Talia faecla fuis dixerunt, currite, fufis NOTES. material for painting; "Praeterea "e vilioribus, ochra, ceruffa ufta, "fandaracha, fandix, fyricum, a66' tramentum." I believe this cheap fort of fandyx was made of the factitious fandaracha, which was a preparation of white lead; for the true fandaracha, which feems to be our native red arfenick, was faid to come from an island of the Red Sea. Phiny has led many of the Commentators into an error, by imagining, that Virgil spake of it in this place as an herb; "Sandaracham et o"chram Juba tradit in infula ru"bri maris Topazo nafci: fed inde non pervehuntur ad nos. Sanda"racha quomodo fieret diximus. "Fit adulterina et ex ceruffa non "in fornace cocta. Colos effe de "bet flammeus. Pretium in libras "affes quini. Haec fi torrea"tur, aequa parte rubrica admixta, "fandycem facit. Quanquam a"nimadverto Virgilium exiftimaffe "herbam id effe, illo verfu, The Parcae, agreeing in the firm order of fates, that fandyx is an herb; "Sandyx herba eft, de qua fandycinus tin "guitur color." La Cerda, falling into the fame error, fays fandyx is both an herb, and a colour; and adds, as his own opinion, that unlefs fandyx be understood to mean an herb, the epithet pafcentes is fuper→ fluous. But furely this learned Commentator did not confider the whole paffage; for his argument would prove murex alfo to be an herb, which he himself allows to be a fifh. Paf centes is no more fuperfluous than in pratis, and no one has imagined, that the Poet meant, that the ram fhould tinge his fleece, by feeding on a fhell-fish in the meadows: why then muft the fandyx be the food of the lamb, any more than the murex is that of the ram? Let us confider the whole period together. Poet tells us, that there fhall no longer be occafion to give any artificial colour to the wool: for the fheep fhall be adorned with the finest colours naturally. The words ipfe The Sponte fua fandyx pafcentes vef- and fponte fua are used to fhew, that tiet agnos." it will be the work of Nature, and not of Art. He does not mean, that the fheep will feed on the purple-fifh, the woold, and the fandyx; but that they fhall have fleeces as beautiful, as if they had been stained by thofe materials. I have rendered fandyx vermillion, because it is a colour well known among us, and answers to the image intended to be given by the Poet: though perhaps, if it was neceffary to be exact, we hould not find any English word to exprefs have fard to their pindles, pro- Concordes ftabili fatorum numine Parcae, ceed ye ages after this manner. Aggredere, O magnos, aderit jam tempus, honores, Attempt the greatest bonours, Cara Deum foboles, magnum Jovis incrementum ! for the time shall now come, O beloved offspring of the gods, O Afpice convexo nutantem pondere mundum, 50 great increase of Jupiter! Behold the world tottering with it's globofe weight, 48. Aggredere, O magnos, &c.] into the world at that time any Virgil having now brought his hero "other children of the family of on to the full state of manhood, calls "Caefar? They alone defcended upon him to affume his deftined ho- from Jupiter by Aeneas, who nours, and to fave the tottering was the fon of Venus. But did world; and then breaking forth into there at that time come into the a poëtical rapture, wishes that he "world any child of the family of himfelf may but live fo long, as Caefar, except young Marcellus? to have an opportunity of celebrat- Tiberius was not yet entered into ing his actions. He affirms, that fo "the house of Octavian by his mo divine a fubject will raife his verfether, and Drufus was not yet born. Certainly, the more we think, the more we discover Marcellus to be the person." "to CATROU. above the poëtry, even of Orpheus infpired by his mother Calliopea, and of Linus affifted by his father Apollo. Nay he goes fo far as to fay, that Pan himself fhall yield to him, even though his own Arcadia fhould be judge.. Magnos bonores.] Thefe great honours mean the magiftracies, the great offices and dignities of the Roman Commonwealth. in Aderit jam tempus.] Thefe words mean the completion of that age, which it was lawful to fue for magiftracies. 2 49. Cara Deum foboles, &c.] Deûm is here put for deorum. > "Would it have been proper to bestow thefe illuftrious appellations on a fon of Pollio? Surely Virgil does not here pour them "forth without reafon. But what << young prince could at that time de"ferve to be called the child of gods, "and the illuftrious offspring of 66 Jupiter? Without doubt, it must "have been one of the family of "the Caefars. But did there come i It has been already obferved, that Octavia, the half fifter of Auguftus, and mother of Marcellus, was not defcended from the Caefars. We must therefore have recourfe to the adoption of Marcellus by Auguftus. 50. Afpice convexo, &c.] Servius interprets this, "the world bends with it's prefent evils, and "rejoices in it's future good." "Others, fays La Cerda, explain "the paffage thus; Behold, that is, "take care, that the world may "rejoice. But this changing of "the fignification of the verb feems very poor. The verb afpice is evidently to be taken in the com"mon fense in both places. But "I will here beg leave to give ano"ther explication of thefe three "verses. What if the Poet should "fay, not Behold how the world bends to deftruction: behold how "all things are joyful under thy in"fluence; but Behold how the world "bends both the earth, and the expanse Terrafque, tractufque maris, coelumque profundum: of feas, and the bigh heaven. NOTES: "bends from the deftruction, into 86 This explica world falls into deftruction, for "which it was ready before? Be"fides, after the childhood and "youth of Saloninus, in which al"moft all things were golden, why "moves and changes itself to every 66 fort of felicity, which shall happen, "when you are a man." Ruaeus affents to this opinion, and interprets it the world moving itself for joy; "Geftientem, et prae laetitia " commoventem fe." Catrou paraphrafes this paffage, according to the interpretation of Servius: "Voyez, d'une part, le monde "chancellant fous le poids de fa "grandeur! La mer, la terre et "les cieux, tont s'ebranle. Voyez, "de l'autre, l'allégreffe revenir à "P'Univers, aux approches d'un "fiécle heureux." But his learned countryman De Marolles had rendered it in the other fenfe; "Re-" "garde le monde balancé fur fon propre poids. Voy les terres, les "feins de mer, et les cieux élevez, avec tout le refte des creatures "qui fe rejouiffent pour le retour "d'un fiecle fi heureux." Our old tranflator, W. L. feems to be of La Cerda's opinion; fhould the world run again to "deftruction? The fenfe therefore "is properly this: In your infancy" "the golden age fhall begin, for "the earth fhall produce flowers, "&c. in your youth it fhall be "brought to perfection, for the 65 ears fhall grow yellow in the "fields, &c. but there fhall still "be fome footsteps of ancient fraud: when you are quite a man, "there fhall be no fraud, no plow"ing, no fowing, the earth fhall "afford every thing spontaneously; "purple shall grow upon the rams, and thefe times fhall be very "happy, with the confent of the "Fates. Surely, at this point of time, it would be impertinent to "fay, that the world bends to evil: "it would fquare better with this felicity to fay, See how the world "Come fee the world, decrepit "now, and feere, "E'ne nodding ripe, with it's own "pondrous heape; "The feas, and earth, and highest "heavens view ; How all things in them all doon *Seven leape "For joy of this fame age now to enfue." The Earl of Lauderdale follows "And Afpice, venturo laetentur ut omnia faeclo! NOTES. "And now.behold the unfix'd tot "t'ring world, "Seas, earth, and heav'n into con"fufion hurl'd: "Nature again puts on a smiling "face, "And all with joy th' approaching "age embrace:" K See the globous weight Of earth, of heav'n, of ocean, "nod, and fhake! See how all things enjoy the fu"ture age." Convexo pondere, fays this learned 'Gentleman, is here the fame with convexi ponderis, or molis; not govern'd of nutantem, as moft imagine it being impoffible that the globe fhould bend, or reel, with it's own weight. But what then is the meaning of nutantem? With, or under what, does it nod or ftagger? With it's guilt, "and mifery, fay fome; and fo wants to be fuccour'd by this new-born heroe. But that to Behold how all things rejoice at the approaching age! <t others feems not to agree with "the happiness which is afcribed દ even to the first divifion, to the "beginning of this happy age. "And therefore they fay it either nods, i. e. moves and shakes it "felf, with joy and exultation," "which is pretty harsh to my ap prehenfion: or, which is not "much better, inclines and tends "to another, i. e. a yet more hap"py ftate; vergentem, fay they, "nutantemque in meliorem ftatum. "After all, I like the firft inter"pretation beft; for as to that rea"fon alledged against it, the change "of the world from bad to good, "from miferable to happy, could "not be inftantaneous. 'Twould "be idle for Virgil to fay, that "while he wrote this, the world mence very speedily; even in "his infancy. 'Twas excellent "fense therefore to fay, the world "at prefent labours with it's guilt and mifery; but yet rejoices at "the very near profpect of the "happy change, which is in a man ner begun already. So that Af"pice mundum nutantem, i. e. malis "fuis praefentibus, is perfectly re"concileable with the next words, "afpice venturo laetentur ut omnia "faecto." "faecto." The folution of this difficulty feems principally to depend on |