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ocus is the hearth, or place which ontains the fire.

Taedae are branches of firr, pine, t other unctuous wood, that is fily inflamed.

50. Affidua poftes, &c.] This is very proper defcription of the armth of a poor cottage, which ad no chimney, and therefore the fts are all black with foot. We ve many fuch in England. 51. Hic tantum Boreae, &c.] oreas is the North-eaft wind: See é note on ver. 278. of the third eorgick.

Thus Theocritus, in the ninth yllium;

και δε θέρες Φρύγονος· ἐγὼ τόσσον μελεδαίνω,

σσον ἐρῶν τὶ πατρὸς μύθων καὶ μάτρος Tonigŵr. my

ἀκούειν

50

and pofts black with continual Smoak. Here we mind the cold of Boreas, just as much as wolves do the number of the Sheep, or rapid rivers the banks. COR. Here are junipers, and rough chestnuts:

· Ἔχω δὲ τοι οὐδ ̓ ὅσον ὥραν Χείματος, ή νωδός καρύων, ἀμύλοιο παρόντος.

"So that I value cold no more, "not I,

"Than toothless men do nuts "when pulse is by.”

52. Aut numerum lupus.] Catrou is fingular, in his interpretation of this paffage. He takes numerum to fignify mufical numbers; "Nous "nous foucions du froid, à peu près comme un loup fe met en peine "de mufique."

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La Cerda thinks the fhepherds equal in this part of the contention. It must be allowed, that Thyrfis fwers with propriety, and keeps up to the laws of amoebean poetry, by a juft oppofition of heat to cold: but yet there is a peculiar elegance and delicacy in the verfes of Corydon, which will probably give him the preference, in the opinion of moft readers,

And there I value fummer's burn-in
And there I value fummer's burn-
"ing heats

No more than lovers do their fa-
"ther's threats;

Their mother's kind complaints, "or friend's advice:"

53. Stant et juniperi, &c.] The fhepherds now vye with each other defcribing the prefence and abfence of their loves. Corydon deabfence of Alexis: Thyrfis reprefcribes every thing withering at the fents the whole country reviving at the approach of Phyllis.

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the fruits lie fcattered every Strata jacent paffim fua quaeque fub arbore poma:

subere, each under it's own

tree; all things now fmile; Omnia nunc rident: at fi formofus Alexis

55

but if the beautiful Alexis is Montibus his abeat, videas et flumina ficca.
abfent from thefe mountains, THYR. Aret ager: vitio moriens fitit aëris herba:
you may fee even the rivers dry,
THYR. The field withers, Liber pampineas invidit collibus umbras,

the dying grafs is fcorched by Phyllidis adventu noftrae nemus omne virebit;
the beat of the air: Bacchus
bas envied the fade of the wine Juppiter et laeto descendet plurimus imbri.

to the bills: at the approach of

my Phyllis, the whole grove will revive; and Jupiter will defcend largely in a joyful shower.

NOTES.

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ἄν ἀφέρπη

αι

60

"M. There pastures flourish, there "the dugs do fill,

"The lambs are fuckled, and the
"fhepherds fmile,

"Where my boy comes; but when
"he leaves the place,
"The fhepherd withers o'er the
"fading grafs..

"D. There fheep, there goats

"beartwins, there lab'ring bees "Do fill their hives, and there rife "prouder trees,

"Where Milo treads; but when
"he leaves the place,
"The herds-man withers, and the
❝herd decays."

CREECH.

Pope has imitated this paffage, in his firft Paftoral ;

"STR. All nature mourns, the

"fkies relent in fhow'rs, "Hufh'd are the birds, and clos'd "the drooping flow'rs; "If Delia fmile, the flow'rs begin "to fpring,

"The fkies to brighten, and the "birds to fing.

"DAPH. All nature laughs, the groves are fresh and fair,

Χώ τάς βῶς βόσκων, χ' αἱ βίες σε The fun's mild luftre warms the

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ἀνότεραι.

"vital air;

" If

COR. Populus Alcidae gratiffima, vitis Iaccho :
Formofae myrtus Veneri, fua laurea Phoebo.
Phyllis amat corylos: illas dum Phyllis amabit,
Nec myrtus vincet corylos, nec laurea Phoebi.
THYR. Fraxinus in fylvis pulcherrima, pinus
hortis,

COR. The poplar is most pleafing to Alcides, the vine to. Bacchus, the myrtle to beauti ful Venus, bis own bay to Phoebus. Phyllis loves balese as long as Phyllis fhall love

in thefe, neither the myrtle nor the 65 bay of Phoebus fhall excel tha

bazles.

THYR. The afb is most beautiful in woods, the pine in gardens,
NOTES.

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La Cerda thinks the two fhepherdsequal in this place: Catrou feems to give the preference to Corydon. Both tetraftichs are certainly very good but the variety of figures and epithets feem to declare in fayour of Thyrfis, Befides there is fomething more pleafing in the reprefentation of an univerfal gladnefs at the approach of Phyllis, than of the defolation at the absence of Alexis.

61. Populus Alcidae.] Corydon now mentions fome trees, in which feveral deities delight: and declares, that he prefers the hazle to any of them; because it is the favourite of Phyllis. Thyrfis anfwers by an apoftrophe to Lycidas, and telling him, that the finest trees fhall yield to him, if he will let him have his company often.

Populus Alcidae gratiffima.] It is fabled, that Hercules, who is alfo called Alcides, crowned his head with the twigs of a white poplar, growing on the banks of Acheron, when he returned from the infernal regions...

A

62. Formofae myrtus Veneri.] The

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myrtle was facred to Venus, either because it loves the fea-fhoar, and Venus herself fprang from the fea: or because it is a plant of extraordinary beauty and sweetness.

65. Pinus in hortis.] Some would read pinus in oris; becaufe Plutarch has used the epithet magánov or ma ritime, when fpeaking of a pinetree. But there are feveral forts of pine-trees, many of which are seldom feen, except on mountains. The fort here intended is probably. the Pinus fativa, or manured Pine, which is commonly cultivated in gardens. It is alfo found wild in Italy, particularly about Ravenna, where, as Ray informs us, there is a large wood of these trees, which extends itself to the fea-fide. But, as it is certain, that pine-trees were planted by the Romans in their gar dens; there cannot be any occafion to alter the text.

Here again the victory is by general confent adjudged to Corydon. There is a peculiar elegance in his compliment to Phyllis. The making her favourite tree equal to thofe, which were chofen by Hercules, Bacchus, Venus, and Apollo, re prefents her as a goddess, and makes her in a manner equal to thofe deities. The thought of making the finest trees yield to Lycidas condiU 3

tionally,

the poplar in rivers, the firr on Populus in fluviis, abies in montibus altis :
bigh mountains. But, O charm-
ing Lycidas, if you will often Saepius at fi me, Lycida formofe, revifas,

wifit me, the afb in the woods Fraxinus in fylvis cedat tibi, pinus in hortis.
fall yield to you, and the pine MEL. Haec memini, et victum fruftra contendere
in the gardens.
Thyrfin.

MEL. Thus much I re

member, and that the vanquish Ex illo Corydon, Corydon eft tempore nobis. 70 ed Thryfis contended in vain. From that time Corydon, it is Corydon for me.

NOTES.

tionally, is a complement, rather to Thyrfis himself, who affumes that power, than to Lycidas, whom he vainly attempts to extol as highly, as Corydon had extolled Phyllis.

69. Haec memini, &c.] Meliboeus now refumes his narration, and informs us, that Corydon obtained the victory.

Memini.] It governs an accufative cafe, as well as a genitive. Thus we read, in the ninth Eclogue;

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Numeros memini, fi verba "tenerem."

Victum fruftra contendere Thyrfin.] The victory is adjudged to Corydon; because Corydon, in the ❝ first amoebean, begins with piety to the gods; Thyrfis with rage against his adverfary. In the fecond, Corydon invokes Diana, "a chafte goddefs: Thyrfis an obfcene deity Priapus. In the third, Corydon addreffes himself to Galatea with mildnefs: Thyrfis with "dire imprecations. In the reft, "Corydon's fubjects are generally 45 pleafing: thofe of Thyrfis the contrary." RUAEUS.

"

70. Ex illo Corydon, &c.] Servius thinks there is an ellipfis here, which Corydon, out of rufticity, does not fill up. He fupplies it with Victor, nobilis fupra omnes. Ruaeus thinks this interpretation harth;

and that it may be more fimply interpreted thus; " From that time "Corydon is looked upon by us, as

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truly Corydon; that is, truly "worthy of the fame, in which be "flourishes among all;" Marolles tranflates it" Depuis ce temps-la, 66 nous avons toufiours tenu Cory"don pour le mefme Corydon qu'il

eftoit auparavant." Catrou tranflates it" Dès lors Corydon prit "dans mon eftime une place, qu'ily "confervera toûjours;" and fays in his note; "The tranflation would "perhaps have appeared more "literal, if I had tranflated it thus; Des lors Corydon, fut Cory. "don pour moy. I chofe to render "the thought of the poet, rather "than to copy his text too literally. The Earl of Lauderdale translates it;

"Hence Corydon I count thee happy fwain."

66

And Dryden;

"Since when, 'tis Corydon among "the fwains, "Young Corydon without a rival "reigns." And Dr Trapp;

From that time 'Tis Corydon, 'tis Corydon for ❝ me." ECLOGA

ECLOGA OCTAVA

PHARMACEUTRIA.

DAMON, ALPHESIBOEUS,

PASTORUM Mufam, Damonis et Alphefi-berds Damage, and beh

boei,

- Immemor herbarum quos eft mirata juvenca, Certantes, quorum ftupefactae carmine lynces, Et mutata fuos requierunt flumina curfus :

NOTES.

1. Paftorum Mufam, &c.] This Eclogue confifts of two parts. In the first, Damon complains of the cruelty of Nifa who has preferred Mopfus before him, The fecond contains feveral incantations made ufe of, to recover the love of Daphnis; and is evidently an imitation of the Dappanturpia of Theocritus. The first five lines contain an introduction to the whole poem; which prepares us to expect fomething extraordinary, and worthy of our at

tention.

Alphefiboeus, whom the beifer admired as they contended, forgetting ber grass; at whofe fong the ounces were aftonifbed; and the rivers changing their courfe food fill:

runt. He confirms this interpretation by a like expreffion in Salluft, "Paululum requietis militibus ;" and by another in Calvus;

"Sol quoque perpetuos meminit re

"quiefcere curfus."

He adds, that we fay both ego quiefco, and quiefco fervum, that is, quiefcere, fucio. La Cerda acknowledges that requiefco may be taken actively, and adds to the quotation from Calvus another from Propertius;

3. Lynces.] See the note on ver. 264. of the third Georgick, 4. Mutata fuos requierunt, &c.]" Thus Horace;

Jupiter Alcmenae geminas re"quieverat arctos."

"Tu flectis amnes, tu mare bar- But he rather thinks it to be a Gre

66 barum."

The Grammarians are divided about the conftruction of the paffage before us. Servius here takes requierunt to be a verb active, governing fuos curfus, and interprets it curfus proprios retardaverunt, et quietos effe fece

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