Διαθρυπτείαι. There is no adequate word in the English language for this fine expreffion. It is in itself a picture. We fee the Greek girl preparing to fing with a languishing Sportability of air. · LINE 140. Whom GOLGOs and the Erycian height. CATULLUS hath tranflated the original verfe- LI E And thy fair fanes of gold delight. O VENUS, rejoicing in thy golden garments or temples.' WARTON. Xpvoy malades-is, however, a strange expreffion-most probably a corruption. LINE 177. The blooming cup-bearer of JovE. We cannot eafily determine, whether thefe figures were in tapestry, painting or fculpture. The critics have very confused and discordant ideas on the subject. There is every reason to think, that fome of them were folid figures; and there is no doubt but tapestry was the most confpicuous and ornamental part of the scene. WARTON.. LINE 2II. And greet us with returning love. The tranflator had at firft intended to referve the principal anecdotes that have been related in refpect to the festival of ADONIS, for a place among his notes on the first Elegy of BION. The prefent, however, on further confideration, appears to be the propereft place for them. No reader of THEOCRITUS can be ignorant, that ADONIS WAS the fon of CYNARAS, king of Cyprus. He is reprefented as particularly ticularly fond of the chace. See THEOCRITUS, Idyll. I.-and BION, Idyl. I. Of the manner of his death we are furnished, in this book, with abundant information. PROPERTIUS tells us, that he was killed by a boar in Cyprus. percuffit Adonim Venantem Idalia vertice durus Aper. The anniversary of his death was celebrated through all the Pagan world. ARISTOPHANES reckons the feast of Adonis among the chief feftivals of the Athenians. The Syrians obferved it with all the violence of grief, and the greatest cruelty of self-cafligation. It was celebrated at Alexandria in Saint CYRIL's time; and when JULIAN the Apoftate made his entry at Antioch, in the year 362, they were celebrating the feaft of ADONIS. The ancients differ greatly in their accounts of this divinity. ATHENAUS fays, he was the favourite of BACCHUS. PLUTARCH maintains that he and BACCHUS are the fame: and that the Jews abstained from swine's flesh, because ADONIS was killed by a boar. AUSONIUS (Epig. 30.) affirms that BACCHUS, OSIRIS, and ADONIS, are one and the fame.' LANGHOR NE. According to Dr. STUKELY, the British Druids were accuf tomed to celebrate the myfteries of ADONIS. The fuperftitious myftery of lamenting for ADONIS may be thus explained:-ADONIS was the Sun: The upper hemifphere of the earth was anciently called VENUS; the under, PROSERPINE; when the Sun, therefore, was in the fix inferior figns, they faid he was with PROSERPINE; when in the fix fuperior, with VENUS. By the boar that flew ADONIS, they understood WINTER-not unaptly reprefented by fo gloomy an animal. On another view of the matter, we may fuppofe that they meant by ADONIS the Fruits of the Earth; which are for one while buried, but at length appear flourishing to the fight. When, therefore, the feed was thrown into the ground, they faid ADONIS was gone to PROSERPINE; but when it fprouted up, they faid he had revifited vifited the light and VENUS. Hence, probably, it was, that they fowed corn, and made gardens for ADONIS. Univerfal Hift. vol. ii. In MAUNDRELL's Travels, we meet with a curious illustration of this ancient fuperftition. We had the fortune to fee (fays Mr. M.) what may be supposed to be the occafion of that opinion which LUCIAN relates-viz.-that the river Adonis, ' at certain seasons of the year, especially about the feaft of • Adonis, is of a bloody color, which the heathens looked upon as proceeding from a kind of fympathy in the river for the ' death of Adonis, who was killed by a wild boar in the mountains, out of which this stream rifes. Something like this we 'faw actually come to pafs; for the water was stained to a surprifing redness; and (as we observed in travelling) had discoloured the fea a great way, into a reddish hue-occafioned, doubtless, by a fort of minium or red earth washed into the river by the • violence of the rain, and not by any ftain from the blood of 'ADONIS.' The Prophet EZEKIEL beheld the women at Jerufalem weeping for TAMMUZ or ADONIS. Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the Lord's House, which was towards the north, and behold there fat women weeping for Tammuz.' These verses in the eighteenth chapter of ISAIAH allude, according to St. CYRIL, to the rituals of ADONIS. Woe to the land fhadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia: That fendeth ambaffadors by the fea, even in veffels of bulrushes upon the waters-faying, Go, ye fwift messengers, to a nation scattered and peeled, &c.'—When the female votaries of VENUS receive thefe fwift meffengers, they cease their lamentation, as if VENUS had found ADÓNIS. 6 Let us close the subject with MILTON's epic ftrain: Thammuz came next behind, Whofe annual wound, in Lebanon, allur'd While Smooth Adonis, from his native rock, Par. Loft, b. i. 1. 445. LINE 216. Crowd of your Cronies. Cronies-a vulgar word, yet characteristic of GORGO. TOUPE, WARTON, and REISKE, concur in the opinion of her vulgarity. IDYLLIUM the SIXTEENTH. A LINE 2. And bards the deeds of earth. OIAOI-rhapsodifts-poets-but the word bard is now used as a general appellation. For the ancient distinction between the Bardi and Aodo, fee the first note on TYRTÆUS. The Aodos, in the days of THEOCRITUS, had little of that dignity attached to the first Aidos of Greece. He fung, however, (just as ACHILLES is represented in his tent finging to the harp) Κλεα ανδρων. LINE 39. 'Tis theirs to welcome every coming guest. -In the language of the Apostle, Given to hospitality.' In HOMER'S Odyffey, fuch characters as these are delineated on a broader canvass. We meet with the finest precepts for the conduct of domestic life, in that truly beautiful and pathetic poem. THEOCRITUS had, without doubt, the Odyffey in view. Book 15. True friendship's laws are by this rule expreft, See -POPE'S -POPE's verfion-repeated in his imitation of the fecond fatire of the fecond book of HoRace. Thro' whofe free-opening gate None comes too early-none departs too late: In HOMER'S Iliad, book vi. we have an extraordinary character of an hospitable man, • Whofe ever-open door Oblig'd the wealthy, and reliev'd the poor." Thus the patriarchs in the Old Teftament, (fays Mr. POPE) fit at their gates to fee those who pafs by, and intreat them to enter into their houses. This cordial manner of invitation may be seen in the 18th and 19th chapters of Genefis. The Eastern nations seem to have had a peculiar difpofition to these exercises of humanity, which continues, in a great meafure, to this day. It is yet a piece of charity frequent with the Turks, to erect caravanferahs, or inns, for the reception of travellers. GALLIAS of AGRIGENTUM, (according to DIODORUS SICULUS) having built feveral inns for the relief of strangers, appointed perfons at the gates, to invite all paffengers to make use of them. He entertained and cloathed, at one time, no lefs than five hundred horfemen. There were in his cellars three hundred veffels, each of which contained an hundred hogfheads of wine. Another AGRIGENTINE, at the marriage of his daughter, feafted all the people of his city-at that time above twenty thousand. HERODOTUS, b. vii. tells us, that PYTHIAS, a Lydian, entertained XERXES and his whole army, with great magnificence.' The In OSSIAN, we have frequent inftances of hofpitality. light of heaven (we read) was in the bofom of CATHMOR. His towers rofe on the banks of Atha: feven paths led to his halls. Seven chiefs flood in the paths, and called the stranger to the feaft. But CATHMOR dwelt in the wood, to fhun the voice of praife!' CATHMOR dwells in a wood to avoid the thanks of his guests; |