Serta procul tantum capiti delapfa jacebant : NOTES. A His garland being fallen from bis head, lay juft by, "ebrius artus Suftinet, et pando non fortiter "haeret afello." of nature, and traditions of the "Quique fenex ferula titubantes Ancients. We need not therefore look farther for any other meaning in this Eclogue, than that the Poet, having a mind to treat of these subjects, puts them in the mouth of Silenus, whom he feigns to be treated by two young perfons, in the fame manner as he was in Phrygia. Chromis et Mnafylus.... pueri.] Thefe are generally thought to have been Satyrs. Servius feems to think the word pueri to be ufed in this place, because the Sileni, before they grow old, are Satyrs. I rather believe they were fhepherds; be caufe we find in the old ftory, quoted from Theopompus, that they were that they were country people, who bound Silenus, and carried him to Midas. 14. Silenum.] Aelian tells us, Aelian tells us, that Silenus was the fon of a nymph: and that he was of a nature inferior to the gods; but fuperior to mortals: Νύμφης δὲ παῖς ὁ Σιληνὸς οὗτος, Θεοῦ μὲν ἀφανίστερος τὴν φύσιν, ἀνSpúrou de xpEITTWY nai Javáry. θρώπου κρείτ7ων We may gather from the verfes juft quoted from Ovid, that he was the quoted from Ovid, that he was the tutor and companion of Bacchus. He is fpoken of alfo, in the fourth book of the Metamorphofes, as one of the attendants of Bacchus, old, drunk, reeling, and fcarce able to fit upon his afs; The fame Poet, in the third book of his Fafti, defcribes this old deity in a ridiculous fituation. Bacchus, it feems, after his conqueft of India, paffed through Thrace, where his attendants, making a great clang with their brazen arms, drew vast numbers of bees after them, which Bacchus confined in a hollow tree, and fo difcovered the use of honey. Silenus and the Satyrs, having tafted of this new delicacy, fought all over the woods for more. The old deity,' hearing the buzzing of bees in a hollow elm, faid nothing to his companions, having a mind to keep the honey to himfelf. He jogged his afs flowly on to the tree, and leaning against it, began to plunder the hive; when the bees rufhed out upon him, and fung his mouth, and his bald pate. In this condition poor old Silenus tumbled down, and his call aloud for help. The Satyrs ran afs kicked him; which made him laughing, to fee him limp about, to his affiftance, and could not help with his fwollen lips. Bacchus alfo laughed heartily, and cured his old tutor's face, by daubing it over with mud: Tu bijugum pictis infignia Jamque erat ad Rhodopen, Pan "fraenis gaeaque florida ventum: and bis heavy flaggon bung by Et gravis attrita pendebat cantharus anfa. it's battered ear. NOTES. "Ecce novae coëunt volucres tin "nitibus actae : "Quaque movent fonitus aera, "fequuntur apes. "Colligit errantes, et in arbore "claudit inani, "Liber: et inventi praemia mel"lis habet. "Ut Satyri laevifque fenex tetigere "faporem ; "Quaerebant flavos per nemus 66 omne favos. "Melle pater fruitur: liboque in"fufa calenti "Jure repertori candida mella "damus." 15. Ut femper.] Thefe words. exprefs the perpetual drunkenness of Silenus. Iaccho.] One of the names of Bacchus. It is here put for wine. 16. Procul tantum.] Servius interprets it just by, and quotes a paf "Audit in exefa ftridorem exami- fage from the tenth Aeneid, where he thinks procul fignifies near: "Modo prope, id eft, juxta. Nam ❝ideo intulit tantum capiti delapfa, "ut oftenderet non longius provo"lutam coronam, ut eft X. Aen. "836. procul aerea ramo dependet." According to La Cerda, this paffage fhould be thus tranflated; only his garlands being fallen from his head lay at a distance. This learned Commentator obferves, that among the Ancients, the wearing of a garland was a mark of drunkennefs, which he confirms by fome quotations from Plautus; 66 Capiam mihi coronam "in capite, affimilabo me effe e"brium ;" and "Cum corona me derideto ebrius ;" and "Quid "video ego, cum corona ebrium Pfeudolum tuum?" and "Quae "ifthaec audacia eft, te fis inter diu cum corolla ebrium ince"dere?" But it was a ftill greater mark of drunkenness, to have the garland fallen from the head. For this he quotes Ovid ; "Ergo Dr Trapp tranflates it, 66 From his head, at distance "fall'n "His garland lay." These words procul and tantum are not to be found together, any fage before us. where in Virgil, except in the pafThat procul does fignify at a distance can hardly be queftioned; or that it fometimes fignifies at a great distance, or far ff. In this fenfe, it is plainly used in the third Georgick; ence La Cerda concludes, that Vir- "Atque ideo tauros procul, atque in fola relegant 66 urnebus, thinks the meaning of and in the third Aeneid; Principio Italiam, quam tu jam Sic explicat Turnebu hanc. vocem, tantum: ferta procul ja'cebant: tantum delapfa e capite, "rere propinquam "Vicinofque ignare paras invadere portus "Longa procul longis via dividit in"via terris." R 2 And for the old deity bad often de- Luferat, injiciunt ipfis ex vincula fertis. ceived them both with the hope of a fong. Addit fe fociam, timidifque fupervenit Aegle : NOTES. Here the branches cannot be fuppofed to be at any great distance from the trunk: and therefore procul in this place muft fignify no more than a small diftance. Ruaeus himfelf, who oppofes the opinion of Servius, in his note on this paffage, cannot help acknowledging, that procul does not always express a great diftance; but he affirms that it conftantly fignifies some distance at leaft; Servius aliique hinc pro"bant, procul fignificare juxta : itemque ex illo Ecl. 6. 16. Serta procul tantum capiti delapfa jace"bant. Ego in eam opinionem "adduci non poffum: et puto, "procul, non quidem longam "femper diftantiam; fed aliquam "faltem fignificare." I believe, we may agree with Ruaeus, that procul always fignifies at fome diftance, how little foever: but at the fame time, I muft fay, that on a careful confideration of all the numerous paffages, where Virgil has ufed this word, it may generally be understood to mean at a very fmall diftance, within reach, or within fight, fo that they, who detive procul from porro ob oculis, or 20 Aegle made berfelf their companion, and encouraged them not to fear: pro oculis, do not feem greatly to err. With regard to procul tantum, I am verily perfuaded, that it may be rendered near, or just by: for as tantum non fignifies nearly, or almoft, that is, barely not; so tantum procul may be well underftood to fignify, barely at a distance, or hardly at any distance at all, that is, near, or just by. Capiti.] For capite. The Ancients often made the ablative to end in i instead of e. 17. Et gravis attrita, &c.] The Cantharus was a fort of drinking veffel, with ears or handles, facred to Bacchus, and therefore properly made ufe of by his tutor. Marius is accufed by Pliny of infolence, for having prefumed to drink out of thefe veffels, after his victory over the Cimbri; " C. Marius poft vic"toriam Cimbricam cantharis po"taffe Liberi patris exemplo tra"ditur, ille arator Arpinas, et ma nipularis imperator." Valerius Maximus alfo mentions this action of Marius, as the higheft arrogance; because, by conftantly drinking out of a cantharus, he endeavoured to represent his own actions as equal with the great victories of Bacchus : "Jam C. Marii pene infolens "factum; nam poft Jugurthinum, Cimbricumque, et Teutonicum "triumphum, cantharo femper "potavit: quod Liber pater inclyCC tum ex Afia ducens triumphum, "hoc ufus poculi genere ferebatur: "ut inter ipfum hauftum vini R 3 "victoria .. |