: Omnia, et ipse tener mundi concreverit orbis. Tum durare solum, et discludere Nerea ponto Cœperit, et rerum paulatim sumere formas Jamque novum ut terræ stupeant lucescere solem, Altius atque cadant submotis nubibus imbres : Incipiant sylvæ cum primum surgere, cumque Rara per ignotos errent animalia montes. Hinc lapides Pyrrhæ jactos, Saturnia regna, Caucaseasque refert volucres, furtumque Promethei, Marisque.] The poet uses the sea for water in general. Discludere Nerea ponto.] The meaning of this passage is, that the earth, by growing compact and solid, forced the waters to retire from it, and to form the seas. That is, by this means、 the sea was separated or distinguished, which is the proper meaning of discludere.-Nereus, a sea-god, and father of the Nereids, is here put for the waters. Pontus is used for the cavity of the sea. Novum solem.] The poet does not, as some imagine, speak according to the opinion of those who imagine the sun to perish every night, and be renewed the next morning. He only means the first appearance of the sun in the new formed world. Hinc lapides, &c.] Silenus, having sung of the first formation of the world, proceeds to mention the renovation of it by Pyrrha, Saturn, and Prometheus; and then adds some other ancient fables, wherein he shews the evil consequences that follow perturbations of the mind, the impure passion of Hercules for Hylas, the unnatural lust of Pasiphae, the vanity of the daughters of Protus, the avarice of Atalanta, and the ambition of Phaeton. Thus, as Catrou has justly observed, it is without reason that some have blamed Virgil for connecting these stories with an account of the formation of the world.— These fables are not introduced at random; for they set forth the moral doctrine of Epicurus, that we ought to avoid all perturbations of the mind. Lapides Pyrrha jactos.] See the note on ver. 62. of the first Georgick. Saturnia regna.] By the reign of Saturn, is meant what the poets called the golden age. Caucaseasque refert volucres, &c.] Prometheus, the son of Iapetus, having formed a man out of clay, animated him with the fire which he had stolen, by applying a ferula to the chariotwheels of the sun. Jupiter, offended at his audaciousness, or, dered Mercury to chain him to a rock on the mountain Caucasus, where an eagle or vulture His adjungit, Hylan nautæ quo fonte relictum At non tam turpes pecudum tamen ulla secuta est Et sæpe in lævi quæsisset cornua fronte. is continually gnawing his liver. Caucasus is a mountain between the Euxine and Caspian seas. Hylan.] Hylas was a young lad who accompanied Hercules in the Argonautic expedition. He was lost in a fountain, where he went to draw water; whence he is said to have been carried away by a Naiad. The Argonauts called for him a long time in vain; whence it is said that an annual custom was established of calling aloud for Hylas. Nauta.] The Argonauts. Quo fonte.] It was not certainly known in what particular fountain he was lost. Pasiphaen.] Pasiphae was the daughter of the sun, and wife of Minos, king of Crete. She is said to have fallen in love with a bull. Virgo.] See the note on ver. 263. of the third Georgick. Pratides.] The daughters of Prœtus, king of the Argives, having compared their beauty 45 50 to that of Juno, were afflicted with a madness, which made them fancy themselves to be cows, running about the fields, and lowing. They were cured of this disease by Melampus, who had one of them in marriage for his reward. He tells Pasiphae, that though these ladies fancied themselves to be real cows, yet they were not possessed by such a passion as hers for a bull. Falsis mugitibus.] Their lowings are called false, because they were not real cows, but only fancied themselves to be such; and therefore endeavoured to imitate the voice of those Aut aliquam in magno sequitur grege. Claudite nymphæ, Dictææ nymphæ,, nemorum jam claudite saltus: Si qua forte ferant oculis sese obvia nostris at first swallow their food has- Dictae.] Dicte is the name of a mountain of Crete. It seems to be put here for Crete itself. Saltus.] See the note on ver. 471. of the second Georgick. Forsitan illum.] Servius understands the poet's meaning to be, a fear lest the bull should go to Gnossus, the regal seat of Minos, the husband of Pasiphae, and a desire that he should rather go to Gortyna. Ruæus understands him to mean the very contrary; that, if the nymphs do not carefully guard the lawns, the bull may perhaps follow the cows to Gortyna. 56 60 visible many columns of marble, granite, and red and white jasper. The Turks, who are now in possession of the country, have carried away the finest, and in some places set them up as gates to sorry gardens. The herds of the sun are said to have been kept near this city. Hesperidum miratam mala puellam.] Virgil here alludes to the fable of Atalanta, the daughter of Schoneus, king of Scyros, an island in the Ægean sea. She was warned by the oracle of Apollo not to marry; and therefore she studiously avoided entering into that state. The beauty, however, of this princess was so great, that she could not avoid the solicitation of many lovers. Being endued with great swiftness, she made this proposal to them; that whosoever could outrun her should be her husband; but if any one was exceeded by her, he should forfeit his life. Hippomenes, the son of Megareus, who was the grandson of Neptune, not discouraged by the fate of several unhappy lovers, was determined to contend for the prize. Atalanta, being pleased with his person and character, was loth to be the cause Stabula ad Gortynia.] Gortyna was a famous city of Crete, near which the famous labyrinth is still to be seen. It is now a heap of ruins, among which are of his death, and used all the H Tum Phaethontiadas musco circumdat amaræ Corticis, atque solo proceras erigit alnos. Tum canit, errantem Permessi ad flumina Gallum arguments in her power to dis- Tum Phaethontiadas, &c.]Phaetusa, Lampetie, and Lampetusa, were the sisters of Phaeton, who being reproached by Epaphus, king of Egypt, as having falsely pretended to be the son of Sol, begged of his father to permit him to drive his chariot for one day, that he might prove himself to be his son. This being granted, he guided the horses so unskilfully, that the earth began to burn, and would have been consumed, if Jupiter had not killed him in 65 stantly with a thunderbolt, and thrown him into the river Eridanus. His sisters, having sought for him a long time, at last found his body on the banks of that river, where they consumed themselves with weeping, and were turned into trees.Here Virgil calls these trees alders; but in the tenth Æneid, ver. 189. he seems to make them poplars. Tum canit, errantem, &c.] The poet, having represented the evil effects of unruly passions in these several examples, now represents the more happy condition of a wise man, who devotes himself to the quiet studies of literature. Under this character, he takes an opportunity of paying a most elegant compliment to his friend Gallus, who was a good poet. He represents him to be introduced by one of the Muses to the presence of Apollo, where the whole assembly rises up to do him honour, and Linus presents him with the pipe, which formerly belonged to Hesiod. Permessus.] A river of Bootia, rising in the mountain Helicon, and sacred to the Muses. Aonas in montes.] See the note on ver. 11. of the third Georgick. One of the Una sororum.] nine Muses, to whom the mountain Helicon was feigned by the poets to be sacred. Utque viro, &c.] It was a Ut Linus hæc illi divino carmine pastor, Floribus atque apio.crines ornatus amaro, Dixerit: Hos tibi dant calamos, en accipe, Musæ ; His tibi Grynei nemoris dicatur origo : Ne quis sit lucus, quo se plus jactet Apollo. 70 Quid loquar? ut Scyllam Nisi, aut quam fama secuta est, custom among the ancients to rise from their seats at the entrance of any person whom they intended to honour. There could not be a greater compliment imagined to be paid to Gallus, as a poet, than for the Muses to rise up, on his being introduced into their company. This respect was paid to Virgil by the people of Rome, who rose up when his verses were recited in the theatre; and shewed the same reverence to his person as they did to that of Augustus himself. Linus.] See the note on ver. 56. of the fourth eclogue. Pastor.] It does not appear that Linus was really a shepherd. Perhaps Virgil represents him under that character, as he does himself and Gallus in these Bucolicks. Apio.] See the note on ver. 121. of the fourth Georgick. and therefore with propriety makes him give a shepherd's pipe to Gallus, the very same pipe with which that ancient poet sung his immortal verses. Ascræo seni.] See the note on et quis fuit alter, ver. 40. of the third eclogue. Grynei nemoris.] Strabo places Grynium in Æolia, and speaks of an ancient oracle of Apollo there, and a sumptuous temple, built of white stone. Quid loquar, &c.] The poet just mentions the fables of Scylla and Tereus, with which he concludes the song of Silenus. Ut Scyllam Nisi, aut quam.] For Scylla, the daughter of Ni sus, see ver. 404. of the first Georgick, and the note on ver. 405. Scylla, the daughter of Phorcus, was greatly beloved by Glaucus, who, not being able to obtain her favour, applied to Circe for her assistance. But Circe, being in love with Glaucus, resolved to get rid of Scylla. She poisoned the water where Scylla used to bathe; so that as soon as she went in up to the middle, she found her lower parts surrounded with barking monsters. Scylla being affrighted, ran away, not imagining Hos tibi dant calamos, &c.] Hesiod himself does not speak of a pipe being given him by the Muses; but of a branch of bay, by which he was inspired to sing of things past and future. However, as Hesiod had represented himself as a shepherd, Virgil seems to have represented Linus under the same character, |