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"at Mantua laments his abfence. "Meliboeus, who was acquainted "with the grief of Amaryllis, though not with the caufe, now "difcovers it from the difcourfe of Tityrus; and reproves him gent"ly, as not being ardent in his "love. Tityrus juftifies himself, by faying, that he had no other way to recover his loffes, than by going to Rome." It seems to me very evident, that there is not any thing more myfterious in this paffage, than that Galatea had been an imperious and expenfive miftrefs to Tityrus, and kept him from growing rich, by draining him of his money, as faft as he got it. When he was grown older and wifer, he began to have an affection for Amaryllis, upon which Galatea forfook him. He now found a material difference; for Amaryllis loved him difinterestedly; fo that his prefent condition may be called liberty, and his former accounted fervitude. Befides it may reafonably be imagined, that Amaryllis, having a real concern for the welfare of Tityrus, though fhe was uneafy during his abfence, had herself perfuaded him to go to Rome, in hopes to get fome relief from the tyranny of the foldiers, to whom the lands about Mantua were given. 39. Ipfae te Tityre, &c.] Servius thinks that by Pinus is meant Caefar, and by Fontes the Senate.

Tityrus was abfent. The very pine trees, Tyrus, the very 40 fountains, thefe very vineyards exire called for your return.

TIT. What could I do? I bad no other way to get out of fervitude,

Perhaps there is a defect in this part of the copy; for he could hardly fail after this, to explain Arbufta to, mean the people. The other inter preters have not adopted this, thinking, I believe, the allegory too far ftrained. Befides, can it be imagined that fo modeft a man as Virgil would prefume to reprefent Caefar, with the Senate and people of Rome, bewailing his abfence? There is a great beauty in the repetition of ipfe in thefe lines, which is not eafily imitated in English: but La Cerda's observation, that all the three genders are found here, ipfi, ipfae, ipfa, is very trifling, and more worthy of a schoolboy, than of a man of his learning.

40. Arbufta.] The Arbufta were large pieces of ground planted with elms or other trees, at the diftance commonly of forty feet, to leave room for corn to grow between them. These trees were pruned in fuch a manner, as to ferve for stages to the vines, which were plantednear them. The vines faftened after this manner to trees were called arbustivae vites. See the twelfth chapter of Columella de arboribus..!!

41. Quid facerem, &c.] Tityrus answers the charge against him of unkindness to Amaryllis, by fay-· ing that he had no other way to get out of fervitude, than by going to Rome, where he faw Auguftus, that deity spoken of before, who restored" him to his poffeffions.

B

We

"

We learn from Appian, that when the lands were divided among the foldiers, great numbers, both young and old, and women with their children, flocked to Rome, and filled the Forum and temples with their lamentations, complaining' that they were driven from their lands and houses, as if they had been conquered enemies. Kai di wóλ15 ἠξίουν τὴν Ἰταλίαν απασαν ἐπινείμασJas to epyou, ev arxais diana, ἔργον, ἢ ἄλλαις διαλαχεῖν, τῆς τε γῆς τιμὴν τοὺς δωρουμένους ήτουν, καὶ ἀργύριον οὐκ ἦν, ἀλλὰ συνιόντες ἀνὰ μέρος ἐς τὴν Ρώμην δι τε νέοι και γέροντες, ἢ αἱ γυναῖκες ἅμα τοῖς παιδίοις ἐς τὴν ἀγορὰν ἤ τὰ ἱερὰ, ἐθρήνουν, οὐδὲν μὲν ἀδικῆσαι λέγοντες, ἸταλιῶTas de ovles aviolaodai yn's Texal oli ται ὅντες ἀνίστασθαι γῆς τε καὶ ἑστίως οἷα δορύληπτοι.

n

τα

· 42. Praefentes divos.] La Cerda interprets this propitios faventesque though he fays he is not difpleafed with those, who turn the fenfe to that manner of fpeaking, by which a god is faid to be prefent, to whom facrifices are offered before his death. Thus Horace ; 01.

"Caelo tonantem credidimus Jovem "Regnare: praefens Divus habe

86

bitur
Auguftus, adjectis Britannis
Imperio, gravibufque Perfis."

and Tacitus; "Ara et fanum exuruntur, quae praefenti Herculi Evander facraverat.' But the Arft interpretation is certainly right;

42

bidding any one to call him boy. This word feems indeed to have been common in the mouths of his enemies. Thus Brutus, in one of his letters to Cicero; "Hoc tu, Cicero, 66 poffe fateris Octavium, et illi "amicus es? aut fi me carum ha66 bes, vis Romae videti, cum ut ibi effe poffem, commendandus puero illi fuerim ?--Ifta vero "imbecillitas et defperatio, cujus culpa non magis in te refidet, quam in omnibus aliis, et Caefa"rem in cupiditatem regni impulit, "et Antonio poft interitum illius perfuafit, ut interfecti locum occupare conaretur; et nunc puerum iftum extulit, ut tu judicares, 46 precibus effe impetrandam falu"tem talibus viris, mifericordiaque unius, vix etiam nunc viri, 66 tutos fore nos, haud ulla alia re. Hic ipfe puer, quem Caefa"ris nomen incitare videtur in Cae"faris interfectores. Hanc "civitatem videre velim, aut putem ullam, quae ne traditam quidem atque inculcatam liber tatem recipere poffit ? plufque timeat in puero nomen fublati regis, quem confidat fibi."

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46

ego

44. Bis fenos cui noftra dies altaria fumant.] Thefe twelve days are with good reafon fuppofed by the Commentators to be one day in every month. Servius fays they

were either the Kalends or Ides. La Cerda obferves, that Auguftus

to have ufed fubmittere in this, fense; "Caftrare oportet agnum non minorem quinque menfium, neque ante quam calores, aut frigora fe

σε

mittere volunt, potiffimum elifregerunt. Quos arietes fub(6 gunt ex matribus, quae geminos parere folent." This is not very unlike an expreffion in the third Georgick

"Et quos, aut pecori malint fub"mittere habendo."

Cicero certainly ufes it for fending a fucceffor, in his Oration de Provinciis Confularibus; "Huic vos non

Jubmittetis? hunc diutius manere "patiemini?" as does Juftinian alfo, in the fecond book of Inftituti

66 tere tellus."

In thefe and many other paffages, which might be brought from the fame Poet, fubmitto fignifies indeed to bring forth: but furely there is great difference between bringing forth, as an animal does it's young, or as the earth does flowers, which is the fenfe of Lucretius, and bringing forth the cattle to pafture. Thefe quotations rather confirm the fecond fenfe given by Servius, exercete fobalem. Erythraeus interprets the paffage under confideration, Sup, plere, fuccefforem mittere; that is, fupply the herd with new bulls, This interpretation is not without authority to support it. Varro feems

"quis habeat, in locum demortu

orum capitum ex foetu fructuarius Submittere debet, ut et Juliano "vifum eft, et in vinearum demor"tuarum vel arborum locum alias

debet fubftituere." Thefen quotations fufficiently testify, that fubmitto may fignify to fubftitute: but yet I cannot help thinking, with Ruaeus, that it is more natural, in this place, to understand it submittite tauros jugo.

47. Fortunate fenex, &c.] Meliboeus congratulates Tityrus on his happiness in enjoying his own eftate, though fmall.

It is evident from the repetition of the word fenex in this paffage, that Virgil did not intend, under

the

the name of Tityrus, to defcribe himfelf, who was under thirty years of age, when he wrote this Eclogue. 47. Tua rura.] It is the general, opinion, that Virgil here defcribes his own eftate, which does not seem to have been very fertile; but partly rocky and partly fenny. Ruaeus is of opinion, that the lands afcribed to Tityrus cannot be fuppofed to be barren; fince there is fo frequent mention of his flocks, paftures, and fhades. He would therefore have this description relate to the other lands about Mantua, and thus interprets the words of Meliboeus; "You are permitted to cultivate your own lands; though the reft "of the country, fo fruitful before, " is now deformed by the calamity "of war." This is one of the most forced interpretations of that learned Commentator; who in other places condemns the allegorical expofitions of others as trifling: and yet in this place he would perfuade us, that by a land full of rocks and marthes, the Poet means a country laid waste by armies. The words of Meliboeus feem very plain and natural. He congratulates his friend, that he is in poffeffion of an eftate that is his own; which though neither large nor fruitful, abounding with ftones and marshes, yet is fufficient to afford him a decent fupport. It is not neceffary to understand the words in the strictest sense, that it confifted entirely of naked rocks and rufhes, without any good herbage. We find thefe hills were not fo barren,

naked rocks,

but that they afforded room for fome vines, by the mention of a pruner in this very paffage. Tityrus alfo was not without apples and chefnuts, as appears from the latter end of this Eclogue; where he mentions alfo his having 'plenty of milk; and he has already told us, that he used to fupply Mantua with many victims and cheefes. We have many rocky lands in England, that are far from being incapable of culture; and our fens are well known not to be wholly void of pafturage. Virgil might probably be fond of defcribing his own eftate in his poems. The lands affigned to Menalcas, in the ninth Eclogue, may well be underftood not to be different from thefe of Tityrus.