flou- 
 rished, ibid. 
 
 Hippomanes explained, iii. 266, 
 273, 280. 
 
 Hippodame, iii. 7- 
 
 Honey dropped from trees in the 
 golden age, i. 131. why called 
 aerial and celestial, iv. 1. whence 
 produced, ibid, when to be taken, 
 iv. 228, 231. 
 
 Honey- wort considered, iv. 63. 
 
 Hordea censured by Bavius and 
 Maevius, i. 210. 
 
 Hornet, iv. 245. 
 
 Horreo explained, i. 151. 
 
 Horse first produced by Neptune, 
 i. 10. what country most famous 
 for them, i. 59- described, iii. 72. 
 how to be treated when old, iii. 
 95, 96. their best age, iii. 100. 
 how to be bred, iii. 179. when to 
 break them, iii. I90. their pesti- 
 lence, iii. 498. 
 
 Husbandry nearly related to phi- 
 losophy, ii. 493. preferable to 
 other employments, ii. 503, 513. 
 
 Husbandry, greatly esteemed by 
 the ancient Romans, ii. 534. 
 
 Hyacinth of the poets considered, 
 iv. 183. 
 
 Hyades, i. 138. 
 
 Hyalus explained, iv. 335. 
 
 Hydaspes, iv. 211. 
 
 Hylas, iii. 6. 
 
 Hvpanis, a river of Scythia, iv. 
 
 370. 
 Hyperboreans, iii. I96. 
 
 I. 
 
 lacchus, a sacred name for Bacchus, 
 
 i. 166. 
 lapidia, iii. 474. 
 lapygia, ibid. 
 Iberi, iii. 408. 
 
 Ida famous for pitch-trees, iv. 41. 
 Idumaea famous for palms, iii. 12. 
 Jews- pitch, iii. 451. 
 Ilex not the Esculus, ii. 453. 
 Illaudatus considered, iii. 4. 
 Imprudens explained, i. 373. 
 Indigetes explained, i. 49S. 
 Indignus explained, ii. 373. 
 Inferiae, iv. 545. 
 Infula, what it was, iii. 487. 
 Inhorreo explained, i. 314. 
 Ino, i. 437. 
 Inoculating, ii. 73. 
 Inserere arborem explained, ii. 50. 
 Intybum, not endive but succory, 
 
 i. 120. 
 Invisere expressive of divinity, i. 
 
 25. 
 lo, iii. 152. 
 Isis, ibid. 
 Ismarus, ii. 37. 
 Ister, ii. 497- iii. 350. 
 Italy, whence so called, iii. 148. 
 
 famous for kine, ibid, praised, ii. 
 
 136. 
 Ityraeans, ii. 448. 
 Jujube tree, ii. 84, 182. 
 Julian family, whence derived, iii. 
 
 35. 
 Juno, the earth, ii. 325. 
 Jupiter, the author of tillage, i. 
 
 118, 121. not the inventor of it, 
 
 i. 122. ^ther or Sky, ii. 325. his 
 
 grove, iii. 181. 
 Ivory, the best from India, i. 57. 
 Ivy, ii. 258. 
 Ixion, iv. 484, 
 
INDEX. 
 
 441 
 
 K. 
 
 Kidney-beans, i. 227» when to be 
 
 sown, i. 228. 
 Kids, a stormy sign, i. 205. 
 Kine, a disease among them in 
 
 England, iii. 536. 
 
 L. 
 
 Laconia famous for dogs, iii. 345. 
 Lactans and lactens explained, i. 
 
 315. 
 Laeva numina considered, iv. 7- 
 Lago di Como, ii. 159. Garda, ii. 
 
 160. 
 Lapithae, the inventors of riding, 
 
 iii. 95, 115. 
 Laplanders, their manners, iii. 196» 
 Lappa, i. 253. 
 Larius, ii. 159. 
 Larkspur, not the hyacinth of 
 
 the poets, iv. 183. 
 Lavender falsely supposed to be the 
 
 Casia, ii. 213. 
 Laurel, i. 306. 
 Laurocerasus, iftid. 
 Laurus is not the laurel, but the 
 
 bay, ibid. 
 Layers, ii. 26. 
 League, the most ancient among 
 
 the Romans, iv. 131. 
 Lees of oil, their uses, iii. 448. 
 Lego, a term in naval affairs, ii. 44. 
 Legumen explained, i. 74. 
 Lentils, why called Pelusian, i. 228. 
 
 when to be sown, ibid. 
 Leopard described, iii. 264. 
 Lethe, 1. 78. 
 Leucothea, i. 437. 
 Libations, ii. 101. 
 Libra not anciently accounted one 
 
 of the signs of the Zodiac, i. 33. 
 Libs, the south west, iii. 278. 
 Libum explained, ii. 394. 
 Ligurians, ii. 168. 
 Lilies, iv. 130. 
 Lily, red, not the hyacinth of the 
 
 poets, iv. 183. 
 Lime, ii. 449. iv. 141. 
 
 Litharge, iii. 449. 
 
 Lituus explained, iii. 183. 
 
 Lizards, iv. 13. 
 
 Lolium, i. 154. 
 
 Lopping, i. 118. 
 
 Lotus considered, ii. 84. iii. 394. 
 
 Lucern, i. 215. 
 
 Lucifer, iii. 324. 
 
 Lucky days, i. 276, 284. 
 
 Lucretius described the plague at 
 
 Athens, iii. 478. 
 Lucrinus, ii. l6l. 
 Lupatum, why so called, iii. 208. 
 Lupines, i. 75. 
 Lust, its violent e£Fects, iii. 209, 
 
 242. 
 Lybia, the Greek name for Africa, 
 
 iii. 249, 339. 
 Lycaeus, a mountain of Arcadia, iii. 
 
 2, 314. 
 Lycus, a river of Armena, iv. 367' 
 Lydia, iv. 210. 
 Lynx described, iii. 264. 
 Lyre of the ancients, iv. 464. 
 
 M. 
 
 Maeonia, iv. 380. 
 
 Maeotis, iii. 349. 
 
 Maevius, i. 210. 
 
 Majorca, i. 309. 
 
 Male used for non, i. 105. 
 
 Malt liquor used by the ancients, 
 
 iii. 379. 
 Manes explained, iv. 469. 
 Mantelium explained, iv. 377- 
 Mantua, ii. I98. 
 Mareia, ii. 91. 
 Mareotis, ibid. 
 Mares, at what time to be covered, 
 
 iii. 133. violently affected by 
 
 lust, iii. 266. impregnated by the 
 
 wind, iii. 266, 273. 
 Marii, ii. 169. 
 Mars, his horses, iii . 89. 
 Marsi, ii. I67. 
 Martagon, the hyacinth of the poets, 
 
 iv. 183. 
 Massicus, famous for wine, ii. 143. 
 Maturare explained, i. 261. 
 
 3l 
 
442 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Matuta, i. 437. 
 
 Maw-seed, i. 78. 
 
 Medes remarkably obedient to their 
 
 kings, iv. 211. 
 Medica, i. 215, 2l6. 
 Medic fodder, i. 21/5. 
 Melampus, iii. 550. 
 Melicerta, i. 437. 
 MelisphylloD, iv. 63. 
 Melissa, ibid. 
 
 Mel la, a river of Lombardy, iv, 278. 
 Merops, iv. 14. 
 Metals, plenty of them in Italy, ii. 
 
 165. 
 Methymna, ii. 90. 
 Meto used for gathering any sort 
 
 of produce, ii. 410. 
 Miletus, famous for wool, iii. 306. 
 Milk, iii. 394. 
 Minerva, the discoverer of the olive, 
 
 i. 18. ii. 181. 
 Minorca, i. SO9. 
 Maesia, i. 102. 
 Moles are not blind, i. 183. 
 Mollibus stabulis explained, iii. 295. 
 Molorchus, iii. 19. 
 Monk's-hood, a poisonous herb, ii. 
 
 152. 
 Monochord, how invented, iv. 175. 
 Montfaucon corrected, i. 344. 
 Moon seduced by Pan, iii. 391. 
 Moth, iv. 246. 
 
 Mox signifies hereafter, i. 24. 
 Mycenae famous for horses, iii. 121. 
 Myrtle sacred to Venus, i. 28. ii. 
 
 64. why called cruenta, i. 306. 
 
 Paphian, ii. 64. its proper soil, 
 
 ii. 1 12. used to make spears, ii. 
 
 447. delights in growing near the 
 
 shore, iv. 124. 
 Mysia, i. 102. 
 
 N. 
 
 Nabca, ii. 84. 
 Naiads, ii. 494. 
 
 Narcissus considered, iv. 122, I60. 
 Narycium, ii. 438. 
 Naryx, ibid. 
 
 Navigation, ths first hint of it, i. 
 136. 
 
 Nectar, used for wine, iv. 34. 
 
 Negro, a river of Italy, iii. 151. 
 
 Nemeaean games, iii. I9. 
 
 Neptune, the first producer of a 
 horse, i. 12, 13. iii. 122. 
 
 Nequicquam explained, i. 192, 403. 
 
 Nereids, ii. 494. 
 
 Nettle tree, not the lotus of the 
 ancients, ii. 84. 
 
 Nightingale, a beautiful simile 
 drawn from the singing of this 
 bird, iv. 511. 
 
 Nile, where it rises, iv. 287, 292, 
 293. 
 
 Niphates, iii. 30. 
 
 Nisus and Scylla, i. 405. 
 
 Noricum, iii. 474. 
 
 Notus, the south, iii. 278. 
 
 Novalis explained, i. 71. 
 
 Numidians, their origin and man- 
 ners, iii. 33g. 
 
 Nux signifies a walnut-tree, i. 187. 
 
 Nymphs, ii. 494. 
 
 O. 
 
 Oak, sacred to Jupiter, ii. 67' 
 
 Oats wild, not a degeneracy of 
 corn, i, 154. 
 
 Occatio, i. 94. 
 
 Oceanus, the father of the Gods, 
 iv. 382. 
 
 CEbalia, iv. 125. 
 
 CEstros. See Asilus. 
 
 Oil, when made, ii. 510. the uses 
 of its lees, iii. 448. 
 
 Oleaster, ii. 182. 
 
 Olive, discovered by Minerva, i. 18. 
 ii. 181. its various sorts, ii. 85. 
 proper soil, ii. 177, 179. requires 
 but little culture, ii. 420. a slow 
 grower, ii. 3, 181. propagated 
 by dry pieces of the trunk, ii. 30. 
 truncheons, ii. 63. time of ga* 
 thering, ii. 519. wild, ii. 182.SJ 
 not to be planted in vineyards, 
 ii. 302. 
 
 Olympic games, where held, i. 59» 
 iii. 19. the victors carried palms, 
 iii. 49. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 U3 
 
 Onager, or wild ass, iii. 409. 
 
 Opium, i. 78. 
 
 Orchestra, ii. 381. 
 
 Oreads, ii. 494. 
 
 Orgies of Bacchus, iv. 521. 
 
 Orithyia, iv. 463. 
 
 Ornus, ii. 71, HI. 
 
 Orpheus, iv. 454. 
 
 Oscilla explained, ii. 389. 
 
 Osier, ii. 12. 
 
 Osiris, i. I9. 
 
 Overflowing the ground, i. 104. 
 
 Ounce described, iii. 264. 
 
 Oxen not killed by the ancients, ii. 
 
 537. 
 Oxymyrsine, ii. 413. 
 
 P. 
 
 Paestum, famous for roses, iv. II9. 
 
 Pagus, its etymology, ii. 382. 
 
 Palaemon, i. 437. 
 
 Palatium explained, i, 499. 
 
 Pales, iii. 1. 
 
 Palilia, a Roman feast, iii. 1. 
 
 Paliurus, ii. 84. 
 
 Pallas, the discoverer of the olive- 
 tree, ii. 181. 
 
 Pallene, iv. 19I. 
 
 Palm, of several sorts, iv. 20. why 
 called ardua, ii. 66. a slow grower, 
 ibid, abounds in Idumsea, iii. 12. 
 used for crowns, ibid, carried by 
 the victors in the Oljmapic games, 
 iii. 49. 
 
 Pan, i. 16. ii. 494. his armour with 
 the moon, iii. 391. 
 
 Panchaea, iv. 379- 
 
 Pangaea, iv. 462. 
 
 Panopea, i. 437. 
 
 Parnassus, iii. 291. 
 
 Piaros, iii. 34. 
 
 Parthenope, the ancient name of 
 Naples, iv. 564. 
 
 Parthia, iv. 2II. 
 
 Parthians, iii. 31. their submission 
 to their kings, iv. 211. 
 
 Passum explained, iii. gs. 
 
 Pasture, the proper soil for it, ii. 
 177. 
 
 Pears, the various sorts of them, 
 
 ii. 88. 
 Peletronium, iii. 115. 
 Pelion, iii. 94. 
 Pella, the metropolis of Macedonia, 
 
 iv. 287. 
 Pelops, iii. 7. 
 Penates, i. 498. 
 
 Peneus, a river of Thessaly, i v. 3 1 7- 
 Pentathlum, iii. 20. 
 Pernix considered, iii. 230. 
 Persia, the bounds of it, iv. 290. 
 Persians remarkably obedient to 
 
 their kings, iv. 211. 
 Pestis explained, iii. 471. 
 Phanaea, ii. 98. 
 Pharsalia, the battle there, i. 469. 
 
 its situation, ibid. 
 Phasis, a river of Armenia, iv. 367' 
 Philippi, the battle there, i. 489. 
 Philippi, not theThessalian Thebes, 
 
 ibid. 
 Philomela, her story, iv. 15, 51 J. 
 Philyra, the mother of Chiron, iii. 
 
 95. 
 Pisa, iii, 180. 
 
 Pitch, why called Idaean, ii. 450. 
 Pitch-tree, ii. 257- 
 Plague among the cattle described, 
 
 iii. 470. 
 Plane-tree, ii. 70. 
 Planting by suckers, ii. 23, 65. 
 sets, ii. 24, 64. layers, ii. 26, 
 63, 65. cuttings, ii. 28, 63. dry 
 pieces of the trunk, ii. 30. trun- 
 cheons, ii. 63. 
 Platanus, ii. 70. 
 Pleiades, i. 138, 221. when they 
 
 rise, iv. 232. set, iv. 234. 
 Pliny quotes Virgil erroneously, ii. 
 
 72. 
 Plough described, i. I69, 175. 
 Ploughing, when to begin, i. 43, 
 
 64. 
 Plurimus used for very much, or 
 plentifully, i. 187. ii. 183. iii. 52. 
 Po, ii. 452. 
 Podarge, iii. 9I. 
 Poles, i. 231, 240, 
 Pollux, iii. 89. 
 Pomps, iii. 22. 
 3l2 
 
4f4>4> 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Pomum explained, i. ^74f. ii. 59. 
 
 Poplar, three sorts of it, ii. 13. 
 sacred to Hercules, ii. 66. re- 
 markable for the trembling of its 
 leaves, iv. 511. 
 
 Poppies, i. 78. when sown, i. 212. 
 why called cereales^ ibid. 
 
 Portunus, i. 437. 
 
 Poscenium explained, ii. 381. 
 
 Position of trees to be regarded, ii. 
 269. 
 
 Potnia, iii. 267. 
 
 Praetorium, iv. 75. 
 
 Premerevirgulta explained, ii. 34!6, 
 iv. 131. 
 
 Priapus, where worshipped, iv. 1 1 1. 
 
 Procne, her story, iv. 15. 
 
 Prodigies at Caesar's death, i. 466. 
 
 Propagatio explained, ii. 26. 
 
 Propago, ibid. 
 
 Properare explained, i.26l. 
 
 Propolis, iv. 38. 
 
 Proscenium explained, ii. 381. 
 
 Proscindo explained, i. 97. 
 
 Proteus, his character, iv. 374, 388, 
 391, 394, 405. 
 
 Purple of Tyre, ii. 465. 
 
 Putris explained, i. 215. ii. 204. 
 
 Pyrrha, i. 62. 
 
 Pythagoras, the inventor of the 
 monochord, iv. 175. 
 
 Quash, whence derived, i. 74. 
 Quicken-tree, ii. 71- 
 Quincunx explained, ii. 277. 
 Quondam interpreted, iii. Q9. 
 
 R. 
 
 Rain, the signs of it, i. 370. 
 Rarum explained, ii. 227. 
 Rastruna used for a harrow, i. QS, 
 
 164, 213. 
 Red, that colour applied to the sea, 
 
 iii. 359. 
 Remus, ii. 533. 
 Relicti considered, iv. 127. 
 
 Reponit explained, iii. 76. 
 
 Rhaetia, ii. 95. 
 
 Rhesus, iv, 462. 
 
 Rhodope, i. 332. iii. 351, 462. iv. 
 
 461. 
 Riding, by whom invented, iii. 95, 
 
 115. 
 Riphaean mountains, iii. 196, 382. 
 Rivers, whence they arise, iv. 363. 
 Robigo explained, i. 151. 
 Robur signifies timber, i. l62. 
 Roman soldiers, how loaded on a 
 
 march, iii. 346. 
 Rome, on what day founded, iii. 1. 
 
 its seven hills, ii. 535. 
 Romulus, ii. 533. 
 Rosemary used in sprinkling, ii. 
 
 213. 
 Rudis explained, ii.2ll. 
 Ruit explained, i. 324. 
 Ruscus, ii. 413. 
 
 Sabelli, ii. I67. 
 
 Sabines, ii. 532. 
 
 Saecula explained, i. 468. 
 
 Saflfron, i. 56. 
 
 Sagmina, iv. 131. 
 
 Saltus explained, ii. 471. 
 
 Sandaraca, iv. 63. 
 
 Sarmatae, live under ground in 
 
 winter, iii. 376. 
 Sarra, an ancient name of Tyre, ii. 
 
 506. 
 Satureia, iv. 30. 
 Saturn turns himself into a horse, 
 
 ii. 95. 
 Savoury, iv. 30. 
 Scab, the cause of it in sheep, iii. 
 
 441 . medicines to prevent or cure 
 
 it, iii. 447, 448. 
 Scarlet oak, not the Esculus, ii. 
 
 453. 
 Scene of the Roman theatre, ii. 381. 
 Schetland, the ancient Thule, i. 30. 
 Scipiades, ii. 170. 
 Scorpion, the sign, why called 
 
 ardent, i. 34. 
 Scylla, i. 405. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 445 
 
 Scythian, a name for all the north- 
 ern nations, iii. 196, 349. shep- 
 herds, their manners, iii. 349- 
 
 Sea, why called purple, iii. 359- iv. 
 373. 
 
 Seges usually signifies the field, i. 1, 
 48. ii. ^66. iv. 129. 
 
 Selo, a river of Italy, iii. 146. 
 
 Semen used for cuttings, slips, and 
 layers, ii. 268. 
 
 Seneca censures Virgil unjustly, i. 
 216. quotes him erroneously, ii. 
 95. 
 
 Septem trio, the north, iii. 278. the 
 bear, iii. 381. 
 
 Seres, ii. 121. 
 
 Serpyllum, iv. SO. 
 
 Sets, ii. 24. 
 
 Sheep, fruitful in Italy, ii. 150. go 
 150 days v«rith young, ibid, how 
 they are to be treated, iii. 295, 
 322. their diseases, 298, 299- 
 
 Shells to be buried at the roots of 
 vines, ii. 346, 347- 
 
 Shepherds assisted Romulus and 
 Remusin founding Rome, ii. 533. 
 ancient of Canaan and Africa, iii. 
 339, 344. Scythia, iii. 349. 
 
 Shrub, how it diflFers from a tree, ii. 
 21. 
 
 Sicyon, ii. 519. 
 
 Silarus, iii. 146. 
 
 Siler, ii. 12. 
 
 Silk, ii. 121. 
 
 Sinus explained, iii. 39. 
 
 Sisyphus, iii. 238. 
 
 Slow months explained, i. 32. 
 
 Smut is not Robigo, i. 151. 
 
 Soils how to be distinguished, ii. 
 226. 
 
 Solstice, winter, i. 211. 
 
 Solstitium signifies only the sum- 
 mer solstice, i. 100. 
 
 Soul of the world, iv. 221, 226. 
 
 South wind, why called black, iii. 
 278. cold, iii. 279. 
 
 Spadix considered, iii. 82. 
 
 Spatium explained, i. 513. 
 
 Spears, of what wood made, ii. 447. 
 
 Spelt, i. 73. 
 
 Sperchius, ii. 487. 
 
 Spring, when it begins, i. 43. the 
 season for the generation of ani- 
 mals, ii. 329. 
 
 Spruce-fir, ii. 257. 
 
 Spuma argenti explained, iii. 449. 
 
 Squill or sea-onion, iii. 451. 
 
 Stags, the effect of lust on them, 
 iii. 265. 
 
 Star of Julius Caesar, i. 488. 
 
 Stiva explained, i. 173. 
 
 Stones to be buried at the roots of 
 vines, iii. 346, 347. 
 
 Stork, when it comes into Italy, ii. 
 320. 
 
 Storm described, i. 311. 
 
 Strawberry-tree, i. 148. 
 
 Stringere explained, i. 305, 317. 
 
 Strymon, a river of Macedon, iv. 
 508. 
 
 Styx, iv. 479. 
 
 Subsolanus, the east, iii. 278. 
 
 Succiditur explained, i. 297. 
 
 Succory, i. 120. 
 
 Suckers, ii. 23. 
 
 Suculae, an improper name for the 
 Hyades, i. 138. 
 
 Sun, its prognostics, i. 438. pale- 
 ness after Caesar's death, i. 466. 
 
 Surculus, ii. 28. 
 
 Swallow, injurious to bees, iv. 15. 
 when it first appears, iv. 307. 
 
 Swift, a sort of lizard, iv. 242. 
 
 Swine, subject to disorders of the 
 throat, iii. 497. 
 
 Sylvanus, i. 20. ii. 494. 
 
 T. 
 
 Tabularium, ii. 502. 
 
 Tabulatum explained, ii. 361. 
 
 Taburnus, ii. 38. 
 
 Taburo, ibid. 
 
 Taeda, ii. 431. 
 
 Taenarus, iv. 467. 
 
 Tanagrus, a river of Italy, iii. 151. 
 
 Tanais, a river of Muscovy, iv. 
 
 517. 
 Tarentum, ii. 193. iv. 125. 
 Tares, i. 75. 
 Tares, when to be sown, i, 228. 
 
ii6 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Tar, iii. 450. 
 
 Taurus, when the sun enters that 
 
 sign, i. 217. 
 Taygeta, ii. 4. iii. 444. 
 Temo explained, i. 87. iv. 171. 
 Tempe, ii. 469. iv. 317. 
 Tempestates signifies storms, i. 27, 
 
 252. 
 Tempestivus explained, i. Q56. 
 Terror, not the horse but the com- 
 panion of Mars^ iii. 9I . 
 Tethys, i. 31. 
 Thasus, ii. 91. 
 Theseidae explained, ii. 383. 
 Thistle, i. 151. 
 Thucydides, his description of the 
 
 plague at Athens, iii. 478. 
 Thule is Shetland, i. 30. 
 Thymbra, iv. SO. 
 Thymbraeus, a name of Apollo, iv. 
 
 323. 
 Thyme of the ancients, iv. 112. 
 wild, or mother of thyme, iv. 30. 
 Thymelaea is the same with Casia, 
 
 ii. 213. 
 Tiger described, iii. 264. 
 Timavus, iii. 474. 
 Tithonus, i. 447. iii. 48. turned to 
 
 a Cicada, iii. 328. 
 Tmolus, famous for soflFron, i. 56. 
 
 wine, ii. 98. 
 Tondeo used for the grazing of 
 
 cattle, i. 71' 
 Tophus explained, ii. 21 4. 
 Torches of the ancients, i. 292. 
 Tragedy, its etymology, ii. 382. ori- 
 ginal, ii. 383. 
 Trahea, a threshing instrument, i. 
 
 164, 298. 
 Transplanting of great trees, iv. 146. 
 Tree, how it differs from a shrub, 
 
 ii. 21. 
 Trenches for vines, ii. 288, 289- 
 Trepidare explained, iv. 69. 
 Tribulum, a threshing instrument, 
 
 i. 164, 298. 
 Tribulus, the name of a plant, and 
 an instrument used in war, i. 
 153. 
 Triones, whence derived, iii. 3^1. 
 Tripoly in Africa, iii. 311. 
 
 Triptolemus, i. 19. 
 
 Triticum is a bearded com, i. 219. 
 
 Troy, when and by whom founded, 
 
 iii. 36. 
 Truncheons explained, ii. 63. 
 Truncus explained, ii. 63, 78. 
 Tuscany, ii. 533. 
 Tyber, i. 499. iv. 369. 
 Tyre anciently called Sarra, ii. 506. 
 Tyrian purple, ii. 465. iii. 17. 
 
 Uber explained, ii. 275. 
 
 Vellere signa explained, iv. 108. 
 
 Verbena considered, iv. 131. 
 
 Vergilise, i. 138. 
 
 Veru distinguished from Pilum, ii. 
 168. 
 
 Vesevus the same with Vesuvius, ii. 
 224. 
 
 Vasta, two of them among the an- 
 cients, iv. 384. 
 
 Vetches, i. 75. when to be sown, 
 i. 228. 
 
 Vinaceum explained, ii. 60. 
 
 Vines, the various sorts of them, ii. 
 91, &c. not accounted trees, ii. 
 290. how best propagated, ii. 63. 
 when to be planted, ii. 321. 
 pruned, ii. 403. their proper si- 
 tuation, ii. 109. soil, ii. I77, 184, 
 I89. distance, ii. 277. 
 
 Vineyard compared to a Roman 
 army, ii. 252. 
 
 Viper or adder, iii. 417. 
 
 Virgil vindicated against Pliny, i, 
 100. Quintilian, iii. 79- Seneca, 
 i. 216. his description of a cha- 
 riot race preferred to Homer's, 
 iii. 111. a follower both of Epi- 
 curus and Plato, iv. 219- unjustly 
 suspected of an unnatural vice, 
 iv. 520. 
 
 Vu'osus not always used for poison- 
 ous, i. 58, 129. 
 
 Vitta, what it was, iii. 487. 
 
 Ulna considered, iii. 355. 
 
 Ulva considered, iii. 175. 
 
 Unedo, I 148. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 447 
 
 Unlucky days, i. 276, 277- 
 
 Volsci, ii. 168. 
 
 Voluptas explained, iii. 130. 
 
 Ursa major, i. 388. 
 
 Urus, ii. 374. 
 
 Uva explained, ii. 60. 
 
 Vulcan used for a large fire, i. 295. 
 
 Vulturnus, the south-east, iii. 278. 
 
 W. 
 
 Water said to be tirst pro4uced by 
 
 Neptune, i. 13. 
 Wax, iv. 38. 
 Weeding, i. 118. 
 West wind called Favonius and Ze- 
 
 phyrus, iii. 322. 
 Willow described, ii. 13. four sorts 
 
 of it, ii. 84. where the best grow, 
 
 i. 265. their proper soil, ii. 109, 
 
 110. use, ii. 446. 
 Wind rising, the signs of it, i. 
 
 356. 
 Wine, rivers of it in the golden age, 
 
 i. 132. offered to Ceres, i. 344. 
 
 its ill effects, ii. 454. frozen in 
 
 the northern regions, iii. 364. 
 
 made of fruits, iii. 79. given to 
 
 horses by the ancients, iii. 509* 
 Winter, when it begins, ii. 519. 
 
 Wolf s-bane, a poisonous herb, ii. 
 
 152. 
 Wool, not so good on fat cattle, iii. 
 
 385. softness of it essential in a 
 
 good sheep, iii. 386. 
 
 X. 
 
 Xanthus, one of the horses of 
 
 Achilles, iii. 91. 
 Xyris, not the hyacinth of the poets, 
 
 iv. 183. 
 
 Y. 
 
 Yews love a cold situation, ii. lOp* 
 reputed poisonous, ii. 257. iv. 47. 
 used to make bows, ii. 434. 
 
 Zea, i. 73. 
 
 Zephyrus, iii. 273, 322. the west, 
 
 iii. 298, 322. 
 Zizyphus, ii. 84. 
 Zodiac, i. 33, 231, 238. 
 Zones, i. 231, 233. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
 BAXTER, PBINTBR, OXFORD. 
 
CONGRESS