erect ftatues for himself in moft parts of Egypt, and infcribe his own actions on the pyramids. He was accused of thefe crimes before the fenate, where feveral of his own creatures appeared against him: and the facts were proved fo plainly against him, that the fenate condemned him unanimoufly, to be banished, and to forfeit all his goods to Auguftus. Gallus, not being able to endure this fentence, killed himself, in the year of Rome 727, according to Eufebius, 728, according to Dio. Suetonius tells us, that Auguftus lamented his death, and complained, that he alone had not the liberty, to be angry with his friends juft fo far as he had a mind. Ovid, in his fecond book de Triftibus, fays the crime of Gallus was his too great licentiousness in his cups;

66

έσ provocamus; cujus mihi terfus atque elegans maxime videtur autor Tibullus. Sunt qui Pro"pertium malint. Ovidius utro

66

que lafcivior; ficut durior Gallus." It is eafy to obferve, from what has been faid, that fome writers have been guilty of a very grofs error, in confounding this Cornelius Gallus with Afinius Gallus, the fon of the famous Pollio. Afinius Pollio died in the year of Rome 757, in the eightieth year of his age; fo that he must have been under twenty, when Cornelius Gallus was born. The Afinii was one of the best families in Rome; and therefore it could not be Afinius Gallus, that was raised from a low condition, according to Suetonius. Ovid fays the crime of Gallus the Poet was the too great licentiousness of his tongue. This agrees with what Dio has faid, concerning the cause of the difgrace of Cornelius Gallus: but it does not agree with the character of Afinius Gallus, who was cruelly put to death by Tiberius, without being convicted of any crime whatsoever. Befides Eufebius exprefsly calls Cornelius Gallus a poet, a character which we do not find afcribed to Afinius Gallus, though his father Pollio is faid to have excelled in that art. It is evident therefore, that Cornelius and Afinius Gallus were very different perfons; and that the poet, whom Virgil celebrates in this and in the tenth Eclogue, was no other than that Cornelius Gallus, who killed himself in Egypt. Permeflus

65. Aonas in montes.] See the note on ver. II. of the third Georgick.

from their feats, at the entrance of any perfon, whom they intended to honour. There could not be a greater compliment imagined to be paid to Gallus, as a Poet, than for the Mufes to rife up, on his being introduced into their company. This refpect was paid to Virgil, by the people of Rome, who rofe up,

when his verfes were recited in the theatre, and fhewed the fame reverence to his perfon, as they did to that of Auguftus himfelf; as we read in the dialogue de Oratoribus, afcribed to Tacitus; "Malo fe « curum et fecretum Virgilii fe"ceffum, in quo tamen neque apud "divum Auguftum gratia caruit,

66

neque apud populum Romanum "notitia. Teftes Augufti epifto"lae, teftis ipfe populus, qui auditis "in theatro verfibus Virgilii, fur

rexit univerfus, et forte praefen"tem fpectantemque Virgilium ve"neratus eft, fic quafi Auguftum."

67. Linus.] See the note on ver. 56. of the fourth Eclogue.

Paftor.] It does not appear, that Linus was really a fhepherd. Perhaps Virgil reprefents him under that character, as he does himself, and Gallus, in thefe Bucolicks. Thus alfo Hefiod reprefents himself, as feeding his lambs under the mountain Helicon;

facred.

custom

among the Ancients, to rife

ἀοιδὴν,

θέριο.

68. Apio.] See the note on ver. 121. of the fourth Georgick.

69. Hos tibi dant calamos, &c.] Hefiod himself does not speak of a pipe being given him by the Mufes; but of a branch of bay, by which he was inspired to fing of things paft and future;

Ως ἔφασαν κοῦραι μεγάλου Διός αρ

τιέπειαι

Καὶ μοι σκῆπῖρον ἔδον, δάφνης ἐριθη

λέος όζον, Δρεπσασθαι, θηητόν· ἐνέπνευσαν δὲ μοι αὐγὴν

70

follower of his, whofe name was Troilus. Their bodies were thrown into the fea; and that of Troilus was carried up the river Daphnus, and left upon a rocky island not far from the fea; whence the rock obtained afterwards the name of Troilus. But the body of Hefiod was immediately taken up by fome dolphins, and carried to Rium and Molycria. It happened, that the Locrians were celebrating fome great folemnities at Rium, when wondering at the great appearance dolphins they ran down to the fhoar, and found the body of Hefiod newly

of

πρὸ τ ̓ ἐόντα.

However, as Hefiod had reprefented himself as a fhepherd, Virgil feems to have represented Linus under the fame character, and therefore with propriety makes him give a fhepherd's pipe to Gallus, the very fame pipe with which that ancient Poet fung his immortal verfes. Plutarch, in his "Enla ropa σvμTÓσion, gives an account of the death of Hefiod. A Milesian, who together with Hefiod lodged at the houfe of a Locrian, debauched his landlord's daughter. Hefiod, though entirely innocent, was fufpected of being privy to the fact. The brothers of the girl fell upon him in a wood, and murdered him, together with a

affected with the lofs of a man much admired, they immediately fought for the murderers, and having difcovered them, threw them into the fea, and pulled down their houfe. They buried Hefiod in the wood, and kept his fepulchre fecret; because the Orchomenians, by advice of an Oracle, endeavoured to find his fepulchre, that they might carry off his remains, and bury them in their own country. fame author, in his treatise concerning the fagacity of animals, tells us, that Hefiod's dog difcovered the murderers by running furioufly, and barking at them.

The

70. Afcraeo feni.] Hefiod. See the note on et quis fuit alter, ver. 40. of the third Eclogue. 72. Grynasi

72. Grynaei nemoris.] "It is a grove in the borders of Ionia, "dedicated to Apollo by his daughter Gryno: or it may have it's name from Grynea, a city of "Moefia, where is a place, at all "times of the year cloathed with trees, rufhes, grafs, and various "flowers; abounding alfo with fountains. This city had it's name from Grynus, the fon of Eurypylus, king of Moefia, who brought affiftance to the Greeks against the Trojans. Eurypylus was the fon of Telephus, the fon of Hercules and Auge, by Aftioche the daughter of Laomedon. Grynus, when he came to enjoy his father's kingdom, and was invaded by his neighbours, fent for aid to Pergamus, the fon of Neoptolemus and Andromache, by whofe affiftance he became victorious, and founded two cities: one he called Pergamus, after the name of his ally; and the other Grynium, as he was directed by an Oracle of Apollo. As Calchas was planting vines in this grove, a certain augur in the neighbourhood paffing by, told him he did wrong, for it was not lawful to taste of new wine made there. But Calchas went on with his work, and when he had made his vintage, invited his neighbours, and the augur among the reft, to fupper, pro"duced his wine, and as he was going to make a libation on the hearth to the gods, told them,

With this fhalt thou relate the origin of the Grynean foreft;

"he would not only drink of it "himself, but give fome alfo to "the gods and his friends. The augur made the fame answer as "before; at which Calchas burft "into fuch a fit of laughing, that "he was fuddenly choaked and let "his cup fall. Varro fays, that "all forts of chains, and bonds "whatsoever, used to be taken off, "when any one entered into the "grove of Grynean Apollo. It is "faid alfo, that Calchas and Mop"fus had a contention in this grove "concerning their skill in divina"tion: and when they disputed "about the number of apples on a "certain tree, the victory fell to

in which Apollo may glory more.

We may therefore fuppofe, that by Chalcidico verfu, is meant, that Gallus took his fubject from Euphorion; but wrote in the ftyle of Theocritus; as in this Eclogue Virgil feems to intimate, that he wrote after the manner of Hefiod. As for Euphorion, Suidas tells us, that he was the fon of Polymnetus, of Chalcis in Euboea; that he learned philofophy of Lacys and Prytanis, and poetry of Archebulus, a poet

of Thera: that he was born in the 126th Olympiad: that he was of a yellow complexion, fat, and bandylegged that he was made chief Librarian to Antiochus the great, king of Syria; in which country he

died that he was buried at Apamea, or, according to others, at Antioch: that he wrote, in heroic verfe, a book entituled Ἡσίοδος, and another called Μοψοπία, or a Mifcellany; because it contained various fories: that he called his work Mopfopia, becaufe Attica was formerly fo called, from Mopfopia the daughter of Oceanus, and his poem extends to Attica a thoufand years that he collected the Ora

cles of a thousand years, which have been verified by the event: which he digefted into five books called

wμπτ xiias, or the fifth thoufand. Hence we may obferve, that, as Euphorion called one of his books after the name of Hefiod, it is probable, that he wrote in imitation of that ancient Poet, who is faid to have written Georgicks, which are now loft: and indeed Euphorion is mentioned, as a writer of Agriculture by Varro. We may there

fore venture to conclude, that Euphorion had spoken of this Grynean grove, in fome poem wherein he imitated Hefiod; and that Gallus had about this time tranflated it, or perhaps imitated it; for in the that this grove is fo adorned by the next line, Virgil feems to intimate, pen of his friend Gallus, that Apollo that have been dedicated to him. will prefer it before all the groves,

and fpeaks of an ancient oracle of Strabo places Grynium in Aeolia, Apollo there, and a fumptuous tem ple built of white ftone; Mupíva ἐξήκοντα σαδίοις Αιολὶς πόλις ἔχουσα λιμένα· εἶτ ̓ Ἀχαιῶν λιμὴν, ὅπου οἱ βωμοὶ τῶν δώδεκα θεῶν· εἶτα πολίχ νιον Μυριναῖον, Γρύνιον, καὶ ἱερὸν Ἄπόλλωνος, καὶ μαντεῖον ἀρχαῖον, καὶ νεως πολυτελής λίθου λευκοῦ.

74. Quid lequar, &c] The poet juft mentions the fables of Scylla and Tereus, with which he concludes the fong of Silenus.

Ut

'