Year of Rome 7.27.

728.

Hujus in adventu jam nunc et Cafpia regna
Refponfis horrent divum: et Moetica tellus,
Et feptem gemini turbant trepida oftia Nili.

on

In the following year, Cornelius Gallus, whom Virgil had fo much celebrated in his Eclogues, fell into difgrace (k). We have feen already, that Auguftus had conftituted him Governor of Egypt. He had been raised to this honour from a low dition; and feems to have been intoxicated with the great fortune to which he was advanced. He uttered in his cups feveral difrefpectful fpeeches with regard to Auguftus; and had the vanity to cause ftatues of himself to be erected in moft parts of Egypt, and to infcribe his own actions on the pyramids. Being accused of these and other crimes, he was condemned to banishment and confifcation of goods; which fentence fo affected him, that he flew himself (/). Donatus relates, that Virgil was fo fond of this Gallus, that the fourth Georgick, from the middle to the end, was filled with his praises; and that he afterwards changed this part into the ftory of Ariftaeus, at the command of Auguftus. But Ruaeus juftly queftions the truth of this ftory. He obferves, that the ftory of Ariftaeus is fo well connected with the culture of the bees, that it does not feem to have been ftuck in, but to rife naturally from the fubject: that it is not probable, that Virgil would bestow fo large a

(*) Dio, lib. 53. See the note on ver. 64. of the fixth Eclogue.

(1) Eufebius places the death of Gallus in the preceding year. "Ol. CLXXXVIII, 2, Cor

part of

his work in the praife of Gallus, when he has given Year of but a few lines to Maecenas himself, to whom he Rome dedicated the whole poem: and lastly, that Au- 728. guftus himself, according to Suetonius, lamented the death of Gallus; and therefore cannot be thought fo injurious to his memory, as to envy him fome empty praise.

In this year Auguftus had a defign of invading Britain; but was hindered by a rebellion of the Salaffi, a people who lived under the Alps, and of the Cantabrians and Afturians, who inhabited the plain country of Spain, bordering on the Pyrenean mountains (m). He fent Terentius Varro against 729. the Salaffi, and marched himfelf in perfon against the Cantabrians and Afturians, in the beginning of the following year, when he was Conful the ninth time, together with M. Junius Silanus. When thefe wars wars were happily ended, Auguftus again clofed the gates of the temple of Janus.

But this peace did not long continue for in the very next year, the Cantabrians and Afturians rebelled again; and did much mischief, before they could be a fecond time fubdued. At this time Quintilius Cremonenfis, an intimate friend of Virgil and Horace, died much lamented (n). Horace paid the tribute of an Ode to his memory, and addreffed it to Virgil, who feems to have lamented him with an extraordinary grief (0).

Auguftus,

lii et Horatii familiaris moritur.
Eufeb. Chron.

(b) Multis ille bonis fiebilis occidit :

Nulli febilior, quam tibi, Virgili.
Tu fruftra pius, heu, non ita creditum
Pofcis Quintilium deos.

f 2

Quod

739.

Year of Auguftus, being chofen Conful the eleventh time, Rome together with Calpurnius Pifo fell into fo dangerous 731. a fickness, that his life was defpaired of: but An

tonius Mufa, his phyfician, whom he had made free, cured him by cold bathing, and drinking cold water (p). Mufa was loaded with rewards for this. cure, by Auguftus and the Senate, and had leave given him to wear golden rings: and not only he, but all the reft of the Faculty, were for the future exempted from paying taxes. But Mufa's reputation was foon diminished by the death of young Marcellus, who, being treated exactly in the fame. manner, died under his hands. This Marcellus was the son of Octavia, the darling fifter of Auguftus, by her former husband. He feems to have been the child, with whom he was pregnant, at the time of her marriage with Mark Anthony; and the expected infant, under whofe influence Virgil promifed the bleffings of the golden age in his Pollio (q). He was greatly beloved by Auguftus, was his nearest male relation, and had married his only daughter Julia: he was univerfally lamented, and his body was carried with great pomp and folemnity to be burnt in the Campus Martius. It must have been soon after this, that Virgil finished the fixth Aeneid; at the latter end of which that

Quod fi Threicio blandius Orpheo
Auditam moderere arboribus fidem,
Non vanae redeat fanguis imagini
Quam virga femel horrida

Non lenis precibus fata recludere,
Nigro compulerit Mercurius gregi.
Durum, fed levius fit patientia

Quicquid corrigere eft nefas. Lib. I. Ode 24.
(9) See the note on ver. 8. of the

(p) Dio, lib. 53. fourth Eclogue.

youth

youth is celebrated. The Poet reprefents his hero Year of
Aeneas defcending into the Elyfian fhades, to re- Rome
ceive inftruction from his father. Old Anchifes 731.
entertains his fon with a review of his pofterity,"
which gives the Poet an opportunity to mention the
greateft perfons, and actions of the Roman people.
Laft of all, Anchifes points out the great Marcel-
lus, who had been five times Conful; he mentions
his offering up the opima fpolia, for having flain
Virdumarus, a German king, in fingle fight, the
victory which he obtained by his celerity, his put-:
ting the Carthaginians to flight, his conquering the
Gauls, and his being the third Roman, who ob
tained the honour of making an offering to Fere-
trian Jupiter (r):

Sic pater Anchifes; atque haec mirantibus addit:
Afpice, ut infignis fpoliis Marcellus opimis
Ingreditar, victorque viros fupereminet omnes.
Hic tem Romanam magno turbante tumultu
Siftet eques: fternet Poenos, Gallumque rebellem ;
Tertiaque arma patri fufpendet capta Quirino.

Aeneas having feen this future hero, takes notice of
a youth, of extraordinary beauty, who being clad.
in fhining arms, attends upon the great Marcellus.
He afks whether the youth is his fon, or one of his
glorious pofterity. Anchifes pours forth a flood of
tears, and in a moft pathetic manner foretels what
immenfe grief will be occafioned by the death of
this illustrious youth, who would have performed
actions equal to thofe of, his great ancestor, if he
could have broken through the hard decrees of fate :

(r) Aen. lib. VI. ver. 854, &c.

f

£ 3

Atque

Year of
Rome

731.

Atque hic Aeneas, una namque ire videbat; es
Egregium forma juvenem et fulgentibus armis;
Sed frons laeta parum, et dejecto lumina vultu
Quis, pater, ille virum qui fic comitatur euntem?
Filiusanne aliquis magna de ftirpe nepotum ?
Quis ftrepitus circa comitum! quantum inftar in
ipfo eft!

Sed nox atra caput trifti circumvolat umbra.
Tum pater Anchifes lacrymis ingreffus abortis:
O nate, ingentem luctum ne quaere tuorum :
Oftendent terris hunc tantum fata, neque ultra
Effe finent. Nimium vobis Romana propago
Vifa potens, fuperi, propria haec fi dona fuiffent,
Quantos ille virum magnam Mavortis ad urbem
Campus aget gemitus! vel quae Tyberine videbis
Funera, cum tumulum praeterlabere recentem!
Nec puer Iliaca quifquam de gente Latinos
In tantum fpe tollet avos: Nec Romula quondam
Ullo fe tantum tellus jactabit alumno.

Heu pietas! heu prifca fides! invictaque bello
Dextera! non illi quifquam fe impune tuliffet
Obvius armato; feu cum pedes iret in hoftem,
Seu fpumantis equi foderet calcaribus armos.
Heu miferande puer! fi qua fata afpera rumpas,
Tu Marcellus eris. Manibus date lilia plenis
Purpureos fpargam flores, animamque nepotis
His faltem accumulem donis, et fungar inani
Munere.

Virgil is faid to have read the fixth Aeneid to Auguftus, in the prefence of Octavia, who fainted away, when he pronounced the words Tu Marcellus eris; and afterwards made the Poet a prefent of ten Seftertia (s) for every line, amounting in the (5) Eighty pounds, fourteen fhillings and seven pence fterling. whole