Nec generis noftri puerum, nec fanguinis edunt. 45 no boy of our race, or blood. Incipe Maenalios mecum, mea tibia, verfus. Begin, my pipe, with me, the Cruel Love taught a mother to ftain ber bands with the blood of her children: NOTES. * "I know what Love is now: it's in fpite of her reason, obtained over "birth must be "On horrid Tmaros, or cold Rho dope.". 47. Saevus Amor docuit, &c.] From the mention of the cruelty of ove, he paffes to a notorious intance of the cruel effects of that affion, It taught Medea, he fays, o murder her own children: and then he makes a queftion, whether Medea or Cupid is the more cruel. When Jafon, with his companins the Argonauts, was come to Colchis, for the golden fleece; Mes lea, daughter of the king of that country, fell in love with him, intructed him how to furmount the ifficulties, that were in his way, And when he obtained the prize, went with him into Greece, where he had children by him. But when Jafon afterwards married another wife, Medea being enraged, murdered the children which the had by Jafon. Ovid, in the feventh book of the Metamorphofes, beautifully delcribes the ftruggles between hot nour and love in the breaft of Met dea, and the victory which Cupid, २. The Poet could not have chofen a ftronger inftance of the cruel effects of this paffion, out of all the poeti cal fables. This unhappy princefs falls in love with a ftranger, and to his intereft facrifices her father, friends, and country: fhe quits her native foil, is married to him, bears him children; and at laft, being moved by jealoufy, murders even thofe harmless infants. The Perfian Hiftorians, according to Herodotus, relate, that the was carried off by fome Greeks, who went up the ri ver Phafis, under pretence of trade that the king her father fent a he rald into Greece, to demand fatif faction; but they refused to give him any, because they had received none for the rape of Io. sbou also was a true! mother Commaculare manus: crudelis tu quoque, mater; I waft thou more à à cruel mother, or be a wicked boy? He was Crudelis mater magis, an puer improbus ille faune a wicked boy, and thou alfo a Improbus ille puer, crudelis tu quoque, mater. 59 cruel mother. Begin with me, Incipe Maenalios mecum, mea tibia, versus. my pipe, the Maenalian ftrains. Now alfo let the wolf flee Nunc et oves ultro fugiat lupus, aurea durae from the sheep of bis own ac- Mala ferant quercus, narciffo floreat alnus, cords let the bard oaks bear Pinguia corticibus fudent electra myricae.qu golden apples let daffodils flower on the alder tree: let far Certent et cycnis ululae : fit Tityrus Orpheus: 55 amber fiveat from the bark of Orpheus in fylvis; inter delphinas Arion.ginos the tamarisk; and let owls con tend with swans: let Tityrus be Orpheus, Orpheus in the woods, and Arion among the dolphins : 50. Grudelis tu quoque mater.] Burman thinks, that Venus, the mother of Cupid, is meant in this place but furely it can be no other fran Medea. The fhepherd accufes Cupid, the god of love, of cruelty, for having incited a mother to deftroy her own children: he fays this was cruelty in the mother; and then makes a queftion, whether this was greater wickedness in Cupid, or greater cruelty in the mother; and concludes, that the crime was equal: Cupid is wicked in having infpired fuch a paffion; and the mother is cruel, in having put fuch a wicked nefs in execution. Catrou looks upon these lines, as a mere playing upon words; and thinks Virgil des ferves our excufe, because he is not often guilty of this fault. But I be lieve the judicious reader will not think Virgil ftands in need of any excufe. These repetitions beauti fully express the variety and confufion of the fhepherd's thoughts, who knows not where to lay the blames whether on Cupid or Medea; and at laft concludes, that the crime is equal in both. { 52. Nunc et oves, &c.] The fhepherd now returns to the abfur 55. Cycnis.] The Ancients ima gined, that the fwans fung fweetly, especially at the time of their death: but it feems to have been a vulgar error.; szl 56. Inter delphinas Arion.] Arion, according to Herodotus, was of Methymna was the chief mustcian of his time, the inventor of Dithyrambicks, gave them their name, and taught them at Corinth. According to that ancient hiftorian, when Arion had lived a confiderable time with Periander, king of Corinth, he had a mind to travel to Italy and Sicily, where having ac quired much wealth, he was ide firous of returning to Corinth. He hired a Corinthian veffel at Taren tum, having a great confidence in thofe Incipe Maenalios mecum, mea tibia, verfus Omnia vel medium fiant mare: vivite fylvae, thofe people. But he was deceived in his good opinion of them for they confpired to robe him, and throw him over-board. In vain did the sweet musician intreat them to fpare his life, and take his money: they were deaf to his prayers, and only gave him his choice either of killing himself, or jumping into the fea. He chofe the latter and then defired leave to put on his beft cloaths, and to give them one tune on his harp before he died. This they affented to, being willing to hear the beft mufician in the world perform before them. When the fong was ended, he leaped into the fea, with all his ornaments, and was taken up by a dolphin: which they did not perceive, and purfued their voyage to Corinth. But the dolphin carried Arion fufe on his back to Taenarus, from which place he travelled by land to Corinth, and there related his adventure. Periander, not believing it, fent him to prifon, and inquired for the accured mariners. When they were brought before the king, and queftioned concerning Arion, they affirmed that they had left him at Tarentum, living in great plenty. Then Periander caufed him to be produced in the very garments, in which he had leaped into the fea; with which they were fo confounded, that they could not deny the facts This ftory, fays Herodotus, is related both by the Corinthians Blods W Begin with me, my pipe, she Maenalian Arains. Let all things be converted in to deep sea: farewel ye woodse and the Lefbians; and is farther confirmed by a brazen ftatue of a man riding on a dolphin; which he affirms was to be feen in his time at Taenarus. 58. Omnia vel medium, &c.] Damon at laft refolves to take leave of the world, and to drown himself. Medium fiant mare.] The fhepherd does not really wifh for an univerfal confufion of all things: he means, that as he is going to take leave of the world, the earth is no longer any thing to him ふい A Vivite.] That is palete, a word used in taking leave, like aípere, adieu, farewel. Daphnis in like manner bids adieu to the wild beafts, woods, and waters, in the firft Idyl lium of Theocritus; co I will throw wyfelf beadlong Praeceps aerii fpecula de montis in undas into the waters, from the top of Deferar: extremum hoc munus morientis habeto. 60 a-bigb rock take this laft gift of a dying perfon. Ceafe, my Define Maenalios, jam define, tibia, verfus. pipe, now cease the Maenalian Haec Damon: vos, quae refponderit Alphefiboeus, Arains. Thus Damon: Ye Myfes, relate what Alphefiboeus answered's it and 65 Dicite, Pierides: non omnia poffumus omnes, Carmina vel caelo poffunt deducere lunam: we cannot all do all things ALTHE. Bring out the water," and encompass these al rs with a foft filler and burn fat vervain, and male frankincenfe that I may try to fubvert the right fenfes of my ducite bufband by magical rites. No thing is wanting berebut verfes. Bring, bring Daphnis bome from the city, my verses. Verfes can even bring down the moon from heaven NOTE S.. of Damon, declares, that he is unable to proceed any farther by his own ftrength; and calls upon the Mufes to relate the anfwer of Alphefiboeus. 63. Non omnia poffumus omnes.] See the note on aut fi non poffumus omnes, ver. 23. of the feventh Eclogue. 64. Effer aquam, &c.] Alphe fibocus affumes the perfon of a for cerefs, who is performing a magical factifice, in order to bring her hufband home, and regain his love which the had loft. Thefe words of the forceress are addreffed to her affiftant, whofe name we afterwards find to be Amatyllis. Some of the Commentators would fain read affer instead of effer. But La Cerda has fhewn, that they ufed hot water in their magical rites. Therefore we may underftand, that the water was heated in the house, "and that the forcerefs calls upon Amaryllis to bring it out. Molli vitta. The fillet is called foft, because made of wool. See the notes on ver. 487. of the third Georgick. The forcerefs, in Theocritus, calls out to have the cup furrounded with purple wool's |