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bus I do not believe them. Vatem paftores, fed non ego credulus illis

NOTES.

"in poemateis cum fcribam, often"dam." It is certain that vates is frequently used in the fame fenfe with poeta: as in the feventh Ec logue;

Paftores hedera crefcentem ornate

« poëtam "Arcades, invidia rumpantur ut "ilia Codro.

"Aut fi ultra placitum laudarit,

"baccare frontem "Cingite; ne vati noceat mala "lingua futuro :"

and in the feventh Aeneid, where the Poet affumes that title to him felf;

"Tu vatem, tu diva mone: dicam

"horrida bella.”

In the fixth Aeneid, that name is given to the divine poets of antiquity, fuch as Mufaeus ;

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But it is moft ufually applied to fuch perfons, as were facred to fome deity, or endued with a spirit of prophecy: as in the third Gebr gick;

"Nec-refponfa poteft confultus red"dere vates :".

and in the fourth Aeneid

"Multaque praeterea vatum prae
"dieta priorum
"Terribili monitu horrificant:"

and in the fifth;

1

"Seraque terrifici cecinerunt om“nia vates,”

Thus alfo Proteus is called vates, in the fourth Georgick: Calchas, in the fecond Aeneid: Helenus, and Celaeno, in the third: the Sibyl, in many places, in the third, and que pii vates, et Phoebo dig- fixth: Caffandra, in the third and "na locuti, "Inventas aut qui vitam coluere

per artes:

"Quique fui memores alios fecere

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"""merendo: "Omnibus his nivea cinguntur "c tempora vitta. "Quos circumfufos fic eft affata Sibylla, "Mufaeum ante omnes, medium

" nam plurima turba "Hunc habet, atque humeris ex"tantem fufpicit altis. "Dicite, felices animae, tuque ** optime votes."

fifth: Alecto in the fhape of Calybe
prieftefs of Juno, in the feventh:
the nymph Carmenta in the eighth
and Chloreus prieft of Cybele, in
the eleventh. Vates has alfo beep
ufed by fome other authors, to ex-
prefs what we call an Adept. Thus
Pliny calls Herophilus medicinae va
tes and Valerius Maximus calls
Quintus Scaevola legum clariffimis
et certiffimus vates. We may there
and
fore conclude, that the proper,
general fignification of vates is a
Poet of the firft rank, a master of the
art, or one that is really inspired.
35. Nam

Fof

Nam neque adhuc Varo videor nec dicere Cinna 35 For I do not yet feem to comp fe

NOTES.

any thing worthy either of Va rus or Cinna,

diu elimatum. Priori Horatius "dat epos acer. Alii Varium vo

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But this learned Commentator feems to be fingular, in imagining Varus and Varius to be the fame perfon. I fhould incline to the opinion of Servius; if it could be made appear, either that any Varus was at that time a famous poet; or that Varius was to be found in any good manufcript inftead of Varus. It is certain, that Varius was eminent in poetry; and Virgil is faid to have imitated him in feveral places. We find, in the paflages already quoted from Horace, that he was an Epic Poet; and in feveral others, that he was highly efteemed by him. In the fifth Satire of the first book, he is mentioned together with Plotius and Virgil; and all three are faid to be men of the greateft candour, and his deareft friends;

12035. Nam neque adhuc Varo, &c.]
Lycidas fays he cannot look upon
himfelf as a poet of the first cha-cant.
racter; because he is not yet able to
write fuch verses as are worthy of
Varus and Cinna. But whether by
this expreffion he means, that Varus
and Cinna were two famous poets:
or that they were eminent perfons,
to whom his verfes were not good
enough to be prefented, is a queftion.
Servius feems to take it for granted,
that two poets are meant here, and
therefore reads Varius inftead of Va-
rus; because Varius was a famous
poet; but Varus was a foldier;
"Varius poëta fuit, De hoc Hora-
tius 1. Sat. 10. Varius ducit molle
atque facetum. Item 1. Od. 6.
"Scriberis Vario fortis et hoftium
victor. Nam Varus victor et dux
fuit, qui fupra blanditur." Ser-
vius had not pointed the first quota-
tion from Horace right; for the
paffage ought certainly to be read
thus

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"

66

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Forte epos acer, "Ut nemo, Varius ducit: molle eatque facetum "Virgilio annuerunt gaudentes rure Camenae."

La Cerda takes the Varius men-
tioned by Horaçe to be the fame
with Varus; and fays Varus and
Cinna were two great poets; of
whom the latter was author of the
Smyrna;
"Duo magni poetae.
"Pofterior edidit Smyrnam, opus

"Poftera lux oritur multo gratiffi 66 ma: namque

"Plotius et Varius Sinueffae, Vir"giliufque

"Occurrunt: animae, quales ne"que candidiores

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Terra tulit; neque queis me fit devinctior alter.

O, qui complexus, et gaudia

66

quanta fuerunt, "Nil ego contulerim jucundo fanus

"amico."

In the eighth, he is mentioned again, together with Vifcus, ano

ther

but to feream like a gooje among Digna, fed argutos inter ftrepere anfer olores. the tuneful fwani.

NOTES.

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was the perfon here intended. But the arguments on the other fide feem

ther famous poet, and friend of might reasonably think, that he Horace ; "Non Vifcum pluris amicum, to be the ftrongeft. The authority "Non Varium facies."

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of all the manufcripts is for Varus; and as there was no famous poet then of that name, we may conclude, that Virgil means the fame Varus, to whom the fixth Eclogue was dedicated, and whom he petitions in this to preferve Mantua. Moeris

"Caecilio Plautoque dabit Roma- had just repeated fome verfes in praise

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of Varus; and Lycidas now anfwers, that he himfelf is not a poet good enough, to offer any of his compofitions to that great perfon. Now if the Varus here intended was not a poet, we muft understand the fame of Cinna too, who is joined with him. C. Helvius Cinna was indeed a famous poet, and spent nine years in compofing his Smyrna, as we are told by Catullus;

"Smyrna mei Cinnae nonam poft 66 denique meffem, "Quam coepta eft, nonamque edita poft hyemem.

Horace is thought to allude to the care which Cinna took of his Smyr na, in the Art of Poetry in100

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Moɛ. Id quidem ago, et tacitus, Lycida, mecum

ipfe voluto,

Mor. I am endeavouring my Lycidas, and revolving it filently in my mind,

NOTES.

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poets, who took the liberty to infert obfcenities in their compofitions;

* Quid referam Ticidae, quid Memmi carmen, apud quos Rebus abeft omnis, nominibufque pudor? Cinna quoque his comes eft, Cinnaque procacior Anfer."

Martial fpeaks of him as an obfcure writer: for in an Epigram on one who affected obfcurity, he tells him, that he would prefer Cinna before Virgil

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* Scribere te, quae vix intelligat "ipfe Modeftus, "Et vix Claranus; quid rogo, Sexte, juvat? Non lectore tuis opus eft fed A"polline libris: Judice te major Cinna Marone -fuit."

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Plutarch

"haftae circumtulit," mentions the fame ftory of Cinna being murdered inftead of one of the confpirators of the fame name. Appian alfo and Dio tell us, that. Cinna was torn in pieces by mistake, for his name-fake, and fay he was tribune of the people: and the latter calls him Helvius Cinna, and fays he was one of Caefar's friends Καὶ ἄλλους τε ἐν τούτῳ καὶ Ἑλούϊον οὐ γὰρ ὅπως ἐπεβούλευσε τῷ Καίσαρι, Κίνναν δημαρχοῦντα μάτην ἀπέκτειναν άλλα ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν τοῖς μάλιστα αὐτὸν ἠγάπα ἐπλανήθησαν δὲ, ὅτι Κορνήλιος Κίννας ο στρατηγὸς συμμετέσχε τῆς ἐπιθέσεως. It feems to be allowed on all hands, that Cinna the poet was Helvius Cin

P

na: therefore as we have the concurrent teftimony of four hiftorians, that one Cinna was murdered at the time of Julius Caefar's funeral; and of two of them, that his praenomen was Helvius: we may conclude, that Helvius Cinna, the famous poet was murdered three years before this Eclogue was written, and confequently could not be the perfon intended. Hence we may obferve the great negligence of many Criticks, and Lexicographers, who, when they fpeak of Helvius Cinna, make no fcruple of referring to this paffage of Virgil, and telling us, that our poet allowed the verfes of Cinna to be better than his own. But at laft it is not abfolutely certain, what Cinna Virgil joins here with Varus. It does not feem im

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if I can but recoilect it: for it Si valeam meminiffe: neque eft ignobile carmen." is no mean fang.

NOTES..

probable, that Lucius Cinna, the grandfon of Pompey may be the perfon, as Ruaeus has fuppofed. He is mentioned by Seneca, in his first book de Clementia. The Philofopher fpeaks of a confpiracy of this Cinna against Auguftus, in Gaul: which that prince having discovered, refolved to pardon the confpirator, and inftead of any greater punishment, obliged him only to hear him, difcourfe two hours upon the fubject. He puts him in mind of his having been found formerly in the camp of his enemies, which was probably at Philippi, and of his being treated by him, not as an enemy, but as a fon and enumerates the many favours, that he had conferred upon him. "Ego te, Cinna, 66 cum in hoftium caftris invenif-. "fem, non factum tantum mihi

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inimicum, fed natum fervavi, "patrimonium tibi omne conceffi. "Hodie tam felix es, et tam dives, "ut victo victores invideant. Sa "cerdotium tibi petenti, praeteri* tis compluribus, quorum parentes mecum militaverant, dedi. Cum fic de te meruerim, occidere me "conftituifti." Seneca adds that Cinna continued very faithful to Auguftus, and at last made him his beir. Here then is a Cinna, whom Auguftus highly favoured, who probably returned with him as a bofom friend, from the battle of Philippi; and therefore might very well be joined by Virgil with Varus, as it was the Poet's intereft, to gain the favour of thofe, who had the ear of

Auguftus, at the time of writing this Eclogue.

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35. Anfer.] Servius fays, this alludes to one Anfer, a poet of thofe times, who had celebrated the praifes of Mark Anthony, and received fome lands about Falernum for his reward; to which Cicero alludes, in one of his Philippicks, when he fays, "Ex agro Falerno Anferes "depellantur." That there was

fuch a poet as Anfer, is certain; we bave feen, in the preceding note, that Ovid mentions him together with Cinna; Cinnaque procacior Anfer. Propertius alfo fpeaks of him, at the latter end of his fecond book;

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Scaliger, in his note on that paffage, fays this Anfer joined with Bavius and Maevius, in writing against Virgil. This ancient poet had indeed a very unlucky name: for as the poets are frequently called fwans; and as anfer is Latin for a goofe; it was hardly poffible for thafe, who loved to play upon words, to avoid reprefenting poor Anfer as a goofe of a poet.

We know that Cicero was a great punfter; and Propertius feems to have punned in the verfes quoted above; where his meaning feems to be, that the fwan Virgil would not make any reply to the gook Anfer. But this very paffage thews that Propertius did not understand

any

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