Rome year Virgil is faid to have published his Georgicks; Year of but if that be true, it is no lefs certain that he continued his care of that divine work, and made additions to it ten years afterwards. The following year, when Caefar was Conful a fifth time, together with Sextus Apuleius, all his acts were confirmed by a folemn oath, on the very firft day of January: and when letters came from Parthia, they decreed, that he fhould be mentioned in the hymns, next to the immortal gods. But the glory, in which Caefar himself most delighted, was the fhutting of the gates of Janus, a mark of the univerfal peace which he had established. He alfo undertook the office of Cenfor this year, together with Agrippa (y); and rectified feveral abufes in the state. It must have been in this year, that Virgil wrote the firft Aeneid; for when Jupiter comforts Venus, by foretelling the glories of the defcendants of Aeneas, he does not mention any thing later, than the shutting of the gates of Janus, and the correction of the manners of the people (z). He now began to affect divine honours: he permitted a temple to be built to Rome, and to his father, whom he called the Hero Julius, at Ephefus and Nicaea, which were the most famous cities of Afia and Bithynia; and gave them leave to be inhabited by Romans. He alfo permitted ftrangers to erect temples to himself, which was done by (y)Dio, lib. 53. (z) Afpera tum pofitis mitefcent faecula bellis. Cana Fides, ét Vefta, Remò cum fratre Quirinus 724 725. Year of the Afiaticks at Pergamus, and by the Bithynians Rome at Nicomedia. He spent the fummer in Greece, and tre turned into Italy; and when he entered the city, facrifices were offered by feveral; and particularly by the Conful Valerius Potitus, who fucceeded Apuleius in that office, in the name of the Senate and People of Rome, which had never been done for any one before. Honours were now diftributed among those Generals, who had ferved under Cae far and Agrippa was now rewarded with a prefent of a green flag, as a teftimony of his naval victory. Caefar himself obtained the honour of three triumphs: the first day he triumphed over the Pannonians, Dalmatians, Japydians, and their neigh bours, with some people of Gaul and Germany the fecond for the naval victory at Actium and the third for the reduction of Egypt. This threefold Triumph of Caefar is particularly defcribed, in the eighth Aeneid (a): At Caefar, triplici invectus Romana triumpho Extremique Extremique hominum Morini, Rhenufque Bis Year of cornis, Indomitique Dahae, et pontem indignatus Araxes, Caefar, having obtained this plenitude of power and glory, and reduced all the enemies of Rome, and his own alfo to obedience, entertained thoughts of refigning the adminiftration (6). He confulted about this, important affair with his two great fa vourites, Agrippa and Maecenas: of whom the former advised him to lay down his power, and the latter ftrenuously infifted on his not parting with it. Caefar being doubtful which advice he should follow, afked the opinion of Virgil, according to Donatus, and was determined, by the Poet's advice, not to lay down his command (c). Ruaeus, not without reafon, queftions the truth of this story, (b) Dio, lib. 52. " omnibus ferme, inquit, remp. (c) Pofteaquam Auguftus" aucupantibus molefta ipfa fumma rerum omnium potitus eft, venit in mentem, an conduceret Tyrannidem omittere, et omnem poteftatem annuis, confulibus, et fenatui remp. reddere in qua re diverfae fententiae confultos habuit, Mae Tyrannis fuit, et civibus: "quia neceffe erat propter odia "fubditorum, aut corum in 66 juftitiam, magna fufpicione ແ magnoque timore vivere. "Sed fi cives juftum aliquem fcirent, quem amarent plu fi in co uno omnis poteftas "foret. Quare fi juftitiam, "quod modo facis, omnibus in futurum nulla hominum "facta compofitione diftribues; dominari te, et tibi condu cenatem et Agrippam Agrip-rimum, civitati id utile effet, cet et orbi. Benevolentiam ❝enim omnium habes, ut "Deum te et adorent, et cre"dant." Ejus fententiam fecutus Caefar principatum tenuit. fo Romei 725. Rome 725: Year of fo far as it relates to Virgil: becaufe, if he had been confulted, the Hiftorians would not have kept a profound filence concerning an affair of fuch importance. Dio, who relates at full length the fpeeches both of Agrippa and Maecenas on this occafion, fays only, that Caefar preferred the advice of Maecenas: but however Caefar might poffibly afk the opinion of Virgil in private, though he was not admitted to the council board.. i 726. In the following year, Caefar being Conful a fixth time, and taking the great Agrippa for his collegue, finished his review of the people, and per formed the folemnities ufed on fuch occafions, and inftituted games in memory of his victory at Actium. These ceremonies are mentioned by Virgil, in the third Aeneid (d), under the perfon of Aeneas: Luftramurque Jovi, votifque incendimus aras: It is highly probable, that the third Aeneid was written foon after thefe facrifices were offered, and thefe games inftituted, as Ruaeus has well obferved, in his note on this paffage. The luftration to Jupi ter, and the facrifices, were at this time performed by Caefar they ftrove naked, and were bathed with oil in the gymnaftick exercises; and the Iliacal or Trojan games contained particularly that fport, which the Romans derived from Troy, and called Troja. In this game the noble youths exercised on horfeback, as the reader will find it beautifully defcribed at large, in the fifth Aeneid (e). 1 In this year the moft learned Varro, who had Year of preceded our Poet, in writing concerning Hufban- Rome dry, died at about ninety years of age (f). The next is remarkable for a debate which happened in the Senate, concerning an additional name to be given to Caefar. He himself would gladly have affumed the name of Romulus: but when he found that the people would fufpect, that if he took that name, he intended to make himself king, he confented to have the name Auguftus, or the august, in which word all that is most honourable and facred is contained, beftowed on him by the Senate and People (g). Virgil feems to allude to this inclination of Caefar to take the name of Romulus, in his third Georgick (b), when he calls Caefar Quirinus, one of the names of Romulus. That paffage therefore must have been added after the time commonly affigned for the publication of the Georgicks. We may obferve alfo that it could not be before this time, that Virgil wrote, in the fixth Aeneid (i), Hic vir, hic eft, tibi quem promitti faepius audis," 7.26.3 727. |