The Eurotas feems to have been a favourite river of both Apollo and Diana; for we read in the firft Aeneid,

Qualis in Eurotae ripis, aut per juga Cynthi,

ઃઃ

"Exercet Diana choros."

Fufitque edifcere lauros.] The banks of the Eurotas are faid to abound with bay-trees. Hence perhaps Apollo was fancied by the Ancients to be more particularly fond of this river, than of any other. Pope has imitated this verfe, in his fourth Paftoral;

"Thames heard the numbers, as "he flow'd along, "And bade his willows learn the "moving fong."

85. Cogere donec oves, &c.] At the end of the firft Eclogue, the evening was described by the fmoaking of the cottage chimneys, and lengthening of the fhadows: in the fecond, by the oxen bringing, back the plough and here we have the rifing of the evening ftar, the gathering of the sheep into their folds,

:

and the counting of their number. These images are perfectly rural, and fuited to pastoral poetry.

86. Vefper.] The planet Venus, when he goes before the fun, is called Lucifer, or the morning ftar: but when the follows the fun; the is called Hefperus, or Vefper; and by us the evening ftar. Thus Cicero, in his fecond book de Natura deorum; " Infima eft quinque er❝rantium, terraeque proxima ftella "Veneris, quae Qwo Pópos Graece, "Lucifer Latinę dicitur, cum antegreditur folem cum fubfequitur "autem, Hefperos."

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Invito Olympo.] The very fkies were fo delighted with this divine fong of Silenus, that they were forry to fee the evening proceed, and put a ftop to their entertainment. Milton has a thought fomething like this, in his feventh book; where Adam tells the angel, that the fun will gladly ftay to hear his difcourfe;

"And the great light of day yet

1. Forte fub arguta, &c.] In this Eclogue is represented an amebean contention between two fhepherds, Corydon and Thyrfis. They are described fitting under a tree, in company with Daphnis, who feems to have been appointed to judge between them. Meliboeus, happening to pafs that way, in queft of a goat that had ftrayed, is fpied by Daphnis, who calls him, and infifts on his ftaying to hear the difpute. The whole affair is related by Meliboeus.

The Commentators, according to custom, are divided concerning the perfons, whom Virgil is here fuppofed to reprefent under the feigned names of Daphnis, Meliboeus, Corydon, and Thyrfis. Servius fays, that Daphnis is the Sicilian fhepherd, fpoken of in the fifth Eclogue, whom he now calls a Diviner, which he thinks is confirmed, by his telling Melibocus, in the way of Divination, that his goats are fafe; Caper tibi falvus et boedi. Vives takes the whole Eclogue to represent a famous contention at Rome between two poets, at which Virgil was

MEL. Daphnis happened te fit under a whispering bolm oak,

prefent: he therefore fuppofes Daphnis to be one of Caefar's learned friends, Meliboeus to be Virgil, and Corydon to be one of Virgil's 'friends; either Gallus, Varus, or Pollio. Some will have Corydon to be Virgil, and Thyrfis one of his contemporary poets and rivals. La Cerda is pofitive, that the Poet feigns a contention between himself and Theocritus, whom he reprefents under the character of Thyrfis. Ruaeus is of opinion, that Corydon may be either Gallus, or Pollio; Thyrfis one of his rivals; Daphnis a common friend; and Meliboeus Virgil himself. Catrou will have it, that the two contending fhepherds are Cebes and Alexander, Meliboeus is either Maecenas or Pollio; and Daphnis Virgil himself. Thus, according to thefe various opinions, Daphnis may be either the ancient fhepherd of Sicily, or one of Caefar's learned friends, or a friend of Gallus and Pollio, or Virgil himfelf: Meliboeus may be either Virgil, Pollio, or Maecenas and Corydon may be either Gallus, or Varus, or Pollio, or Virgil himself, or one of

driven their flocks together:

his fcholars. Here we may obferve that Virgil is fuppofed to be reprefented under any of the four characters, except that of Thyrfis. It might with equal reafon have been fuppofed, that Virgil intended to reprefent a contention between himfelf, and either Pollio, Gallus, or Varus; that he meant himself by Thyrfis, and therefore, out of complaifance, gave the victory to his patron. But in truth, I believe he did not intend to defcribe any particular perfon in this Eclogue; but only to imitate Theocritus: for there is not any paffage in the whole poem, that feems to allude to any private character. The fubject is wholly paftoral; and the verfes of the two contending fhepherds relate entirely to their own rural affairs, to their own friendships, and to their own amours.

Arguta.] Servius. interprets it canora, ftridula. Nothing is more frequent with the poets, than to fpeak of the whispering or murmuring of trees. Thus Theocritus begins his firft Idyllium;

Ilice.] Caftelvetrius, as he is quoted by Burman, affirms that neither holm-oaks, pines, junipers, nor cheftnuts grow in the Mantuan. It is hardly to be imagined, that Virgil could be ignorant of the trees that grew in his own neighbourhood. Our learned Ray, whofe authority in this cafe is worth that of a hundred grammarians, affirms, that the holm-oak is common in moft of the provinces of Italy; "In Hetru"ria aliifque Italiae provinciis, prae"fertim ad mare inferum, inque "Gallia Narbonenfi, et Hifpania, "in fylvis, collibus, et campeftri"bus maritimis paffim et copiofe "provenit." The fame author obferved the pine in great plenty in feveral parts of Italy; particularly near Ravenna, where there is an entire large wood of these trees, extending itself to the fea-fide. He tells us alfo, that cheftnuts abound in Italy. He does not indeed particularly mention the juniper as an Italian plant; but he feems to speak of it as growing in all parts of Eu rope. However, if we will believe Matthiolus, a learned Italian Bo

πόλε τηνα

Α ποτὶ ταῖς παγαῖσι μελίσδεται.

Ruaeus thinks this epithet may be applied to trees, either on account of the birds finging on their branches, or of the wind whiftling among their leaves.

Confederat. In fome copies it is confiderat.

in his country; "Major et minor "juniperi fpecies in pluribus Italiae "locis reperitur. Tufcia urbanas "alit, quae in proceram arborem "affurgunt: vifunturque hae fre་་ quentes in agro noftro Senenfi;

quarum fructus fylveftribus et "craffior et dulcior habetur."

2. Compulerantque greges, St.]

This is an imitation of the begin

Thyrfis the fheep, and Corydon the goats diftended with milk. Both were in the flower of their age, both Arcadians:

critus ;

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Δαμοίτας καὶ Δάφνις ὁ βωκίλος εἰς & eis

ένα χώρου Τὰν ἀγέλαν ποκ', "Αρατε, συνάγαγον ἧς δ ̓ ὁ μὲν αὐτῶν Πυῤῥὸς, ὁ δ ̓ ἡμιγένειος.

"Damoetas, and the herds-man

"Daphnis drove "Their flocks to feed, and took

"one fhady grove; "The one was bearded, of a

"charming grace, "The other young, down cloath'd "his lovely face." CREECH.

Thus alfo we read, at the beginning of the eighth Idyllium ;

Αμφω τάγ ̓ ἤτην πυῤῥοτρίχῳ, ἄμφω ανάβω,

*Αμφω συρίσδεν δεδαημένῳ, ἄμφω

αξίδεν.

"Both yellow locks adorn'd, and

"both were young;

"Both rarely pip'd, and both divinely fung." CREECH.

In 'unum.] Understand locum; for this is a literal tranflation of the εἰς ἕνα χῶρον of Theocritus.

4. Arcades ambo.] Servius fays, they were not really Arcadians, because the scene is laid near Mantua; but fo fkilful in finging, that they might be taken for Arcadians. La

dians to fignify, that they were the Arcadians were famous for be ftrong lufty young fellows; becaufe ing robuft and hardy. Ruaeus thinks they were either really Arcadians,

or rather like Arcadians in the art of finging; because the scene is not laid in Arcadia; but in the Cifalpine Gaul, pine Gaul, on the banks of the Mincius, not far from Mantua. Catrou is of opinion, that, as Cebes and Alexander were flaves brought from a foreign country, Virgil took the liberty of feigning them to be Arcadians; because they were equal in finging to the Arcadians, a people fo much celebrated by the Poets. Arcadia is well known to be an inland country of Peloponnefus. It was famous for it's excellent pafturage, vaft numbers of herds and flocks, and it's extraordinary wor

tip of the god Pan, to whom a fam

mous temple was erected in Tegea. This deity was said to have invented the fhepherd's pipe; and the Arcadians were famous for their skill in mufick. They are faid to have been taught by Arcas, the fon of Califto by Jupiter, to build cottages, to cloath themselves with the fkins of beafts, and to live on acorns, beechmaft, and other food of the fame kind. This rendered them a very hardy and ftrong people; and made them able to repel the violence of their neighbours, when they invaded them..

to anfwer Hither my goat, the

6. Huc.] So Pierius found it in the Medicean manufcript: though he prefers hic. Heinfius alfo and Burman found buc in feveral manufcripts. In the Milan edition 1481, and that of Lyons, 1517, in folio, and in the Paris editions in 4to, 1540 and 1541, and in the London edition by Pynfon it is hic, which reading alfo is admitted by Pulman, Heinfius, Mafvicius, Ruaeus, Cuningam, and Catrou. But Aldus, Robert Stephens, Guellius, La Cerda, and Burman read huc ; as I find it alfo in the folio editions, of Venice 1562 and Paris 1600, and in the Antwerp edition of 1543.

Dum teneras, &c.] The mention of defending the myrtles from the cold has occafioned fome trouble to the Commentators, in fettling the time of year, in which this Eclogue is faid to be written. Servius fays, fome understand this paffage in the plain and obvious fenfe of the words: others, who affirm it was in fummer, understand dum defendo a frigore to mean, I am covering them against the future cold: others understand it to fignify dum mihi defenfaculum praeparo myrtos a frigore, that is, quae funt fine frigoribus. Surely this laft interpretation is as harfh as can be imagined. La Cerda prefers that of covering them against the future cold; because the greennefs of the banks, the growing of the reeds, the buzzing of the bees, and the fhade of

the holm-oak fufficiently declare the feafon to be the Spring. Catrou thinks the epoch of this Eclogue is March or April, when the weather is cool enough to require a fhelter for the more tender trees. Burman, obferving how various the opinions of the Commentators are on this fubject, and finding teneres in one manufcript, and myrtus in another, is willing to think the text may have been corrupted, and that we ought to read,

Hic ego dum teneros defendo a frigore foetus;

as we read Ovium teneros depellere foetus, in the firft Eclogue. For my own part, I do not fee any reafon to fuppofe the text to have been corrupted, or any difficulty in underftanding this paffage according to the plain meaning of the words." It is well known, that the Myrtus communis Italica C. B. or common Myrtle, grows plentifully in Italy, efpecially on the coaft of the Tyrrhene fea; but even in Italy it does not love cold, especially when planted in gardens ; Myrti montes non

amant quin et frigidas odere "tractus" fays Matthiolus. Thefe myrtles of Meliboeus were young and tender, and therefore ftood in need of fhelter and it is plain, that a cool feafon is intended, by the words a frigore. The argument drawn from the fhade of the

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