B
0;
1 i
1\
1\
1 [
v!
w
Southern Branch
of the
University of California
Los Angeles
Form L I
^f>
This book is DUE on the last date stamped below
if-^'
W
■ JAN 9 - 1S^
AUG 7 1952'
OCT 1 5 T98f
Form L-9-1 'i//'l'i.'
^^fflWil
THE
WORKS
O F T H E
ENGLISH POETS.
W'i T H
P R E F • A' C E S,
BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL,
BY SAMUEL JOHNSON.
VOLUME THE TWENTY-SE COND.
LONDON:
PRINTED BY H. BALDWIN;
OR J. BUCKLAND, J. RIVINGTON AND SONS, T. PAYNE AND
SON, L, DAVIS, B. WHITE AND SON, T. LONGMAN, B. LAW,
J. DODSLEY, H. BALDWIN, J. ROBSON, C.DILLY, T. CADELL,
J. NICHOLS, J. JOHNSON, G. G. J. AND J. ROBINSON,
R. BALDWIN, H. L. GARDNER, P. ELMSLY, T. EVANS,
G. NICOL, LEIGH AND SOTHEBY, J. BEW, N. CONANT,
J. MURRAY, J. SEWELL, W. GOLDSMITH, W. RICHARDSON,
T. VERNOR, W. LOWNDES, W. BENT, W. OTRIDGE, T. AND
J. EGERTON, S. HAYES, R. FAULDER, J. EDWARDS, G. AND
T. WILKIE, W. NICOLL, OGILVY AND SPEARE, SCATCHERD
AND WHITAKER, W. F OX, Ct S T AL KE R, Et NE WB E R Y. I79O.
74847
nil
y.2 2
THE
TWENTY-SECOND VOLUME
O F T H E
ENGLISH POETS
CONTAINING
THE FIRST VOLUME OF
DRYDEN'S VIRGIL,
Vol. XXII,
THE
W O R K S
O F
VIRGIL
TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH VERSE,
BY MR. DRYDEN.
Vol. XXII. B
[ 3 ]
TO MR. DRYDEN.
ON HIS
EXCELLENT TRANSLATION OF VIRGIL.
VyHE NE'ER great Virgil's lofty verfe I fee.
The pompous fcene charms my admiring eye;
There different beauties in perfcdion meet ;
The thoughts as proper, as the numbers fweet:
And when wild Fancy mounts a daring height.
Judgment fteps in, and moderates her flight.
Wifely he manages his wealthy ftore.
Still fays enough, and yet implies ftill more:
For though the weighty fenfe be clofely wrought.
The reader's left t'improve the pleafing thought.
Hence we defpair to fee an Englifh drefs
Should e'er his nervous energy exprefs;
For who could that in fetter'd rhyme inclofe.
Which without lofs can fcarce be told in profe!
But you, great Sir, his manly genius raife;
And make your copy fhare an equal praife.
Oh how I fee thee in foft fcenes of love.
Renew thofe paflions he alone could move !
Here Cupid's charms are with new art exprefi:.
And pale Eliza leaves her peaceful reft :
Leaves her Elyfium, as if glad to live.
To love, and wifh, to figh, defpair, and grieve
And die again for him that would again deceive,
B 2 Nor
eve, J-
jive, J
4 VERSESTO
Nor does the mighty Trojan lefs appear
Than Mars himfelf amldft the ftorms of warr
Now his fierce eyes with double fury glow.
And a new dread attends th' impending blow:
The Daunian chiefs their eager rage abate.
And, though unwounded, feem to feel their fate.
Long the rude fury of an ignorant age.
With barbarous fpite, prophan'd his facred page.
The heavy Dutchmen, with laborious toil,
Wrefted his fenfe, and cramp'd his vigorous ftyle;
No time, no pains, the drudging pedants fpare;
But ftill his (houlders muft the burden bear.
While through the mazes of their comments led.
We learn not \s hat he writes, but what they read,
Tet, through thefe ihades of undiftinguilh'd night
Appear'd fome glimmering inte^^^als of light;
Till mangled by a vile tranflating feft.
Like balx!s by witches in effigy rackt;
'I ill Ogleby, mature in dulnefs, rofe.
And Holborn doggrcl, and low chiming profe.
His ftrength and beauty did at once dcpofc.
But now the magic fpell is at an end,
J^ince cv'n the dead in you hath found a friend;
You free the Bard from rude oppreflbrs' power.
And grace his verfe with charms unknown before;
He, doubly thus oblig'd, muft doubting ftand.
Which chiefly (hould his gratitude command;
Whether fliould claim the tribute of his heart,
'J lie Patron s bounty, or the Poet's art,
Alike
}
M R. D R Y D E N. i
Alike with wonder and delight we view'd
The Roman genius in thy vcrfe renew "d:
We faw thee raife foft Ovid's amorous fire.
And fit the tuneful Horace to thy lyre :
We faw new gall imbitter Juvenal's pen.
And crabbed Perfeus made politely plain :
Virgil alone was thought too great a tafk;
What you could fcarce perform, or we durfl: afk :
A tafk! which Waller's Mufe could ne'er engage;
A talk ! too hard for Denham's ftronger rage:
^ure of fuccefs they fome flight fallies try'd,
Eut the fenc'd coaft their bold attempts defyM.
With fear their o'er-match'd forces back they drew.
Quitted the province Fate referv'd for you.
In vain thus Philip did the Perfians ftorm;
A work his fon was deftin'd to perform,
*' O had Rofcommon liv'd to hail the day,
" And fing loud Paeans through the crowded way;
*' When you in Roman majefty appear,
«« Which none know better, and none come fo near:'*
The happy author would with wonder fee.
His rules were only prophecies of thee :
And were he now to give tranflators light.
He'd bid them only read thy work, and write.
For this great tafk our loud applaufe is due;
We own old favours, but muft prefs for new :
Th' expeding world demands one labour more;
And thy lov'd Homer does thy aid implore.
To right his injur'd works, and fet them free
From the lewd rhymes of groveling Ogleby,
B 3 Then
ft VERSESTO
Then fliall his verfc in grateful pomp appear.
Nor will his birth renew the ancient jar;
On thofe Greek cities we (hall look with fcorn,
^nd in our Britain think the Poet born.
TO MR. D R Y D E N,
ON HIS
TRANSLATION OF VIRGIL-
I.
XX7 E read, how dreams and vifions heretofore
^ ^ The Prophet and the Poet could infpire;
And make them in unufual rapture foar.
With rage divine, and w ith poetic fire.
II.
O could I find it now; — Would Virgil's Ihade
But for a while vouchfafe to bear the light;
To grace my numbers, and that Mufe to aid,
Who fmgs the Poet that has done him right.
III.
It long has been this facrcd Author's fate,
To lie at every dull Tranllator's will;
Long, long his Mufe has groan'd beneath the weight
Of mangling Oglcby's prcfumptuous quill,
IV.
M R. D R y D E N. 7
IV.
Dryden, at M, in his defence arofe;
Tlie father now is righted by the fon :
And while his Mufe endeavours to difclofe
That Poet's beauties, Ihe declares her own.
V.
In your fmooth, pompous numbers dreft, each line.
Each thought, betrays fuch a majeftic touch;
He could not, had he linilh'd his defign.
Have wilh'd it better, or have done fo much.
VI.
You, like his Hero, though yourfelf were free;^
And difentangled from the war of wit;
You, who fecure might other dangers fee.
And fafe from all malicious cenfures fit.
VII.
Yet becaufe facred Virgil's noble Mufe,
O'erlay'd by fools, was ready to expire:
To riik your fame again, you boldly chufe<
Or to redeem, or perilli with your fire.
VIII.
Ev'n firft and laft, we owe him half to you.
For that his -Sneids mifs'd their threaten 'd fate.
Was — that his friends by fome predi«5lion knew"j
Hereafter, who corre^g Ihould tranflate,
B 4 IX,
« VERSESTO
IX.
But hold, my Mufe, thy needlefs flight reftrain,
Unlefs, like him, thou couldft a verfe indite:
To think his fancy to defcribc is vain.
Since nothing can difcover light, but light,
X.
'Tis want of genius that does more deny:
'Tis fear my praifc fhould make your glory lefs.
And therefore, like the modeft Painter, I
Mull draw the veil, where I cannot exprefs,
Henry Grahme,
TO MR. DRYDEN.
T^fO undifputcd Monarcli governed yet
■^ With univerfal fway the realms of witj
Nature could never fuch expence afford;
Each fcvcral province own'd a feveral lord,
A Foot then had his poetic wife,
One Mufe cmbrac'd, and married for his life»
By the ftale thing his appetite was cloy'd,
I lis fancy leflen'd, and his fire deftroy'd.
But niiture grown extravagantly kind.
With nil licr trcafures did adorn your mind.
The different powers were then united found.
And you Wit's univerfal monarch crown'd.
Your
M R. D R Y D E N. 9
Your mighty fway your great defert fecures.
And t\try Mufe and every Grace is yours.
To none confin'd, by turns you all enjoy.
Sated with this, you to another fly.
So Sultan-like in your feraglio fland.
While vvifhing Mufes wait for your command.
Thus no decay, no want of vigour find.
Sublime your fancy, boundlefs is your mind.
Not all the blafts of time can do you wrong;
Young, fpite of age; in fpite of weaknefs, ftrong.
Time, like Alcides, ftrikes you to the ground ;
You, like Antaeus, from each fall rebound.
H. St, John»
TO MR. DRYDEN,
ON HIS
V 1 R G l Le
np IS faid that Phidias gave fuch living grace
To the carv'd image of a beauteous face.
That the cold marble might even feem to be
The life; and the true life, the imagery.
You pafs*d that artift. Sir, and all his powers.
Making the bed of Roman Poets ours;
With fuch effeft, we know not which to call
The imitation, which th* original.
What
10 VERSES, etc.
What Virgil lent, you pay in equal weight.
The charming beauty of the coin no lefsj
And fuch the majefty of your imprefs.
You feera the very author you tranllate.
'Tis certain, were he now alive with us.
And did revolving delHny conftrain.
To drefs his thoughts in Englifh o'er again,
Himfclf could write no otherwife than thus.
His old encomium never did appear
So true as now; Romans and Greeks, fubmit*
Something of late is in our language writ.
More nobly great than the fam'd Iliads were.
J A. Wright*
VIRGIL'S
V I R G I L ' S
PASTORALS,
[ '5 ]
TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE
HUGH LORD CLIFFORD,
BARON OF CHUDLEIGH,
My Lord,
I HAVE found it not more difficult to tranflatc
Virgil, than to find fuch Patrons as I defire for my
tranflation. For though England is not wanting in
a learned nobility, yet fuch are my unhappy circum-
ftances, that they have confined me to a narrow choice.
To the greater part, I have not the honour to be
known; and to fome of them I cannot fhew at prefent,
by any public ad, that grateful refped which I (hall
ever bear them in my heart. Yet I have no reafon to
complain of fortune, fmce in the midft of that abun-
dance I could not poiTibly have chofen better, than the
worthy fon of fo illuftrious a father. He was the pa-
tron of my manhood, when I flourifhed in the opinion
of the world; though with fmall advantage to my
fortune, till he awakened the remembrance of my
royal mader. He was that Pollio, or that Varus, who
introduced
t4 DEDICATION.
introduced me to Auguftus : and though he foon dlf-
miffed himfelf from ftate-affliirs, yet in the Ihort time
of his adminiftration he flione (o powerfully upon me,
that, like the heat of a Rufllnn fummer, he ripened
the fruits of poetry in a cold climate; and gave me
wherewithal to fubfift at Icaft, in the long winter which
fucceeded. What I now offer to your lordfhip is the
wretched remainder of a fickly age, worn out with llu-
dy, and opprefTed by fortune: without other fupport
than the conftancy and patience of a Chriftian. You,
my lord, are yet in the flower of your youth, and may
live to enjoy the benefits of the peace which is pro-
mifed Europe, I can only hear of that blefling : for
years, and, above all things, want of health, have fl^ut
me out from fliaring in the happinefs. The poets,
who condemn their Tantalus to hell, had added to his
torments, if they had placed him in Elyfium, which
is the proper emblem of my condition. The fruit and
the water may reach my lips, but cannot enter : and if
they could, yet I want a palate as well as a digeftion.
But it is fomc kind of plcafure to me, to pleafe thofc
whom I rcfped. And I am not altogether out of hope,
that thcfe Paftorals of Virgil may give your lordfliip
fome delight, though made Englifli by one, who
fcarce remembers that paflion which infpired my au-
thor when he wrote them. Thcfe were his firil efiay
in poctr)', (If the Cclras was not his:) and it was
more cxcufcable in him to dcfcribe lo\ e when he was
young, than for me to tranflate him when I am old.
He died at the age of fifty-two, and I begin this woi '.
S
DEDICATION. *5
in my great climafterlc. But having perhaps a better
conftitution than my author, I have wronged him lefs,
confidcring my circumftances, than thofe who have at-
tempted him before, eiiher in our own, or any modern
language. And though this verfion is not void of er-
rors, yet it comforts me that the faults of others are
not worth finding. Mine are neither grofs nor fre-
quent, in thofe Eclogues, wherein my mafter has raifed
himfelf above that humble ftyle in which Palloral de-
lights, and which I muft confefs is proper to the edu-
cation and converfe of Shepherds : for he found the
ilrength of his genius betimes, and was even in his
youth preluding to his Georgics, and his /Eneis. He
could not forbear to try his wings, though his pinions
were not hardened to maintain a long laborious flight.
Yet fometimes they bore him to a pitch as lofty, as
ever he was able to reach afterwards. But when he
was admonifiied by his fubjecl to defcend, he came
down gently circling in the air, and fmging to the
ground. Like a lark, melodious in her mounting,
and continuing her fong till {he alights : ftill preparing
for a higher flight at her next fally, and tuning her
voice to better mufic. The fourth, the fixth, and the
eighth Paftorals, are clear evidences of this truth. In
the three firft he contains himfelf within his bounds;
but addrefllng to Pollio, his great Patron, and himfelf
no vulgar Poet, he no longer could reftrain the freedom
of his fpirit, but bega.i to afiert his native charafter,
which is fublimity. Putting himfelf under the con-
AuO. of the fame Cumxn Sibyl, whom afterwards he
gave
16 DEDICATION.
gave for a guide to his JEneas, It is true he was len-
fible of his own boldnefs ; and we know it by the
Paulo Majora, which begins his fourth Eclogue. He
remembered, like young Manlius, that he was forbid-
den to engage; but what avails an exprefs command
to a youthful courage which prefages vi6lory in the at-
tempt? Encouraged with fuccefs, he proceeds farther
in the fixth, and invades the province of Philofophy.
And notwithftanding that Phoebus had forewarned
him of finging of wars, as he there confeflcs, yet he pre-
fiimed that the fearch of nature was as free to him as
to Lucretius, who at his age explained it according to
the principles of Epicurus. In his eighth Eclogue, he
has innovated nothing; the former part of it being
the complaint and defpair of a forfaken lover: the lat-
ter a charm of an enchantrcfs, to renew a loft affec-
tion. But the complaint perhaps contains fomc topics
which arc above the condition of his perfons; and our
author feems to have made his Ii^rdfmen fomewhat too
learned for their profeffion : the charms are alfo of the
fame nature; but both were copied from Theocritus,
and had received the applaufe of former ages in their
original. There is a kind of rufticity in all thofe pom-
pous verfes; fomewhat of a holiday (hcphcrd ftrutting
in his country bufkins. The like may be obfcrved,
both in the Pollio, and the Silenus; where the fimili-
tudes are drawn from the woods and meadows. They
feem to me to rcprcfent our poet betwixt a farmer
and a courtier, when he left Mantua for Rome, and
drcfTcd liimfcif in his beft habit to appear before his
Patron ;
DEDICATION. 17
Patron : fomewhat too fine for the place from whence
he came, and yet retaining part of its fimplicity.
In the ninth Paftoral he colleds fome beautiful
paffagcs, which were fcattered in Theocritus, which
he could not infert into any of his former Eclogues,
and yet was unwilling they lliould be loft. In all
the reft he is equal to his Sicilian mafter, and obferves
like him a juft decorum, both of the fubjeft and the
perfons. As particularly in the third Paftoral, where
one of his fhepherds defcribes a bowl, or mazer,
curioufly carved.
*« In medio duo figna: Conon, et quis fuit alter
" Defcripfit radio totum qui gentibus orbem."
He remembers only the name of Conon, and forgets
the other on fet purpofe (whether he means Anixi-
mander or Eudoxus I difpute not) ; but he was cer-
tainly forgotten, to fhew his country fwain was no
great fcholar.
After all, I muft confefs that the boorifh dialed o£
Theocritus has a fecret charm in it, which the Roman
language cannot imitate, though Virgil has drawn.it
down as low as poftibly he could : as in the Cujum
Pecus, and fome other words, for which he was fo
imjuftly blamed by the bad critics of his age, who
could not fee the beauties of that Merum Rus, which
the poet dcfcribed in thofe expreflions. But Theo-
critus may juftly be preferred as the original, without
injury to Virgil, who modeftly contents himfelf with
the fecond place, and glories only in being the firft
who tranfplanted Paftoral into his own country; and
Vol. XXII. C brought
,g DEDICATION.
brought it there to bear as happily as the cherry-trees
which Lucullus brought from Pontus.
Our own nation has produced a third Poet in this
kind, not inferior to the two former. For the Shep-
herd's Calendar of Spenfer is not to be matched in
any modern language. Not even by TafTo's Amyntas,
which infinitely tranfcends Guarini's Paftor Fido, as
having more of nature in it, and being almoft wholly
clear from the wretched affedlation of learning. I will
fay nothing of the Pifcator)' Eclogues, becaufe no mo-
dern Latin can bear criticifm. It is no wonder that
rolling down through fo many barbarous ages, from
the fpring of Virgil, it bears along with it the filth and
ordure of the Goths and Vandals. Neither will I
mention Monfieur Fontenelle, the living glory of the
French. It is enough for him to have excelled his
maftcr Lucian, without attempting to compare our mi-
ferable age with that of Virgil, or Theocritus, Let
me only add, for his reputation,
** Si Pcrgama dcxtra
** Defendi poflcnt, ctiam hac dcfcnfii fuiflent."
But Spenfer being mafter of our northern dialefl,
and (killed in Chaucer's Englifli, has fo cxadly imi-
tated tlic Doric of Theocritus, that his love is a per-
fcd image of that pafflon which God infufed into both
fcxcs, before it was corrupted with the knowledge of
arts, and tlic ceremonies of what wc call good man-
ners.
My lorJ, I know to whom I dedicate: and could
not have bcca induced by any motive to put tlus part
of
DEDICATION. tj
of Virgil, or any other into unlearned hands. You
have read him with pleafure, and I dare fay, with ad-
miration, in the Latin, of which you are a mafter.
You have added to your natural endowments, which,
without flattery, are eminent, the fuperftruftures of
ftudy, and the knowledge of good authors. Courage,
probity, and humanity are inherent in you. Thefe
virtues have ever been habitual to the ancient houfe of
Cumberland, from whence you are defcended, and of
which our chronicles make fo honourable mention in
the long wars betwixt the rival families of York and
Lancafter. Your forefathers have alTerted the party
which they chofe till death, and died for its defence in
the fields of battle. You have befides the frerti re-
membrance of your noble father; from whom you
never can degenerate.
•* Nee imbellem feroces
** Progenerant Aquilas Columbam."
It being almofl morally impoffible for you to be
other than you are by kind ; I need neither praife
nor incite your virtue. You are acquainted with the
Roman hiftory, and know without my information
that patronage and clientfhip always defcended from
the fathers to the fons, and that the fame plebeian
houfes had recourfe to the fame patrician line, which
had formerly protefted them; and followed their
principles and fortunes to the laft. So that I am
your lord (hip's by defcent, and part of your inheri-
tance. And the natural inclination which I have
to ferve you, adds to your paternal right, for I was
C 2 wholl/
«9 DEDICATION.
wholly yours from the firfl: moment when I haci the hap-
pinefs and honour of being known to you. Be picafed
therefore to accept the Rudiments of Virgil's Poetry:
coarfely tranflated, I confefs, but which yet retains
fome beauties of the author which neither the barbari-
ty of our language, nor my unfkilfulnefs, could fo
much fully, but that they fometimes appear in the dim
mirror which I hold before you. The fubjeft is not
unfuitable to your youth, which allows you yet to
love, and is proper to your prefcnt fcene of life. Rural
recreations abroad, and books at home, are the innocent
pleafures of a man who is early wife; and gives for-
tune no more hold of him, than of ncceflity he muft:.
It is good, on fome occafions, to think beforehand as
little as we can; to enjoy as much of the prefent as
will not endanger our futurity, and to provide our-
fclves with the Virtuofo's faddle, which will be fure to
amble, when the world is upon the hardeft trot.
What I humbly offer to your lordiliip, is of this na-
ture. I wilh it pleafimt, and am furc it is innocent.
May you ever contiaue your eftecm for Virgil; and not
leflen it, for the faults of his tranflator; who is, with
all manner of refpcft and fenfc of gratitude,
My Lord,
Your lordfliip's
moft humble and
moft obedient fcrvant,
JOHN DRYDEN.
THE
L 21 ]
THE
FIRST PASTORAL.
OR,
TITYRUS AND MELIBCEUS.
THE ARGUMENT.
The occafion of the firfl Paftoral was this. When
Augullus had fettled himfelf in the Roman empire,
that he might reward his veteran troops for their
paft fervice, he diftributed among them all the lands
that lay about Cremona and Mantua : turning out
the right owners for having fided with his enemies.
Virgil was a fufferer among the reft ; who after-
wards recovered his eftate by Maecenas's interceffion,
and as an inftance of his gratitude compofed the fol-
lowing Paftoral ; where he fets out his own good
fortune in the perfon of Tityrus, and the calamities
of his Mantuan neighbours in tlie charader of Me*
liboeus.
Meliboeus.
"D ENE ATH the fhade which beechen boughs diffufe.
You, Tityrus, entertain your fylvan Mufe :
Round the wide world in banifhment we roam,
Forc'd from our pleafing fields and native home :
C 3 V.liile
as DR YD EN'S VIRGIL.
While ilretch'd at cafe you fing your happy loves; ^
And Amarillis fills the Ihady groves.
Tit. Thefe bleflings, friend, a Deity bcftow'd:
For never can I deem him lefs than God.
The tender firlllings of my wooU)" breed
Shall on his holy altar often bleed. lO
He gave my kine to graze the flowery plain;
And to my pipe renew'd the rural ilrain.
Mel. I envy not your fortune, but admire.
That while the raging fvvord and wafteful fire
Deft toy the wretched neighbourhood around, 15
No hoftile arms approach your happy ground.
Far different is my fate : my feeble goats
With pains I drive from their forfaken cotes;
And this you fee I fcarcely drag along.
Who yeaning on the rocks has left her young; 20
(The hope and promife of my failing fold.)
My lofs by dire portents the gods foretold :
For had I not been blind, I might have fcen
Yon riven oak, the faireft of the green.
And the hoarfe raven, on the blaftcd bough, 25;
By croaking from the left prefag'd the coming blow.
But tell me, Tityrus ^^hat heavenly power
Prefcrv'd your fortunes in that fatal hour?
Tit. Fool that I was, I thought imj-^rial Rome
Like Mantua, where on market-days wc come, 30
And thither drive our tender lambs from home.
So kids and whelps their fires and dams exprefs:
And fo the great I mcafur'd by the lefs.
5 Bui
}
PASTORAL I. aj
But country towns, compar'd with her, appear
Like Ihrubs when lofty cyprefles are near, 35"
Mel. What great occafioncaird you hence to Rome!
Tit, Freedom, which came at length, though flow
to come:
Nor did my fearch of liberty begin.
Till my black hairs were chang'd upon my chin.
Nor Amarillis would vouchfafe a look, 40
Till Galatea's meaner bonds I broke.
Till then a helplefs, hopelefs, homely fwain,
I fought not freedom, nor afpir'd to gain :
Though many a viftim from my folds was bought.
And many a cheefe to country markets brought, 4^;
Yet all the little that I got, I fpent.
And ftill return'd as empty as I went.
Mel. We flood amaz'd to fee your miftrefs mourn;
Unknowing that (he pin'd for your return:
We wonder'd why Ihe kept her fruit fo long, 50
For whom fo late th' ungather'd apples hung;
But now the wonder ceafes, fmce I fee
She kept them only, Tityrus, for thee.
For thee the bubbling fprings appear'd to mourn.
And whifpering pines made vows for thy return. 55
Tit. What (hould I do, while here I was en-
chain'd.
No glimpfe of god-like liberty remain'd ;
Nor could I hope in any place but there.
To find a god fo prefent to my prayer.
There firil the youth of heav'nly birth I view'd, 60
For whom our monthly vi(5lims are renew'd,
C 4 H«
5x DRYDEN'S VIRGfL.
He heard my vows, and gracloufly decreed
My grounds to be reftor'd, my former flocks to feed,
Mel. O fortunate old man! whofe farm remains
For you fufficient, and requites your pains: 65
Though rufhes overfprcad the neighbouring plains.
Though here the marfhy grounds approach your
fields.
And there the foil a ftony harveft yields.
Your teeming ewes fliall no ftrange meadows try.
Nor fear a rott from tainted company. 70
Behold yon bordering fence of fallow trees
Is fraught with flowers, the flowers are fraught with
bees:
The bufy bees with a foft murmuring drain
Jnvite to gentle fleep the labouring fwain.
While from the neighbouring rock, with rural fongs 75
The pruner's voice the pleafing dream prolongs;
Stock-doves and turtles tell their amorous pain.
And, from the lofty elms, of love complain.
Tit. Th* inhabitants of feas and fkies fliall change.
And fi(h on fliore, and ftags in air (hall range, 80
'i'he baniOi'd Partliian dwell on Arar's brink.
And the blue German fhall the Tigris drink:
Ere I, forfaking gratitude and truth.
Forget the figure of that godlike youth.
Mel. But wc muft beg our bread in climes un-
known, 85
Beneath the fcorching or the freezing zone.
And fomc to far Oaxis fhall be fold ;
Or try the Xibyan heat, or Scythian colJ#
The
PASTORAL!. 25
The reft among the Britons be confin'd ;
A race of men from all the world disjoin'd, 90
O muft the wretched exiles ever mourn.
Nor after length of rolling years return ?
Are we condemned by fate's unjuft decree.
No more our houfes and our homes to fee?
Or fhall we mount again the rural throne, 95
And rule the country kingdoms, once our own!
Did we for thefe barbarians plant and fow.
On thefe, on thefe, our happy fields beftow ?
Good heaven, what dire effeds from civil difcord flow !
Now let me grafF my pears, and prune the vine; 100
The fruit is theirs, the labour only mine,
Farewel my paftures, my paternal ftock;
My fruitful fields, and my more fruitful flock!
No more, my goats, fhall I behold you climb
The fteepy cliffs, or crop the flowery thyme! 205
No more extended in the grot below.
Shall fee you browfing on the mountain*s brow
The prickly flirubs ; and after on the bare.
Lean down the deep abyfs, and hang in air.
No more my fheep fhall fip the morning dew ; 1 1 "i
No more my fong fhall pleafe the rural crew : >
Adieu, my tuneful pipe! and all the world adieu! J
Tit, This night, at leaft, with me forget your care;
Chefnuts and curds and cream fhall be your fare ;
The carpet-ground fhall be with leaves o'erfpread ; 1 r^
And boughs fhall weave a covering for your head.
For fee yon funny hill the fhade extends :
And curling fmoke from cottages afcends,
THE
26 DR YD EN'S VIRGIL.
T H E
SECOND PASTORAL.
O R,
ALEXIS.
THE ARGUMENT.
The commentators can by no mCvins agree on the per-
fon of Alexis, but are all of opinion that fome beau-
tiful youth is meant by him, to whom Virgil here
makes love in Corydon's language and fimplicity.
His way of courtfhip is wholly palloral: he com-
plains of the boy's coynefs; recommends himfelf
for his beauty and (kill in piping; invites the youth
into the country, where he promifes him the diver-
fions of the place, with a fuitable prefent of nuts
and apples: but when he finds nothing will prevail,
he refolves to quit his troublcfomc armour, and be-
take himfelf awin to his former bufinefs.
o
XT'OUNG Corydon, th' unhappy fhepherd fwain,
**• The fair Alexis lov'd, but lov'd in vain:
And underneath the bcechcn Ihadc, alone.
Thus to the woods and mountains made his moan.
Is
P A S T O R A L II. a7
Is this, unkind Alexis, my reward, ^
And muft I die unpitied, and unheard?
Now the green lizard in the grove is laid.
The fheep enjoy the coolnefs of the fhade;
And Theftylis wild thyme and garlick beats
For harveft hinds, o'erfpent with toil and heats; lo
While in the fcorching fun I trace in vain
Thy flying footfteps o'er the burning plain.
The creaking locufts with my voice confpire.
Thy fry with heat, and I with fierce defire.
How much more eafy was it to fuftain 15
Proud Amarillis and her haughty reign.
The fcorns of young Menalcas, once my care.
Though he was black, and thou art heavenly fair,
Truft not too much to that enchanting face ;
Beauty's a charm, but foon the charm will pafs; 20
White lilies lie negleded on the plain.
While duiky hyacinths for ufe remain.
My palTion is thy fcorn : nor wilt thou know
What wealth I have, what gifts I can beflow;
What flores my dairies and my folds contain; 2^
A thoufand lambs that wander on the plain :
New milk that all the winter never fails.
And all the fummer overflows the pails :
Amphion fung not fweeter to his herd,
W'hen fummon'd ftones the Theban turrets rcar'd, 30
Nor am I fo deform 'd ; for late I flood
Upon the margin of the briny flood :
The winds were ftill, and if the glafs be true.
With Daphnis I may vie, though judg'd by you,
O leave
iS DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
leave the noify town, O come and fee 3^
Our country cots, and live content with me!
To wound the flying deer, and from their cotes
\^'ith me to drive a-field the browzing goats:
To pipe and fing, and in our country ftrain
To copy, or perhaps contend with Pan. 40
Pan taught to join with wax, unequal reeds.
Pan loves the fhephcrds, and their flocks he feeds:
Kor fcorn the pipe; Amyntas, to be taught,
A\'ith all his kiffes would my (kill have bought;
Of feven fmooth joints a mellow pipe I ha\ e, 4^
Which with his dying breath Damxtas gave :
And faid. This, Corydon, I leave to thee;
For only thou deferv'ft it after me.
His eyes Amyntas durft not upward lift,
For much he grudg'd the praife, but more the gift. 50
Eefides two kids that in tlie valley ftray'd,
1 found by chance, and to my fold convey'd.
They drain two bagging udders every day;
And thefe fliall be companions of thy play.
Both fleck'd with white, the true Arcadian ftrain, 55
Which Thcrtylis had often begg'd in vain :
And flic fhall ha\c them, if again flie fues,
Since you the giver and the gift rcfufe.
Come to my longing arms, my lovely care.
And take the prefents which the nymphs prepare. 60
White lilies in full canifters they bring.
With all the glories of the purple fpring.
The daug!ucr-> of the flood have fcarch'd the mead.
For violets pale, and cropp'd the poppies hcadi
The
PASTORAL II. S9
The ftiort narciflus, and fair daffodil, 6^
Panfies to pleafe the fight, and caffia fweet to fmell ;
And fet foft hyacinths with iron-blue.
To Ihade marlh marigolds of fhining hue.
Some bound in order, others loofely ftrow'd.
To drefs thy bower, and trim thy new abode. 70
Myfelf will fearch our planted grounds at home.
For downy peaches and the gloify plumb :
And thrafh the chefnuts in the neighbouring grove.
Such as my Amarillis us'd to love.
The laurel and the myrtle fweets agree; 7^
And both in nofegays fhall be bound for thee.
Ah, Corydon, ah poor unhappy fwain,
Alexis will tJiy homely gifts difdain :
Nor, (hould'fl thou offer all thy little flore.
Will rich lolus yield, but ofier more. So
What have I done to name that wealthy fwain.
So powerful are his prefents, mine fo mean!
The boar amidft my cryftal ftreams I bring;
And fouthern winds to blaft my flowery fpring.
Ah cruel creature, whom doll: thou defpife ? 8^
The gods to live in woods have left the Ikies,
And godlike Paris in th' Idean groA e.
To Priam's wealth preferr'd Oenone's love.
In cities which fhe built, let Pallas reign ;
Towers are for gods, but forefls for the fwain. 90
The greedy lionefs the wolf purfues.
The wolf the kid, the wanton kid the browfe;
Alexis, thou art chas'd by Corydon;
All follow feveral games, and each his own.
Sec
39 DRYDEN'S VIRGIL;
See from afar the fields no longer fmoke, oc
The fweating fteers unhamefs'd from the yoke.
Bring, as in triumph, back the crooked plough;
The (hadows lengthen as the fun goes low.
Cool breezes now the raging heats remove;
Ah, cruel heaven! that made no cure for love! lOO
I wifh for balmy lleep, but wilh in vain:
Love has no bounds in pleafurc, or in pain.
What frenzy, (hepherd, has thy foul poflefs'd.
Thy vineyard lies half prun'd, and half undrefs'd.
Quench, Corydon, thy long unanfwer'd fire: ic;
Mind what the common wants of life require ;
On willow twigs employ thy weaving care;
And find an eafier love, though not fo fair.
THE
[ 31 ]
THE
THIRD PASTORAL.
O R,
P A L iE M O N.
THE ARGUMENT.
Damxtas and Menalcas, after fome fmart ftrokes of
country raillery, refolve to try who has the moft (kill
at a fong; and accordingly make their neighbour
Palcemon judge of their performances : who, after
a full hearing of both parties, declares himfelf unfit
for the decifion of fo weighty a controverfy, and
leaves the viftory undetermined.
MENALCAS, DAM^TAS, PAL^MON.
Menalcas.
TTO. fwain, what fhepherd owns thofe ragged Iheep?
^ "*• Dam. JEgon's they are, he gave them me to keep.
Men. Unhappy Iheep of an unhappy fwain! "^
While he Neaera courts, but courts in vain, >
And fears that I the damfel fhall obtain. 5 J
Thou, yarlet, doft thy mailer's gains devour :
Thou milk'ft his ewes, and often twice an hour ^
Of
31 DRYDEN^S VIRGIL.
Of grafs and fodder thou defraud'ft the dams;
And of their mother's dugs, the ftarving lambs.
Dam. Good words, young Catamite, at leafi: to
men : i o
We know \vho did your bufmefs, how, and when.
And in what chapel too you plaid your prize; ^
And what the goats obferv'd with leering eyes:
The nymphs were kind, and laugh 'd, and there j
your fafety lies, ^
Men. Yes, when I cropt the hedges of theLeis; 15
Cut Micon's tender vines, and ftole the flays.
Dam. Or rather, when beneath yon ancient oak.
The bow of Daphnis, and the Ihafts you broke:
When the fair boy receiv'd the gift of right;
And, but for mifchief, you had dy'd for fpite. 20
Men. What nonfenfe would the fool thy mafler
prate.
When thou, his knave, canft talk at fuch a rate!
Did I not fee you, rafcal, did I not?
When you lay fnug to fnap young Damon's goat?
His mungrel bark'd, I ran to his relief, 2 j
And cry'd, There, there he goes; flop, flop the thief !
Difcover'd, and defeated of your prey,
You fkulk'd behind the fence, and fneak'd away.
Dam. An honcil man may freely take his own;
The goat was mine, by finging fairly won. 30
A folcmn match was made ; he lofl the prize, "j
AsIc Damon, afk if he the debt denies; J>
I think he dares not 3 if he docs, ho lyes, J
Men.
PASTORAL III. j5
Men. Thou fing with him, thou booby! never pipe
Was fo prophan'd to touch that blubber'd lip : 3 j;
Dunce at the beft; in ftreets but fcarce allowed
To tickle, on thy ftraw, the ftupid croud.
Dam. To bring it to the trial, will you dare
Our pipes, our fkill, our voices, to compare?
My brinded heifer to the ftake I lay; 40
Two thriving calves fhe fuckles twice a day;
And twice befides her headings never fail
To ftore the dairy with a brimming pail.
Now back your fmging with an equal flake.
M t -N . That fhould be feen, if I had one to make. 45
You know too well I feed my father's flock;
What can I wager from the common (lock?
A {Icpdame too I have, a curfed (he.
Who rules my hen-peck'd fire, and orders me.
Both number twice a-day the milky dams ; 50
At once (he takes the tale of all the lambs.
But fmce you will be mad, and fmce you may
Sufped my courage, if I Ihould not lay.
The pawn I proffer fhall be full as good ;
Two bowls I have, well turn'd, of beechen wood; 55"
Both by divine Alcimedon were made;
To neither of them yet the lip is laid;
The ivy's flem, its fruit, its foliage, lurk
In various (hapes around the curious work.
Two figures on the fides embofs'd appear; 601
Conon, and, what *s his name who made the fphere, >
And fhew'd the feafons of the Hiding year, J
Vol. XXII, D Inflrufted
34. DRYDEN'S VIRGIL,
Inftrudled in his trade the labouring fwain.
And when to reap, and when to fow the grain ?
Dam. And I have two, to match your pair, at
home ; 65
The wood the fame, from the fame hand they come :
The kimbo handles feem with bears-foot carv'd;
And never yet to table have been ferv'd ;
Where Orpheus on his lyre laments his love.
With hearts encompafa'd, and a dancing grove: 70
But thefe, nor all the proffers you can make.
Are worth the heifer which 1 fet to flake.
Men. No more delays, vain boafler, but begin:
I prophefy before-hand I fhall win.
Pala^mon fhall be judge how ill you rhyme: 75
I'll teach you how to brag another time.
Da M. Rhymer, come on, and do the worfl } ou can :
3 fear not you, nor yet a better man.
With filence, neighbour, and attention wait :
For 'tis a bufmefs of a high debate. 80
Pal. Sing then; the fliade affords a proper place;
The trees are cloath'd with leaves, the fields with grafs;
The blolfoms blow; the birds on bufhes fmg;
And nature has accomplifh'd all the fpring.
The challenge to l^amxtas fhall belong, 85
Ma^nalcas fhall fuikin his under-fong :
Each in his turn your tuneful numbers bring;
By turns the tuneful Mufes love to fmg.
Dam. From the great Father of the gods above
My Mufc begins ; for all is full of Jove; 90
5 'J'"
}
PASTORAL TIL 35
To Jove the care of heaven and earth belongs ;
INIy flocks he blcfles, and he loves my fongs.
Men. Me Phoebus loves; for he my Mufe in-
fpires ;
And in her fongs, the warmth he gave, requires.
For him the god of fliepherds and their (heep, 95
My blufliing hyacinths and my bays I keep.
Dam. My Ph}'nis me with pelted apples plies, i
Then tripping to the woods the wanton hies : >
And wifhes to be feen, before fhe flies. J
Men. But fair Amyntas comes unafk'd to me.
And offers love; and fits upon my knee:
Kot Delia to my dogs is known fo well as he.
Dam. To the dear miftrefs of my love-fick mind.
Her fwain a pretty prefent has defign'd :
I faw two ftock-doves billing, and ere long J05
Will take the neft, and hers fhall be the young.
Men. Ten ruddy wildings in the wood I found.
And flood on tip-toes, reaching from the ground;
I fent Amyntas all my prefent flore;
And will, to-morrow, fend as many more. no
Dam. The lovely maid lay panting in my arms;
And all flic Add and did was full of charms.
Winds, on your wings to heaven her accents bear!
Such words as heaven alone is fit to hear.
M e n. Ah! what avails it me, my love's delight, 1 1 ^
To call you mine, when abfent from my fight !
I hold the nets, v/hile you purfue the prey;
And mufl not fhare the dangers of the day,
D 2 Danc.
}
36 DRYDEN'S VIRGIL,
Dam. I keep my birth-day: fend my Phillis home;
At fhearing-time, lolas, you may come. 120
Men. With PhylHs I am more in grace than you
Her forrow did my parting fteps purfuc:
Adieu, my dear, (he faid, a long adieu!
Dam. The nightly wolf is baneful to the fold.
Storms to the wheat, to buds the bitter cold; 1 2^
But from my frowning fair, more ills I find
Than from the wohes, and ftorms, and winter-wind.
Men. The kids with pkafure browfe the bufhy
plain,
The (howers are grateful to the fwelling grain:
To teeming ewes the fallow's tender tree; 130
But more than all the world my love to mc.
Dam. Pollio my rural verfe vouchfafcs to read:
A heifer, Mufes, for your patron breed.
Men. My Pollio writes himfelf; a bull he bred
"With fpurning heels, and with a butting head. 15 j
Dam. Who Pollio loves, and who his Mufe ad-
mires.
Let Pollio's fortune crown his full defires.
Let myrrh inftcad of thorn his fences fill;
And fliowcrs of honey from his oaks dillil.
Men. Who hates not living Bavius, let him be 1 40
(Dead Mxvius) damn'd to love thy works and thee:
The fame ill talie of fcnfe would fcrve to join
Dog-foxes in the yoke, and fhcar the fwine.
Dam. Ye boys who pluck the flowers, and fpoil the
fpring.
Beware the fecret fnake that flioots a fling. 145
Men.
PASTORAL III. 17
Men. Graze not too near the banks, my jolly fheep.
The ground is falfe, the running ftreams are deep :
See, they have caught the father of the flock.
Who dries his fleece upon the neighbouring rock.
Dam. From rivers drive the kids, and fling your
hook;
Anon m wafli them in the Ihallow brook. 1 5:0
Men. To fold, my flock; when milk is dry'd with
heat.
In vain the milk-maid tugs an empty teat.
Dam. How lank my bulls from plenteous pallure
come!
But love, that drains the herd, defl:roys the groom. 155:
Men. My flocks are free from love; yet look fo
thin.
Their bones are barely cover'd with their fkin.
What magic has bewitch'd the wooly dams.
And what ill eyes beheld the tender lambs ?
Dam. Say, where the round of heaven which all
contains, 1 60
To three ftiort ells on earth our flght reflrains :
Tell that, and rife a Phoebus for thy pains.
Men. Nay, tell me firft:, in what new region
fprings
A flower that bears infcrib'd the names of kings :
And thou flialt gain a prefent as divine 165
As Phoebus' felf ; for Phyllis ftiall be thine.
Pal, So nice a difference in your flnging lies.
That both have won, or both deferv'd, the prize.
D 3 Reflt,
3S DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
RcH equal happy both ; and all who prove
The bitter fweets and pleafmg pains of love. i -o
Now dam the ditches, and the floods reflrain:
Their moifturc has already drench'd the plain.
THE
[ 39 ]
THE
FOURTH PASTORAL
O R,
P O L L I Q.
THE ARGUMENT.
The Poet celebrates the birth-day of Salonius, the fon
of Pollio, bom in the confulfhip of his father, after
the taking of Solonae, a city in Dalmatia. Many
of the verfes are tranflated from one of the Sibyls,
who prophefied of our Saviour's birth.
CICILIAN Mufe, begin a loftier ftrain!
Though lowly fhrubs and trees that fhade the plain.
Delight not all ; Sicilian Mufe, prepare
To make the vocal woods defer\ e a conful's care.
The lafl great age, foretold by facred rhymes, 5
Renews its finifh'd courfe; Saturnian times
Roll round again, and mighty years, begun
From their firil orb, in radiant circles run.
The bafe degenerate iron offspring ends ;
A golden progeny from heaven defcends: 10
D 4 O chafte
40 DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
O chafte Lucina, fpeed the mother's pains;
And hafte the glorious birth; thy own Apollo reigns?
The lovely boy, with his aufpicious face!
Shall Pollio's confulfhip and triumph grace;
Majeftic months fet out with him to their appointed
race. i 5
The father banifli'd virtue (hall reftore.
And crimes (hall threat the guilty world no more.
The fon fhall lead the life of gods, and be
By gods and heroes feen, and gods and heroes fee.
The jarring nations he in peace fhall bind, 20
And with paternal virtues rule mankind.
Unbidden earth fhall wreathing ivy bring
And fragrant herbs (the promifes of fpring].
As her firft offerings to her infant king.
The goats, with flrutting dugs, fhall homeward
fpeed, 25
And lowing herds fccure from lions feed.
His cradle fhall with rifmg flowers be crown'd;
The ferpent's brood fhall die: the facred ground
Shall weeds and poifonous plants refufe to bear.
Each common bufh fliall Syrian rofcs wear. 30
But when heroic verfe his youth fliall raifc.
And form it to hereditary praife,
Unlabour'd harvef^s fliall the fields adorn.
And clufter'd grapes fliall blulh on every thorn.
The knotted oaks fliall fliowers of honey weep, 35
And through the matted grafs the liquid gold fhall
creep.
Yet,
}
P A S T O R A L IV. 41
Yet of old fraud fome footfteps fhall remain.
The merchant dill (hall plough the deep for gain:
Great cities fhall with walls be compafs'd round;
And fharpen'd (hares fhall vex the fruitful ground, 40
Another Typhis fliall new feas explore.
Another Argo's land the chiefs upon th' Iberian fhorc.
Another Helen other wars create.
And great Achilles urge the Trojan fate.
But when to ripen'd manhood he fhall grow, 4^
The greedy failor fhall the feas forego j
No keel fhall cut the waves for foreign ware;
For every foil fhall every produft bear.
The labouring hind his oxen fhall disjoin.
No plough fhall hurt the glebe, no pruning-hook
the vine, ^o
Nor wool fhall in difTembled colours (hine;
But the luxurious father of the fold.
With native purple, or unborrow'd gold.
Beneath his pompous fleece fhall proudly fweat;
And under Tyrian robes the Iamb fhall bleat. ^^
The Fates, when they this happy web have fpun.
Shall blefs the facred clue, and bid it fmoothly run.
Mature in years, to ready honours move,
O of celeflial feed! O fofler fon of Jove!
See, labouring Nature calls thee to fuflain 60
The nodding frame of heaven, and earth, and main;
See, to their bafe reftor'd, earth, feas, and air.
And jo}ful ages from behind, in crowding ranks ap-
pear.
To
4« DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
To fing thy praife, would hea\en my breath pro-
long, 6^
Infufing fpirits worthy fiich a fong;
Kot Thracian Orpheus (hould tranfcend my lays.
Nor Linus, crown'd with never-folding bays;
Though each his heavenly parent IhouLf infpire;
The Mufc inftrud the voice, and Phoubus tune the
lyre. ^o
Should Pan contend in verfe, and thou my theme.
Arcadian judges fhould their God condemn.
Begin, aufpicious boy, to caft about
Thy infant eyes, and, with a fmile, thy mother fmgle
out;
Thy mother well deferves that fliort delight, 73;
The naufeous qualms of ten long months and travel to
requite.
Then fmile; the frowning infant's doom is read,
Ko god fhall crown the board, nor goddcfs blcfs the
bed.
THE
[ 43 ]
THE
FIFTH PASTORAL,
O R,
D A P H N I S.
THE ARGUMENT.
IMopfus and Menalcas, two very expert fhepherds at a
fong, begin one by confent to the memory of
Daphnis; who is fuppofed, by the beft critics, to
reprefent Julius Caefar. Mopfus laments his death,
Menalcas proclaims his divinity : the whole Eclogue
confining of an elegy and an apotheofis.
Menalcas.
O INCE on the downs our flocks together feed.
And fince my voice can match your tuneful reed.
Why fit we not beneath the grateful fhade.
Which hazles, intermix'd with elms, have made?
Mops. Whether you pleafe that fyl van fcene to
take, 5
Where whiftling winds uncertain fhadows make:
Or will you to the cooler cave fucceed,
Whofe mouth the curling vines have overfpread ?
Men.
44 DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
Men. Your merit and your years command the
choice :
Amyntas only rivals you in voice. i o
Mops, What will not that prefuming fhepherd
dare.
Who thinks his voice with Phoebus may compare ?
Men. Begin you firft ; if either Alcon's praife.
Or dying Phyllis, have infpir'd your lays :
If her you mourn, or Codrus you commend, i^
Begin, and Tityrus your flock fhall tend.
Mops, Or Ihall I rather the fad verfe repeat.
Which on the beech's bark I lately writ :
I writ, and fung betwixt; now bring the fwain
Whofe voice you boaft, and let him try the ftrain. 20
Men, Such as the fhrub to the tall olive (hows.
Or the pale fallow to the blufhing rofe;
Such is his voice, if I can judge aright,
Compar'd to thine, in fweetnefs and in height.
Mops. No more, but fit and hear the promised
lay, 25
The gloomy grotto makes a doubtful day.
The nymphs about the breathlefs body wait
Of Daphnis, and lament his cruel fate.
The trees and floods were witnefs to their tears :
At length the rumour reach'd his mother's ears. 30
The wretched parent, with a pious hafte.
Came running, and his lifelefs limbs embrac'd.
She figh'd, (he fobb'd, and, furious with defpaii
She rent her garments, and Ihe tore her hair :
Accufmg all the gods, and every ftar.
The
35 J
}
PASTORAL V. 4.5
The fwains forgot their Iheep, nor near the brink
Of running waters brought their herds to drink.
The thirfty cattle, of themfehes, abftain'd
From water, and their graffy fare difdain'd.
The death of Daphnis woods and hills deplore, 40
They caft the found to Libya's defert fhore;
The Libyan lyons hear, and hearing roar.
Fierce tigers Daphnis taught the yoke to bear;
And firft with curling ivy drefs'd the fpear;
Daphnis did rites to Bacchus firft ordain ; 45
And holy re\els for his reeling train.
As vines the trees, as grapes the vines adorn.
As bulls the herds, and fields the yellow corn :
So bright a fplendor, fo divine a grace.
The glorious Daphnis caft on his illuftrious race. 50
When envious Fate the godlike Daphnis took.
Our guardian Gods the fields and plains forfook:
Pales no' longer fwell'd the teeming grain.
Nor Phoebus fed his oxen on the plain ;
No fruitful crop the fickly fields return; 55
But oats and darnel choke the rifing corn.
And where the vales with violets once were crown'd.
Now knotty burrs and thorns difgrace the ground.
Come, {hepherds, come, and ftrow with leaves the
plain ;
Such funeral rites your Daphnis did ordain. 60
With cyprefs boughs the cryftal fountains hide.
And foftly let the running waters glide,
A lafting monument to Daphnis raife.
With this iiifcription to record his piaife ;
Daphnis,
4« DR YD EN'S VIRGIL.
Daphnls, the field's delight, the fhepherd's love, 6^
Renown'd on earth, and deify*d above,
Whofe flock excell'd the faireft on the plains.
But lefs than he himfelf furpafs'd the fvvains.
Men. O heavenly poet! fuch thy verfe appears.
So fvveet, fo charming to my ravilh'd ears, 70
As to the weary fwain with cares oppreft.
Beneath the fylvan fliade, refrefhing reft :
As to the fev'rifli traveller, when firft
He finds a cryftal ft ream to quench his thirft.
In finging, as in piping, you excel; 75
And fcarce your mafter could perform fo well,
O fortunate young man! at leaft your lays
Are next to his, and claim the fecond praife.
Such as they are, my rural fongs I join.
To raife our Daphnis to the powers divine; 80
For Daphnis was fo good to love whate'er was mine.
Mops. How is my foul with fuch a promife rais'd!
For both the boy was worthy to be prais'd.
And Stimichon has often made me long
To hear like him, fo foft, fo fweet a fong. 85
Men. Daphnis, the gueft of heaven, with won-
dering eyes
\^iews in the milky way the ftarry Ikies.
And far beneath him, from the Ihining fphere.
Beholds the moving clouds, and rolling year.
For this, with chearful cries the woods refound; 90 ^
The purple fpring arrays the various ground ; I
The nymphs and (hepherds dance 3 and Pan himfelf |
is crown'd, ^
The
PASTORAL V. (r
The wolf no longer prowls for nightly fpoils.
Nor birds the fpringes fear, nor ftags the toils :
For Daphnis reigns above, and deals from thence 9^
His mother's milder beams and peaceful influence.
The mountain-tops unfhorn, the rocks rejoice;
The lowly fhrubs partake of human voice.
Affenting nature, with a gracious nod.
Proclaims him, and falutes the new-admitted God, loo
Be Hill propitious, ever good to thine;
Eehold four hallow'd altars we defign;
And two to thee, and two to Phoebus rife;
On both are offer'd annual facrifice.
The holy priefts, at each returning year, 105
Two bowls of milk and two of oil fhall bear;
And I myfclf the guefts with friendly bowls will
cheer.
Two goblets will I crown with fparkling wine.
The generous vintage of the Chian vine;
Thefe will I pour to thee, and make the neiflar
thine. 1 1 •
In winter (hall the geniul feaft be made
Before the fire; by fummer in the ihade.
Damastas fliall perform the rites di^•ine :
And Lidian ^gon in the fong fhall join,
Alphefibeus, tripping, fhall advance; 1 1^
And mimic fatyrs in his antic dance.
When to the nymphs our annual rites we pay.
And when our fields with victims we furvey;
While favage boars delight in fhady woods.
And finny filh inhabit in the floods; 120
While
lar I
4-8 DRYDEN*S VIRGIL.
While bees on Thyme, and locufts feed on dew.
Thy grateful fwains thefe honours fhall renew.
Such honours as we pay to powers divine.
To Bacchus and to Ceres, Ihall be thine.
Such annual honours fhall be giv'n, and thou 125;
Shalt hear, and Ihalt condemn thy fuppliants to their
vow.
: Mops. What prefent worth thy verfe can Mopfus
find!
Not the foft whifpers of the fouthern wind.
That play through trembling trees delight me more;
Nor murmuring billows on the founding fhore; 130
Nor winding ftreams that through the valley glide;
And the fcarce-cover'd pebbles gently chide.
Receive you firft this tuneful pipe; the fame
That play'd my Corydon's unhappy flame.
The fame that fung Neasra's conquering eyes ;
And, had the judge been jufl, had won the prize.
Mops, Accept from me this fheephook, in exchange.
The handle brafs, the knobs in equal range;
Antigenes, with kiffes often try'd
To beg this prefent in his beauty's pride; 140
When youth and love are hard to be deny'd.
But what I could refufe to his requeft.
Is yours unafk'd, for you deferve it befl.
]
THE
[ 49 ]
THE
SIXTH PASTORAL
O R,
S I L E N U S.
THE ARGUMENT.
Two young ihepherds, Chromis and Mnafvlus, hav-
ing been often promifed a fong by Silenus, chance
to catch him afleep in this Pafloral; where they bind
him hand and foot, and then claim his promife.
Silenus, finding they would be put off no longer, be-
gins his fong, in which he defcribcs the formation
of the univerfe, and the original of animals, ac-
cording to the Epicurean philofophy; and then runs
through the moft furprifing transformations which
have happened in nature fmce her birth. This Paf-
toral was defigned as a compliment to Syro the Epi-
curean, who inftrufted Virgil and Varus in the prin-
ciples of that philofophy. Silenus ads as tutor,
Chromis and Mnafylus as the two pupils.
I FIRST transferr'd to Rome Sicilian drains:
Nor blufivd the Doric Mufe to dwell onMantuaa
plains.
But when I try'd her tender voice, too young.
And fighting kings, and bloody battles fungi
\'oL. XXII. E Apolb
5& DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
Apollo check'd my pride : and bade me feed ^
My fattening flocks, nor dare beyond the reed,
Admonifh'd thus, while every pen prepares
To write thy praifes. Varus, and thy wars.
My Paftoral Mufe her humble tribute brings;
And yet not wholly uninfpir'd fhe fmgs. lO
For all who read, and, reading, not difdain
Thefe rural poems, and their lowly ftrain.
The name of Varus, oft infcrib'd Ihall fee.
In every grove, and every vocal tree;
And all the fylvan reign fhall fmg of thee. 1 5
Thy name, to Phoebus and the Mufes known, I
Shall in the front of every page be Ihown; I
For he who fmgs thy praife, fecures his own, J
Proceed, my Mufe: Two Satyrs, on the ground,
Stretch'd at his eafe, their fire Silenus found, 20
Dos'd with his fumes, and heavy with his load.
They found him fnoring in his dark abode;
And feiz'd with youthful arms the drunken god.
His rofy wreath was dropt not long before.
Borne by the tide of wine, and floating on the floor. 2^
His empty cann, with ears half worn away.
Was hung on high, to boaft the triumph of the day.
Invaded thus, for want of better bands.
His garland they unftring, and bind his hands :
For, by the fraudful god deluded long, 30'
They now refolve to have their promis'd fong.
yEgle came in, to make their party good;
The faireft Nai's of the neighbouring flood ,
I And',.
}
P A S T O R A L Vr. 51
And, while he flares around, with ftupid eyes.
His brows with berries, and his temples dyes. 35
He finds the fraud, and, with a fmile, demands
On what defign the boys had bound his hands.
«* Loofe me," he cry'd, " 'twas impudence to find
** A fleeping god, 'tis facrilege to bind,
*' To you the promis'd poem I will pay; 40
** The nymph fhall be rewarded in her way."
He rais'd his voice; and foon a numerous throng
Of tripping Satyrs crowded to the fong;
And fylvan Fauns, and favage beads advanced.
And nodding forefts to the numbers danced.
Not by Hxmonian hills the Thracian bard.
Nor awful Phoebus was on Pindus heard.
With deeper filence, or with more regard.
He fung the fecret feeds of Nature's frame;
How feas, and earth, and air, and adive flame, 50
Fell through the mighty void, and in their fall
Were blindly gather'd in this goodly ball.
The tender foil then llifFening by degrees.
Shut from the bounded earth, the bounding feas.
Then earth and ocean various forms difclofe; 5^
And a new fun to the new world arofe.
And mifts condens'd to clouds obfcure the fky;
And clouds difTolv'd, the thirfty ground fupply.
The riling trees the lofty mountains grace :
The lofty mountains feed the favage race, 60
Yet few, and ftrangers, in th' unpeopled place.
From thence the birth of man the fong purfued.
And how the world was loft, and how renew 'd.
E 2 The
}
}
5t DRYDEN'S VIRGlt.
The reign of Saturn, and the golden age;
Prometheus' theft, and Jove's avenging rage, 65
The cries of Argonauts for Hylas drown 'd ;
With whofe repeated name the fhores refound.
Then mourns the madnefs of the Cretan queen:
Happy for her if herds had never been.
What fury, wretched woman, feiz'd thy breaft? 70
The maids of Argos (though, with rage pofTefs'd,
Their imitated lowings fill'd the grove)
Yet fhunn'd the guilt of thy prepofterous love.
Nor fought the youthful huftand of the herd.
Though labouring yokes on their own necks they
fear 'd I 75
And felt for budding horns on their fmooth fore-
heads rear'd.
Ah, wretched queen! you range the pathlefs woodj
While on a flowery bank he chews the cud :
Or fleeps in fhades, or through the foreft roves;
And roars with anguilh for his abfent loves. 80
Ye nymphs, with toils his foreft-walk furround.
And trace his wandering footfteps on the ground.
But ah! perhaps my paflion he difdains.
And courts the milky mothers of the plains.
We fearch th' ungrateful fugitive abroad; 85
While they at home fuftain his happy load.
He fung the lovers fraud; the longing maid.
With golden fruit, like all the fex, betray'd :
The fifter's mourning for the brother's lofs;
Their bodies hid in barks, and furr'd with mofs. 90
How
P A S T O R A L Vr, 5j
How each a rifing alder now appears :
And o'er the Po diftils her gummy tears.
Then fung, how Gallus by a Mufe's hand
Was led and welcomd to the facred ftrand.
The fenate, rifmg to falute their gueft; g^
And Linus thus their gratitude exprefs'd.
Receive this prefent, by the Mufes made;
The pipe on which th* Afcrsean paflor play *d ;
With which of old he charm'd the favage train.
And call'd the mountain afhes to the plain. lOO
Sing thou on this, thy Phoebus; and the wood
Where once his fane of Parian marble flood.
On this his ancient oracles rehearfe.
And with new numbers grace the God of verfe.
Why (hould I fing the double Scylla's fate, 105
The firrt by love transform 'd, the laft by hate,
A beauteous maid above, but magic arts
With barking dogs deform'd her nether parts :
What vengeance on the paffing fleet Ihe pour'd.
The mafter frighted, and the mates devour'd. no
Then ravifh'd Philomel the fong expreft;
The crime reveal'd; the lifters cruel feaft:
And how in fields the lapwing Tereus reigns ;
The warbling nightingale in woods complains.
W^hile Progne makes on chimney-tops her moan ; 11^
And hovers o'er the palace once her own.
Whatever fongs befides, the Delphian God
Had taught the laurels, and the Spartan flood,
Silenus fung : the vales his voice rebound.
And carrry to the Ikies the facred found, 120
E 3 And
54. DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
And now the fetting fun had warn'd the fwalii
To call his counted cattle from the plain :
Yet ftill th* unweary'd fire purfues the tuneful ftra
Till unperceiv'd the heavens with ftars were hung:
And fudden night furpriz'd the yet unfiniih'd fong.
J
THE
[ 5S ]
THE
SEVENTH PASTORAL.
O R,
M E L I B CE U S,
THE ARGUMENT.
Mellbacus here gives us the relation of a fliarp poetical
conteft between Thyrfis and Corydon ; at which he
himfelf and Daphnis were prefent; who both de-
clared for Corydon,
"O ENEATH a holm, repair'd two jolly fwains •
"*-' Their fheep and goats together graz'd the plains;
Both young Arcadians, both alike infpir'd
To fing, and anfwer as the fong requir'd.
Daphnis, as umpire, took the middle feat; ^
And fortune thither led my weary feet.
For while I fenc'd my myrtles from the cold.
The father of my flock had wander'd from the
fold.
Of Daphnis I enquir'd ; he, fmiling, faid,
Difmifs your fear, and pointed where he fed. lo
And, if no greater cares difturb your mind.
Sit here with us, in covert of the wind,
E 4 Your
S6 DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
Your lowing heifers, of their own accord.
At watering time will feek the neighbouring ford.
Here wanton Mincius winds along the meads, j^
And Ihades his happy banks with bending reeds :
And fee from yon old oak, that mates the Ikies,
How black the clouds of fwarming bees arife.
What fhould I do! nor was Alcippe nigh.
Nor abfent Phyllis could my care fupply, 20
To houfe, and feed by hand my weaning lambs.
And drain the (Irutting udders of their dams ?
Great was the ftrife betwixt the finging fwains :
And I preferr'd my pleafure to my gains.
Alternate rhyme the ready champions chofe : 25
Thefe Corydon rehears'd, and Thyrfis thofe.
CoR. Ye mufes, ever fair, and ever young,
Aflift my numbers, and infpire my fong.
With all my Codrus O infpire my brcaft.
For Codrus, after Phoebus, fmgs the beil. 30
Or if my wiflies have prefum'd too high.
And ftretch'd their bounds beyond mortality.
The praife of artful numbers I refign :
And hang my pipe upon the facred pine.
Th YR. Arcadian fwains, your youthful poet crown
With ivy wreaths ; though furly Codrus frown.
Or if he blaft my Mufe with envious praife.
Then fence my brows with amulets of bays;
Left his ill arts or his malicious tongue
5hould poifon or bewitch my growing fong. 40
CoR. Thefe branches of a (lag, this tufl^y boar
(The firft cffiiy yf arms untry'd before}
Young
I
PASTORAL VII. 57
Young M>'Con offers, Delia, to thy {hrlne;
But fpeed his hunting with thy power divine.
Thy ftatue then of Parian ftone fhall (land ; 45
Thy legs in bulkins with a purple band.
Thyr. This bowl of milk, thefe cakes, (our
country fare,)
For thee, Priapus, yearly we prepare,
Becaufe a little garden is thy care.
But if the falling lambs increafe my fold, 50
Thy marble ftatue (hall be turn'd to gold,
CoR. Fair Galatea, with thy filver feet,
O, whiter than the fwan, and more than Hybla fweet ;
Tall as a poplar, taper as the bole.
Come charm thy (hepherd, and reftore my foul. ^^
Come when my lated fheep at night return;
And crown the filent hours, and ftop the rofy morn,
Thyr. May I become as abjeft in thy fight.
As fea-weed on the fhore, and black as night :
Rough as a bur, deform'd like him who chaws 60
Sardinian herbage to contrad his jaws;
Such and fo monftrous let thy fwain appear.
If one day's abfence looks not like a year.
Hence from the field for (hame : the flock deferves
No better feeding, while the fhepherd ftarves. 6^
Cor. Ye moffy fprings, inviting eafy fleep,
Ye trees, whofe leafy Ihades thofe moify fountain?
keep.
Defend my flock; the fummer heats are near.
And bloffoms on the fwelling vines appear,
Thyr.
58 DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
Thyr. With heapy fires our chearful hearth is
crown'd; 70
And firs for torches in the woods abound :
"We fear not more the winds, and wintry cold.
Than flreams the banks, or wolves the bleating fold,
CoR, Our woods with juniper and chefnuts
crown'd.
With falling fruits and berries paint the ground;
And lavifh Nature laughs, and ftrows her ftores
around, 75
But if Alexis from our mountains fly,
Ev'n running rivers leave their channels dry.
Th y R. Parch'd are the plains, and frying is the field.
Nor withering vines their juicy vintage yield. So
But if returning Phyllis blefs the plain.
The grafs revives; the woods are green again;
And Jove defcends in fhowers of kindly rain.
CoR. The poplar is by great Alcides worn;
The brows of Phoebus his own bays adorn; S^
The branching vine the jolly Bacchus loves;
The Cyprian queen delights in myrtle groves
With hazle Phyllis crowns her flowing hair;
And while (he loves that common wreath to wear
>jor bays, nor myrtle boughs, withhazle fhall com
pare. ^o
Thyr. The towering afh is fairefl: in the woods;
In gardens pines, and poplars by the floods;
But if my Lycidas will eafe my pains.
And often vifit our forfaken plains^
To
}
■■]
QOJ
PASTORAL Vir, 59
To him the towering afli (hall yield in woods ; 9 r
In gardens pines, and poplars by the floods,
Mel. Thefe rhymes I did to memory commend.
When vanquifh'd Thyrfis did in vain contend ^
Since when 'tis Corydon among the fwains.
Young Corydon without a rival reigns, 100
THE
£o DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
THE
EIGHTH PASTORAL.
O R,
PHARMACEUTRIA.
THE ARGUMENT.
This Paftoral contains the fongs of Damon and AI-
phefibocus. The firft of them bewails the lofs of his
miftrefs, and repines at the fuccefs of his rival Mop-
fus. The other repeats the charms of fome En-
chantrefs, who endeavoured, by her fpells and ma^
gic, to make Daphnis in love v/ith her,
TH E mournful Mufe of two defpairing fwains.
The love rejeded, and the lover's pains.
To which the favage lynxes liftening flood.
The rivers flood on heaps, and flopp'd the running
flood:
The hungry herd their needful food refufe; 5
Of two defpairing fwains I fmg the mournful Mufe.
Great Pollio, thou for whom thy Rome prepares
The ready triumph of thy finifh'd wars.
Whether
PASTORAL VIII. 6i
Whether Timavus or th* Illyrlan coafl-,
Whatever land or fea thy prefence boaft; lO
Is there an hour in fate refcrv'd for me.
To fmg thy deeds in numbers worthy thee?
In numbers like to thine, could I rehearfe
Thy lofty tragic fcenes, thy labour'd verfe;
The world another Sophocles in thee, 1 5
Another Homer (hould behold in me :
Amidft thy laurels let this ivy twine,
Thine was my earlleft Mufe; my lateft fhallbe thine.
Scarce from the world the (hades of night withdrew;
Scarce were the flocks refrefh'd with morning dew, 20
When Damon, ftretch'd beneath an olive (hade.
And wildly ftaring upwards, thus inveigh 'd
Againft the confcious gods, and curs'd the cruel
maid :
Star of the morning, why doft thou delay?
Come, Lucifer, drive on the lagging day? 25
While I my Nifa's perjur'd faith deplore;
Witnefs, ye Powers, by whom (he falfely fwore!
The gods, alas! are witnefTes in vain;
Yet Ihall my dying breath to heaven complain.
Begin with me, my flute, the fweet Mxnalian
ftrain. 30
The pines of M^nalus, the vocal grove.
Are ever full of verfe, and full of love :
They hear the hinds, they hear their God complain;
"V^Tio fufFer"d not the reeds to rife in vain.
Begin with me, my flute, the fweet Maenalian
ftrain, 35
Mopfus
61 DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
Mopfus triumphs ; he weds the willing fair :
When fuch is Nifa's choice, what lover can defpair?
Kow griffons join with mares ; another age
Shall fee the hound and hind their thirft affwage
Promifcuous at the fpring: prepare the lights, 40
Mopfus ! and perform the bridal rites.
Scatter thy nuts among the fcrambling boys :
^hine is the night, and thine the nuptial joys.
For thee the fun declines : O happy fwain !
Begin with me, my flute, the fweet Maenalian firain*
O, Nifa! juftly to thy choice condemned!
Whom haft thou taken, whom haft thou contemn'd ;
For him, thou haft refus'd my browfing herd,
Scorn'd my thick eye-brows, and my Ihaggy beard.
Unhappy Damon fighs, and fmgs.in vain: 50^
While Nifa thinks no God regards a lover's pain. I
Begin with me, my flute, the fweet Msnalian j
ftrain. J
I view'd thee firft, how fatal was the view! ^
And led thee where the ruddy wildings grew I
High on the planted hedge, and wet with morning [
dew. ^^J
^hen fcarce the bending branches I could win,
The callow down began to cloath my chin;
1 faw, I perifti'd ; yet indulged my pain :
Begin with me, my flute, the fweet Msnallan ftrain.
I know thee, love; in defarts thou wert bred; 60
And at the dugs of favage tigers fed :
Alien of birth, ufurper of the plains:
Begin with mc, my flute, the fweet Ma:naliah ftrains.
Kelentlefs
PASTORAL Vlir. 6%
l^elentlefs love the cruel mother led.
The blood of her unhappy babes to fhed : 6r
Love lent the fword ; the mother ftruck the blow;
Inhuman fhe; but more unhappy thou*
Alien of birth, ufurpcr of the plains :
Eegin uith me, my fiute, the fwcet Maenalian ftralns.
Old doting Nature, change thy courfe anew; -yo
And let the trembling lamb the wolf purfue:
Let oaks now glitter with Hefperian fruit.
And purple daffodils from alder flioot.
Fat amber let the tamariflc diftil :
And hooting owls contend with fvvans in Ikill, 'i^
Hoarfe Tityrus ftrive with Orpheus in the woods;
And challenge fam'd Arion on the floods.
Or, oh! let nature ceafe, and chaos reign :
Begin with me, my flute, the fweet Maenalian flraln*
Let earth be fea; and let the whelming tide 8(>
The lifelefs limbs of lucklefs Dam.on hide :
Tarewell, ye fecret woods and Ihady groves.
Haunts of my youth, and confcious of my loves!
From yon high cliff I plunge into the main ; -|
Take the lafl: prefent of thy dying fwain : 85 I
And ceafe, my filent flute, the fweet Mxnalian drain. J
Now take your turns, ye Mufes, to rehearfe
His friend's complaints; and mighty magic verfe.
Bring running water; bind thofe altars round
With fillets ; and with vervain ftrow the ground : ^(^
Make fat with frankincenfc the facred fires.
To re-inflamc my Daphnis with defires.
'Tis
Cjf. DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
'Tis done, we want but verfe. Reftore my charms.
My lingering Daphnis to my longing arms.
Pale Phoebe, drawn by verfe from heaven defcends ;
And Circe chang'd with charms Ulyfies' friends.
Verfe breaks the ground, and penetrates the brake.
And in the winding cavern fplits the fnake.
Verfe fires the frozen veins : reftore my charms.
My lingering Daphnis to my longing arms. i co
Around his waxen image firft I wind
Three woollen fillets, of three colours join'd :
Thrice bind about his thrice-devoted head.
Which round the facred altar thrice is led.
Unequal numbers pleafe the gods : my charms, 1 05
Reftore my Daphnis to my longing arms.
Knit with three knots the fillets, knit them ftraight;
Then fay, Thefe knots to love I confecrate,
Hafte, Amaryllis, hafte; reftore my charms.
My loA'ely Daphnis to my longing arms. 1 1 o
As fire this figure hardens, made of clay ;
And this of wax with fire confumes away;
Such let the foul of cruel Daphnis be;
Hard to the reft of women ; foft to me.
Crumble the facred mole of fait and corn, 115
Next in the fire the bays with brimftone burn.
And while it crackles in thefulphur, fay,
This, I for Daphnis burn; thus Daphnis burn avvay.
This laurel is his fate : reftore, my charms.
My lovely Daphnis to my longing arms. 120
As when the raging heifer, through the grove.
Stung with defire, purfues her wandering love;
Faint
PASTORAL Vlir. 6i
Faint at the laft, (he feeks the weedy pools
To quench her thirft, and on the rulhes rolls ;
Carelefs of night, unmindful to return; 12^
Such fruitlefs fires perfidious Daphnis burn.
While I fo fcom his love; reftore my charms.
My ling;ering Daphnis to my longing arms.
Thefe garments once were his; and left to me;
The pledges of his promis'd loyalty: 130
Which underneath my threihold I beftow;
Tliefe pawns, O facred earth! to me my Daphnis owe.
As thefe were his, fo mine is he : my charms,
Reftore their lingering lord to my deluded arms.
Thefe poifonous plants, for magic ufe defign'd, 1^^
(The noblell and the beft of all the baneful kind,)
Old Mocris brought me from the Pontic ftrand.
And cuU'd the mifchief of a bounteous land,
Smear'd with thefe powerful juices, on the plain
He howls a wolf among the hungry train; 14.0
And oft the mighty necromancer boafts.
With thefe, to call from tombs the ftalking ghofls;
And from the roots to tear the ftanding corn.
Which, whirl'd aloft, to diftant fields is borne.
Such is the ftrength of fpells: reftore, my charms, 14 j
My lingering Daphnis to my longing arms.
Bear out thefe afhes; caft them in the brook;
Caft backwards o'er your head, nor turn your look:
Since neither gods, nor godlike verfe can move.
Break out, ye fmother'd fires, and kindle fmother*d
love. 150
Vol. XXII. F Exeic
ۤ DRYDEN'S VIRGIL,
Exert your utmoft power, my lingering charms>
And force my Daphnis to my longing arms.
; See, while my laft endeavours I delay.
The wuking alhes rife, and round our altars play !
Rnn to the threfhold, Amaryllis; hark, i^^
Our Hylas opens, and begins to bark.
Good heaven! may lovers what they wifh believe;
Or dream their wilhes, and thofe dreams deceive!
No more, my Daphnis comes; no more, my charms;
He tomes, he runs, he leaps, to my deftring arms. 1 60
THE
[ 67 ]
THE
NINTH PASTORAL.
O R,
LYCIDAS AND MCERIS.
THE ARGUMENT.
When Virgil, by the favour of Auguftus, had reco-
vered his patrimony near Mantua, and went in hope
to take pofTeflion, he was in danger to be flain by
Arius the Centurion, to whom thofe lands were af-
iigned by the Emperor, in reward of his fendce
againft Brutus and Caffius. This Paftoral therefore
is filled with complaints of his hard ufage; and the
perfons introduced, are the Bailiff of Virgil, Moeris,
and his friend Lycidas.
Lycidas.
TLJO, Moeris! whither on thy way fo faft?
'*' *■• I'his leads to town.
MoER. O Lycidas, at lall
The time Is come I never thought to fee,
(Strange revolution for my farm and me} 5
F 2 Whea
6g DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
When the grim captain, in a furly tone.
Cries out. Pack up, ye rafcals ! and be gone.
Kick'd out, we fet the heft face on 't we cou'd.
And thefe two kids t' appeafe his angry mood
I bear, of which the Furies give him good ! i o
Lyc. Your country friends were told another tale;
That from the floping mountain to the A^ale,
And dodder'd oak, and all the banks along,
^enalcas fav'd his fortune with a fong.
MoER. Such was the news, indeed; but fongs and
rhymes
Prevail as much in thefe hard iron times.
As would a plump of trembling fowl, that rife
Againft an eagle foufing from the fkies.
And had not Phcebus warned me by the croak^
Of an old raven, from a hollow oak, 20
To fhun debate, Menalcas had been llain.
And Moeris not furviv'd him, to complain.
Lyc. Now heaven defend! could barbarous rage
induce
The brutal fan of Mars t*infult the facred Mufe!
Who then fhould fmg the nymphs, or who rehearfc 25
The waters gliding in a fmoother verfe!
Or Amaryllis praife, that heavenly lay,
'^I'hat fhorten'd, as we went, our tedious way.
O 'J'ityrus, tend my herd, and fee them fed;
To morning paftures, evening waters, led; 30
And 'ware the Libyan ridgel's butting head,
MoER. Or what unfinilh'd he to Varus read;
Thy
P A S T O R A L IX. 69
Thy name, O Varus (if the kinder Powers
Preferve our plains, and Ihield the Mantuan towers.
Obnoxious by Cremona's neighbouring crime,) ^^
The wings of fwans, and ftronger pinion'd rhyme.
Shall raife aloft, and foaring bear above
Th' immortal gift of gratitude to Jove.
Lyc. Sing on, ling on, for I can ne'er be cloy'd.
So may thy fwarms the baleful eugh avoid : 40
So may thy cows their burden'd bags diilend.
And trees to goats their willing branches bend.
Mean as I am, yet have the Mufes made
Me free, a member of the tuneful trade :
At leaft, the fhepherds feem to like my lays, 4^
But I difcern their flattery from their praife :
I nor to Cinna's ears, nor Varus' dare afpire;
But gabble like a goofe, amidft the fwan-like quire.
Mo E R. 'Tis what I have been conning in my mind :
Nor are the verfes of a vulgar kind. ^o
Come, Galatea, come, the feas forfake ;
What pleafures can the tides with their hoarfe mur-
murs make ?
See, on the (ho re inhabits purple fpring.
Where nightingales their love-fick ditty {ing;
See, meads with purling ftrearas, with flowers the
ground, ^S
The grottoes cool, with fhady poplars crown'd.
And creeping vines on arbours weav'd around.
Come then, and leave the waves' tumultuous roar.
Let the wild furges vainly beat the Ihore.
F 3 Lyc.
70 DRYDEN*S VIRGIL.
Lyc. Or that fvveet fong I heard with fuch delight;
The fame you fung alone one ftarry night;
The tune I ftill retain, but not the words.
MoER. Why, Daphnis, doll thou fearch In old
records.
To know the feafons when the ftars arife ?
See Casfar's lamp is lighted in the fkies : 65
The ftar, whofe rays the blulhing grapes adorn.
And fwell the kindly ripening ears of corn.
Under this influence graft the tender Ihoot;
Thy childrens children fliall enjoy the fruit.
The reft I have forgot, for cares and time 70
Change all things, and untune my foul to rhyme;
I could have once fung down a fummer's fun.
But now the chime of poetry is done.
My voice grows hoarfe; I feel the notes decay.
As if the wolves had feen me firlt to-day. 7 ;
But thefe, and more than I to mind can bring,
Menalcas has not yet forgot to fing.
Lyc. Thy faint excufes but inflame me more;
And now the waves roll filent to the (bore.
Hulht winds the topmofl branches fcarcely bend, Sq
As if thy tuneful fong they did attend :
Already we have half our way o'ercome;
Far off I can difcern Bianor's tomb;
Here, where the labourer's hands have form'd a bow'r
Of wreathing trees, in finging wafte an hour. 85^
Reft here thy weary limbs, thy kids lay down.
We've day before us yet, to reach the town:
Or
P A S T O R A L IX. 71
Or if, ere night, the gathering clouds we fear,
A fong will help the beating ftorm to bear.
And that thou may 'ft not be too late abroad, 90
Singing, I 'U eafe thy fhouklers of thy load,
MoER, Ceafe to requeft me; let us mind our way;
Another fong requires another day.
When good Menalcas comes, if he rejoice.
And find a friend at court, I 'II find a voice, 95;
F 4 T H K
7t DRYDEN'S VIRGIL,
THE
TENTH PASTORAL,
O R,
G A L L U S,
THE ARGUMENT.
G alius, a great Patron of Virgil, and an excellent
Poet, was very deeply in love with one Cytheris^
whom he calls Lycoris ; and who had forfaken him
for the company of a foldier. The poet therefore
fuppofes his friend Gallus retired in his height of
melancholy into the folitudes of Arcadia (the cele-
brated fcene of Paftorals) ; where he reprefents him
in a very languilhing condition, with all the rural
Deities about him, pitying his hard ufage, and
condoling his misfortune.
npHY facred fuccour, Arethufa, bring,
^ To crown my labour : 'tis the laft I fmg.
Which proud Lycoris may with pity view;
The Mufe is mournful, though the numbers few,
Refufe me not a verfej to grief and Gallus due.
J
So
}
PASTORAL X, f3
So may tliy filver ftreams beneath the tide,
Unmix'd with briny feas, fecurely glide.
Sing then, my Gallus, and his hcpelefs vows ;
Sing, while my cattle crop the tender browfe.
The vocal grove ftiall anfwer to the found, lo
And echo, from the vales, the tuneful voice re-
bound.
What lawns or woods withheld you from his aid.
Ye nymphs, when Gallus was to love betray 'd;
To love, unpity'd by the cruel maid ?
Nor fteepy Pindus coud retard your courfe, i^
Nor cleft ParnaiTus, nor th' Aonian fource :
Nothing that owns the Mufes cou'd fufpend
Your aid to Gallus, Gallus is their friend.
For him the lofty laurel ftands in tears.
And hung with humid pearls the lowly fhrub appears*
Masnalian pines the godlike fwain bemoan ;
When fpread beneath a rock he figh'd alone j
And cold Lycasus wept from every dropping ftone.
The Iheep furround their (hepherd, as he lies ;
Blufh not, fweet poet, nor the name defpife ; 25
Along the ftreams his flock Adonis fed;
And yet the queen of beauty bled his bed.
The fwains and tardy neat-herds came, and laft
Menalcas, wet with beating winter maft.
W^ondering they afk'd from whence arofe thy flame ; 30
Yet more amaz'd,. thy own Apollo came.
Flufh'd were his cheeks, and glowing were his eyes :
Is flie thy care I is Ihe thy caie ? he cries.
}
..}
U DRYDEN'S VIRGIL,
Thy falfe Lycoiis flies thy love and thee :
And for thy rival tempts the raging fea.
The forms of horrid war, and heaven's inclemency.
Sylvanus came : his brows a country crown
Of fennel, and of nodding lilies, drown.
Great Pan arriv'd; and we beheld him too.
His cheeks and temples of vermillion hue. 40
Why, Gallus, this immoderate grief, he cry'd:
Think 'ft thou that love with tears is fatisfy'd ?
The meads are fooner drunk with morning dews;
The bees with flowery (hrubs, the goats with browfe.
UnmovM, and with dejefted eyes he mourn'd : 4j^
He paus'd, and then thefe broken words return'd.
*Tis paft; and pity gives me no relief:
But you. Arcadian fwains, fhall fmg my grief:
And on your hills my laft complaints renew;
So fad a fong is only worthy you. 5^0
How light would lie the turf upon my breaft.
If you my fuiferings in your fongs expreft ?
Ah! that your birth and bufinefs had been mine;
To penn the ftieep, and prefs the fwelling vine!
Had Phyllis or Amyntas caus'd my pain. ^^
Or any nymph, or any Ihepherd on the plain.
Though Phyllis brown, though black Amyntas were.
Are violets not fweet, becaufe not fair ?
Beneath the fallows, and the fliady vine.
My loves had mix'd their pliant limbs with mine; 60
Phyllis with myrtle wreaths had crown 'd my hair,
Aad foft Amyntas fung away my care.
Come,
PASTORAL X. 7S
Come, fee what pleafures in our plains abounci;
The woods, the fountains, and the flowery ground.
As you are beauteous, were you half fo true, 6 j
Here could I live, and love, and die with only you.
Now I to fighting fields am fent afar,
And drive in winter camps with toils of war;
While you, (alas, that I fhould find it fo 1) ^
To (hun my fight, your native foil forego, 70 I
And climb the frozen Alps, and tread th' eternal j
fnow, J
Ye frofts and fnows, her tender body fpare;
Thofe are not limbs for ificles to tear.
For me, the wilds and deferts are my choice ;
The Mufes, once my care; my once harmonious voice.
There will I fing, forfaken and alone.
The rocks and hollow caves fhall echo to my moan.
The rind of every plant her name Ihall know;
And as the rind extends, the love fhall grow.
Then on Arcadian mountains will I chace 80
(Mix'd with the woodland nymphs) the favage race.
Nor cold fhall hinder me, with horns and hounds
To thrid the thickets, or to leap the mounds.
And now methinks o'er fleepy rocks I go.
And rufb through founding woods, and bend the Par-
thian bow : 2^
As if with fports my fufferings I could eafe.
Or by my pains the God of love appeafe.
My frenzy changes, I delight no more
On mountain tops to chace the tufky boar}
j$ DRYDEN'S VIRGIl,
No game but hopelefs love my thoughts purfue:
Once more, ye nymphs, and fongs, and founding woods,
adieu.
Love alters not for us his hard decrees.
Not though beneath the Thracian clime we freeze;
Or Italy's indulgent heaven forego;
And in mid-winter tread Sithonian fnow. 9^
Or when the barks of elms ar fcorch'd, we keep
On Meroe's burning plains the Libyan fheep.
In hell, and earth, and feas, and heav'n above.
Love conquers all ; and we muft yield to love.
My Mufes, here your facred raptures end: 100
The verfe was what I ow'd my fufrering friend.
This while I fung, my forrows I deceiv'd.
And bending ofiers into bafkets weav'd.
The fong, becaufe infpir'd by you, fhall fhine :
And Gallus will approve, becaufe 'tis mine. 1 0^
Gallus, for whom my holy flames renew
Each hour, and every moment rife in view :
As alders, in the fpring, their boles extend;
And heave fo fiercely, that the bark they rend.
Now let us rife, for hoarfenefs oft invades no
The finger's voice who fings beneath the Ihades.
From juniper unwholfome dews diftil.
That blaft the footy corn : the withering herbage kill :
Away, my goats, away ; for you have brows 'd your
VIRGIL'S
V I R G I L ' S
G E O R G I C S,
[ 79 ]
TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE
PHILIP
EARL OF CHESTERFIELD.
My Lord,
1 CANNOT begin my addrefs to your lordfhip,
better than in the words of Virgil,
** Quod optanti Divum promittere nemo
•* Auderet, volvenda dies, en, attulit ultro,"
Seven years together I have concealed the longing
which I had to appear before you : a time as tedious as
^neas paffed in his wandering voyage, before he
reached the promifed Italy, But I confidered, that
nothing which my meannefs could produce, was worthy
of your patronage. At laft this happy occafion offered,
of prefenting to you the bell poem of the beft poet.
If I balked this opportunity, I was in defpair of find-
ing fuch another; and if I took it, I was flill uncertain
whether you would vouchfafe to accept it from my
hands. It was a bold venture which I made, in defir-
ing your permiffion to lay my unworthy labours at
your feet. But my rafhnefs has fucceeded beyond my
hopes : and you have been plcafed not to fuffer an old
man to go difcontented out of the world for want of
5 that
to DEDICATION.
that proteflion, of which he had fo long been ambi-
tious. I have known a gentleman in difgrace, and not
daring to appear before King Charles the Second,
though he much defired It. At length he took the con-
fidence to attend a fair lady to the court, and told his
majefty, that under her proteftion he had prefumed to
wait on him. With the fame humble confidence I
prefent myfelf before your lordlhip, and attending on
Virgil hope a gracious reception. The gentleman fuc-
ceeded, becaufe the powerful lady was his friend; but
I have too much injured my great author, to exped:
he fhould intercede for me. I would have tranllated
him; but, according to the literal French and Italian
phrafes, I fear I have traduced him. It is the fault
of many a well-meaning man, to be officious in a
wrong place, and do a prejudice, where he had en-
deavoured to do a fervice. Virgil wrote his Georgics
in the full ftrength and vigour of his age, when his
judgment was at the height, and before his fancy was
<ieclining. He had (according to our homely faying)
his full fwing at this poem, beginning it at about the
age of thirty-five; and fcarce concluding it before he
arrived at forty. It is obferved both of him and Ho-
race, and I believe it will hold in all great poets; that
though they vrrote before v/ith a certain heat of genius
which infpired them, yet that heat was not perfedlly
digcfted. There is required a continuance pf warmth
to ripen the beft and nobleft fruits. Thus Horace, in
his Firft and Second Book of Odes, was ftill rifing,
but came not to his meridian till the Third. After
which
DEDICATION. 8r
tthich his judgment was an overpoife to his imagina-
tion : he grew too cautious to be bold enough, for he
defcended in his Fourth by flow degrees, and in his
Satires and Epiftles, was more a philofopher and a
critic than a poet. In the beginning of fummer the
days are almofl at a (land, with little variation of
length or fliortnefs, becaufe at that time the diurnal
motion of the fun partakes more of a right line, than
of a fpiral. The fame is the method of nature in the
frame of man. He feems at forty to be fully in his
fummer tropic; fomewhat before, and fomewhat after,
he finds in his foul but fmall increafes or decays.
From fifty to threefcore the balance generally holds
even, in our colder climates : for he lofes not much in
fancy; and judgment, which is the effeft of obferva-
tion, ftill increafes : his fucceeding years afford him lit-
tle more than the fcubble of his own harveft : yet if
his conftitution be healthful, his mind may ftill retain
a decent vigour; and the gleanings of that Ephraim,
in comparifon with others, will furpafs the vintage of
Abiezer. I have called this fomewhere, by a bold me-
taphor, a green old age, but Virgil has given me his
authority for the figure,
** Jam fenior; fed cruda Deo, viridifque fenedus.**
Among thofe few who enjoy the advantage of a latter
fpring, your lordfliip is a rare example : who being
now arrived at your great clim.aderic, yet give no
proof of the leaft decay of your excellent judgment,
and comprehenfion of all things which are within the
Vol. XXII, G compafj
U D i: D I C A T I O N.
compafs of human underftanding. Your converfation
is as eafy as it is inllruftive, and I could never obferve
the leaft vanity or the leaft afluming in any thing you
faid : but a natural unafFeded niodefty, full of good
fenfe, and well digefled. A clearnefs of notion, ex-
preffed in ready and unftudied words. No man has
complained, or ever can, that you have difcourfed
too long on any fubjeft: for you leave in us an eager-
nefs of learning more; pleafed with what we hear,
but not fatisfied, becaufe }'ou will not fpeak fo much
as we could wifh. I dare not excufe your lordfhip
from this fault; for though it is none in you, it is
one to all who have the happinefs of being known to
you. I muft confefs the critics make it one of Virgil's
beauties, that having faid what he thought convenient,
he always left fomewhat for the imagination of his
readers to fupply: that they might gratify their fan-
cies, by finding more in what he had written, than at
jfirft they could, and think they had added to his
thoughts when it was all there before-hand, and he
only faved himfelf the expence of words. However it
was, I never went from your lordihip, but with a
longing to return, or without a hearty curfe to him
who invented ceremonies in the world, and put me on
the iieceffity of withdrawing when it was my intereft,
as well as my dcfire, to have given you a m^uch longer
trouble. I cannot imagine (if your lordfhip will give
me leave to fpeak my thoughts) but you have had a
inore than ordinary vigour in your youth. For too
much of heat is required at firll, that there may not
1 too
DEDICATION. Sj
too little be left at laft. A prodigal fire is only capa-
ble of large remains : and yours, my lord, ftill burns
the clearer in declining. The blaze is not fo fierce as
at the firft, but the fmoke is wholly vanifhed ; and
your friends who ftand about you are not only fenfible
of a chearful warmth, but are kept at an awful dif-
tance by its force. In my fmall obfervations of man-
kind, I have ever found, that fuch as are not rather
too full of fpirit when they are young, degenerate to
dulnefs in their age. Sobriety in our riper years is the
efFecl of a well-concod^ed warmth; but where the
principles are only phlegm, what can be expefted from
the waterifh matter, but an infipid manhood, and a
ftupid old infancy; difcrction in leading firings, and a
confirmed ignorance on crutches ? Virgil, in his Third
Georgic, when he defcribes a colt, who promifes a
courfer for the race, or for the field of battle, fhews
him the firft to pafs the bridge, which trembles under
him, and to ftem the torrent of the flood. His begin-
nings muft be in raflinefs ; a noble fault : but time
and experience will correal that error, and tame it into
a deliberate and well-weighed courage; which knows
both to be cautious and to dare, as occafion offers.
Your lordlliip is a man of honour, not only fo un-
ftained, but fo unqueftioned, that you are the living
ftandard of that heroic virtue; fo truly fuch, that if I
would flatter you, I could not. It takes not from
you, that you were born with principles of generofity
and probity; but it adds to you, that you have culti-
vated nature, and made thofe principles the rule and
G z meafurc
84 DEDICATION;
meafure of all your a(5lions. The world knows thls^
without my telling ; yet poets have a right of record-
ing it to all poller ity.
** Dignum laude virum, Mufa vetat mori."
Epaminondas, Lucullus, and the two iirft Caefars,
were not efteemed the worfe commanders, for having
inade philofophy and the liberal arts their ftudy. Ci-
cero might have been their equal, but that he wanted
courage. To have both thefe virtues, and to have
improved them both, with a foftnefs of manners, and
a fweetnefs of converfation, few of our nobility can
fill that chara<^er: one there is, and fo confpicuoua
by his own lights that he needs not
" Digito monflrari, et dicier hie eft."
To be nobly born, and of an ancient family, is in
the extremes of fortune, either good or bad ; for vir-
tue and defcent are no inheritance. A long feries of
anceftors (hews the native with great ad\'antage at the
£rft; but if he any way degenerate from his line, the
leaft fpot is vifible on ermine. But to preferve this
whitenefs in its original purity, you, my lord, have,
like that ermine, forfaken the common track of bufi-
nefs, which is not always clean : you have chofen for
yourfelf a private greatnefs, and will not be polluted
with ambition. It has been obferved in former times,
that none have been {o greedy of employments, and of
hianaging the public, as they who have ka,ft deferved
their ftations. But fuch only merit to be called patri-
ots, under whom we fee their country flourifli. I have
laughed
DEDICATION. ?5
^aughed fometimes (for who would always be an Hera-
clitus?) when 1 have refleded on thofe men, who
from time to time ha^ e fhot themfelves into the world,
I have feen many fucceflions of them ; fome bolting
out upon the ftage with vaft applaufe, and others hiiTed
ofF, and quitting it with difgrace. But while they
were in aftion, I have conftantly obferved, that they
feemed defirous to retreat from bufmefs: greatnefs
they faid was naufeous, and a crowd was troublefome;
a quiet privacy was their ambition. Some {q\v of them
I believe faid this in earned, and were making a provi-
fion againft future want, that they might enjoy their
age with eafe : they faw the happinefs of a private
life, and promifed to themfelves a bleffing, which
every day it was in their power to pofTefs. But they
deferred it, and lingered ftill at court, becaufe they
thought they bad not yet enough to make them happy;
they would have more, ^nd laid in to make their foli-
tude luxurious. A wretched philofophy, which Epi-
curus never taught them in his garden: they loved
the profpe(5l of this quiet in reverlion, but were not
willing to have it in pofTeffion ; they would firft be old,
and made as fure of health and life, as if both of them
were at their difpofe. But put them to the neceffity of
prefent choice, and they preferred continuance irj
power: like the wretch who called Death to his aifift-
ance, but refufed him when he came. The great
Scipio was not of their opinion, who indeed fought
honours in his youth, and indured the fatigues with
U-hich he purchafed them. He ferved liis country
O 3 when
t^ DEDICATION.
when it was in need of his courage and conduct, until
he thought it was time, to ferve himfelf : but dif-
mounted from the faddle when he found the beafl:
which bore him began to grow reftifF and ungovern-
able. But your lordfliip has given us a better exam-
ple of moderation. You faw betimes that ingratitude
is not confined to commonwealths; and therefore
though you were formed alike, for the greateft of civil
employments, and military commands, yet you pufhed
hot your fortune to rife in either; but contented your-
felf with being capable, as much as any whofoever, of
defending your country with your fword, or affifting
it with your counfel, when you were called. For the
teft, the refpeft and love which was paid you, not
only in the province where you live, but generally by
all who had the happinefs to know you, was a wife
exchange for the honours of the court : a place of for-
getfulnefs, at the beft, for well-defervers. It is ne-
cefiary for the polifhing of manners, to have breathed
that air; but it is infedious even to the beft morals to
live always in it. It is a dangerous commerce, where
an honeft man is fure at the firft of being cheated; and
he recovers not his lofTes, but by learning to cheat others.
The undermining fmile becomes at length habitual ;
and the drift of his plaufible converfation, is only to
flatter one, that he may betray another. Yet it is
good to have been a looker-on, without venturing to
play; that a man may know falfe dice another time,
though he never means to ufe them. I commend not
him who never knew a court, but him who forfakes
it
DEDICATION. jy
It becaufe he knows it. A young man deferves no
praife, who out of melancholy zeal leaves the world
before he has well tried it, and runs headlong into
religion. He who carries a maidenhead into a cloifter,
is fometimes apt to lofe it there, and to repent of his
repentance. He only is like to endure aufterities,
who has already found the inconvenience of pleafures.
For almoft every man will be making experiments in
one part or another of his life : and the danger is the
lefs when we are young; for, having tried it early, we
(hall not be apt to repeat it afterwards. Your lordfhip
therefore may properly be faid to have chofen a retreat,
and not to have chofen it until you had maturely weigh-
ed the advantages of rifmg higher with the hazards of
the fall. " Res non parta labore, fed relida," was
thought by a poet to be one of the requifites to a happy-
life. Why (hould a reafonable man put it in the power
of fortune to make him miferable, when his anceftors
have taken care to releafe him from her ? let him ven-
ture, fays Horace, " qui zonam perdidit." He who has
nothing, plays fecurely; for he may win, and cannot
be poorer if he lofes. But he who is born to a plenti-
ful eftate, and is ambitious of offices at court, fets a
ftake to Fortune, which fhe can fddom anfwer: if he
gains 'nothing, he lofes all, or part of what was once
his own; and if he gets, he cannot be certain but he
may refund.
In Ihort, however he fucceeds, it is covetoufnefs
that induced him firft to play, and covetoufnefs is the
undoubted fign of ill fenfe at bottom, The odds are
G ^ againft
«8 DEDICATION.
againft him, that he lofes; and one lofs may be of
more confequence to him than all his former winnings.
It is like the prefent war of the Chriftians againft the
Turk; every year they gain a vidory, and by that a
town; but if they are once defeated, they lofe a pro-»
vince at a blow, and endanger the fafety of the whole
empire. You, my lord, enjoy your quiet in a garden,
where you have not only the leifure of thinking, but
the pleafure to think of nothing which can difcompofe
your mind. A good confcience is a port which is
land-locked on every fide, and where no winds can
poffibly invade, no tempefls can arife. There a man
may ftand upon the Ihore, and not only fee his own
image, but that of his Maker, clearly refletfled from
the undiflurbed and filent waters, Reafon was in-
tended for a bleffing, and fuch it is to men of honour
and integrity; who defire no more than what they
are able to give themfelves ; like the happy old Cori-
cyan, whom my author defcribes in his Fourth Geor-
gic; whofe fruits and fallads, on which he lived con-
tented, were all of his own growth, and his own
plantation. Virgil feems to think that the blelTmgs of
a country life are not complete, without an improve-
ment of knowledge by contemplation and reading.
** O fortunatos nimium, bona fi fua norinf,
** Agricolas!"
It is but half pofTeffion not to underftand that hap-
pinefs which we poflefs : a foundation of good fenfe,
and a cultivation of learning, are required to give a
feafoning
DEDICATION. S9
fcafoning to retirement, and make us tafte the blef-
{\ng. God has beftowed on your lordfhip the firfl: of
thefe, and you have beftowed on yourfelf the fecond.
Eden was not made for beads, though they were fuf-
fcred to live in it, but for their mailer, who lludied
God in the works of his creation. Neither could the
devil have been happy there with all his knowledge,
for he wanted innocence to make him fo. He brought
envy, malice, and ambition into paradife, which
foured to him the fweetnefs of the place. Wherever
inordinate affeftions are, it is hell. Such only can
enjoy the country, who are capable of thinking when
they are there, and have left their paffions behind them
in the town. Then they are prepared for folitude;
and in that folitude is prepared for them
** Et fecura quies, et nefcia fallere vita."
As I began this dedication with a verfe of Virgil,
fo I conclude it with another. The continuance of
your health, to enjoy that happinefs which you fo well
deferve, and which you have provided for yourfelf, is
the fincere and earnell wiili of
Your lordihip's
moil devoted, and
moll obedient fervant,
JOHN DRYDEN.
I 9' ]
THE
FIRST BOOK
OF THE
GEORGICS.
THE ARGUMENT.
The Poet, in the beginning of this Book, propounds
the general defign of each Georgic : and, after a fo-
lemn invocation of all the gods who are any way re-
lated to his fubjeft, he addreffes himfelf in particu-
lar to Auguflus, whom he compliments with divi-
nity ; and after ftrikes into his bufmefs. He fhews
the different kinds of tillage proper to different foils,
traces out the original of agriculture, gives a cata-
logue of the hufbandman's tools, fpeciiies the em-
ployments peculiar to each feafon, defcribes the
changes of the weather, with the figns in heaven
and earth that forebode them. Infiances many of
the prodigies that happened near the time of Julius
Ca^far's death. And fliuts up all with a fupplica-
tion to the gods for the fafety of Auguitus, and the
prefervation of Rome.
^L^^^HAT makes a plenteous harvefl:, when to turn
The fruitful foil, and when to fow the corn;
The care of fheep, of oxen, andofkine;
And how to raife on elms the teeming vine;
The
91 DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
The birth and genius of the frugal bee, ^
I iing, Maecenas, and I fmg to thee.
Ye Deities ! who fields and plains protedt.
Who rule the feafons, and the year direft;
Bacchus and foftering Ceres, Powers divine,
"Who gave us corn for maft, for water wine: lO
Ye Fawns, propitious to the rural fwains.
Ye Nymphs that haunt the mountains and the
plains.
Join in my work, and to my numbers bring
Your needful fuccour, for your gifts I fmg.
And thou, whofe trident ftruck the teeming earth, i ^
And made a paflage for the courfer's birth;
And thou, for whom the Caean fhore fullains
The milky herds, that graze the flowery plains;
And thou, the fliepherds tutelary god.
Leave for a while, O Pan! thy lov'd abode: 20
And, if Arcadian fleeces be thy care.
From fields and mountains to my fong repair.
Inventor, Pallas, of the fattening oil.
Thou founder of the plough and plough-man's toil ;
And thou, whofe hands the Ihroud-like cyprefs^
rear; 25
Come all ye gods and goddefles that wear
The rural honours, and increafe the year.
You, who fupply the ground with feeds of grain;
And you, who fwell thofe feeds with kindly rain ;
And chiefly thou, whofe undetermin'd fl:ate 30
Is yet the bunncfii of the gods debate;
Whether
]
* G E O R G I C I. ,9S
Whether in after-times to be declar'd
I'he patron of the world, and Rome's peculiar guard.
Or o'er the fruits and feafons to prefide.
And the round circuit of the year to guide; 35
Powerful of bleffings, which thou ll:rew"ft around.
And with thy goddefs mother's myrtle crown 'd.
Or wilt thou, Ca:far, choofe the watery reign'.
To fmooth the furges, and correal the main?
Then mariners, in ftorms, to thee (hall pray, 40"
E\ 'n utmoft Thule fhall thy power obey;
And Neptune fliall refign the fafces of the fea.
The watery virgins for thy bed fhall ftrive.
And Tethys all her waves in dowry give.
Or wilt thou blefs our fummers with thy rays, ^^
And, fcated near the Balance, poife the days:
AVhere in the void of heaven a fpace is free.
Betwixt the Scorpion and the Maid, for thee.
The Scorpion, ready to receive thy laws.
Yields half his region, and contracts his claws, ^o-
Whatever part of heaven thou Ihalt obtain.
For let not hell prefume of fuch a reign;
Nor let fo dire a thirft of empire move
Thy mind, to leave thy kindred gods above.
Though Greece admires Elyfmm's bleft retreat, 5^
Though Proferpine aiFefts her filent feat.
And, importun"d by Ceres to remove.
Prefers the fields below to thofe above.
But thou, propitious Casfar! guide my courfe.
And, to my bold endeavours, add thy force, 60
Pity
^4 DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
Pity the Poet's and the Ploughman's cares>
Interefl thy greatnefs in our mean affairs.
And ufe thyfelf betimes to hear and grant our
prayers.
While yet the fpring is young, while earth unbinds
Her frozen bofom to the weilern winds ; 6^
While mountain-fnows diffolve againft the fun^
And ftreams, yet new, from precipices run;
Ev'n in this early dawning of the year.
Produce the plough, and yoke the fturdy fleer.
And goad him till he groans beneath his toil, 70
Till the bright (hare is bury'd in the foil.
That crop rewards the greedy peafant's pains,
Which twice the fun, and twice the cold fuftains.
And burfts the crowded barns, with more than pro-
mis'd gains.
iut ere we ftir the yet unbroken ground, 75
The various courfe of feafons muft be found ;
The weather, and the fetting of the winds.
The culture fuiting to the feveral kinds
Of feeds and plants, and what will thrive and rife,
And what the genius of the foil denies. 80
This ground with Bacchus, that with Ceres fuitsj
That other loads the trees with happy fruits;
A fourth with grafs, unbidden, decks the ground :
Thus Tmolus is with yellow faffron crown'd j
India, black ebon and white ivory bears; 85
And foft Idume weeps her odorous tears.
Thus Pontus fends her beaver ftones from far;
And naked Spaniards temper fleel for war,
Epixus
}
G E O R G I C I. 95
llpirus for th* Elean chariot breeds
(In hopes of palms) a race of running deeds. 90
This is th' original contracTt ; thefe the laws
Impos'd by Nature, and by Nature's caufe.
On fundry places, when Deucalion hurl'd
His mother's entrails on the defart world :
Whence men, a hard laborious kind, were bom. 95;
Then borrow part of winter for thy corn :
And early with thy team the glebe in furrows turn.
That, while the turf lies open and unbound.
Succeeding funs may bake the mellow ground.
But if the foil be barren, only fear 1 00
The furface, and but lightly print the fliare.
When cold Arfturus rifes with the fun:
Left wicked weeds the corn {hould over-run
In watery foils ; or left the barren fand
Should fuck the moifture from the thirfty land. 10^
Both thefe unhappy foils the fwain forbears.
And keeps a fabbath of alternate years :
That the fpent earth may gather heat again;
And, better'd by cefTation, bear the grain.
At leaft, where vetches, pulfe, and tares have ftood,
And ftalks of lupines grew (a ftubborn wood],
Th* enfuing feafon, in return, may bear
The bearded product of the golden year.
For flax and oats will burn the tender field.
And fleepy poppies harmful harvefts yield, 1 1 J
But fweet viciiTitudes of reft and toil
Make eafy labour, and renew the ioiU
Yet
9(5 DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
Yet fprinkle fordid allies all around.
And load with fattening dung thy fallow ground.
Thus change of feeds for meagre foils is beft; 120
And earth manur'd, not idle, though at reft.
Long praftice has a fure improvement found.
With kindled fires to burn the barren ground ;
When the light ftubble, to the flames refign'd.
Is driven along, and crackles in the wind. 125
Whether from hence the hollow womb of earth
Is warm'd with fecret ftrength for better birth;
Or, when the latent vice is cur'd by fire.
Redundant humours through the pores expire;
Or that the warmth diftends the chinks, and makes 1 30
New breathings, whence new nourifhment fhe takes;
Or that the heat the gaping ground confirains.
New knits the furface, and new firings the veins.
Left foaking fhowers fliould pierce her fecret feat.
Or freezing Boreas chill her genial heat; 135
Or fcorching funs too violently beat.
Nor is the profit fmall, the peafant makes,
WTio fmooths with harrows, or who pounds with rakes
The crumbling clods : nor Ceres from on high
Regards his labours with a grudging eye; 140
Nor his, who plows acrofs the furrow'd grounds.
And on the back of earth inflids new wounds;
For he with frequent exercife commands
Th' unwilling foil, and tames the ftubborn lands.
Ye fvvains, invoke the Powers who rule the fky.
For a moift fummer, and a winter dry;
For
G E O R G r C I. 97
For winter drought rewards the peafant's pain.
And broods indulgent on the bury'd grain.
Hence Myfia boalb her harvefts, and the tops
Of Gargarus admire their happy crops. 150
When firft the foil receives the fruitful feed.
Make no delay, but cover it with fpeed :
So fenc'd from cold; the pliant furrows break.
Before the furly clod refifts the rake.
And call the floods from high, to rufli amain 155
With pregnant flreams, to fwell the teeming grain.
Then when the fiery funs too fiercely play.
And fhrivel'd herbs on withering ftems decay.
The wary ploughman, on the mountain's brow,
Undams his watery ftores, huge torrents flow; 160
And, rattling down the rocks, large moifturc yield.
Tempering the thirfty fever of the field.
And left the ftem, too feeble for the freight.
Should fcarce fuftain the head's unwieldy weight.
Sends in his feeding flocks betimes t' invade 1 6^
The rifmg bulk of the luxuriant blade;
Ere yet th' afpiring offspring of the grain
O'ertops the ridges of the furrow *d plain :
And drains the ftanding waters, when they yield
Too large a beverage to the drunken field. 170
But moft in autumn, and the (howery fpring.
When dubious months uncertain weather bring:
When fountains open, when impetuous rain
Swells hally brooks, and pours upon the plain;
When earth with flime and mud is cover'd o'er, 175
Or hollow places fpue their watery ftore.
Vol. XXII, H Nor
98 DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
Nor yet the ploughman, nor the labouring fleer,
Suftain alone the hazards of the year ;
But glutton geefe, and the Strymonian crane.
With foreign troops, invade the tender grain : i So
And towering weeds malignant fhadows yield ;
And fp reading fuccory chokes the rifmg field.
The fire of gods and men, with hard decrees.
Forbids our plenty to be bought with eafe;
And wills that mortal men, inur'd to toil, 185
Should exercife, with pains, the grudging foil.
Himfelf invented firll the fhining fhare.
And whetted human induftry by care :
Himfelf did handy-crafts and arts ordain.
Nor fuffer'd lloth to ruft his aftive reign. 190
Ere this, no peafant vex'd the peaceful ground.
Which only turfs and greens for altars found :
No fences parted fields, nor marks nor bounds
Diftinguiih'd acres of litigious grounds:
But all was common, and the fruitful earth 19^
Was free to give her unexaded birth.
Jove added venom to the viper's brood.
And fwell'd, with raging florms, the peaceful flood :
Commiffion'd hungry wolves t' infell the fold.
And fhook from oaken leaves the liquid gold. 200
Remov'd from human reach the chearful fire.
And from the rivers bade the wine retire :
That ftudious need might ufeful arts explore;
From furrow'd fields to reap the foodful flore :
And force the veins of clafhing flints t' expire 205
The lurking feeds of their celellial fire,
5 TlKTi
G E O R G I C T.
99
Then tirfl: on feas the hollow'd alder fwam ;
Then failors quarter'd heaven, and found a name
For every fix'd and every wandering ftar :
The Pleiads, Hyads, and the Northern Car. 210
Then toils for beafts, and lime for birds were found.
And deep-mouth 'd dogs did foreft-walksfurround;
And cafting-nets v/ere fpread in fhallow brooks.
Drags in the deep, and baits were hung on hooks.
Then faws were tooth'd, and founding axes made
(For wedges firft did yielding wood invade) ;
And various arts in order did fucceed.
(What cannot endlefs labour, urg'd by need ?)
Firft Ceres taught, the ground with grain to fow.
And arm*d with iron Ihares the crooked plough, 220
When now Dodonian oaks no more fupply'd
Their maft, and trees their foreft-fruit deny'd.
Soon was his labour doubled to the fwain.
And blafting mildews blacken'd all his grain.
Tough thirties chok'd the fields, and kilFd the com.
And an unthrifty crop of weeds was borne.
Then burrs and brambles, an unbidden crew
Of gracelefs guefts, th' unhappy field fubdue:
And oats unbleft, and darnel domineers.
And (hoots its head above the fhining ears. 230
So that unlefs the land with daily care
Is exercis'd, and with an iron war
Of rakes and harrows the proud foes expell'd.
And birds with clamours frighted from the field ;
Unlefs the boughs are lopp'd that Ihade the plain, 235
And heaven invok'd with vows for fruitful rain,
H 2 On
loo DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
On otlier crops you may with envy look.
And fhake for food the long-abandon 'd oak.
Nor muft we pafs untold what arms they wield.
Who labour tillage and the furrow 'd field : 240
Without whofe aid the ground her corn denies..
And nothing can be fown, and nothing rife.
The crooked plough, the Ihare, the towering height
Of waggons, and the cart's unwieldy weight;
The Hed, the tumbril, hurdles, and the flail, 245
The fan of Bacchus, with the flying fail.
Thefe all muft be prepar'd, if ploughmen hope
The promis'd blelfmg of a bounteous crop.
Young elms with early force in copfes bow^
Pit for the figure of the crooked plough. 250
Of eight foot long a faften'd beam prepare.
On either fide the head produce an ear.
And fink a focket for the fliining Ihare.
Of beech the plough-tail, and the bending yoke;
Or fofter linden harden'd in the fmoke. 255
I could be long in precepts, but I fear
So mean a fubjeft might offend your ear.
Delve of convenient depth your thrafhing-floor :
With tempered clay then fill and face it o'er:
And let the weighty roller run the round, 260
To fmooth the furface of th' unequal ground;
Left crack'd w ith fummer heats the flooring flics.
Or finks, and through the crannies weeds arife.
For fundry foes the rural realms furround :
The field-moufe builds her garner under ground, 26^
For
G E O R G I C I. loi
For gathered grain the blind laborious mole
In winding mazes works her hidden hole.
In hollow caverns vermin make abode.
The hifling ferpent, and the fwelling toad :
The corn-devouring weazel here abides, 270
And the wife ant her wintry ftore provides.
Mark well the flowering almonds In the wood ;
If odorous blooms the bearing branches load.
The glebe will anfwer to the fylvan reign.
Great heats will follow, and large crops of grain, i;^
Eut if a wood of leaves o'erfhade the tree.
Such and fo barren will thy harveft be:
In vain the hind Ihall vex the thrafhing-floor.
For empty chaff and draw will be thy ftore.
Some fteep their feed, and fome in cauldrons boil 2 So
With vigorous nitre, and with lees of oil.
O'er gentle fires; th' exuberant juice to drain.
And fwell the fiatterlns: hufks with fruitful g-rain.
Yet is not thefuccefs for years affur'd.
Though chofen is the feed, and fully cur'd; 28 j;
Unlefs the peafant, with his annual pain.
Renews his choice, and culls the largeft grain.
Thus all below, whether by Nature's curfe.
Or Fate's decree, degenerate ftill to vvorfe.
So the boat's brawny crew the current ftem, 290
And, flow advancing, flruggle with the ftream:
But if they flack their hands, or ceafe to ftrive.
Then down the flood with headlong hafte they drive.
Nor mufl the ploughman lefs obferve the fkies,
When the Kids, Dragon, and Ar«^urus rife, 295
H 3 Than
}
108 DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
Than failors homeward bent, who cut their way-
Through Helle's flormy ftraits, and oyfter-breeding fea.
But when Aftrea's balance, hung on high.
Betwixt the nights and days divides the flcy.
Then yoke your oxen, fow your winter grain; 300
Till cold December comes with driving rain,
Linfeed and fruitful poppy bury warm.
In a dry feafon, and prevent the llorm.
Sow beans and clover in a rotten foil.
And millet, rifing from your annual toil : 305
When with his golden horns, in full career.
The Bull beats down the barriers of the year;
And Argos and the Dog forfake the northern fphere.
But if your care to wheat alone extend.
Let Maia with her fillers firft defcend, 310
And the bright Gnofian diadem downward bend ;
Before you truft in earth your future hope:
Or elfe expeft a liftlefs lazy crop.
Some fvvains have fown before, but moft have found
A hufky harveft, from the grudging ground, 3 1 ^
Vile vetches would you fow, or lentils lean.
The growth of Egypt, or the kidney-bean!
Begin when the flow Waggoner defcends;
Nor ccafe your fowing till mid-winter ends :
For this, through twelve bright figns Apollo guides 32a
The year, and earth in feveral climes divides.
Five girdles bind the Ikies, the torrid zone
Glows with the pafling and repaffing fun.
Far on the right and left, th' extremes of heaven.
To frofts and fnows and bitter bMs are given. 325^
Betwixt
G E O R G I C I. t03
Betwixt the midft and thefe, the gods aflign'd
Two habitable feats for human kind :
And crofs their limits cut a Hoping way.
Which the twelve figns in beauteous order fway.
Two poles turn round the globe; one feen to rife ^^o
O'er Scythian hills, and cMie in Libyan Ikies.
The firft fublime in heaven, the Lift is whirl'd
Below the regions of the nether world.
Around our pole the fpiry Dragon glides.
And like a winding ftream the Bears divides ; 35^
The Lefs and Greater, who by Fate's decree
Abhor to dive beneath the fouthern fea;
There, as they fay, perpetual night is found
In filence brooding on th' unhappy ground :
Or when Aurora leaves our northern fphere, 540
She lights the downward heaven, and rifes there.
And when on us Ihe breathes the living light.
Red vefper kindles there the tapers of the night.
From hence uncertain feafons we may know ;
And when to reap the grain, and when to fow; 545
Or when to fell the furzes ; when 'tis meet
To fpread the flying canvafs for the fleet.
Obferve what ftars arife or difappear;
And the four quarters of the rolling year.
But when cold weather, and continued rain, 350
The labouring hulband in his houfe reftrain,
l.et him forecaft his work with timely care, ^
Which elfe is huddled when the Ikies are fair : i
Then let him mark the Iheep, or whet the Ihining j
fliare, J
H 4 Or
IC4 DR YD EN'S VIRGIL.
Or hollow trees for boats, or number o'er ^^^
His facks, or meafure his increafing ftore;
Or fharpen flakes, or head the forks, or twine
The fallow twigs to tye the ftraggling vine;
Or wicker bafkets weave, or air the corn.
Or grinded grain betwixt two marbles turn. 360
No laws, divine or human, can reftrain
From neceffary works the labouring fwain,
Ev*n holy-days and feafts permiffion yield.
To float the meadows, or to fence the field.
To fire the brambles, fnare the birds, and lleep $6:;
In wholfome water-falls the woolly Iheep.
And oft the dradging afs is driven, with toil.
To neighbouring towns with apples and with oil :
Returning late, and loaden home with gain
Of barter'd pitch, and hand-miils for the grain. 370
The lucky days, in each revolving moon'.
For labour choofe : the fifth be fure to fhun :
That gave the Furies and pale Pluto birth.
And arra'd, againft the Ikies, the fons of earths
With mountains piled on mountains, thrice they
ftrove 375
To fcale the fteepy battlements of Jove:
And thrice his lightning and red thunder play*d.
And their demolifh'd works in ruin laid.
The feventh is, next the tenth, the beft to join
Young oxen to the yoke, and plant the vine, 380
Then, weavers, ftretch your ftays upon the weft:
The ninth is good for travel, bad for theft.
Some
G E O R G I C I. 105
Some works in dead of night are better done;
Or when the morning dew prevents the fun.
Parch'd meads and ftubble mow by Phoebe's light, 385^
Which both require the coolnefs of the night;
For moifture then abounds, and pearly rains
Defcend in filence to refrefh the plains.
The wife and hufband equally confpire
To work by night, and rake the winter fire : 390
He fharpens torches in the glimmering room;
She (hoots the flying (buttle through the loom :
Or boils in kettles muft of wine, and Ikims
With leaves, the dregs that overflow the brims.
And till the watchful cock awakes the day, 395
She fings to drive the tedious hours away.
But in warm weather, when the fkies are clear.
By day-light reap the produft of the year:
And in the fun your golden grain difplay,.
And thrafli it out, and winnow it by day, 400
Plough naked, fwain,. and naked fow the land.
For lazy winter numbs the labouring hand.
In genial winter, fwains enjoy their flore.
Forget their hardfliips, and recruit for more.
The farmer to full bowls invites his friends, 405.
And what he got with pains, with pleafure fpends.
So failors, when efcap'd from ftormy feas,
Firft crown their veiTels, then indulge their eafe.
Yet that *s the proper time to thrafh the wood
For maft of oak, your fathers' homely food, 410
To gather laurel-berries, and the fpoil
Of bloody myrtles, and to prefs your oil.
For
}
io6. DRYDEN'S VIRGIL,
For ftalking cranes to fet the guileful fnare,
T' inclofe the flags in toils, and hunt the hare.
With Balearic flings, or Gnofian bow, 41^
To perfecute from far the flying doe.
Then, when the fleecy Ikies new clothe the wood.
And cakes of ruftling ice came rolling down the
flood.
Now fing we ftormy ftars, when autumn weighs
The year, and adds to nights, and fliortens days j 420
And funs declining fliine with feeble rays :
What cares muft then attend the toiling fwain;
Or when the lowering fpring, with lavifh rain,
Eeats down the flender ftem and bearded grain.
While yet the head is green, or, lightly fwelFd 42^
With milky moiflure, overlooks the field !
Ev'n when the farmer, now fecure of fear.
Sends in the fwains to fpoil the finifh'd year:
Ev'n while the reaper fills his greedy hands.
And binds the golden Iheaves in brittle bands: 430
Oft have I feen a fudden ftorm arife.
From all the warring winds that fweep the Ikies :
The heavy harveft from the root is torn.
And whirl'd aloft the lighter ftubble borne;
With fuch a force the flying rack is driven, 43 j;
And fuch a winter wears the face of heaven :
And oft whole (hects defcend of fluicy rain,
Suck'd by the fpongy clouds from off the main:
The lofty Ikies at once come pouring down.
The promis'd crop and golden labours drown, 440
The
G E O R G I C r. 107
•1
J
The dikes are fill'd, and with a roaring found
The rifing rivers float the nether ground ;
And rocks the bellowing voice of boiling feas re-
bound.
The Father of the Gods his glory Ihrouds ;
Involv'd in tempefts, and a night of clouds. 44J
And from the middle darknefs flafliing out.
By fits he deals his fiery bolts about.
Earth feels the motions of her angry God,
Her entrails tremble, and her mountains nod ;
And flying beaflis in forefts feek abode: 450.
Deep horror feizes every human breaft.
Their pride is humbled, and their fear confefs'd ;
While he from high his rolling thunder throws.
And fires the mountains with repeated blows :
The rocks are from their old foundations rent; 45^
The winds redouble, and the rains augment :
The waves on heaps are dafh'd againfl: the fliore.
And now the woods, and now the billows roar.
In fear of this, obfe^^'e the ftarry figns,
"Where Saturn houfes, and where Hermes joins. 460
But firft to heaven thy due devotions pay.
And annual gifts on Ceres' altars lay.
When winter's rage abates, when chearful hours
Awake the fpring, the fpring awakes the flowers.
On the green turf thy carelefs limbs difplay, 465
And celebrate the mighty mother's day.
For then the hills with pleafing fhades are crown'd.
And fleeps are fweeter on the filken ground:
With
108 DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
With milder beams the fun fecurely fhines;
Fat are the lambs, and lufcious are the wines. 470
Let every fwain adore her power divine.
And milk and honey mix with fparkling wine:
Let all the choir of clowns attend the Ihow,
In long proceflions, Ihouting as they go;
Invoking her to blefs their yearly ftcres, 47^
Inviting plenty to their crowded floors.
Thus in the fpring, and thus in fummer's heat.
Before the fickles touch the ripening wheat.
On Ceres call ; and let the labouring hind
With oaken wreaths his hollow temples bind : 480
On Ceres let him call, and Ceres praife.
With uncouth dances, and with countr}^ lays.
And that by certain figns we may prefage
Of heats and rains, and wind's impetuous rage.
The Sovereign of the heavens has fet on high 48^
The moon, to mark the changes of the Iky ;
When fouthern blafts Ihall ceafe, and when the fwain
Should near their folds his feeding flocks refl:rain.
For, ere the rifing winds begin to roar.
The working feas advance to wafli the Ihore ; 490
Soft whifpers run along the leafy woods.
And mountains whiftle to the murmuring floods ;
Ev'n then the doubtful bil! nvs fcarce abftain
From the tofs'd veflTcl on the troubled main ;
When crying cormoraiits forfake the fea, 495;
And, ftretching to the covert, wing their way ;
When fportful coots run fliimming o'er the flrand;
When watchful herons leave their watery Hand ;
And
G E O R G I C I.
(09
}
And mounting upward v/ith erefted flight.
Gain on the fkies, and foar above the fight. 500
And oft before tempeftuous winds arife.
The feeraing ftars fall headlong from the Ikies ;
And, (hooting through the darknefs, gild the night
With f veeping glories, and long trails of light :
And chaff with eddy winds is whirl'd around, ^o^
And dancing leaves are lifted from the ground ;
And floating feathers on the waters play.
But when the winged thunder takes his way
From the cold north, and eaft and wefl: engage.
And at their frontiers meet with equal rage, 510
The clouds are crafh'd, a glut of gather'd rain
The hollow ditches fills, and floats the plain.
And failors furl their dropping flieets amain.
Wet weather feldom hurts the mofl: unwife.
So plain the figns, fuch prophets are the fkies: 515
The wary crane forefees it firH, and fails
Above the ftorm, and leaves the lowly vales :
The cow looks up, and from afar can find
The change of heaven, and fnuffs it in the wind.
The fvvallow fkims the river s watery face, 520
"The frogs renew the croaks of their loquacious race.
The careful ant her fecret cell forfakes.
And drags her eggs along the narrow tracks.
At either horn the rainbow drinks the flood.
Huge flocks of rifing rooks forfake their food, 525
And, crying, feek the flicker of the wood.
Befides, the feveral forts of watery fowls.
That fwim the feas, or haunt the flanding pools ;
The
}
tio DRYDEN^S VIRGIL,
The fvvans that fail along the filver flood.
And dive with ftretching necks to fearch their food.
Then lave their backs with fprinkling dews in vain.
And ftem the ftream to meet the promis'd rain.
The crow, with clamorous cries, the fhovver demands,
And fmgle ftalks along the defart fands.
The nightly virgin, v/hile her wheel fhe plies, 53^
Forefees the ftorms impending in the Ikies,
When fparkling lamps their fputtering light advance.
And in the fockets oily bubbles dance.
Then after fhowers, 'tis eafy to defcry
Returning funs, and a ferener fky : ^40
The ftars fhine fmarter, and the moon adorns.
As with u'nborrow'd beams, her fharpen'd horns.
The filmy golTamer now flits no more.
Nor halcyons baflc on the fhort funny fhore :
Their litter is not tofs'd by fows unclean, 54^
But a blue droughty mift defcends upon the plain.
And owls, that mark the fettiug-fun, declare
A ftar-light evening, and a morning fair.
Towering aloft, avenging Nifus flies.
While dar'd below the guilty Scylla lies. ^^o
Wherever frighted Scylla flies away.
Swift Nifus follows, and purfues his prey.
Where injur'd Nifus takes his airy courfe.
Thence trembling Scylla flies, and Hums his force.
Tliis punifliment purfues th' unhappy maid, 555
And thus the purple hair is dearly paid.
Then, thrice the ravens rend the liquid air.
And croaking notes proclaim the fettled fair,
Then»
G E O R G I C L, tn
Then, round their airy palaces they fly.
To greet the fun: and feiz'd with fecret joy, 560
When ftorms are over-blown, with food repair
To their forfalcen nefts, and callow care. .
Not that I think their breads with heavenly fouls
Infpir'd, as man, who deftiny controls;
But with the changeful temper of the Ikies, ^6^
As rains condenfe, and funfliine rarifies ;
So turn the fpecies in their alter 'd minds,
Compos'd by calms, and difcompos'd by winds.
From hence proceeds the birds harmonious voice;
From hence the cows exult, and frilking lambs rejoice,
Obferve the daily circle of the fun.
And the Ihort year of each revolving moon:
By them thou fhalt forefee the following day;
Nor fhall a ftarry night thy hopes betray.
When firft the moon appears, if then (he flirouds 57J;
Her filver crefcent, tipp'd with fable clouds;
Conclude Ihe bodes a temped on the main.
And brews for fields impetuous floods of rain.
Or if her face with fiery flufliing glow,
Expeft the rattling winds aloft to blow. 580
But four nights old, (for that's the fureft fign,)
With fliarpen'd horns if glorious then Ihe Ihine;
Next day, not only that, but all the moon.
Till her revolving race be wholly run.
Are void of tempefts both by land and fea. 585
And failors in the port their promis'd vows (hall pay.
Above the refl:, the fun, who never lies,
Foietels the change of weather in the Ikies ;
For,
Ki« DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
For, if he rife, unwilling to his race.
Clouds on his brow, and fpots upon his face; 590
Or if through mifts he {hoots his fullen beams.
Frugal of light, in loofe and ftraggling ftreams :
Sufpeft a drifling day-, with fouthern rain.
Fatal to fruits, and flocks, and promis'd grain.
Or if Aurora with half-open'd eyes, 595
And a pale fickly cheek, falute the Ikies,
How fhall the vine, with tender leaves defend
Her teeming clufters, when the ftorms defcend ;
When ridgy roofs and tiles can fcarce avail
To bar the ruin of the rattling hail ? 600
Eut, more than all, the fetting-fun furvey.
When down the fteep of heaven he ives the day.
For oft we find him finifhing his race
With various colours erring on his face;
If fiery red his glowing globe defcends, 605
High winds and furious tempefts he portends ;
But if his cheeks are fwoln with livid blue.
He bodes wet weather by his watery hue;
If duiky fpots are vary'd on his brow.
And ftreak'd with red a troubled colour fhow; 610
That fullen mixture Ihall at once declare
Winds, rain, and ftorms, and elemental war.
What defperate madmen then would venture o*er
The frith, or haul his cables from the fhore ?
But if with purple rays he brings the light. 615
And a pure heaven refigns to quiet night.
No
G E O R G I C r. Ill
Ko nCmg winds, or falling dorms, are nigh:
}
Jjut northern breezes through the foreft fly.
Ami drive the rack, and purge the ruffled fky,
Th' unerring fun by certain figns declares, 620
What the late ev'n, or early morn prepares:
And when the fouth prcjeds a fiormy day.
And when the clearing north will puff the clouds away.
The fun reveals the fecrets of the Iky;
And who dares give the fource of light the lye? 62^
^ lie change of empires often he declares,
; Fierce tumults, hidden treafons, open wars.
He firil: the fate of Caefar did foretel.
And pity'd Rome, when Rome in Caefar fell.
In iron clouds conceal'd the public light; 6^0
And impious mortals fear'd eternal night.
Nor was the fadl foretold by him alone :
Kature herfelf flood forth, and feconded the fun.
Earth, air, and feas, with prodigies were fign'd.
And birds obfcene, and howling dogs divin'd. 6^^
What rocks did ^tna*s bellowing mouth expire
From her torn entrails ; and what floods of fire!
What clanks were heard, in German fkies afar.
Of arms and armies, rufhing to the war!
Dire earthquakes rent the folid Alps below, 640
And from their fummits fhook th' eternal fnow :
Pale fpeftres in the clofe of night were feen;
And voices heard of more than mortal men.
In filent groves, dumb fheep and oxen fpoke.
And ftreams ran backward, and their beds forfook : 645
' Vol. XXII. I . The
}
S14 BRYDEN'S VIRGII.
The yawning earth difclos'd th' abyfs of hell ;
The weeping ftatues did the wars foretel;
And holy fweat from brazen idols fell.
Then rifmg in his might, the king of floods
Rufh'd through the forefts, tore the lofty woods; 650
And rolling onward, with a fweepy fway,
' Bore houfes, herds, and labouring hinds away.
Blood fprang from wells, wolves howl'd in towns by
night.
And boding vi<ftims did the priefts affright.
Such peals of thunder never pour'd from high, 6^^.
Nor forky lightnings fiafti'd from fuch a fullen iky.
Red meteors ran acrofs th' ethereal fpace;
Stars difappear'd, and comets took their place.
For this, th' Emathian plains once more were ftrow'd ^
With Roman bodies, and juil heaven thought good y
To fatten twice thofe fields with Roman blood. J
Then, after length of time, the labouring fwains.
Who turn the turfs of thofe unhappy plains.
Shall rufty piles from the plough'd furrows take.
And over empty helmets pafs the rake. 66^
Amaz'd at antique titles on the ftones.
And mighty relics of gigantic bones.
Ye home-born deities, of mortal birth f
Thou, father Romulus, and mother Earth,
Goddefs unmov'd! whofe guardian arms extend 67c
O'er Tufcan Tiber's courfe, and Roman towers defend i
With youthful Csefar your joint powers engage,
Nor hinder him to fave the finking age,
.1 Ollet
}
G E O R G I C I. 1,5
O! let the blood, already fpilt, atone
For the pafl: crimes of curll Laomedon! 67^
Heaven wants thee there; and long the gods, we know.
Have grudg'd thee, Caefar, to the world below :
Where fraud and rapine, right and wrong confound ;
Where impious arms from ever}^ part refound.
And monftrous crimes in every fhape are crown'd.
The peaceful peafant to the wars is prefl;
The fields lie fallow in inglorious reft :
The plain no pafture to the flock affords.
The crooked fcythes are ftraighten'd into fwords :
^nd there Euphrates her foft offspring arms, 6S^
And here the Rhine re-bellows with alarms;
The neighbouring cities range on feveral fides.
Perfidious Mars long-plighted leagues divides.
And o'er the wafted world in triumph rides.
So four fierce coUrfers ftarting to the race, 690
Scour through the plain, and lengthen every pace;
Nor reins, nor curbs, nor threatening cries they fear.
But force along the tremblino; charioteer.
}
I iL THE
ii5 DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
THE
SECOND BOOK
O F T H E
CfEORGICS.
THE ARGUMENT.
The fulpjeft of the following Book is Planting. In
handling of which argument, the Poet Ihews all the
diiferent methods of raifmg trees: defcribes their
variety; and gives rules for the management o
each in particular. He then points out the foils in
which the feveral plants thrive befl : and thence takes
occafion to. run out into the praifes of Italy. After
which he gives fome direftions for difcovering the
nature of every foil ; prefcribes rules for dreffing of
vines, olives, &c. And concludes the Georgic
with a panegyric on a country life.
THUS far of tillage, and of heavenly figns;
Now fmg, my Mufe, the growth of generous
vines :
The Ihady groves, the woodland progeny.
And Uie How produd of Minerva's tree.
Great
G E O R G I C IT. 117
Great father Bacchus! to my fong repair; 5
For cluftering grapes are thy peculiar care:
For thee large bunches load the bending vine.
And the laft bleflings of the year are thine;
To thee his joys the jolly Autumn owes.
When the fermenting juice the vat o'erfiows. 10
Come ftrip with me, my god, come drench all o'er
Thy limbs in muft of wine, and drink at every pore.
Some trees their birth to bounteous Nature owe;
For fome without the pains of planting grow.
With ofiers thus the banlis of brooks abound, 1 5
Sprung from the watery genius of the ground ;
From the fame principle gray willows come;
Herculean poplar, and the tender broom.
But fome from feeds inclos'd in earth arife;
For thus the maftful chefnut mates the fkies, 20
Hence rife the branching beech and vocal oak.
Where Jove of old oraculoufly fpoke.
Some from the root a rifmg wood difclofe;
Thus elms, and thus the favage cherry grows:
Thus the green bay, that binds the poet's brows, 25
Shoots, and is fhelter'd by the mother's boughs.
Thefe ways of planting. Nature did ordain.
For trees and Ihrubs, and all the fylvan reign.
Others there are, by late experience found:
Some cut the fhoot, and plant in furrow'd ground; 30
Some cover rooted ftalks in deeper mold :
Some cloven ftakes, and (wondrous to behold).
Their fharpen'd ends in earth their footing place.
And the dry poles produce a living race,
I 3 Some
ii8 DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
Some bow their vines, which, bury'd in the plain, 3^
Their tops in diftant arches rife again.
Others no root require, the labourer cuts
Young flips, and in the foil fecurely puts,
Ev'n ftumps of olives, bar'd of leaves, and dead,
Kevive, and oft redeem their wither'd head. 40
'Tis ufual now, an inmate grafF to fee
With infolence invade a foreign tree :
Thus pears and quinces from the crab-tree come;
And thus the ruddy cornel bears the plum. -
Then let the learned gardener mark with care 4.^
The kinds of ftocks, and what thofe kinds will bear.
Explore the nature of each feveral tree ;
And known, improve with artful induftry;
And let no fpot of idle earth be found.
But cultivate the genius of the ground, 50
For open Ifmarus will Bacchus pleafe;
Taburnus loves the (hade of olive-trees.
The virtues of the feveral foils I fing,
Mscenas, now thy needful fuccour bring!
O thou! the better part of my renown, 5^
Infpire thy Poet, and thy Poem crown ;
Embark with me, while I new tracks explore.
With flying fails and breezes from the fhore :
Not that my fong, in fuch a fcanty fpace.
So large a fubjedl fully can embrace : 60
Not though I were fupply'd with iron lungs,
A hundred mouths, hll'd with as many tongues:
But fleer ray vcilel with a fteady hand.
And coafl along the fhore in fight of land.
Nor
G E O R G I C ir. tiy
Nor will I tire thy patience with a train 65
Of preface, or what ancient poets feign.
The trees, which of themfelves advance in air.
Are barren kinds, but ftrongly built and fair;
Becaufe the vigour of the native earth
Maintains the plant, and makes a manly birth. -jo
Yet thefe, receiving graffs of other kind.
Or thence tranfplanted, change their favage mind ;
Their wildnefs lofe, and, quitting Nature's part.
Obey the rules and difcipline of art.
The fame do trees, that, fprung from barren roots 7^
In open fields, tranfplanted bear their fruits.
For where they grow, the native energy
Turns all into the fubftance of the tree.
Starves and deftroys the fruit, is only made
For brawny bulk, and for a barren fliade. 8^
The plant that Ihoots from feed, a fullen tree
At leifure grows, for late pofterity;
The generous flavour loft, the fruits decay.
And favage grapes are made the birds ignoble prey.
Much labour is requir'd in trees, to tame 85
Their wild diforder, and in ranks reclaim.
Well mull the ground be digg'd, and better drefs'd.
New foil to make, and meliorate the reft.
Old flakes of olive-trees in plants revive;
By the fame methods Paphian myrtles live ; 90
But nobler vines by propagation thrive.
From roots hard hazles, and from cyons rife
TalJ afli, and taller oak that mates the fliies ;
I 4. Palin,
]
12a DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
Palm, poplar, fir, defcending from the fteep
Of hills, to try the dangers of the deep. g^
The thin-leav'd arbute, hazle-grafFs receives.
And planes huge apples bear, that bore but leaves.
Thus maftful beech the brillly chefnut bears.
And the wild afh is white with blooming pears.
And greedy fvvine from grafted elms are fed i oo
With falling acorns, that on oaks are bred.
But various are the ways to change the (late
Of plants, to bud, to graff, t' inoculate. V
For where the tender rinds of trees difclofe
Their Ihooting gems, a fwelling knot there grows ; 1 05 (
Juft in that fpace a narrow flit we make.
Then other buds from bearing trees we take :
Inferted thus, the wounded rind we clofe.
In whofe moift womb th' admitted infant grows.
But v/hen the fmoother bole from knots is free, no
We make a deep incifion in the tree;
And. in the folid wood the flip inclofe.
The battening baftard fhoots again and grows;
And in fliort fpace the laden boughs arife.
With happy fruit advancing to the Ikies. 115
The mother-plant admires the leaves unknown
Of alien trees, and apples not her own.
Of vegetable woods are various kinds.
And the fame fpecics are of feveral minds.
Lotes, willows, elms, have different forms allow'd, 120
So funeral cyprcfs rifing like a flirowd.
Fat olive-trees of fundry forts appear.
Of fundry fliapes their undwous berries bear.
Radii
G E O R G I C ir. Ill
Radii long olives, Orchites round produce.
And bitter Paufia, pounded for the juice. 125
Alcinoiis' orchard various apples bears :
Unlike are bergamotes and pounder pears.
Nor our Italian vines produce the fhape.
Or taile, or flavour of the Lefbian grape.
The Thafian vines in richer foils abound, 130
The Meriotique grow in barren ground.
The Pfythian grape we dry : Lagsean juice
Will Hammering tongues and ftaggering feet produce.
Rathe ripe are fome, and fome of later kind
Of golden fome, and fome of purple rind. 135
How fhail I praife the Raethean grape divine.
Which yet contends not with Falernian wine !
Th' Aminean many a confulihip furvives.
And longer than the Lydian vintage lives.
Or high Phansus king of Chian growth: 140
But for large quantities and lafting both.
The lefs Argitis bears the prize away.
The Rhodian, facred to the folemn day.
In fecond fervices is pour'd to Jove;
And beft accepted by the gods above. 145
Nor muft Bumaftus his old honours lofe.
In length and largenefs like the dugs of cows.
I pafs the reft, whofe every race and name.
And kinds, are lefs material to my theme.
Which who would learn, as foon may tell the fands, 1 50
Driven by the weftern wind on Lybian lands ;
Or number, when the bluftering Euras roars.
The billows beating on Ionian Ihores.
Nor
}
X24 DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
Nor every plant on every foil will grow :
The fallow loves the watery ground, and low; i^^
The marlhes, alders ; Nature feems t* ordain
The rocky cliff for the wild a(h's reign;
The baleful yeugh to northern blafts affigns ;
To Ihores the myrtles, and to mounts the vines.
Regard th' extremeft cultivated coaft, l6o
From hot Arabia to the Scythian froft :
All forts of trees their feveral countries know;
Black ebon only will in India grow :
And odorous frankincenfe on the Sabaean bough
Balm llowly trickles through the bleeding veins i6r
Of happy Ihrubs, in Idum^an plains.
The green Egyptian thorn, for medicine good;
With Ethiops hoary trees and wooly wood.
Let others tell : and how the Seres fpin
Their fleecy forefts in a flender twine. 1 70
With mighty trunks of trees on Indian fliores,
Whofe height above the feather'd arrow foars.
Shot from the tougheft bow ; and by the brawn
Of expert archers with vaft vigour drawn,
Sharp-tafted citrons Median climes produce: 175
Bitter the rind, but generous is the juice:
A cordial fruit, a prefent antidote
Againft the direful ilepdame's deadly draught:
Who, mixing wicked deeds with words impure.
The fate of envy'd orphans would procure. 1 80
Large is the plant, and like a laurel grows.
And did it not a different fcent difclofe,
A laurel
}
" G E O R G I C ir. ,4j
A laurel were: the fragrant flowers contemn
The ftormy winds, tenacious of their ftem.
With this the Medes to labouring age bequeath i8c
New lungs, and cure the fournefs of the breath.
But neithep Median woods (a plenteous land].
Fair Ganges, Hermus rolling golden fand.
Nor Baftria, nor the richer Indian fields.
Nor all the gummy ftores Arabia yields ; i go
Nor any foreign earth of greater name.
Can with fvveet Italy contend in fame.
No bulls, whofe noftrils breathe a living flame.
Have turn'd our turf, no teeth of ferpents here
Were fown, an armed hoft, an iron crop to bear, 195;
But fruitful vines, and the fat olives freight.
And han^ells heavy with their fruitful weight.
Adorn our fields; and on the chearful green.
The grazing flocks and lowing herds are feen.
The warrior^horfe, here bred, is taught to train : 200
There flows Clitumnus through the flowery plain;
Whofe waves for triumphs after profperous war.
The vi(flim ox and fnowy iheep prepare.
Perpetual fpring our happy climate fees ;
Twice breed the cattle, and twice bear the trees; 205
And fummer funs recede by flow degrees.
Our land is from the rage of tigers freed.
Nor nourifhes the lion's angry feed ;
Nor poifonous aconite is here produced.
Or grows unknown, or is, when known, refus'd. 210
Nor in fo vaft a length our ferpents glide.
Or rais'd on fuch a fpiry volume ride.
Next
}
1*4 DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
Next add our cities of illuftrious name.
Their coftly labour, and ftupendous frame :
Gur forts on fteepy hills, that far below 215
See wanton ftreams in winding valleys flow.
Our two-fold feas, that, wafhing either fide,
A rich recruit of foreign ftores provide.
Our fpacious lakes; thee, Larius, firft; and next
Benacus, with tempelluous billows vext. 220
Or fhall I praife thy ports, or mention make
Of the vaft mound that binds the Lucrine lake;
Or the difdainful fea, that, Ihut from thence.
Roars round the ftructure, and invades the fence;
There, where fecure the Julian waters glide, 22^
Or where Avernus' jaws admit the Tyrrhene tide ?
Our quarries deep in earth, were fam'd of old
For veins of filver, and for ore of gold.
Th' inhabitants themfelves their country grace;
Hence rofe the Marfian and Sabellian race: 230
Strong-limb'd and ftout, and to the wars inclin'd.
And liard Ligurians, a laborious kind.
And Volfcians, arm'd with iron-headed darts,
Befides an offspring of undaunted hearts.
The Decii, Marii, great Camillus came 235
From hence, and greater Scipio's double name :
And mighty Casfar, whofe victorious arms
To fartheft Afia carry fierce alarms :
Avert unwarlike Indians from his Rome;
IViumph abroad, fecure our peace at home."^ 240
Hail, fweet Saturnian foil! of fruitful grain
Great Parent, greater of illullrious men.
For
}
G E O R G I C I. 1*5
For thee my tuneful accents will I raife.
And treat of arts difclos'd in ancient days:
Once more unlock for thee the facred fpring, 24^
And old Afcraean verfe in Roman cities fing.
The nature of their feveral foils now fee,
Their ftrength, their colour, their fertility:
And firll for heath, and barren hilly ground.
Where meagre clay and flinty ftones abound ; 2^0
Where the poor foil all fuccour feems to want.
Yet this fuffices the Palladian plant.
Undoubted figns of fuch a foil are found,
For here wild olive (hoots o'erfpread the ground.
And heaps of berries ftrew the fields around. 255
But where the foil, with fattening moifture fill'd.
Is cloath'd with grafs, and fruitful to be till'd;
Such as in chearful vales we view from high;
Which dripping rocks with rolling ftreams fupply.
And feed with ooze, where rifmg hillocks run 260
In length, and open to the fouthern fun;
Where fern fucceeds, ungrateful to the plough.
That gentle ground to generous grapes allow;
Strong ftocks of vines it will in time produce.
And overflow the vats with friendly juice; z6^
Such as our prieils in golden goblets pour
To gods, the givers of the chearful hour;
Then when the bloatsd Thufcan blows his horn.
And reeking entrails are in chargers borne.
If herds or fleecy flocks be more thy care, 270
Or goato that graze the field, and bum it bare.
Then
lafl' DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
Then feek Tarentum*s lawns and fartheft coaftj
Or fuch a field as haplefs Mantua loft :
Where fdver fwans fail down the watery road.
And graze the floating herbage of the flood, 275
There cryftal ftreams perpetual tenour keep.
Nor food nor fprings are wanting to thy Iheep.
For what the day devours, the nightly dew
Shall to the morn in pearly drops renew.
Fat crumbling earth is fitter for the plough, 28a
Putrid and loofe above, and black below;
For ploughing is an imitative toil,
Referabling nature in an eafy foil.
No land for feed like this, no fields afford
So large an income to the village-lord! 285
No toiiinof teams from harveft-labour come
So late at night, fo heavy laden home.
The like of foreft land is underftood.
From whence the furly ploughman grubs the wood.
Which had for length of ages idle flood. 290
Then birds forfake the ruins of their feat.
And flying from their nefts their calloA^ young forget*
The coarfe lean gravel on the mountain fides,
.Scarce dewy beverage for the bees provides :
Kor chalk nor crumbling ftones, the food of fnakes.
That work in hollow earth their winding tracks.
The foil exhaling clouds of fubtle dews,
Imbibing moifture which with eafe flie fpews:
Which rufts not iron, and whofe mould is clean.
Well cloath'd with chearful grafs, and ever green.
Is
}
G E O R G I C II. 1*7
Is good for olives, and afplring vines.
Embracing hufband elms, in amorous twines!
Is fit for feeding cattle, fit to fow.
And equal to the pafture and the plough.
Such is the foil of fat Campanian fields, 30^
Such large increafe the land that joins Vefuvlus yields;
And fuch a country could Acerra boaft.
Till Clanius overflow'd th' unhappy coafl:,
I teach thee next the differing foils to know ;
The light for vines, the heavier for the plough. 310
Choofe firft a place for fuch a purpofe fit.
There dig the folid earth, and fink a pit.
Next fill the hole with its own earth again.
And trample with thy feet, and tread it in;
Then if it rife not to the former height ^ji
Of fuperfice, conclude that foil is light :
A proper ground for pafturage and vines.
But if thefuUen earth, fo prefs'd, repines,
Within its native manfion to retire.
And ftays without, a heap of heavy mire; 32^1
'Tis good for arable, a glebe that alks
Tough teams of oxen, and laborious talks.
Salt earth and bitter are not fit to fow.
Nor will be tanvd and mended by the plough.
Sweet grapes degenefate there, and fruits declm'd 32^
From their firft flavorous tafte, renounce their kind.
This truth by fure experiment is try'd :
For firft an ofier colander provide
Of twigs thick wrought (fuch toiling peafants twine.
When through JlraitpalTages they ftrain their winej ; 330
In
128 DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
In this clofe veffel place that earth accurs'd.
But fill'd brimful with wholfome water firft :
Then run it through, the drops will rope around.
And by the bitter tafte difclofe the ground.
The fatter earth by handling we may find, ^35
With eafe diilinguifh'd from the meagre kind :
Poor foil will crumble into duft, the rich
Wil[ to the fingers cleave like clammy pitch :
Moiil earth produces corn and grafs, but both
Too rank and too luxuriant in their growth. 340
Let not my land fo large a promife boaft.
Left the lank ears in length of Hem be loft.
The heavier earth is by her weight betray "d.
The lighter in the poifmg hand is weigh 'd :
.'Tis eafy to diftinguifa by the fight, 345
The colour of the foil, and black from white.
But the cold ground is difiicult to know.
Yet this the plants, that profper there, will ftiow
Black ivy, pitch trees, and the baleful yeugh.
Thefe rules confider'd well, with early care 350
The vineyard deftin'd for thy vines prepare ;
But, long before the planting, dig the ground.
With furrows deep that caft a rifmg mound :
The clods, expos'd to winter winds, will bake;
For putrid earth will beft in vineyards take, 355
And hoary frofts, after the painful toil
Of delving hinds will rot the mellow foil.
Some peafants, not t' omit the niceft care.
Of the fame foil their nurfery prepare.
With
}
G E R G I C II. ti9
^^th that of their plantation; left the tree 360
Tranflated, ihould not with the foil agree.
Befide, to plant it as it was, they mark
The heav'n's four quarters on the tender bark;
And to the north or fouth reftore the fide.
Which at their birth did heat or cold abide, ^6^
So ftrong is cuftom, fuch efFeds can ufe
In tender fouls of pliant plants produce.
Choofe next a province for thy vineyard's reign,
On hills above, or on the lowly plain :
If fertile fields or vallies be thy choice, 370
Plant thick, for bounteous Bacchus will rejoice
In clofe plantations there. But if the vine
On rifing ground be plac'd, or hills fupine.
Extend thy loofe battalions largely wide.
Opening thy ranks and files on either fide: 375
But marfhal'd all in order as they ftand.
And let no foldier ftraggle from his band.
As legions in the field their front difplay.
To try the fortune of fome doubtful day.
And move to meet their foes with fober pace, 380
Strift to their figure, though in wider fpace;
Before the battle joins; while from afar
The field yet glitters with the pomp of war.
And equal Mars like an impartial lord.
Leaves all to fortune, and the dint of fword; 38^
So let thy vines in intervals be fet.
But not their rural difcipline forget:
Indulge their width, and add a roomy fpace.
That their ex tremelf lines may fcarce embrace:
Vol. XXII. K Nor
Sjo DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
Nor this alone t' indulge a vain delight, -^go
And make a pleafing profpeft for the fight:
But for the ground itfelf, this only way-
Can equal vigour to the plants convey;
Which, crowded, want the room their branches to
difplay.
How deep they muft be planted, would'ft thou know ?
In Ihallow furrows vines fecurely grow.
Not fo the reft of plants ; for Jove's own tree.
That holds the woods in awful fovereignty.
Requires a depth of lodging in the ground ;
And, next the lower fkies, a bed profound : 400
High as his topmaft boughs to heaven afcend.
So low his roots to hell's dominion tend.
Therefore, nor winds, nor winter's rage o'erthrows
His bulky body, but unmov'd he grows.
Fox length of ages lafts his happy reign, 405
And lives of mortal man contend in vain.
Full in the midft of his own ftrength he ftands.
Stretching his brawny arms, and leafy hands;
His fhade protefts the plains, his head the hills
mands.
The hurtful hazle in thy vineyard fliun; 410
Nor plant it to receive the fetting fun :
Nor break the topmoft branches from the tree;
Nor prune, with blunted knife, the progeny.
Root up wild olives from thy labour'd lands :
For fparkling fire, from hinds unwary hands, 41 J
Is often fcatter'd o'er their un(^iuous rinds.
And after fpread abroad by raging winds,
5 For
Is com- I
G E O R G I C ir. 131
For firft the fmouldering flame the trunk receives,
Afcending thence, it crackles in the leaves;
At length viftorious to the top afpires, 420
Involving all the wood in fraoky fires.
But moft, when driven by winds, the flaming ilorm
Of the long files deftroys the beauteous form.
In a{hes then th' unhappy vineyard lies.
Nor will the blafted plants from ruin rife: 42 j^
Nor will the wither'd flock be green again.
But the wild olive fhoots, and fhades th' ungrateful
plain.
Be not feduc'd with wifdom's empty fhovvs.
To flir the peaceful ground when Boreas blows.
When winter frofts conftrain the field with cold, 430
The fainty root can take no fteady hold.
But when the golden fpring reveals the year.
And the white bird returns, whom ferpents fear;
That feafon deem the bell to plant thy vines.
Next that, is when autumnal warmth declines ; 435
Ere heat is quite decay 'd, or cold begun.
Or Capricorn admits the winter fun.
The fpring adorns the woods, renews the leaves.
The womb of earth the genial feed receives.
For then Almighty Jove defcends, and pours 440
Into his buxom bride his fruitful Ihowers ;
And, mixing his large limbs with hers, he feeds
Her birth with kindly juice, and foflers teeming feeds.
Then joyous birds frequent the lonely grove.
And bealls, by nature flung, renew their love, 445
K z Then
}
}
ti% DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
Then fields the blades of bury'd corn difclofe.
And, while the balmy weftern fpirit blows.
Earth to the breath her bofom dares expofe.
With kindly moiilure then the plants abound.
The grafs fecurely fprings above the ground; 450
The tender twig flioots upward to the Ikies,
And on the faith of the new fun relies.
The fwerving vines on the tall elms prevail
Unhurt by fouthern fhov/ers or northern hail.
They fpread their geins the genial warmth to (hare, 455
And boldly trull the buds in open air.
In this foft feafon (let me dare to fing)
The vi^orld was hatch 'd by heaven's imperial king:
In prime of all the year, and holy-days of fpring.
Then did the new creation firft appear; 460
Nor other was the tenour of the y^ar;
When laughing heaven did the great birth attend.
And eaftern winds their wintery breath fufpend ;
Then fheep firft faw the fun in open fields;
And favage beafts were fent to ftock the wilds : 465
And golden ftars flew up to light the Ikies,
And man's relentlefs race from ftony quarries rife.
Nor could the tender, new creation, bear
Th' exceffive heats or coldnefs of the year;
But, chill'd by winter, or by fummer fir'd, 470
The middle temper of the fpring requir'd.
When warmth and moifture did at once abound.
And heaven's indulgence brooded on the ground.
For what remains, in depth of earth fecure
Thy cover 'd plants, and dung with hot manure; 475
And
G E O R G I C ir. 133
And fhells and gravel in the ground inclofe;
For through their hollow chinks the water flows :
Which, thus imbib'd, returns in mifty dews,
And, fteaming up, the rifing plant renews.
Some hufbandmen, of late, ha^e found the way, 480
A hilly heap of ftones above to lay.
And prefs the plants with fhreds of potters clay.
This fence againft immoderate rain they found :
Or when the Dog-ftar cleaves the thirfty ground.
Be mindful, when thou haft entomb'd the (hoot, 485
With ftcre of earth around to feed the root;
W^ith iron teeth of rakes and prongs to move
The crufted earth, and loofen it above.
Then exercife thy fturdy fteers to plough
Eetwixt thy vines, and teach the feeble row 490
To mount on reeds and wands, and, upward led.
On afhen poles to raife their forky head.
On thefe new crutches let them learn to walk.
Till, fwerving upwards, with a fironger ftalk.
They brave the winds, and, clinging to their guide.
On tops of elms at length triumphant ride.
But in their tender nonage, while they fpread
Their fpringing leafs,- and lift their infant head.
And upward while they flioot in open air.
Indulge their childhood, and the nurfeling fpare. 500
Nor exercife thy rage on new-born life.
But let thy hand fupply the pruning-knife;
And crop luxuriant ftragglers, nor be loth
To ftrip the branches of their leafy growth :
K 3 But
134- DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
But when the rooted vines, with fteady hold, ^o^
Can clafp their elms, then, hulbandmen, be bold
To lop the difobedient boughs, that ftray'd
Beyond their ranks : let crooked fteel invade
The lawlefs troops, which difcipline difclaim.
And their fuperfluous growth with rigour tame, ^lo
Next, fenc'd with hedges and deep ditches round.
Exclude th' encroaching cattle from thy ground.
While yet the tender germs but juft appear.
Unable to fuftain th' uncertain year;
Whofe leaves are not alone foul winter's prey, 515
But oft by fummer funs are fcorch'd away;
And, worfe than both, become th' unworthy browfe.
Of buffalos, fait goats, and hungry cows.
For not December's froft that burns the boughs^
Nor Dog-days parching heat that fplits the rocks.
Are half fo harmful as the greedy flocks ;
Their venom'd bite, and fears indented on the
flocks.
For this the malefaftor goat was laid
On Bacchus* altar, and his forfeit paid.
At Athens thus old comedy began, 523^
When round the ftreets the reeling adors ran;
In country villages, and crolfrng ways.
Contending for the prizes of their plays :
And glad, with Bacchus, on the grafTy foil.
Leapt o'er the Ikins of goats befmear'd with oil 530
Thus Roman youth, deriv'd from ruin'd Troy,
In rude Saturnian rhymes exprefs their joy :
With
wfe, 1
'y J
G E O R G I C II.
35
With taunts, and laughter loud, their audience pleafe.
Deform 'd with vizards, cut from barks of trees:
In jolly hymns they praife the God of wine, ^^^
Whofe earthen images adorn the pine;
And there are hung on high, in honour of the vine:
A madnefs fo devout the vineyard fills.
In hollow vallies and on rifmg hills;
On whate'er fide he turns his honell face, 540
And dances in the wind, thofe fields are in his grace.
To Bacchus therefore let us tune our lays.
And in our mother tongue refound his praife.
Thin cakes in chargers, and a guilty goat,
Dragg'd by the horns, be to his altars brought; 545
Whofe ofFer'd entrails Ihall his crime reproach.
And drip their fatnefs from the hazle broach.
To drefs thy vines new labour is requir'd.
Nor muft the painful hufbandman be tir'd;
For thrice, at lead, in compafs of a year, 550
Thy vineyard muft employ the fturdy fteer.
To turn the glebe; befides thy daily pain
To break the clods, and malce the furface plain:
T* unload the branches, or the leaves to thin.
That fuck the vital moifture of the vine. 55 j^
Thus in a circle runs the peafant's pain.
And the year rolls within itfelf again.
Ev'n in the loweft months, when ftorms have fhed
From vines the hairy honours of their head.
Not then the drudging hind his labour ends, 560
But to the coming year his care extends ;
K 4 Ev'n
135 DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
Ev'n then the naked vine he perfecutes;
His pruning-knife at once reforms and cuts.
Be firft to dig the ground, be firft to burn
The branches lopt, and firfl the props return ^6^
Into thy houfe, that bore the burden'd vines;
But laft to reap the vintage of thy wines.
Twice in the year luxuriant leaves o'erihade
Th' incumber 'd vine; rough brambles twice invade;
Hard labour both! commend the large excefs 57a
Of fpacious vineyards; cultivate the lefs.
Befides, in woods the Ihrubs of prickly thorn.
Sallows and reeds, on banks of rivers born.
Remain to cut; for vineyards ufeful found.
To ftay thy vines, and fence thy fruitful ground.
Nor when thy tender trees at length are bound :
When peaceful vines from pruning-hooks are free.
When hufbands have furvey'd the laft degree.
And utmoft hies of plants, and order 'd every tree;
Ev'n when they fmg at eafe in full content, 580
Infulting o'er the toils they underwent;
Yet ftill they find a future talk remain;
To turn the foil, and break the clods again:
And after all, their joys are unfincere.
While falling rains on ripening grapes they fear, 58^
Quite oppofite to thefe are olives found.
No dreifing they require, and dread no wound;
No rakes nor harrows need, but fix'd below,
Kejoice in open air, and unconcern 'dly grow.
The foil itfelf due nourifliment fupplies : 59O
.Plough but the furrows, and the fruits arife:
Content
}
}
G E O R G I C IT. J37
Content with fmall endeavours till they Tpring,
Soft peace they figure, and fvveet plenty bring :
Then olives plant, and hymns to Pallas fing.
Thus apple-trees, whofe trunks are ftrong to bear
Their fpreading boughs, exert themfelves in air^
Want no fupply, but ftand fecure alone.
Not trufting foreign forces, but their own;
Till with the ruddy freight the bending branches
groan.
Thus trees of nature, and each common bufli, 600
Uncultivated thrive, and with red berries blufli;
Vile (hrubs are flfliorn for browfe : the towering height
Of uncluous trees are torches for the night.
And fhall we doubt (indulging eafy flothy
To fow, to fet, and to reform their growth? 605
To leave the lofty plants ; the lowly kind
Are for the (hepherd or the Iheep defign'd.
Ev'n humble broom and ofiers have their ufe.
And (hade for fheep, and food for flocks, produce;
Hedges for corn, and honey for the bees: 61 q
Befides the pleafmg profped of the trees.
How goodly looks Cytorus, ever green
liVith boxen groves ! with what delight are feen
Narycian woods of pitch, whofe gloomy fhade
Seems for retreat of heavenly Mufes made! 61 5
But much more pleafing are thofe fields to fee.
That need not ploughs, nor human induftry,
Ev*n old Caucafean rocks with trees are fpread.
And wear green forefts on theix hilly head.
Though
138 DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
Though bending from the blafl of eaftern florms, 620
Though fhent their leaves, and fliatter'd are their arms;
Yet heaven their various plants for ufe defigns :
For houfes cedars, and for fhipping pines.
Cyprefs provides for fpokes, and wheels of v/ains :
And all for keels of fhips that fcour the watery plains..
"Willows in twigs are fruitful, elms in leaves;
Tlie war from ftubborn myrtle Ihafts receives :
From cornels javelins; and the tougher yeugh
Receives the bending figure of a bow.
Nor box, nor limes, without theif ufe are made.
Smooth grain'd, and proper for the tamer's trade;
Which curious hands may carve, and Heel with eafe
invade.
Light alder ftems the Po's Impetuous tide.
And bees in hollow oaks their honey hide.
Now balance, with thefe gifts the fumy joys 6$^
Of wine, attended with eternal noife.
Wine urg'd to lawlefs lull the Centaurs train.
Through wine they quarrel'd, and through wine were
flain.
O happy, if he knew his happy flate!
The fwain, who, free from bufmefs and debate 640
Receives his eafy food from Nature's hand.
And juft returns of cultivated land!
No palace, with a lofty gate, he wants,
T' admit the tides of early vifitants.
With eager eyes devouring, as they pafs, 643^
The breathing figures of Corinthian brafs.
No
G E O R G I C IT. S39
No flatucs threaten from high pedeftals;
No Perfian arras hides his homely walls.
With antic vefts; which, through their Ihady fold.
Betray the ftreaks of ill-dilTembled gold. 650
He boafts no wool, whofe native white is dy'd
With purple poifon of Aflyrian pride.
No coftly drugs of Araby defile.
With foreign fcents the fweetnefs of his oil.
But eafy quiet, a fee u re retreat. 6^^
A harmlefs life that knows not how to cheat.
With home-bred plenty the rich owner blefs.
And rural pleafures crown his happinefs.
Unvex'd with quarrels, undifturb'd with noife.
The country king his peaceful realm enjoys : 660
Cool grots, and living lakes, the flowery pride
Of meads, and ftreams that through the valley glide;
And fhady groves that eafy fleep invite.
And after toilfome days a foft repofe at night.
Wild beafts of nature in his woods abound; 66c
And youth, of labour patient, plough the ground,
Inur'd to hardfhip, and to homely fare.
Nor venerable age is wanting there.
In great examples to the youthful train :
Nor are the gods ador'd with rites profane. 67*
From hence Aftrea took her flight, and here
The prints of her departing fteps appear.
Ye facred Mufes, with whofe beauty fir'd.
My foul is ravilh'd, and my brain infpir'd ;
Whofe prieft I am, whofe holy fillets wear, 67^
Would you your Poet's firft petition hear;
Give
}
HO DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
Give me the ways of wandering ftars to know :
The depths of heaven above, and earth below.
Teach me the various labours of the moon.
And whence proceed th' eclipfcs of the fun. 680
Why flowing tides prevail upon the main.
And in what dark recefs they fhrink again.
What fhakes the folid earth, what caufe delays
The fummer nights, and fliortens winter days.
But if my heavy blood reftrain the flight 6S5
Of my free foul, afpiring to the height
Of nature and unclouded fields of light;
My next defire is, void of care and ftrife.
To lead a foft, fecure, inglorious life.
^ country cottage near a cryftal flood, 690
A winding valley, and a lofty wood.
Some god conduft me to the facred fhades,
Vliiere bacchanals are fung by Spartan maids.
Or lift me high to Hemus' hilly crown ;
Or in the plains of Tempe lay me down : 69^
Or lead me to fome folitary place.
And cover my retreat from human race.
Happy the man, who, ftudying Nature's laws.
Through known efFeds can trace the fecret caufe.
His mind poffefllng in a quiet fl:ate, 700
Fearlefs of Fortune, and refign'd to Fate.
And happy too is he, who decks the bowers
Of fy Ivans and adores the rural powers :
Whofe mind, unmov'd the bribes of courts can fee;
Their glittering baits and purple llavery, 70^
Nor
G E O R G I C ir. 14*
}
}
Nor hopes the people's praife, nor fears their frou'n.
Nor when contending kindred tear the crown.
Will fet up one, or pull another down.
Without concern he hears, but hears from far.
Of tumults and defcents, and diftant war: 710
Nor with a fuperftitious fear is aw'd.
For what befals at home, or what abroad.
Nor envies he the rich their heapy ftore,
Kor his own peace difturbs, with pity for the poor.
He feeds on fruits, which, of their own accord, 71^
The willing ground and laden trees afford.
From his lov'd home no lucre him can draw;
The Senate's mad decrees he never faw;
Nor heard, at bawling bars, corrupted law.
Some to the feas and fome to camps refort, 720
And fome with impudence invade the court.
In foreign countries others feek renown ;
With wars and taxes others wafte their own.
And houfes burn, and houlhold gods deface.
To drink in bowls which glittering gems enchafe : 72^
To loll en couches, rich with Cytron fteds.
And lay their guilty limbs on T)'rian beds.
This wretch in earth intombs his golden ore.
Hovering and brooding on his bury'd (lore.
Some patriot fools to popular praife afpire, 730
Of public fpeeches, which worfe fools admire.
\"N'hile from both benches, with redoubled founds,
Th' applaufe of lords and commoners abounds.
Some through ambition, or through thirll of gold.
Have flain their brothers, or their country fold; 735^
And
}
Uft DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
And leaving their fweet homes, in exile run
To lands that lie beneath another fun.
The peafant, innocent of all thefe ills.
With crooked ploughs the fertile fallows tills ;
And the round year with daily labour fills. 740
And hence the country-markets are fupply'd:
Enough remains for houlhold charge befide ;
His wife and tender children to fuftain.
And gratefully to feed his dumb deferving train.
Nor ceafe his labours, till the yellow field 74^
A full return of bearded harveft yield ;
A crop fo plenteous as the land to load,
O'ercome the crowded barns, and lodge on ricks
abroad.
Thus every feveral feafon is employ'd :
Some fpent in toil, and fome in eafe enjoy*d. 750
The yeaning ewes prevent the fpringing year ;
The laded boughs their fruits in autumn bear:
'Tis then the vine her liquid harveft yields,
Bak'd in the fun-lhine of afcending fields.
The winter comes, and then the falling mafl 75^
For greedy fwine provides a full repait.
Then olives, ground in mills, their fatnefs boaft.
And winter fruits are mellow'd by the froft.
His cares are eas'd with intervals of blifs;
His little children climbing for a kifs, 7 60
Welcome their father's late return at night ;
His faithful bed is crown'd with chafte delight.
His kine, with fwelling udders, ready Hand,
And, lowing for the pail, invite the milker's hand.
His
}
}
G E O R G I C II. f4j
His wanton kids, with budding horns prepar'd, 765
Fight harmlefs battles in his homely yard :
Himfelf in ruftic pomp, on holidays.
To rural Powers a juft oblation pays;
And on the green his carelefs limbs difplays.
The hearth is in the midft; the herdfmen, round 770
The chearful fire, provoke his health in goblets crown'd.
He calls on Bacchus, and propounds the prize;
The groom his fellow-groom at buts defies;
And bends his bows, and levels with his tycs.
Or, ftript for wreftling, fmears his limbs with oil, 775
And watches with a trip his foe to foil.
Such was the life the frugal Sablnes led ;
So Remus and his brother god were bred :
From whom th' auflere Etrurian virtue rofe.
And this rude life our homely flithers chofe. 780
Old Rome from fuch a race deriv'd her birth,
(The feat of empire, and the conquer 'd earth;)
Which now on feven high hills triumphant reigns.
And in that compafs all the world contains.
Ere Saturn's rebel fon ufurp'd the flcies, 785
When beafts were only flain for facrifice;
While peaceful Crete enjoy'd her ancient lord.
Ere founding hammers forg'd th' inhuman fword :
Ere hollow drums were beat, before the breath
Of brazen trumpets rung the peals of death; 79c
The good old god his hunger did affwage
With roots and herbs, and gave the golden age;
But, over-labour'd with fo long a courfe,
'Tis time to fet at eafe the fmoking horfe,
THE
X44 DRYDEN'S VIRGIL*
THE
THIRD BOOK
OF THE
GEORGICS,
THE ARGUMENT.
This Book begins with the invocation of fome rural
Deities, and a compliment to Auguftus : after which
Virgil direfts himfelf to Msecenas, and enters on his.
fubjetl:. He lays down rules for the breeding and
management of horfesj.oxen, Iheep, goats, and dogs;
and interweaves feveral pleafant defcriptions of a
chariot- race, of the battle of the bulls^ of the force
of love, and of the Scythian winter. In the latter
part of the Book he relates the difeafes incident to
cattle ; and ends with the defcription of a fatal mur-
.. rain that formerly raged among the Alps, -
TH Y fields, propitious Pales, I rehearfe;
And fmg thy. paftures in no vulgar verfe.
Amphryfian fliepherd; the Lycsean woods;
Arcadia's flowery plains, and pleafing floods.
All
G E O R G I C III. 145
All other themes that carelefs minds invite, 5
Are worn with ufe, unworthy me to write,
Bufiris' altars, and the dire decrees
Of hard Eureftheus, every reader fees :
Hylas the boy, Latona's erring ifle,
•And Pelops* ivory ihoulder, and his toil 10
For fair Hippodame, with all the red
Of Grecian tales, by poets are expreft;
New ways I muft attempt, my groveling name
To raife aloft, and wing my flight to fame.
I, firil of Romans, fliall in triumph come i^
From conquer'd Grcere, and bring her trophies home;
With foreign fpoils adorn my native place;
And with Idume's palms my Mantua grace.
Of Parian {lone a temple will I raife,
Where the (low Mincius through the valley ftrays : 20
Where cooling ftreams invite the flocks to drink;
And reeds defend the winding water's brink.
Full in the midft fhall mighty Caefar Hand ;
Hold tliQ chief honours; and the dome command.
Then I, confpicuous in my Tyrian gown, 2^
(Submitting to his godhead my renown)
A hundred courfers from the goal will drive;
The rival chariots in the race fhall drive.
All Grece fhall flock from far, my games to fee ;
The whorlbat and the rapid race (hall be 30
Referv'd for Casfar, and ordain'd by me.
Myfelf, with oli\e crown'd, the gifts will bear;
Ev'n now methinks the public fhouts I hear;
The pafllng pageants and. the pomps appear.
Vol. XXir. L J, to
145 DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
I, to the temple will condud the crew ;
The facrifice and facrificers view;
From thence return, attended with my train.
Where the proud theatres difclofe the fcene :
Which interwoven Britons feem to raife.
And fhew the triumph which their (hame difplays. 4©
High o'er the gate, in elephant and gold.
The crowd fhall Ca^far's Indian war behold ;
The Nile fhall flow beneath ; and on the fide
His fliatter'd fliips on brazen pillars ride.
Next him, Niphates, with inverted urn, 45- "i
And dropping fedge, fhall his Armenia mourn ; l
And Afian cities in our triumph borne. J
With backward bows the Parthian fhall be there ;
And, fpurring from the fight, confefs their fear.
A double wreath fhall crown our Caefar's brows, 50
Two differing trophies, from two different foes.
Europe with Afric in his fame fnall join ;
But neither fhore his conquefl fhall confine.
The Parian marble, there, fhall feem to move.
In breathing flatues, not unworthy Jove; 55
Refembling heroes, whole ethereal root
Is Jove himfelf, and Ca:far is the fruit.
Tros and his race the fculptor fhall employ;
And he the god, who built the walls of Troy,
Envy herfelf, at lafl grown pale and dumb, 60
(By Casfar combated and overcome)
Shall give her hands; and fear the curling fnakes
Of lafhing furies, and the burning lakes :
The
}
}
rev. J
G E O R G I C Iir. 147
The pains of famifh'd Tantalus (hall feel;
And Sifvphus that labours up the hill 65*
The rolling rock in vain ; and curft Ixion's wheel.
Mean time we muft purfue the Sylvan lands;
(Th' abode of nymphs untouch'd by former hands:
For fuch, McEcenas, are thy hard commands.
Without thee nothing lofty can I fmg; 70
Come then, and with thyfelf thy genius bring;
With which infpir'd, I brook no dull delay,
C)'theron loudly calls me to my way;
Thy hounds, Taygetus, open, and purfue their prey.
High Epidaurus urges on my fpe^-d, 7^
Fam'd for his hills and for his horfes breed :
From hills and dales the chearful cries rebound :
For echo hunts along and propagates the found.
A time will come, when my maturer Mufe
In Ccefar's wars, a nobler theme ihall chufe, 80
And through more ages bear my fovereign's praife.
Than have from Tithon paft to Caefar's days.
The generous youth, who, ftudious of the prize.
The race of running courfers multiplies;
Or to the plough the fturdy bullock breeds, 8^
May know that from the dam the worth of each proceeds.
The mother cow muft wear a lowering look.
Sour-headed, ftrongly neck'd to bear the yoke.
Her double dew-lap from her chin defcends:
And at her thighs the ponderous burden ends. 90
Long as her fides and large, her limbs are great;
Rough are her ears, and broad her horny feet.
h Z HCT
^4^' DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
Her colour fliining black, but fieck'd with white |
She tofies from the yoke : provokes the fight ;
She rifes in her gait, is free from fears, g§
And in her face a bull's refemblance bears :
Her ample forehead with a ftar is crown'd ;
And with her length of tail (he fweeps the ground.
The bull's infult at four fhe may fuftain;
But, after ten, from nuptial rites refrain, lOOff'
Six feafons ufe; but then releafe the cow.
Unfit for love, and for the labouring plough.
Now while their youth is fiU'd with kindly fire.
Submit thy females to the lufty fire ;
Watch the quick motions of the frilking tail, 105
Then fe^ve their fury with the rufhing male.
Indulging pleafure left the breed fhould fail.
In youth alone, unhappy mortals live;
But, ah ! the mighty blifs is fugitive 1 .
Difcolour'd ficknefs, anxious labour come, i lOf.
And age, and death's inexorable doom.
Yearly thy herds in vigour will impair;
Recruit and mend them with thy yearly care:
Still propagate, for ftill they fall away,
^Tis prudence to prevent th' entire decay, 1 15
Like diligence require the courfer's race;
In early choice, and for a longer fpace.
The colt, that for a ftallion is defign'd,
l^y fure prefages (hows his generous kind.
Of able body, found of limb and wind.
Upright he walks on pafterns firm and (Iraight,
His" motions eafy ; prancing in his gait.
The
}
120J
}
G E O R G I C Iir. 149
The firjk to lead the way, to tempt the flood ;
To pafs the bridge unknown, nor fear the trembling
wood,
Dauntlefs at empty noifes ; lofty-neck'd ; 12^
Sharp-headed, barrel-belly 'd, broadly-back 'd.
Brawny his cheft, and deep : his colour grey ;
For beauty dappled, or the brighteft bay:
Faint white and dun will fcarce the rearing pay.
The fiery courfcr, when he hears from far 130
The fprightly trumpets, and the fhouts of war.
Pricks up his ears, and, trembling with delight.
Shifts place, and paws ; and hopes the promis'd fight.
On his right fboulder his thick mane reclin'd,
RufRes at fpeed, and dances in the wind, 13^
His horny hoofs are jetty black and round.
His chine is double j flarting with a bound.
He turns the turf, and Ihakes the folid ground.
Fire from his eyes, clouds from his noftrils flow :
He bea:rs his rider headlong on the foe. 140
Such was tlie fleed in Grecian poets fam'd.
Proud Cyllarus, by Spartan Pollux tam'd;
Suchrourfers bore to fight the god of Thrace;
And fuch, Achilles, was thy warlike race.
In fuch a fhape, grim Saturn did reflrain 14^
His heavenly limbs, and flow'd with fuch a mane;
When, half-furpriz"d, and fearing to befeen.
The letclicr gallop *d from his jealous queen;
Ran up the ridges of the rocks amain.
And w ith fhrijl neighings fill'd the neighbouring pl:iin,
L 3 But
}
tso DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
Eut worn with years when dire difeafes come.
Then hide his not ignoble age at home :
In peace t' enjoy his former palms and pains :
And gratefully be kind to his remains.
For when his blood no youthful fpirits move, 15-^
He languiflies and labours in his love.
And when the fprightly feed (hould fwiftly come.
Dribbling he drudges, and defrauds the womb.
In vain he burns like hafty Hubble fires;
And in himfelf his former felf requires. 160
His age and courage weigh ; nor thofe alone.
But note his father's virtues and his own ;
Obferve, if he difdains to yield the prize ;
Of lofs impatient, proud of viftories.
Haft thou beheld, when from the goal they Hart, 1 65
The youthful charioteers with heaving heart
Rufh to the race; and panting, fcarcely bear
Th' extremes of fev'rifh hope, and chilling fear;
Stoop to the reins, and lafh with all their force;
The flying chariot kindles in the courfe : 1 70
And now a-low, and now aloft they fly.
As borne through air, and feem to touch the lky«
No flop, no ftay, but clouds of fand arife,
Spurn'd and caft backward on the follower's eyes.
The hindmoft blows the foam upon the firft; 175
Such is the love of praife, an honourable thirft.
Bold Eri(5lhonius was the firft, who join'd
Four horfes for the rapid race defign'd;
And o'er the dufty wheels prefiding fate;
The Lapithx to chariots, add the Rate i So
I Of
G E O R G I C IIL 151
Of bits and bridles ; taught the fteed to bound;
To run the ring, and trace the mazy round.
To ftop, to fly, the rules of war to know :
T' obey the rider, and to dare the foe.
To chufe a youthful fteed, with courage fir'd; 185
To breed him, break him, back him, are requir'd
Experienc'd mafters, and in fundry ways:
Their labours equal, and alike their praife.
But once again the batter'd horfe beware.
The weak old ftallion will deceive thy care. 190
Though famous in his youth for force and fpeed, i
Or was of Argos or Epirian breed, I
Or did from Neptune's race, or from himfelf proceed. J
Thefe things premis'd, when now the nuptial time
Approaches for the {lately fteed to climb ; 1 9^
V/ith food enable him to make his court;
Diftend his chine, and pamper him for fport.
Feed him with herbs, whatever thou canft find.
Of generous warmth, and of falacious kind.
Then water him, and (drinking what he can) 200
Encourage him to thirft again, with bran,
Inftruded thus, produce him to the fair:
And join in wedlock to the longing mare.
For, if the fire be faint, or out of cafe.
He will be copied in his famifh'd race: 20j
And fink beneath the pleafing talk affign'd ;
(For all's too little for the craving kind.)
As for the females, with induftrious care
Take down their mettle keep them lean and bare;
L 4 When
I5» BRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
When confcious of their paft delight, and keen 210
To take the leap, and prove the fport again ;
With fcanty meafure then fupply their food;
And, when athirft, reftrain them from the flood;
Their bodies harrafs, fmk them when they run;
And fry their melting marrow in the fun. 215"
Starve them, when barns beneath their burden groan;
And winnow 'd chaff by weftern winds is blown;
For fear the ranknefs of the fwelling womb
Should fcant the paffage, and confine the room.
Left the fat furrows fhould the fenfe deftroy^ 220
Of genial luft, and dull the feat of joy.
But let them fuck the feed with greedy force.
And clofe involve the vigour of the horfe.
The male has done ; thy care muft now proceed
To teeming females, and the promis'd breed. 225
Firft let them run at large, and never know
The taming yoke, or draw the crooked plough.
Let them not leap the ditch, or fwim the flood.
Or lumber o'er the meads or crofs the wood :
But range the foreft, by the filver fide 230
Of fome cool ftream, where nature {hall provide
Green grafs,, and fattening clover for their fare.
And moffy caverns for their noon-tide lare :
With rocks above to fhield the fliarp nodurnal air.
About th' Alburnian groves, with holly green, 235
Of winged infefts mighty fwarms are feen :
This flying plague (to mark its quality)
Oeftros the Grecians call : Afylus, we : •
A fierce
}
G E O R G I C III. T5S
A fierce loud buzzing breeze; their ftings draw blood.
And drive the cattle gadding through the wood. 240
Seiz'd with unufual pains, they loudly cry;
Tanagrus haflens thence, and leaves his channel dry.
This curfe the jealous Juno did invent.
And firft employ'd for lo's punifhment.
To fliun this ill, the cunning leach ordains 245
In fummer's fultry heats (for then it reigns)
To feed the females, ere the fun arife.
Or late at night, when ftars adorn the fkies.
When fhe has calv'd, then fet the dam afidej
lAnd for the tender progeny provide, 250
Diftinguifh all betimes, with branding fire;
To note the tribe, the lineage, and the fire.
Whom to referve for hufband of the herd.
Or who fhall be to facrifice preferr'd;
Or whom thou Ihalt to turn thy glebe allow; 255
To fmooth the furrows, and fuftain the plough;
The reft, for whom no lot is yet decreed.
May run in paftures, and at pleafure feed.
The calf, by nature and by genius made
To turn the glebe, breed to the rural trade; 260
Set him betimes to fchool, and let him be
Inftrufted there in rules of hufbandry:
While yet his youth is flexible and green.
Nor bad examples of the world has feen.
Early begin the ftubborn child to break; 265
For his foft neck a fupple collar make
Of bending ofiers; and (with time and care
Inur'd that eafy fervitude to bear]
Thy
^54. DRYDEN'S VIRCrL.
Thy flattering method on the youth purfue :
Join'd with his fchool-fellows by two and two, 270
Perfuade them firft to lead an empty wheel,
That fcarce the dull can raife, or they can feel;
In length of time produce the labouring yoke
And (hining Ihares, that make the furrow fmoke.
Ere the licentious youth be thus reftrain'd, 275
Or moral precepts on their minds have gain'd ;
Their wanton appetites not only feed
With delicates of leaves, and marihy w^ed.
But with thy fickle reap the rankeft land :
And minifter the blade with bounteous hand. 2 So
Nor be with harmful parfimony won
To follow what our homely fkes have done;
Who fill'd the pail with beeftings of the cow :
But all her udder to the calf allow.
If to the warlike fteed thy ftudies bend, 285
Or for the prize in chariots to contend ;
Near Pifa's flood the rapid wheels to guide.
Or in Olympian groves aloft to ride.
The generous labours of the courfer, firfl:
Mufl: be with fight of arms and found of trumpets nurs'd:
Inur'd the groaning axle-tree to bear ;
And let him clafliing whips in ftables hear.
Sooth him with praife, and make him underfl:and
The loud applaufes of his mafter's hand :
This from his weaning let him well be taught; 29^
And then betimes in a foft fnafile wrought :
Before his tender joints with nerves are knit;
Untry'd in arms, and trembling at the bit.
But
C E 6 R G I C III. t55
But when p four full fprlngs his years advance.
Teach him to run the round, with pride to prance ; 300
And (rightly manag'd) equal time to beat;
To turn, to bound in meafure, and curvet.
Let him, to this, with eafy pains be brought:
And feem to labour, when he labours not.
Thus, form'd for fpeed, he challenges the wind; 30?
And leaves the Scythian arrow far behind :
He fcours along the field, with loofen'd reins;
And treads fo light, he fcarcely prints the plains.
Like Boreas in his race, when rufliing forth.
He fweeps the fkies, and clears the cloudy north : 310
The waving harveft bends beneath his blaft;
The foreft Ihakes, the groves their honours caft;
He flies aloft, and with impetuous roar
Purfues the foamingr furQ:es to the fhore.
Thus o'er th' Elean plains, thy well-breath'd horfe 3 1 ^
Impels the flying car, and wins the courfe.
Or, bred to Belgian waggons, leads the way;
Untir'd at night, and chearful all the day.
When once he's broken, feed him full and high:
Indulge his growth, and his gaunt fides fupply, 320
Before his training, keep him poor and low;
For his flout ftomach with his food will grow;
The pamper'd colt will difcipline difdain.
Impatient of the lafh, and reftiff to the rein.
Wouldfl thou their courage and their ftrength im^
prove, 325
Too foon they mud not fed the Hings of love.
WTiether
is6 DRYDEN'S VIRGfX.
Whether the bull or courfer be thy care,
J^et him not leap the cow, or mount the mare.
The youthful bull mull wander4n the wood ;
Behind the mountain, or beyond the flood; 530
Or, in the ftall at home his fodder find ;
Far from the charms of that alluring kind.
With two fair eyes his miftrefs burns his bread;
He looks, and languifhes, and leaves his reft;
Forfakes his food, and, pining for the lafs, ^^^
Is joylefs of the grove, and fpurns the growing grafs.
The foft feducer, with enticing looks,
3rhe bellowing rivals to the fight provokes,
A beauteous heifer in the wood is bred.
The l^ooping warriors, aiming head to head, 340
Engage their clafhing horns ; with dreadful found
The foreft rattles, and the rocks rebound.
Tliey fence, they pufh, and pufliing loudly roar;
Their dewlaps and their fides are bath'd in gore.
Nor when the war is over, is it peace; 345-
Nor will the vanquiih'd bull his claim releafe;
But, feeding in his breaft his ancient fires,
^nd curfmg fate, from his proud foe retires.
Driven from his native land, to foreign grounds.
He with a generous rage refents his wounds; 359
His ignominious flight, the vidor's boaft.
And more than both, the loves, which unreveng'd h^
loft.
Often he turns his eyes, and with a groan.
Surveys the pleafmg kingdoms once his own*
And
G E O R G I C lit. 157
}
}
And therefore to repair his ftrength he tries : $^^
Hardening his limbs with painful exercife.
And rough upon the flinty rock he lies.
On prickly leaves and on fharp herbs he feeds.
Then to the prelude of a war proceeds.
His horns, yet fore, he tries againft a tree; 36^
And meditates his abfent enemy.
He fnuffs the wind, his heelsjhe fand excite,
But, when he ftands collecf^cd in his might.
He roars, and promlfes a more fuccefsful fight.
Then, to redeem his honour at a blow, ^6^
He moves his camp, to meet his carelefs foe*
Not with more madnefs, rolling from afar.
The fpumy waves proclaim the watery war.
And, mounting upwards, with a mighty roar,
March onwards, and infult the rocky Ihore. 37O
They mate the middle region with their height;
And fall no lefs than with a mountain's weight:
The waters boil, and belcliing from below
Black fands, as from a forceful engine throw.
Thus every creature, and of every kind, 37j^
The fecret joys of fweet coition find :
Not only man's imperial race, but they
That wing the liquid air, or fv/Im the fea.
Or haunt the defert, rufli into the flame ;
For love is lord of all, and Is in all the fame. 3 80
'Tis with this rage, the mother lion flung.
Scours o'er the plain, regardlefs of her young:
Demanding rites of love; flie fternly flalks;
And hunts her lover in his lonely walks,
'Tis
1^5 DRYDEN'S VIRGIL,
'Tis then the fliapelefs bear his den forfakes, 385
In woods and fields a wild deftruiflion makes.
Boars whet their tufks, to battle tigers move;
Enrag'd with hunger, more enrag'd with love.
Then woe to him, that in the defert land
Of Libya travels, o'er the burning fand. 390
The ftallion fnuffs the well-known fcent afar.
And fnorts and trembles for the didant mare;
Kor bits nor bridles can his rage reftrain;
And rugged rocks are interpos'd in vain :
He makes his way o'er mountains, and contemns 395
Unruly torrents and unforded ilreams.
The briftled boar, who feels the pleafing wound.
New grinds his arming tufks, and digs the ground.
The fleepy leacher ihuts his little eyes;
About his churning chaps the frothy bubbles rife : 400
He rubs his fides againft a tree; prepares
And hardens both his Ihoulders for the wars.
What did the Youth, when love's unerring dart
Transfix'd his liver, and inflam'd his heart?
Alone, by night, his watery way he took; 405
About him, and above, the billows broke;
The fluices of the Iky were open fpread.
And rolling thunder rattled o'er his head.
The raging tempeft call'd him back in vain,
^nd every boding omen of the main, 41
Nor could his kindred, nor the kindly force
Of weeping parents, change his fatal courfe.
No, not the dying m.aid, who muft deplore
His floating carcafe on the Seftian (hore,
I pafs
o
G E O R G I C Iir. 159
I pafs the wars that fpotted linxes make 41^
With their fierce rivals, for the females' fake:
The howling wolves, the maftiffs amorous rage;
When ev'n the fearful flag dares for his hind engage.
But, far above the reft, the furious mare,
Barr'd from the male, is frantic with defpair. 420
For when her pouting vent declares her pain.
She tears the harnefs, and flie rends the rein ;
For this (when Venus gave them rage and power].
Their mafters' mangled members they devour;
Of love defrauded in their longing hour. 425
For love they force through thickets of the wood.
They climb the fteepy hills, and ftem the flood.
When at the fpring's approach their marrow burns
(For with the fpring their genial warmth returns).
The mares to cliffs of rugged rocks repair, 430
And with wide noftrils fnuff the weftern air :
"When (wondrous to relate) the parent wind.
Without the ftallion, propagates the kind.
Then, fir'd with amorous rage, they take their flight
Through plains, and mount the hills unequal height;
Nor to the north, nor to the rifmg fun.
Nor fouthward to the rainy regions run ;
But boring to the weft, and hovering there.
With gaping mouths, they draw prolific air:
With which impregnate, from their groins they fhc^
A flimy juice, by falfe conception bred.
The fliepherd knov/s it well ; and calls by name
Hippomanes, to note the mother's flame.
This,
]
i6o DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
This, gather'd in the planetary hour.
With noxious weeds, and fpeli'd with words of poWef ,
Dire jftepdames in the magic bowl infufe;
And mix, for deadly draughts, the poifonous juice.
But time is loft, which never will renew.
While we too far the pleafmg path purfue;
Surveying nature with too nice a view. 450 .
Let this fuffice for herds : our following care
Shall woolly flocks and fhaggy goats declare.
Nor can I doubt what oil I muft beftow.
To raife my fubjeft from a ground fo low :
And the mean matter which my theme affords, 455
T' embellifh with mao^nificence of words.
o
Biit the commanding Mufe my chariot guides :
Which o'er the dubious cliff fecurely rides:
And pleas'd I am, no beaten road to take:
But firft the way to new difcoveries make. 460
Now, facred Pales, in a lofty ft rain
I fmg the rural honours of thy reign.
Fifft, with affiduous care, from winter keep
Well fodder'd in the ft alls, thy tender fheep :
Then fpread with ftraw, the bedding of thy fold; j^6^
With fern beneath, to fend the bitter cold.
That free from gouts thou may'ft preferve thy care.
And clear from fcabs, produc'd by freezing air.
Next let thy goats officioully be nurs'd:
And led to living ftreams, to quench their thirft. 470
I'^eed them with winter-browfe, and for their lare
A cote that opens to the fouth prepare :
Where
G E O R G I C IIL i6i
Where, bafking in the fun-fhine, they may lie.
And the fhort remnants of his heat enjoy.
This during winter's drifly reign be done: 4-7 r
Till the new ram receives th' exalted fun:
For hairy goats of equal profit are
With woolly Iheep, and a(k an equal care.
'Tis true, the fleece, when drunk with Tyrian julce>
Is dearly fold : but not for needful ufe ; 480
For the falacious goat increafes more;
And twice as largely yields her milky ftore*
The ftill-diftended udders never fail;
But, when they feem exhaufted, fwell the pail.
Mean time the paftor (hears their hoary beards; 48^
And eafes of their hair, the loaden herds.
Their camelots, ^varm in tents, the foldier hold;
And (hield the fhivering mariner from cold.
On Ihrubs they brov/fe, and on the bleaky top
Of rugged hills, the thorny bramble crop. 490
Attended with their bleating kids they come
At night unafk'd, and mindful of their home;
And icarce their fwellingbags the threfhold overcome.
So much the more thy diligence beftow
In depth of winter, to defend the fnow : ^g^
By how much lefs the tender helplefs kind.
For their own ills, can fit provifion find.
Then minifler the browfe, with bounteous hand;
And open let thy flacks all winter ftand.
But when the weflern winds with vital power 500
Call forth the tender grafs, and budding flower;
Vol. XXII. M Then,
i
36* DRYDEN'S VIRGIL,
Then, at the laft, produce in open air
Both flocks, and fend them to their fummer fare.
Before the fun, while Hefperus appears}
Firft let them fip from herbs the pearly tears 505;
Of morning dewsj and after break their fafl
On green-fvvard ground (a cool and grateful tafte) :
But when the day's fourth hour has drawn the dews.
And the fun's fultry heat their thirfl: renews;
When creaking gralhoppers on (hrubs complain, 510
Then lead tliem to their watering-troughs again.
In fummer's heat fome bending valley find,
Clos'd from the fun, but open to the wind :
Or feek fome ancient oak, whofe arm.s extend.
In ample breadth thy cattle to defend: 515
Or folitary grove, or gloomy glade,.
To (hield them with its venerable (hade.
Once more to watering lead 5 and feed again
When the low fun is fmking to the main.
When riling Cynthia Iheds her filver dews, 520
And the cool evening-breeze the meads renews :
When linnets fill the woods with tuneful found.
And hollow fhores the halcyon's voice rebound.
Why Ihould my Mufe enlarge on Libyan fwains ;
Their fcatter'd cottages, and ample plains? 525
Where oft the flocks without a leader ftray;
Or through continued defarts take their way;
And, feeding, add the length of night to day.
Whole months they wander, grazing as they go;
Nor folds, nor hofpitable harbour know 3 $30
' - Such
}
G E O R G I C Iir. i5j
Such an extent of plains, fo vail a fpace
Of wilds unknown, and of untafted grafs.
Allures their eyes : the fhepherd laft appears.
And with him all his patrimony bears :
His houfe and houfhold gods! his trade of war, ^^^
His bow and quiver; and his trufty cur.
Thus, under heavy arms, the youth of Rome
Their long, laborious marches overcome :
Chearly their tedious travels undergo;
And pitch their fudden camp before the foe. ^40
Not fo the Scythian fhepherd tends his fold ;
Nor he who bears in Thrace the bitter cold :
Nor he who treads the bleak Meotian ftrand;
Or where proud Ifter rolls his yellow fand.
Early they ftall their flocks and herds; for there 54^
No grafs the fields, no leaves the forefts wear :
The frozen earth lies buried there below
A hilly heap, feven cubits deep in fnow:
And all the Weft allies of ftormy Boreas blow.
The fun from far peeps with a fickly face; ^^o
Too weak the clouds and mighty fogs to chacej
When up the Ikies he (hoots his rofy head.
Or in the rudy ocean feeks his bed.
Swift rivers are with fudden ice conftrain'd ;
And ftudded wheels are on its back fuftain'd, ^^^
An hoftry now for waggons, which before
Tall Ihips of burden on its bofom bore.
The brazen cauldrons with the froll are flaw'd;
The garment, ftiff with ice, at hearths is thaw'd;
M z With
}
j64 DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
With axes firft they cleave the wine, and thence ^6q
"By weight, the folid portions they difpenfe.
From locks uncomb'd, and from the frozen beard.
Long ificles depend, and crackling founds are heard.
Mean time perpetual fleet, and driving fnow,
Obfcure the fkies, and hang on herds below, ^6^
The ftarving cattle perifli in their Halls,
Huge oxen Hand inclos'd in wintery walls
Of fnow congeal'd; whole herds are bury'd there
Of mighty ftags, and fcarce their horns appear.
The dextrous huntfman wounds not thefe afar, 570
With Ihaffs or darts, or makes a diftant war
With dogs, or pitches toils to flop their flight :
But clofe engages in unequal fight.
And while they ftrive in vain to make their way
Through hills of fnow, and pitifully bray; 575
AflTaults with dint of fword, or pointed fpears :
And homeward, on his back, the joyful burden bears.
The men to fubterranean caves retire ;
Secure from cold, and crowd the cheerful fire:
With trunks of elms arid oaks the hearth they load, 580
Kor tempt th' inclemency of heaven abroad.
Their jovial nights in frolics and in play
They pafs, to drive the tedious hours away.
And their cold flomachs with crown'd goblets cheer.
Of windy cyder, and of barmy beer. 585
Such are the cold Riphean race; and fuch
The favage Scythian, and unwarlike Dutch.
Where fkins of beafts the rude barbarians wear,,
The fpoils of foxes, sind the furry bear,
h
G E O R G I C ITT. w6$
h wool thy care ? Let not thy cattle go jgd
Where bufhes are, where burs and thifUes grow;
Nor in too rank a pafture let them feed :
Then of the pureft white (eleS. thy breed.
Ev"n though a fnowy ram thou (halt behold.
Prefer him not in hafte for hufband to thy fold. 59^
But fearch his mouth; and if a fwarthy tongue
Is underneath his humid palate hung,
Rejeft him, left he darken all the flock;
And fubftitute another from thy ftock.
'Twas thus with fleeces milky white (if we 60O
May truft report). Pan god of Arcady
Did bribe thee, Cynthia; nor didft thou difdain.
When caird in woody fhades, to cure a lover's pain.
If milk be thy defign ; with plenteous hand
Bring clover-grafs ; and from the marfhy land 60^
Salt herbage for the foddering-rack provide
To fill their bags, and fwell the milky tide:
Thefe raife their thirft, and to the tafte reftore
The favour of the fait, on which they fed before.
Some, when the kids their dams too deeply drain, 610
With gags and muzzles their foft mouths reftrain.
Their morning milk, the peafants prefs at night:
Their evening meal before the rifmg light
To market bear; or fparingly they fteep
With feafoning fait, and ftor'd, for winter keep. 61^
Nor laft, forget thy faithful dogs; but feed
With fattening whey the maftifF's generous breed ;
And Spartan race; who, for the fold's relief,
VVill profecute with cries the nightly thief;
M 3 Repulfc
i66 DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
Repulfe the prouling wolf, and hold at bay 620
The mount ain robbers, rulhing to the prey.
With cries of hounds, thou may 'ft purfue the fear
Of flying hares, and chafe the fallow deer;
Roufe from their defart dens the briftled rage
Of boars, and beamy ftags in toils engage. 625"
With fmoak of burning cedar fcent thy walls.
And fume with ftinking galbanura thy ftalls :
With that rank odour from thy dwelling-place
To drive the viper's brood, and all the venom'd race.
For often under flails unmov'd they lie, 630
Obfcure in fhades, and Ihunning heaven's broad eye.
And fnakes, familiar to the hearth fucceed,
Difclofe their eggs, and near the chimney breed.
Whether to roofy houfes they repair.
Or fun therafelves abroad in open air, 635
In all abodes of peftilential kind
To fheep and oxen, and the painful hind.
Take, Ihepherd, take, a plant of ftubborn oak;
And labour him with many a fturdy ftroke;
Or with hard ftones, demolifh from afar 640
His haughty creft, the feat of all the war;
Invade his hifling throat, and winding fpires ;
^Till, ftretch'd in length, th' unfolded foe retires.
He drags his tail, and for his head provides :
And in forae fecret cranny flowly glides; 645
But leaves expos'd to blows, his back and batter'd
fides.
In fair Calabria's woods a fnake is bred.
With curling creft, and with advancing head :
Waving
G E O R G I C ITT. 1«7
Waving he rolls, and makes a winding track;
His belly fpotted, burniHi'd is his back: 650
While fprings are broken, while the fouthern air
And dropping heavens the moiften*d earth repair.
He lives on Handing lakes and trembling bogs;
He fills his maw with fifh, or with loquacious frog?.
But when, in muddy pools, the water finks; 655"
And the chapt earth is furrow'd o'er with chinks;
He leaves the fens, and leaps upon the ground;
And hiffing, rolls his glaring eyes around.
With thirfl inflam'd, impatient of the heats.
He rages in the fields, and wide deftruftion threats. 660
Oh let not fleep my clofing eyes invade
In open plains, or in the fecret fhade.
When he, renew'd in all the fpeckled pride
Of pompous youth, has caft his flough afide.
And in his fummer livery rolls along, 66 1
Ereft, and brandifhing his forky tongue.
Leaving his nefl:, and his imperfeft young;
And, thoughtlefs of his eggs, forgets to rear
The hopes of poifon, for the follov/ing year.
The caufes and the figns fliall next be told, 670
Of every ficknefs that infefts the fold.
A fcabby tetter on their pelts will (lick.
When the raw rain has pierc'd them to the quick:
Or fearching frofts have eaten through the (kin ;
Or burning ificlcs are lodg'd within : 675
Or when the fleece is fhorn, if fueat remains
Unwalh'd, and foaks into their empty veins:
M 4 \^'hen
1
]6t DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
When their defencelefs limbs the brambles tear;
Short of their wool, and naked from the Iheer.
Good Ihepherds, after fheering, drench their fheep.
And their flock's father. ( fore 'd from high to leap)
Swims down the ftream, and plunges in the deep.
They oint their naked limbs with mother'd oil ;
Or from the founts where living fulphurs boil.
They mix a medicine to foment their limbs; 68_j
With fcum that on the molten filver fwims,
Fat pitch, and black bitumen, add to thefe, ^
Befides the waxen labour of the bees : J-
And hellebore, and fquills deep rooted in the feas, J
^Receipts abound, but, fearching all thy flore, 699
The beft is ftill at hand — to lance the fore.
And cut the head, for till the core be found.
The fecret vice is fed, and gathers ground ;
While, making fruitlefs moan, the Ihepherd Hands, t
And, when the lancing knife requires his hands, 695 j>
Vain help, with idle prayers, from heaven demands. J
Deep in their bones when fevers fix their feat.
And rack their limbs, and lick the vital heat;
The ready cure to cool the raging pain.
Is underneath the foot to breathe a vein, 700
This remedy the Scythian ihepherds found :
Th' inhabitants of Thracia's hilly ground.
The Gelons ufe it, when for drink and food
They mix their cruddled milk with horfes blood.
But, when thou fee'ft a fmgle fheep remain 705
Jn Ihades aloof, or crouch'd upon the plain;
Or
}
G E O R G I C Iir. i6f
Or liftlefsly to crop the tender grafs ;
Or late to lag behind, with truant pace;
Revenge the crime, and take the traitor's head.
Ere in the faultlefs flock the dire contagion fpread, 710
On winter feas we fewer ftorms behold.
Than foul difeafes that infeft the fold.
Nor do thofe ills on fingle bodies prey;
But oftener bring the nation to deca}- ;
And fweep the prefent ftock and future hope away
A dire example of this truth appears :
When, after fuch a length of rolling years.
We fee the naked Alps, and thin remains
Of fcatter'd cots, and yet unpeopled plains :
Once fiird with grazing flocks, the fliepherd's happy
reigns. 720.
Here from the vicious air, and fickly flcies,
A plague did on the dumb creation rife ;
During th' autum^nal heats th' infedion grew.
Tame cattle, and the beafts of nature flew.
Poifoning the fl:anding lakes, and pools impure: 725
Nor was the foodful grafs in fields fecure.
Strange death! For when the thirfty fire had drunk
Their vital blood, and the dry nerves were flirunk ;
When the contracted limbs were cramp'd, even then
A waterilh humour fwell'd and ooz'd again j 730
Converting into bane the kindly juice,
Ordain'd by nature for a better ufe.
The vidim ox, that was for altars preft,
Tiim'd with white ribbons j and with garlands drefl.
Sunk
170 DRYDEN'S VIRGIL,
Sunk of himfelf, without the gods command: 73^
Preventino- the flow facrificer's hand.
o
Or, by the holy butcher if he fell,
Th' infpefted entrails could no fates foretel:
Nor, laid on altars, did pure flames arife;
But clouds of fmouldering fmoke forbade the facrifice.
Scarcely the knife was redden'd with his gore.
Or the black poifon ftaln'd the fandy floor.
The thriven calves in meads their food forfake.
And render their fweet fouls before the plenteous rack.
The fawning dog runs mad, the weaflng fwine 745
With coughs is choak'.d, and labours from the chine:
The viftor horfe, forgetful of his food.
The palm renounces, and abhors the flood.
He paws the ground, and, on his hanging ears,
A doubtful fweat in clammy drops appears : 750
Parch'd is his hide, and rugged are his hairs.
Such are the fymptoms of the young difeafe;
But in time's procefs, when his pains increafe.
He rolls his mournful eyes, he deeply groans
With patient fobbing, and with manly moans. 75-^
He heaves for breath; which from his lungs fupply'd.
And fetch'd from far, diftends his labouring fide.
To his rough palate, his dry tongue fucceeds;
And roapy gore he from his nofl:rils bleeds.
A drench of wine has with fuccefs been us'd ; 760
And through a horn the generous juice infus'd :
Which timely taken op'd his doling jaws;
^ut, if too late, the patient's death did caufe.
For
}
G E O R G I C III. iji
For the too vigorous dofc too fiercely wrought;
And added fury to the ftrength it brought. -^6^
Recruited into rage, he grinds his teeth
In his own fiefh, and feeds approaching death.
Ye gods, to better fate good men difpofe.
And turn that impious error on our foes!
The (leer, who to the yoke was bred to bow, "y-jo
(Studious of tillage, and the crooked plough)
Falls down and dies j and dying fpews a flood
Of foamy madnefs, mix'd with clotted blood.
The clown, who, curfmg Providence, repines.
His mournful fellow from the team disjoins: 775
With many a groan forfakes his fruitlefs care.
And in th' unfinifh'd furrow leaves the (hare.
The pining fteer no fliades of lofty woods.
Nor flowery meads, can eafe ; nor cryfl:al floods
Roll'd from the rock: his flabby flanks decreafe; 780
His eyes are fettled in a ftupid peace.
His bulk too weighty for his thighs is grown;
Ana his unwieldy neck hangs drooping down.
Now what avails his v/ell-deferving toil.
To turn the glebe, or fmooth the rugged foil! 78^
And yet he never fupp'd in folemn ftate.
Nor undigefl:ed feafts did urge his fate;
Nor day to night luxurioufly did join;
Nor furfeited on rich Campanian wine.
Simple his beverage, homely was his food; 790
The wholfome herbage, and the running flood.
No dreadful dreams awal;'d him with affright;
His pains by day fecur'd his reft by night,
I 'Twas
lin, J
I7» DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
'Twas then that buffaloes, ill palr'd, were feen
To draw the car of Jove's imperial queen, 79^
For want of oxen; and the labouring fwain
Scratch'd with a rake a furrow for his grain :
And cover'd with his hand the fhallow feed again,
He yokes himfelf, and up the hilly height.
With his own Ihoulders draws the waggon's weight. 800
The nightly wolf, that round th' inclofure proul'd
To leap the fence, now plots not on the fold ;
Tam'd with a {harper pain, the fearful doe
And flying flag, amidft the greyhounds go :
And round the dwellings roam of man, their fiercer
foe. 805
The fcaly nations of the fea profound.
Like Ihipwreck'd carcafes are driven aground :
And mighty Phocae, never feen before
In fhallow ftreams, are flranded on the fhore.
The viper dead within herJiole is found; 810
Defencelefs was the fhelter of the ground. •
The water-fnake, whom fifh and paddocks fed.
With flaring fcales lies poifon'd in his bed :
To birds their native heavens contagious prove.
From clouds they fall, and leave their fouls above. 8 1 5
Befides, to change their paflure 'tis in vain ;
Or truft to phyfic ; phyfic is their bane.
The learned leaches in defpair depart :
And fhake their heads, defponding of their art,
Tifi phone, let loofe from under ground, 82 o
Majeftically paJe, now treads the round j
Before
}
G E O R G I C III. 17J
Before her drives difeafes and affright;
And every moment rifes to the fight :
Afplring to the fkies, Incr(5aching on the light.
The rivers and their banks, and hills around, 825
With lowings, and with dying bleats refound.
At length, fhe ftrikes an univerfal blow ;
To death at once whole herds of cattle go :
Sheep, oxen, horfes fall; and, heap'd on high.
The differing fpecies in confufion lie. 8 jo
Till, wam'd by frequent ills, the way they found.
To lodge their loathfome carrion under ground.
For, ufelefs to the currier were their hides :
Nor could their tainted flelh with ocean tides
Be freed from filth: nor could Vulcanian f^ame 83^
The ftench abolifh, or the favour tame.
Nor fafely could they fhear their fleecy flore
(Made drunk with poifonous juice, and ftiffwith gore) ;
Or touch the web : but if the veil they wear.
Red blifters rifing on their paps appear, 840
And framing carbuncles and noifome fweat.
And clammy dews, that loathfome lice beget :
Till the flow creeping evil eats his way,
Confumes the parching limbs, and makes tlie life hi*
prey.
THE
J74 DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
l" H E
FOURTH BOOK
OF THE
G E O R G I C S.
THE ARGUMENT.
Virgil has taken care to raife the fubjeft of the Georgic :
In the firft he has only dead matter on which to
work. In the fecond he juft fteps on the world of
life, and defcribes that degree of it which is to be
found in vegetables. In the third he advances to
animals : and in the laft fmgles out the bee, which
may be reckoned the moft fagacious of them, for his
fubjedi.
In this Georgic he fhews us what ftation is moft pro-
per for the bees, and when they begin to gather ho-
ney : how to call them home when they fwarm; and
how to part them when they are engaged in battle.
From hence he takes occafion to difcover their differ-
ent kind ; and, after an excurfion, relates their pru-
dent and politic adminiftration of affairs, and the
feveral difeafes that often rage in their hives, with
the proper fymptoms and remedies of each difeafe.
In
G E O R G I C IV. 175
In the laft place he Jays down a method of repairing
their kind, fuppofing their whole breed loft, and
gives at large the hiftory of its invention.
J
THE gifts of heaven my follov.-ing fong purfues.
Aerial honey, and ambrofial dews.
Maecenas, read this other part, that fmgs
Embattled fquadrons and adventurous kings ;
A mighty pomp, though made of little things.
Their arms, their arts, their manners I difclofe.
And how they war, and whence the people rofe :
Slight is the fubjeft, but the praife not fmall.
If heaven affift, and Phcebus hear my call.
Firft, for thy bees a quiet ftation find, lO
And lodge them under covert of the wind :
For winds, when homeward they return, will drive
The loaded carriers from their evening hive.
Far from the cows and goats infulting crew.
That trample down the flowers, and brufh the dew ; i^
The painted lizard, and the birds of prey.
Foes of the frugal kind, be far away.
The titmoufe, and the pecker's hungry brood.
And Progne, with her bofom ftain'd in blood :
Thefe rob the trading citizens, and bear 20
The trembling captives through the liquid air;
And for their callow young a cruel feaft prepare.
But near a living flream their m.anfion place,
Edg'd round with mofs, and tufts of matted grafs:
And
1
Xi6 DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
And plant (the wind's impetuous rage to flop), 25
Wild olive-trees, or palms, before the bufy fhop«
That when the youthful prince, with proud alarm.
Calls out the venturous colony to fwarm;
When firft their way through yielding air they wing.
New to the pleafures of their native fpring; 30
The banks of brooks may make a cool retreat
For the raw foldiers from the fcalding heat :
And neighbouring trees, with friendly Ihade, Invite
The troops, unus'd to long laborious flight.
Then o'er the running Hream, or (landing lake, 35
A paffage for thy weary people make;
With ofier floats the Handing water fl:row ;
Of mafly fl:ones make bridges, if it flow :
That balking in the fun thy bees may lie.
And refling there, their flaggy pinions dry : 40
When, late returning hom.e, the laden hofl
By raging winds is wreck'd upon the coaft.
Wild thyme and favory fet around their cell;
Sweet to the tafte, and fragrant to the fmell;
Set rows of rofemary with flowering flem, 45
And let the purple violets drink the ftream.
Whether thou build the palace of thy bees
With twilled ofiers, or with barks of trees;
Make but a narrow mouth : for as the cold
Congeals into a lump the liquid gold; 50
So 'tis again diflblv'd by fummer's heat.
And the fweet labours both extremes defeat.
And therefore, not in vain, th' indullrious kind
With dawby wax and flowers the chinks have lin'd.
And
C E O R G I C IV. 177
And with their ftores of gather'd ghie, contrive 55
To flop the vents and crannies of their hi\e.
Not birdlime, or Idean pitch, produce
A more tenacious mafs of clammy juice.
Nor bees are lodg'd in hives alone, but found
In chambers of their own, beneath the ground; 60
Their vaulted roofs are hung in pumices.
And in the rotten trunks of hollow trees.
But plaifter thou the chinky hives with clay.
And leafy branches o'er their lodging lay.
Nor place them where too deep a water flows, 65
Or where the yeugh their poifonous neighbour grows
vNor roaft red crabs f offend the nicenefs of their nofe.
Nor near the fteeming ftench of muddy ground :
Nor hollow rocks that render back the found.
And doubled images of voice rebound.
For what remains, when golden funs appear.
And under earth have driven the winter year:
The winged nation wanders through the Ikies,
And o'er the plains and fliady foreft flies:
Then, {looping on the meads and leafy bowers, 75
They flcim the floods, and fip the purple flowers^
Sxalted hence, and drunk with fecret joy.
The young fucceffion all their cares employ :
They breed, they brood, inft:ruft, and educate.
And make provifion for the future ftate: 80
They work their waxen lodgings in their hives.
And labour honey to fuftain their lives.
Eut when thou feeft a fwarming cloud arife.
That fweeps aloft, and darkens all the (kies.
Vol. XXII. N The
}
lyS DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
The motions of their hafty flight attend; ^^
And know to floods, or woods, their airy march they
bend.
Then melfoil beat, and honey-fuckles pound., ^
With thefe alluring favours fl:rew the ground, I
And mix with tinkling brafs, the cymbal's droning |
found. J
Straight to their ancient cells, recall'd from air, 90
The reconcil'd deferters will repair.
But if inteftine broils alarm the hive,
(For two pretenders oft for empire ftrive)
The vulgar in divided faftions jar;
And murmuring founds proclaim the civil war, g^
Inflam'd with ire, and trembling with difdain.
Scarce can their limbs their mighty fouls contain.
With fliouts the coward's courage they excite.
And martial clangors call them out to fight :
With hoarfe alarms the hollow camp rebounds, 1 00
That imitates the trumpet's angry founds :
Then to their common ftandard they repair;
The nimble horfemen fcour the fields of air.
In form of battle drawn, they iflTue forth.
And every knight is proud to prove his worth. 10^
Prefs'd for their country's honour, and their king's, ■%
On their iharp beaks they whet their pointed flings; !-
Andexercife theirarms, and tremblewith their wings. J
Full in the midfl: the haughty monarchs ride, ^
The trufty guards come up, and clofe the fide; 1 10 >
With fhouts the daring foe to battle is defy'd, J
5 Thus
G E O R G I C IV. i;9
Thus In the feafon of unclouded fpring.
To war they follow their undaunted king :
Crowd through their gates, and in the fields of light.
The (hocking fquadrons meet in mortal fight : 1 1 ^
Headlong they fall from high, and wounded wound.
And heaps of flaughter'd foldiers bite the ground.
Hard hailftones lie nor thicker on the plain,
Kor fhaken oaks fuch Ihowers of acorns rain.
"With gorgeous wings, the marks of fovereign fway, 1 20
The two contending princes make their way;
Intrepid through the midft of danger go ;
Their friends encourage, and amaze the foe.
With mighty fouls in narrow bodies preft.
They chiJIenge, and encounter bread to bread; 12^
So fix'd on fame, unknowing how to fly.
And obdinately bent to win or die ;
That long the doubtful combat they maintain.
Till one prevails (for one can only reien).
Yet all thofe dreadful deeds, this deadly fray,
A ci:ft of fcatter'd duft will foon allay ;
And undecided leave the fortune of the day.
When both the chiefs are funder'd from the ficrht.
Then to the lawful king reftore his right.
And let the waikful prodigal be flain, i^^
That he, who belt deferves, alone may reign.
With eafe diftinguiili'd is the regal race:
One monarch wears an honeft open face :
Shap'd to his fiz«, and godlike to behold.
His royal body Ihines with fpecks of gold, 140
N 2 And
130^
}
xgo DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
And ruddy fcales ; for empire he defign'd.
Is better born, and of a nobler kind.
That other looks like nature in difgracc.
Gaunt are his fides, and fullen is his face:
And like their grifly prince appears his gloomy race ^
Grim, ghaftly, rugged, like a thirlly train
That long have travel'd through a defart plain.
And fpit from their dry chaps the gathered duft again.
The better brood, unlike the baftard crew.
Are mark'd with royal ftreaks of {hining hue; 150
Glittering and ardent, though in body lefs :
From thefe, at 'pointed feafons, hope to prefs
Huge heavy honeycombs, of golden juice,
Kot only fweet, but pure, and fit for ufe :
T' allay the ftrength and hardnefs of the wine, j^^
And with old Bacchus, new metheglin join.
But when the fwarms are eager of their play.
And loathe their empty hives, and idly ftray.
Reft rain the wanton fugitives, and take
A timely care to bring the truants back. 1 60
The talk is eafy, but to clip the wings
Of their high-flying arbitrary kings :
At their command, the people fwarm away;
Confine the tyrant^ and the flaves will ftay.
Sweet gardens, full of faffron flowers, invite 165'
The wandering gluttons, and retard their flight.
Befides the god obfcene, who frights away.
With his lath fword, the thieves and birds of prey.
With his own hand, the guardian of the bees.
For flips of pines, may fearch the mountain trees : 1 70
And
^» 175]
tend, >•
I. J
G E O R G I C IV. iSi
And with wild thyme and favory plant the plain.
Till his hard horny fingers ache with pain :
And deck with fruitful trees the fields around.
And with refrefliing waters drench the ground,
Now, did I not fo near my labours end.
Strike fail, and haftening to the harbour tendj
My fong to flowery gardens might extend.
To teach the veoretabic arts to fino;
The Praellan rofes, and their double fpringt
How fuccory drinks the running ftream, and how i So
Green beds of parfley near the river grow;
How cucumbers along the furface creep.
With crooked bodies, and with bellies deep.
The late NarcifTus, and the winding trail
Of bears-foot, myrtles green, and ivy pale. iSj*
For where with ftately towers Tarentum ftands.
And deep Galefus foaks the yellow fands,
I chanc'd an old Corycian fwain to know.
Lord of few acres, and thofe barren too.
Unfit for fheep or vines, and more unfit to fow : 1 90 .
Yet, labouring well his little fpot of ground.
Some fcattering pot-herbs here and there he found :
Which, cultivated with his daily care,
And'bruis'd with vervain, were his frugal fare.
Sometimes white lilies did their leaves afford, 19^
With wholfome poppy-flowers to mend his homely
board :
For late returning home he fupp'd at eafe.
And wifely deem"d the wealth of monarchs lefs:
The little of his own, becaufe his own, did pleafe.
N 3 To
:• }
to fow: 1 00 J
afe. J
iH DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
To quit his care, he gather'd firft of all 200
In fpring the rofes, apples in the fall:
And when cold winter fplit the rocks in twain.
And ice the running rivers did reftrain.
He ftripp'd the bears-foot of its leafy growth.
And, calling Weftern winds, accus'd the fpring of floth ;
He therefore firft among the fwains was found.
To reap the produ(5l of his kbour'd ground.
And fqueeze the combs with golden liquor crown'd
His limes were firft in flowers ; his lofty pines.
With friendly fhade, fecur'd his tender vines. 210
For every bloom his trees in fpring afford.
An autumn apple was by tale reftor'd.
He knew to rank his elms in even rows :
For fruit the grafted pear-tree to difpofe :
And tame to plumbs, the fournefs of the floes. 215
With fpreading planes he made a cool retreat.
To fhade good fellows from the fummer's heat.
But, ftraiten*d in my fpace, I mull forfake
This ta(k ; for others afterwards to take,
Defcribe we next the nature of the bees, 2 20
Beftow'd by Jove for fecret fervices :
When, by the tinkling found of timbrels led.
The King of heaven in Cretan caves they fed.
Of all the race of animals, alone
The bees have common cities of their own, 225*
And common fons, beneath one law they live.
And with one common ftock their trafiic drive.
Each has a certain home, a feveral flail :
All is the flate's, the ftate provides for all.
Mindful
J
}
G E O R G I C IV. igj
Mindful of coming cold, they fhare the pain : 230
And hoard, for winter's ufe, the fummer's gain.
Some o'er the public magazines prefide.
And fome are fent new forage to provide:
Thefe drudge in fields abroad, and thofe at home
Lay deep foundations for the labour'd comb, 235
With dew, NarcifTus' leaves, and clammy gum.
To pitch the waxen flooring fome contri\'e;
Some mirfe the future nation of the hive:
Sweet honey fome condenfe,. fome purge the grout;
The reft,, in cells apart, the liquid neftar fhut, 240
All, with united force, combine to drive
The lazy drones from the laborious hive.
With envy ftung, they view each other's deeds :
With diligence the fragrant work proceeds.
As when the Cyclops, at th' almighty nod,. 24^
New thunder haften for their angry god :
Subdued in fire the ftubborn metal lies,
One brawny fmith the puffing bellows plies;
And draws, and blows reciprocating air:
Others to quench the hiffing mafs prepare: 250
With lifted arms they order every blow.
And chime their founding hammers in a row :
With labour'd anvils JEtna groans below.
Strongly they ftrike, huge flakes of flames expire.
With tongs they turn the fteel, and vex it in the fire.
If little things with great we may compare.
Such are the bees, and fuch their bufy care •
Studious of honey, each in his degree.
The youthful fwainj the grave experiene'd bee:
N 4 That
}
184. DRYDEN'S VIR.GBL.
That In the field ; this in affairs of ftate,. 260
Employ'd at home, abides within the gate i.
To fortify the combs, to build the wall.
To prop the ruins, left the fabric fall:
But late at night, with weary pinions come
The labouring youth, and heavy laden home. 26^
Plains, meads, and orchards, all the day he plies;
The gleans of yellow thyme diftend his thighs :
He fpoils the fafFron flowers, he fips the blues
Of violets, wilding blooms-, and willow dev/s.
Their toil' is common, common is their deep; 270
They fhake their wings when morn begins to peep ;
Rufli through the city-gates without delay,
Kor ends their work but with declining day:
Then, having fpent the laft remains of light.
They give their bodies due repofe at night : 27^
When hollow murmurs of their evening bells
Difmifs the fleepy fwains, and toll them to their cells.
When once in beds their weary limbs they fteep.
No buzzing founds difturb their golden fleep,
'Tis facred filence all. Nor dare they ftray, 280
When rain is promised, or a ftormy day :
But near the city walls their watering take.
Nor forage far, but fhort excurfions make.
And as when empty barks on billows float.
With fandy ballaft failors trim the lx>at, 28^
So bees bear gravel-ftones, whofe poifmg weight
Steers through the whiftling winds their fteady flight.
But, what's more ftrange, their modeft appetites,
Averfe from Venus, fly the nuptial rites*
No
G E O R G I C IV. 1^5
No luft enervates thefr heroic mind, 290
Nor wades their ftrength on wanton woman-kind.
But in their mouths refide their genial powers.
They gather children from the leaves and flowers.
Thus make they kings to fill the regal feat:
And thus their little citizens create: 295
And waxen cities build, the palaces of ftatCr
And oft on rocks their tender wings they tear.
And fmk beneath the burdens which they bear.
Such rage of honey in their bofom beats :
Arid fuch a zeal they have for flowery fwcets. 30a
Thus through the race of life they quickly run;
Which in the fpace of feven (liort years is done;
Th' "immortal liie in fure fucceflion reigns.
The fortune of the family remains :
And grandfires grandfons the long lift contains. 305
Befides, not Egypt, India, Media, more
With fervile awe, their idol king adore:
While he furvives, in concord and content
The commons live, by no divifions rent;
But the great monarch's death difli)lves the govern-
ment. 310
All goes to ruin, they themfelves contrive
To rob the Honey, and fubvert the hive.
The king prefides, his fubjefts' toil furveysj
Tl"ic fervile rout their careful Casfar praife:
Him they extol, they worfhip him alone: 31^
They crowd his levees, and fupport his throne:
They raife him on their fhoulders with a fliout :
And when their fovereign's quarrel calls them out.
His
}
385 DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
Plis foes to mortal combat they defy.
And think it honour at his feet to die. 3^0
Indue 'd by fuch examples, fome have taught
That bees have portions of etherial thought;
Endu'd with particles of heavenly fires :
For God the whole created mafs infpires;
Through heaven, and earth, and ocean's depth he throws
His influence round, and kindles as he goes.
Hence flocks, and herds, and men, and beafts, and
fowls.
With breath are quicken'd, and attraft their fouls.
Hence take the forms his prefcience did ordain.
And into him at length refolve again. 33c
No room is left for death, they mount the Iky,
And to their own congenial planets fly.
Now when thou haft decreed to feize their ftores.
And by prerogative to break their doors :
With fprinkled water firft the city choke, ^^^
And then purfue the citizens with fmoke.
Two honey-harvefts fall in every year:
Firft, when the pleafmg Pleiades appear>
And fpringing upward fpurn the briny feas:
Again, when their affrighted quire furveys $^0
The watery Scorpion mend his pace behind.
With a black train of ftorms, and winter wind.
They plunge into the deep, and fafe protedion find.
Prone to revenge, the bees, a wrathful race.
When once provok'd, aflfajilt th' aggreffor's face: 34^
And through the purple veins a paflTage find;
There fix their ftings, and leave their fouls behind.
But
,.}
G E O R G I C IV. 1^7
But if a pinching winter thou forefee.
And wouldll preferve thy famiili'd family;
With fragrant thyme the city fumigate, 35-0
And break the waxen walls to fave the flate.
For lurking lizards often lodge, by Health,
"Within the fuburbs, and purloin their wealth.
And lizards, fhunning light, a dark retreat
Have found in combs, and undermin'd the feat. ^^^
Or lazy drones, without their fhare of pain.
In winter-quarters free, devour the gain :
Or wafps infeft the camp with loud alarms,.
And mix in battle with unequal arms :
Or fecret moths are there in filence fed; 360
Or fpiders in the vault their fnary webs have fpread.
The more opprefs'd by foes, or famine pin'd.
The more increafe thy care to fave the fmking kind.
With greens and flowers recruit their empty hives.
And feek frefh forage to fuftain their lives. $6^
But fmce they fhare with man one common fate.
In health and ficknefs, and in turns of Hate ;
Obfcrve the fymptoms when they fall away.
And lano-uiih with infenfible decay.
They change their hue, with haggard eyes they ftare, 370
Lean are their looks, and fhagged is their hair :
And crowds of dead, that never muft return ^
To their lov'd hides, in decent pomp are borne: I
Their friends attend the hearfe, the next relations j
mourn, J
The fick, for air, before the portal gafp, 375
Their feeble legs within each other clafp.
Or
iS8 DRYDEN'S VIRGIL^
Or idle In their empty hives remain,
Benumb'd with cold, or liftlefs of their gain.
Soft whifpers then and broken founds are heard.
As when the woods by gentle winds are ftirr'd 280
Such ftifled noife as the clofe furnace hides.
Or dying murmurs of departing tides.
This when thou feeft, Galbanean odours ufe.
And honey in the fickly hive infufe.
Through reeden pipes convey the golden flood, 385
T' invite the people to their wonted food :
Mix it with thicken'd juice of fodden wines.
And raifins from the grapes of Pfythian vines :
To thefe add pounded galls, and rofes dry.
And with Cecropian thyme, ftrong-fcented centaury,
A flower there is that grows in meadow ground,
Amellus call'd, and eafy to be found :
For from one root the rifing ftem beftows
A wood of leaves, and violet-purple boughs.
The flower itfelf is glorious to behold, 395*
And fliines on altars like refulgent gold :
Sharp to the tafte, by fhepherds near the ft ream
Of Mella found, and thence they gave the name.
Boil this reftoring root in generous wine.
And fet befide the door the fickly ftock to dine. 400
But if the labouring kind be wholly loft.
And not to be retriev'd with care or coft,
'Tis time to touch the precepts of an art,
Th' Arcadian mafter did of old impart :
And how he ftock'd his empty hives again; 405
Renew 'd with putrid gore of oxen ilain.
An
G E O R G T C IV. ,g^
An ancient legend I prepare to fing.
And upward follow Fame's immortal fpring:
For where, with feven-fold horns, myflerious Nile
Surrounds the fkirts of Egypt's fruitful ifle, 410
And where in pomp the fun-burnt people ride.
On painted barges, oer the teeming tide.
Which, pouring down from Ethiopian lands.
Makes green the foil with fi ime, and black prolific fands ;
That length of region, and large tract of ground, 41^
In this one art a fure relief have found,
Firft, in a place, by nature clofe, they build
A narrow flooring, gutter 'd, wall'd, and til'd.
In this, four windows are contiiv'd, that ftrike
To the four winds oppos'd, their beams oblique. 420
A fteer of two years old they take, whofe head
!Now firft with burnifh'd horns begins to fpread :
They ftop his noftriis, while he ftrives in vain
To breathe free air, and ftruggles with his pain.
Knocked down, he dies : his bowels bruis"d within, 42^
Eetray no wound on his unbroken Ikin.
Extended thus, in his obfcene abode.
They leave the beaft • but firft fvveet flowers are ftrow'd
Beneath his body, broken boughs and th}'me.
And pleafing caftia juft renew'd in prime. 430
This muft be done, ere fpring malxs equal da}'.
When weftern winds on curling waters play:
Ere painted meads produce their flowery crops.
Or fwallows twitter on the chimney-tops.
The tainted blood , in this clofe prifon pent, 43^
Begins to boil, and through the bones ferment.
Then,
190 DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
Then, wondrous to behold, new creatures rife,
A moving mall at firft, and Ihort of thighs ;
Till Ihooting out with legs, and imp'd with wings,
The grubs proceed to bees with pointed flings: 44.0
And more and more affecting air, they try
Their tender pinions, and begin to fly.
At length, like fummer ilorms from fpreading clouds.
That burll at once, and pour impetuous floods.
Or flights of arrows from the Parthian bows, 44^^
When from afar they gall embattled foes.
With fuch a tempeft through the ikies they fl:eer.
And fuch a form the winged fquadrons bear.
What God, O Mufe! this ufeful fcience taught?
Or by what man's experience was it brought? 450
Sad Ariftasus from fair Terape fled.
His bees v/Ith famine, or difeafes, dead ;
On Peneus' banks he fl:ood, and near his holy head.
And while his falling tears the flream fupply'd.
Thus mourning, to his mother goddefs cry'd: 4^;^
■Mother Cyrene, mother, whofe abode
Is in the depth of this immortal flood:
What boots it, that from Phoebus' loins I fpring,
The third, by him and thee, from heaven's high King ?
0\ where is all thy boafted pity gone, 460
And promife of the lH.ies to thy deluded fon ?
Why didfl: thou me, unhappy me, create ?
Odious to gods, and born to bitter fate.
Whom, fcarce my Iheep, and fcarce my painfulplough T
The needful aids of human life allow : . 465 >
So wretched kthy fon, fo hard a mother thou. J
Proceed,
.}
G E O R G I C IV. J91
Proceed, inhuman parent, in thy fcorn ;
}
Root up my trees, with blights deflroy my corn ;
My vineyards ruin, and my (heepfolds bum.
Let loofe thy rage, let all thy fpite be Ihown, 470
Since thus thy hate purfues the praifes of thy fon.
But from her mofly bower below the ground.
His careful mother heard the plaintive found,
Encompafs'd with her fea-green fillers round.
One common work they ply 'd : their diftafFs full 475
With carded locks of blue Milefian wool.
Spio with Drymo brown, and Xanthe fair.
And fweet Phyllodoce with long dilhevel'd hair :
Cydippe with Licorias, one a maid.
And one that once had call'd Lucina's aid. 480
Clio and Beroe, from one father both.
Both girt with gold, and clad in party-colour'd cloth,
Opis the meek, and Deiopeia proud ;
Nifa:a lofty with Ligaea loud ;
Thalia joyous, Ephyre the fad, 485
And Arethufa once Diana's maid.
But now, her quiver left, to love betray'd.
To thefe, Clymene the fweet theft declares
Of Mars, and Vulcan's unavailing cares:
And all the rapes of gods, and every love, 490
Erom ancient Chaos down to youthful Jo\'e.
Thus while Ihe fmgs, the fillers turn the wheel.
Empty the woolly rack, and fill the reel.
A mournful found again the mother hears;
Again the mournful found invades the filler's ears: 495
Start-
}
]
19* DR YD EN'S VIRGIL.
Starting at once from their green feats, they rife;
Fear in their heart, amazement in their eyes.
But Arethufa, leaping from her bed,
Firft lifts above the waves her beauteous head ;
And, crying from afar, thus to Cyrenefaid: 500.
O filler! not with caufelefs fear pofieft,
]Sfo ftranger voice difturbs thy tender brealL
'Tis Ariftsus, 'tis thy darling fon.
Who to his carelefs mother makes his moan.
Near his paternal ft ream he fadly ftands., 505
With down-caft eyes, wet cheeks, and folded hands:
Upbraiding heaven from whence his lineage came.
And cruel calls the gods, and cruel thee, by name.
Cyrene, mo-v'd with love, and feiz'd with fear.
Cries out. Conduct my fon, conduft him here: 510
'Tis lawful for the youth, deriv"d from gods.
To view the fecrets of our deep abodes.
At once flie wav'd her hand on either fide.
At once the ranks of fwelling ftreams divide.
Two rifing heaps of liquid cryftal ftand, 51^
And leave a fpace betwixt, of empty fand.
Thus fafe receiv'd, the downward track he treads.
Which to his mother's watery palace leads.
With wondering eyes he views the fecret ftore
Of lakes, that pent in hollow caverns roar. 520
He hears the crackling found of coral v/oods.
And fees the fecret fource of fubtcrranean floods.
And where, diftinguiih'd in their feveral cells,
Tiie fount of Phafis and of Lycus dwells;
Where
G E O R G r C IV,
I9J
Where fwift Enipeus in his bed appears, 52^
And Tiber his majeftic forehead rears.
Whence Anio flows, and Hypanis, profound.
Breaks through th' oppofing rocks with raging found.
Where Po firft iffues from his dark abodes.
And, awful in his cradle, rules the floods, 530
Two golden horns on his large front he wears.
And his grim face a bull's refemblance bears.
With rapid courfe he feeks the facred main.
And fattens, as he runs, the fruitful plain.
Now to the court arriv'd, th' admiring fon 555
Beholds the vaulted roofs of pory ftone.
Now to his mother goddefs tells his grief.
Which flte with pity hears, and promifes relief.
Th' officious nymphs, attending in a ring.
With water drawn from their perpetual fprin^^, 3*40
From earthly dregs his body purify.
And rub his temples, with fine towels, dry:
Then load the tables with a liberal feaft.
And honour with full bowls their friendly guefl:.
The facred altars are involv'd in fmoke, 545
And the bright quire their kindred gods invoke.
Two bowls the mother fills with Lydian wine ;
Then thus, let thefe be pour'd, with rites divine.
To the o-reat author of our waterv line.
o
To father Ocean, this; and this, Ihe faid, SS'^^
Be to the nymphs his facred fillers paid, I
Who rule the watery plains, and hold the woodland f
fliade. J
Vol. XXIL O She
}
J94 DRYDEN'S VIRGIL;
She fprinkled thrice, with wine, the veflal fire.
Thrice to the vaulted roof the flames afpire,
Rais'd with fo bleft an omen, fhe begun.
With words like thefe to chear her drooping fon.
In the Carpathian bottom makes abode
The fhepherd of the feas, a prophet and a god;
High o'er the main in watery pomp he rides.
His azure car and finny courfers guides ;
Proteus his name ; to his Pallenian port
I fee from far the weary god refort.
Him, not alone, we river-gods adore.
But aged Nereus hearkens to his lore.
With fure forefight, and with unerring doom.
He fees what is, and was, and is to come.
This Neptune gave him, when he gave to keep
His fcaly flocks, that graze the watery deep.
Implore his aid, for Proteus only knows
The fecret caufe, and cure of all thy woes.
But firft the wily wizard muft be caught.
For unconftrain'd he nothing tells for naught;
Nor is with prayers, or bribes, or flattery bought
Surprize him firft, and with hard fetters bind ;
Then all his frauds will vanifli into wind, 57^^
I will myfelf conduft thee on thy way.
When next the fouthing fui) inflames the day;
When the dry herbage thirfts for dews in vain.
And flieep, in fliades, avoid the parching plain ;
Then will I lead thee to his fecret featj 5^0^
When, weary with his toil, and fcorch'd with heat, >
The wayward fire frequents his cool retreat, J
His
}
G E O R G I C IV. 195
iHIs eyes widi heavy flumber overcaft;
With force invade his limbs, and bind him faft:
Thus furcly bound, yet be not over bold, 58^
The flippcry god will try to loofc his hold :
And various forms affume to cheat thy light;
And with vain images of beads affright.
'With foamy tufks will fcem a briilly boar,
•Or imitate the lion's angry roar; 590
Break out in crackling flames to fliun thy fnare.
Or hifs a dragon, or a tiger ftare:
<Or with a wile thy caution to betray.
In fleeting ftreams attempt to Aide away.
But thou, the more he varies forms, beware 59^
To ftrain his fetters with a flrider care :
Till, tiring all his arts, he turns again
To his true fhape, in which he firft was feen.
This faid, with nedar Ihe her foa aijoints :
!Infuiing vigour through his mortal joints; 600
Down from his head the liquid odours ran:
He breath'd of heaven, and look'd above a man.
Within a mountain's hollow womb there lies
A large recefs, conceal'd from human eyes ;
Where heaps of billows, driven by wind and tide, 605"
In form of war, their
And there, like fentries :
A ll^tjpn fafe for Ihips, when tempefts roar,
A filent harbour, and a cover 'd fliore.
Secure withiii refides the various god, 610
And driiws a rock upon his dark abode,
O 3 Hither
s, driven by wind and tide, 60^ ^
watery ranks divide; [•
s fet, without the mouth abide ; J
the!
19S DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
Hither with filent fteps, fecure from fight.
The goddefs guides her fon, and turns him from the
light:
Herfelf, involv'd in clouds, precipitates her fligh
'Twasnoon; the fultry dog-ftar from the fky 615"
Scorch'd Indian fwains, the rivel'd grafs was dry ;
The fun, with flaming arrows, pierc'd the flood.
And, darting to the bottom, bak'd the mud :
When weary Proteus, from the briny waves,
Retir'd for fhelter to his wonted caves : 600
His finny flocks about their fliepherd play.
And, rolling round him, fpirt the bitter fea.
TJnwieldily they wallow firft in ooze.
Then in the fliady covert feek repofe.
Himfelf their herdfman, on the middle mount, 625
Takes of his mufter'd flocks a jufl: account.
So, feated on a rock, a fliepherd's groom
Surveys his evening flocks returning home:
When lowing calves, and bleating lambs, from far.
Provoke the prouling wolf to nightly war. 65C
Th' occafion offers, and the youth complies:
For fcarce the weary god had clos'd his eyes.
When rufliing on, with fliouts, he binds in chains
The drowfy prophet, and his limbs conftrains.
He, not unmindful of his ufual art, 655
Fiift in diflTembled fire attempts to part :
Then roaring beafts and running dreams he tries.
And wearies all his miracles of lies :
But, having (hifted every form to 'fcape,
Convinc'd of conquell, he refum'd his fliape; 64c
Am
G E O R G T C IV. ttif
And thus, at length, in human accent fpoke:
Audacious youth, what madnefs could provoke
A mortal man t' invade a fleeping god ?
What bufinefs brought thee to my dark abode?
To this th' audacious youth: Thou knovv'il: full
well 64^
My name, and bufmefs, god, nor need I tell:
No man can Proteus cheat; but, Proteus, leave
Thy fraudful arts, and do not thou deceive.
Following the gods' command, I come t' implore
Thy help, my perifh'd people to reftore. 6^0
The feer, who could not yet his wrath afTuage,
Roll'd his green eyes, that fparkled with his rage;
And gnafh'd his teeth, and cry'd. No vulgar god
Purfues thy crimes, nor with a common rod.
Thy great mifdeeds have met a due reward, 655
And Orpheus' dying prayers at length are heard;
For crimes, not his, the lover loft his life.
And at thy hands requires his murder'd wife;
Nor (if the Fates aiTift not) canft thou 'fcape
The juft revenge of that intended rape. 6^60
To Ihun thy lawlefs luft, the dying bride.
Unwary, took along the river's fide :
Nor at her heels perceiv'd the deadly fnake.
That keeps the bank, in covert of the brake.
But all her fellow-nymphs the mountains tear 66^
With loud laments, and break the yielding air;
The realms of Mars remurmur'd all around.
And echoes to th' Athenian fhores rebound,
O 3 The
198 DRYDEN*S VIRGIL
Th' unhappy hufband, hufband ftow no mofe^
Did on his tuneful harp his lofs deplore.
And fought, his mournful mind with mufic to feftore.
On thee, dear wife, in defarts all alone.
He call'd, figh'd, fung, his griefs with day begun,
Nor were they finifh'd with the fetting fun.-
Ev'n to the dark dominions of the night 675
He took his way, through forefts void of light :
And dar'd amidft the trembling gh'ofls to fmg.
And flood before th' inexorable king.
Th' infernal troops like paffing Ihadows glide.
And, liflening, crowd the fweet mufician's fide. 6S0
Nor flocks of birds when driven by ftorms or night.
Stretch to the foreft with fo thick a flight.
Men, matrons, children, and th' unmarry'd maid, -j
* The mighty heroes more majeftic fhade; I
And youths on funeral piles before their parents laid, J
All thefe Cocytus bounds with fqualid reeds ,1
With muddy ditches, and with deadly weeds:
And baleful Styx encompaflfes around,
"With rtine flow circling flreams, th' unhappy ground,
Ev'n from the depths of hell the damn'd advance, 690
Th' infernal manfions nodding feem to dance :
The gaping three-mouth'd dog forgets to fnarl.
The Furies hearken, and their fnakes uncurl :
Ixion feems no more his pain to feel.
But leans attentive on his llanding-wheeL 69 j
All
* This whole line is taken from the Marquis of Normanbj's
tranflation, Drvekn.
G E O R G r C IV. lyj
All dangers paft, at length the lovely bride
In fafety goes, with her melodious guide;
Longing the common light again to (hare.
And draw the vital breath of upper air:
He firft, and clofe behind him follow'd fhe, 703
For fuch was Proferpine's fcvere decree.
When ftrong defires th' impatient youth invade;
By little caution and much love betray'd;
A fault which eafy pardon might receive.
Were lovers judges, or could hell forgive. 70^
For near the confines of etherial light.
And longing for the glimmering of a fight,
Th* unwary lover caft his eyes behind.
Forgetful of the law, nor mafter of his mind.
Straight all his hopes exhal'd in empty fmoke; 710
And his long toils were forfeit for a look.
Three flafhes of blue lightning gave the fign
Of covenants broke, three peals of thunder joih.
Then thus the bride : What fury feiz'd on thee.
Unhappy man! to lofe thyfelf and me? 715
Dragged back again by cruel deftinies.
An iron flumber (hut my fwimming eyes.
And now farewel, involv'd in (hades of night,
For ever I am ravifh'd from thy fight.
In vain I reach my feeble hands to join 720
In fweet embraces ; ah! no longer thine!
She faid, and from his eyes the fleeting fair
PvCtir'd like fubtle fmoke dilTolv'd in air;
And left her hopelefs lover in defpair.
O 4 la
}
J
soo DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
In vain, with folding arms, the youth effay'd 'jn
To flop her flight, and (train the flying (hade :
He prays, he raves, all means in vain he tries.
With rage inflam'd, aftonilh'd with furprize:
But fhe return'd no more, to blefs his longing eyes.
Nor would th' infernal Ferry-man once more 730
Be brib'd, to waft him to the farther Ihore.
"What Ihonld he do, who twice had loft his love?
What notes invent, what new petitions move ?
Her foul already was conflgn'd to fate.
And fiiivering in the leaky fculler fate. 75^
For feven continued months, if fame fay true.
The wretched fwain his forrows did renew;
By Strymon's freezing ftreams he fate alone.
The rocks were mov'd to pity with his moan:
Trees bent their heads to hear him fing his v/rongs :
Fierce tigers coueh'd around, and loll'd their fawning
tongues.
So, clofe in poplar fliades, her children gone.
The mother nightingale laments alone :
Whofe neft fome prying churl had found, and thence.
By ftealth, convey'd th' unfeather'd innocence. 74^
But Ihe fupplies the night with mournful ftrains.
And melancholy mufic fills the plains.
Sad Orpheus thus his tedious hours employs,
Averfe from Venus, and from nuptial joys.
Alone he tempts the frozen floods, alone 750
Th' unhappy climes, where fpring was never known ;
He mourn'd his wretched wife, in vain rellor'd.
And Pluto's unavailing boon deplor'd.
The
'}
G E O R G I C IV. SOX
The Thracian matrons, who the youth accus'd
Of love difdain'd, and marriage rites rcfus'd, 755
With furies and noftumal orgies fir'd.
At length, againft his facrcd life confpir'd.
Whom ev'n the favage beads had fpar'd, they kill'd.
And ftrew'd his mangled limbs about the field.
Then, when his head from his fair fhoulders torn,
Wafh'd by the waters, was on Hebrus borne;
Ev'n then his trembling tongue invok'd his bride;
With his laft voice, Eur}'dice, he cry'd,
Eurydice, the rocks and river-banks reply 'd.
This anfwer Proteus gave, nor more he faid, 765" -^
But in the billows plung'd his hoary head; I
And where he leap'd, the waves in circles widely j
fpread. J
• The nymph returned, her drooping fon to chear.
And bade him banilh his fuperfluous fear;
For now, faid Ihe, the caufe is known, from whence 77^
Thy woe fucceeded, and for what offence:
The nymphs, companions of th* unhappy maid.
This punifhment upon thy crimes have laid;
And fent a plague among thy thriving bees.
W'ith vows and fuppliant prayers their powers appeafej
The foft Napxan race will foon repent
Their anger, and remit the punifhment:
The fecret in an eafy method lies ;
Seleft four brawny bulls for facrifice.
Which on Lycs^us graze, without^ a guide; 780
Add four fair heifers yet in yoke untry'd;
I For
}
ao* DRVDfiN^g VIRGIL.
For thefe, four altars in their temple rear.
And then adore the woodland powers with prayer.
From the llain viftims pour the ftreaming blood.
And leave their bodies in the Ihady wood : ^85
Nine mornings thence, Lethean poppy bring,
T' appeafe the manes of the poets king :
And, to propitiate his offended pride,
A fatted calf, and a black ewe provide :
This finilh'd, to the former woods repair. "790
His mother's precepts he performs with care;
The temple vifits, and adores with prayer.
Four altars raifes, from his herd he culls.
For Haughter, four the faireft of his bulls;
Four heifers from his female (lore he took, 79^;
All fair, and all unknowing of the yoke.
Nine mornings thence, with facrifice and prayers.
The powers aton'd, he to the grove repairs.
Behold a prodigy! for, from within
The broken bowels, and the bloated Ikin, 800
A buzzing noife of bees his ears alarms.
Straight iiTue through the fides aflembling fwarms.
Dark as a cloud they make a wheeling flight.
Then on a neighbouring tree, defcending light ;
Like a large clufler of black grapes they fhow, 805;
And make a large dependence from the bough.
Thus have I fung of fields, and flocks, and trees.
And of the waxen work of labouring bees :
While mighty Caefar, thundering from afar.
Seeks on Euphrates' banks the fpoils of war; 810
With
G E O R G I C IV. t03
With conquering arts aflerts his country's caufc.
With arts of peace the willing people draws;
On the glad earth the golden age renews.
And his great father's path to heaven purfues.
While I at Naples pafs my peaceful days, 815
Affedling ftudies of lefs noify praife :
And bold, through youth, beneath the beechen fhade.
The lays of Ihepherds, and their loves, have playd.
V I R G I L ' S
JE N
S.
[ ^07 ]
TO THE MOST HONOURABLE
JOHN,
LORD MARQUIS OF NORMANBY,
EARL OF MULGRAVE, Sec,
AND
KNIGHT OF THE MOST NOBLE ORDER OF THE
GARTER.
AN Heroic Poem, truly fuch, is undoubtedly the
greateft work which the foul of a man is capable
to perform. The defign of it is to form the mind to
heroic virtue by example ; it is conveyed in verfe, that
it may delight while it inftruiTls : the aftion of it is al-
ways one, entire, and great. The leaft and molt tri-
vial epifodes, or under-adions, which are interwoven
in it, are parts either ueceflary, or convenient, to carry
on the main defign. Either fo neceifary, that without
them the poem muft be imperfed; or fo convenient,
that no others can be imagined more fuitable to th^
place in which thev are. There is nothing to be left
void in a firm building; even the cavities ought not to
be filled with rubbilh, which is of a perifhable kind,
ideftrudive to the ftrength : but with brick or ftone,
thouglj
aoS DEDICATION.
though of lefs pieces, yet of the fame nature, and fitted
to the crannies. Even the leaft portions of them muft
be of the epic kind ; all things muft be grave, majefti-
cal, and fublime : nothing of a foreign nature, like
the trifling novels, which Ariftotle and others have in-
ferted in their poems : by which the reader is mifled
into another fort of pleafure, oppofite to that which is
defigned in an epic poem. One raifes the foul, and
hardens it to virtue; the other foftens it again, and un-
bends it into vice. One conduces to the poet's aim,
the compleating of his work; which he is driving on,
labouring and haftening in every line : the other flackens
his pace, diverts him from his way, and locks him up
like a knight-errant in an enchanted caftle, when he
Ihould be purfuing his firft adventure. Statins, as
BofTu has well obferved, was ambitious of trying his
ftrength with his mafter Virgil, as Virgil had before
tried his with Homer. The Grecian gave the two
Romans an example, in the games which were celebra-
ted at the funerals of Patroclus, Virgil imitated the
invention of Homer, but changed the fports. But both
the Greek and Latin poet took their occafions from the
fubjeft; though, to confefs the truth, they were both
ornamental, or, at beft, convenient parts of it, rather
than of neceffity arifing from it. Statius, who, through
his whole poem, is noted for want of conduft and
judgment, inftead of flaying, as he might have done,
for the death of Capaneus, Hippomedon, Tydeus, or
fome other of his feven champions (who are heroes all
alike), or more properly for the tragical end of the two
brothers.
DEDICATION. 209
brothers, whofe exequies the next fucceflbr had leifure
to perform, when the fiegc was raifed, and in the in-
terval betwixt the poet's firft aftion and his fecond,
went out of his way, as it were on propenfc malice, to
commit a fault : for he took his opportunity to kill a
royal infant, by the means of a ferpent (that author of
all evil), to make way for thofe funeral honours- which
he intended for him. Now if tbis innocent had been
ef any relation to his Thebais; if he had either fur-
thered or hindered the taking of the town, the poet
might have found fome forry excufe at leaft for the de-
taining the reader from the promifed fiege. On thefc
terms, this Capaneus of a poet engaged his two immor-
tal predecelTors, and his fuccefs was anfwerable to his
enterprize.
If this occonomy mull: be obferved in the m.tnutefl
parts of ail epic poem, which, to a common reader,
feem to be detached from the body, and almoU inde-
pendent of it, what foul, though fent into the world
with great advantages of nature, cultivated with the
liberal arts and fciences, ccnverfant with hiftcries of the
dead, and enriched with obfervations on the living,
can be fufficient to inform the whole body of fo great
a work? I touch here but tranliently, without any
Itriiil method, on fome few of thofe many rules of imi-
tating nature, which Arillotle drew from Homer's
Iliads and OdylTes, and which he fitted to the drama;
furnifliing himfelf alfo with obfervations from theprac-
tice of the theatre, when it flouriflicd under ^EfchyluS,
Eurypides, and Sophocles, For the original of the
Vol. XXII. P Ib-e
aio Dedication.
ilage was from the epic poem. Narration, doubtlefs,
preceded afting, and gave laws to it : what at firft was
told artfully, was, in procefs of time, reprefented
gracefully to the fight and hearing. Thofe epifodes of
Homer, which were proper for the ftage, the poets
amplified each into an aftion : out of his limbs they
formed their bodies : what he had contrafted they en-
larged: out of one Hercules were made infinity of
pygmies; yet all endued with human fouls : for from
him their great Creator, they have each of them the
** divinae particulum auras." They flowed from him at
firft, and are at laft refolved into him. Nor were they
only animated by him, but their meafure and fymme-
try was owing to him. His one, entire, and great ac-
tion was copied by them according to the proportions
of the drama : if he finilhed his orb within the year,
it fufficed to teach them, that their aftion being lefs,
and being alfo lefs diverfified with incidents, their orb,
of confequence, muft be circumfcribed in a lefs com-
pafs, which they reduced within the limits either of a
natural or an artificial day : fo that as he taught them
to amplify what he had Ihortened, by the fame rule
applied the contrary way, he taught them to ihorten
what he had amplified. Tragedy is the miniature of
human life : an epic poem is the draught at length.
Here, my Lord, I muft contraft alfo; for, before I
was aware, I was almoft running into a long digreflion,
to prove that there is no fuch abfolute neceffity that the
time of a ftage-adion fhould fo ftridly be confined to
twenty-four hours, as never to exceed them, for which
Ariftotle
DEDICATION. atr
Ariflotle contends, and the Grecian flagc has prafiifcd.
Some longer fpace, on fome occafions, I think may be
allowed, efpecially for the Englifh theatre, which re-
quires more variety of incidents than the French.
Corneille himfclf, after long pradice, was inclined to
think, that the time allotted by the ancients was too
fhort to raife and finifli a great aftion : and better a
mechanic rule were ftretched or broken, than a great
beauty were omitted. To raife, and afterwards to
calm the paflions, to purge the foul from pride, by the
examples of human miferies, which befal the greateft;
in few words, to expel arrogance, and introduce com-
paflion, are the great effects of tragedy. Great, I muft
confefs, if they were altogether as true as they arc
pompous. But are habits to be introduced at three
hours warning? Are radical difeafes fo fuddenly re-
moved ? A mountebank may promife fuch a cure, but
a fkilful phyfician will not undertake it. An epic
poem is not fo much in hafte: it works leifurely; the
changes which it makes are How; but the cure is likely
to be more perfed. The effecls of traged}-, as I faid,
are too violent to be lafting. If it be anfwered, that
for this reafon tragedies are often to be feen, and the
dofe to be repeated; this is tacitly to confefs, that there
is more virtue in one heroic poem, than in many tra-
gedies. A man is humbled one day, and his pride
returns the next. Chymical medicines are obferved to
relieve oftener than to cure : for it is the nature of
fpirits to make fwift impreflions, but not deep. Ga-
lenical decoclions, to which I may properly compare
? z an
aift DEDICATION.
an epic poem, have more of body in them; they work-
by their fubftance and their weight. It is one reafon
of Ariftotle's to prove that tragedy is the more noble,
becaufe it turns in a fhorter compafs ; the whole adlion
being circumfcribed within the fpace of four-and-
twenty hours. He might prove as well that a mufh-
room is to be preferred before a peach, becaufe it fhoots
up in the compafs of a night. A chariot may be dri-
ven round the pillar in lefs fpace than a large machine,
becaufe the bulk is not fo great : is the Moon a more
noble planet than Saturn, becaufe (he makes her revo-
lution in lefs than thirty days, and he in little lefs than
thirty years ? Both their orbs are in proportion to their
feveral magnitudes ; and, confequently, the quicknefs
or llownefs of their motion, and the time of their cir-
cumvolutions, is no argument of the greater or lefs
perfedion. And befides, what virtue is there in a tra-
gedy, which is not contained in an epic poem ; where
pride is humbled, virtue rewarded, and vicepunilhed;
and thofe more amply treated, than the narrownefs of
the drama can admit ? The fhining quality of an epic
hero, his magnanimity, his conftancy, his patience, his
piety, or whatever charafleriftical virtue his poet gives
him, raifes firft our admiration: we are naturally prone
to imitate what we admire: and frequent afts produce
a habit. If the hero's chief quality be vicious, as for
example, the choler and obftinate defire of vengeance
in Achilles, yet the moral is inflruftive: and befdes,
we are informed in the very propofition of the Iliads,
that his anger was pernicious 5 that it brought a thou-
fand
DEDICATION. «ii
fand ills on the Grecian camp. The courage of Achil-
les is propofed to imitation, not his pride and difobe-
dience to his general, nor his brutal cruelty to his dead
enemy, nor the felling his body to his father. We
abhor thefe adions while we read them, and what we
abhor we never imitate : the poet only fhews them like
rocks or quick-fands, to be fhunned.
By this example, the critics have concluded that it
is not neceflary the manners of the hero fhould be vir-
tuous. They are poetically good if they are of a piece.
Though where a charafter of perfeft virtue is fet be-
fore us, it is more lovely: for there the whole hero is
to be imitated. This is the i5!neas of our author:
this is that idea of perfeftion in an epic poem, which
painters and ftatuaries have only in their minds; and
which no hands are able to exprefs. Thefe are the
beauties of a god in a human body. When the pidure
of Achilles is drawn in tragedy, he is taken with thofe
warts, and moles, and hard features, by thofe who re-
prefent him on the ftage, or he is no more Achilles :
for his creator Homer has fo defcribed him. Yet even
thus he appears a perfect hero, though an imperfe(fl
charader of virtue. Horace paints him after Homer,
and delivers him to be copied on the ftage with all thofe
imperfeftions. Therefore they are either not faults in
an heroic poem, or faults common to the drama. Af-
ter all, on the whole merits of the caufe, it muft be
acknowledged that the epic poem is more for the man-
ners, and tragedy for the paiTions. The paflions, as I
have faid, are violent: and acute diflempers require
P 3 medicines
«i4 DEDICATION.
medicines of a Ilrong and fpeedy operation. Ill habits
of the mind are, like chronical difeafes, to be correfted
by degrees, and cured by alteratives : wherein though
purges are fometimes neceffary, yet diet, good air, and
moderate exercife, have the greateft part. The matter
being thus ftated, it will appear that both forts of poe-
try are of ufe for their proper ends. The ftage is more
adive, the epic poem works at greater leifure, yet is
afted too, when need requires. For dialogue is imi-
tated by the drama, from the more adive parts of it.
One puts off a fit like the quinquina, and relieves us
only for a time ; the other roots out the diftemper, and
gives a healthful habit. The fun enlightens and chears
us, difpels fogs, and warms the ground with his daily
beams ; but the corn is fowed, increafes, is ripened,
and is reaped for ufe in procefs of time, and in its pro-
per feafon. I proceed from the greatnefs of the aftion,
to the dignity of the adors, I mean the perfons em-
ployed in both poems. There likewife tragedy will
be feen to borrow from the epopee; and that which
borrows is always of lefs dignity, becaufe it has not of
its own. A fubjeft, it is true, may lend to his fove-
reign ; but the aft of borrowing makes the king infe-
rior, becaufe he wants, and the fubjed fupplies. And
fuppofe the perfons of the drama wholly fabulous, or
of the poet's invention, yet heroic poetry gave him the
examples of that invention, becaufe it was firft, and
Homer the common father of the flage, I know not
of any one advantage which tragedy can boaft above
heroic poetry, but that it is reprefented to the view, as
5 well
DEDICATION. u^
well as read : and inftruds in the clofet, as well as on
the theatre. This is an uncontended excellence, and
a chief branch of its prerogati\e; yet I may be allow-
ed to fay, without partiality, that herein the adors fhare
the poet's praife. Your Lordfhip knows fome modern
tragedies which are beautiful on the ftage, and yet I
am confident you would not read them. Triphon, the
ftationer, complains they are feldom alked for in his
fhop. The poet who flourifhed in the fcene, is damned
in the Ruelle; nay more, he is not efteemed a good
poet by thofe who fee and hear his extravagancies with
delight. They are a fort of {lately fuilian, and lofty
childiflinefs. Nothing but nature can give a fmcere
pleafure; where that is not imitated, it is grotefque
painting, the fine woman ends in a fifli's tail.
I might alfo add, that many things, which not only
pleafe, but are real beauties in the reading, would ap-
pear abfurd upon the ftage : and thofe not only the
** fpeciofa miracula," as Horace calls them, of transfor-
mations, of Scylla, Antiphanes, and the Leftrigons,
which cannot be reprefented even in operas, but the
prowefs of Achilles, or iEneas, would appear ridicu-
lous in our dwarf-heroes of the theatre. We can be-
lieve they routed armies in Homer, or in Virgil; but
*' ne Hercules contra duos" in the drama. I forbear to
inftance in many things, which the ftage cannot, or
ought not to reprefent. For I have faid already more
than I intended on this fubjed, and fhould fear it
might be turned againft me; that I plead for the pre-
eminence of epic poetry, becaufe I have taken fome
P 4 pains
ai6 DEDICATION.
pains in tranflating Virgil ; if this were the firfl tim0
that I had delivered my opinion in this difpute. But
I have more than once already maintained the rights of
my two mailers againft their rivals of the fcene, even
while I wrote tragedies myfelf, and had no thoughts of
this prefent undertaking. I fubmit my opinion to your
judgment, who are better qualified than any man I
know to decide this controverfy. You come, my Lord,
inftrufted in the caufe, and needed not that I ftiould
open it. Your Effay of Poetry, which was publiihed
without a name, and of which I was not honoured
with the confidence, I read over and over with much
delight, and as much inftruftion : and, without flat-
tering you, or making myfelf more moral than I am,
not without fome envy. I was loth to be informed
how an epic poem {hould be written, or how a tragedy
Ihould be contrived and managed, in better verfe, and
with more judgment, than I could teach others. A
rative of Parnaffus, and bred up in the fludies of its
fundamental laws, may receive new lights from his
contemporaries ; but it is a grudging kind of praife
which he gives his benefaftors. He is more obliged
than he is willing to acknowledge : there is a tincture
of malice in his commendations. For where I own I
am taught, I confefs my want of knowledge. A
judge upon the bench may, out of good-nature, or at
leaft intent:!!:, encourage the pleadings of a puny coun-
sellor; but he does not willingly commend his brother-
ferjeant at the bar; efpecially when he controls his law,
and expofes that ignorance which is made facred by hi&
place.
DEDICATION. iif
place, I gave the unknown author his due commenda-
tion, I muft confefs: but who can anfwer for me, and
for the reft of the poets, who heard me read the poem,
whether we fl^iould not have been better pleafed to have
feen our own names at the bottom of the title-page ?
Perhaps we commended it the more, that we might
feem to be above the cenfure. We are naturally dif-
pleafed with an unknown critic, as the ladies are with
a lampooner; becaufe we are bitten in the dark, and
know not where to faften our revenge. But great ex-
cellencies will work their way through all forts of op-
pofition. I applauded rather out of decency than af-
fedion ; and was ambitious, as fome yet can witnefs,
to be acquainted with a man with whom I had the ho-
nour to converfe, and that almoft daily, for fo many
years together. Heaven knows, if I have heartily for-
given you this deceit. You extorted a praife, which I
fhould willingly have given had I known you. No-
thing had been more eafy than to commend a patron of
a long ftanding. The world would join with me, if
the encomiums were juft; and if unjuft, would excufe
a grateful flatterer. But to come anonymous upon me,
and force me to commend you againft my intereft, was
not altogether fo fair, give m.e leave to fay, as it was
politic. For, by concealing your quality, you might
clearly underftand how your work fucceeded; and that
the general approbation was given to your merit, not
your titles. 'Thus, like Apelles, you ftood unfeen
behind your own Venus, and received the praifes of the
paffing multitude : the work was commended, not the
author :
aiS DEDICATION.
author : and I doubt not, this was one of the moff
pleafing adventures of your life.
I have detained your Lordlhip longer than I intend-
ed in this difpute of preference betwixt the epic poem
and the drama : and yet have not formally anfwered
any of the arguments which are brought by Ariftotle
on the other fide, and fet in the faireft light by Dacier.
But I fuppofe, without looking on the book, I may
have touched on fome of the objedions. For, in this
addrefs to your Lordfliip, I defign not a treatife of
heroic poetry, but write in a loofe epiftolary way,
fomewhat tending to that fubjed, after the example of
Horace, in his firft epiftle of the fecond book to Au-
guftus Caefar, and of that to the Pifos, which we call
his Art of Poetry. In both of which he obferves no
method that I can trace, whatever Scaliger the father,
or Heinfius, may have feen, or rather think they had
feen. I have taken up, laid down, and refumed, as
often as I pleafed, the fame fubjed : and this loofe pro-
ceeding I {hall ufe through all this prefatory Dedica-
tion. Yet all this while I have been failing with fome
lide-wind or other toward the point I propofed in the
beginning; the greatnefs and excellency of an heroic
poem, with fome of the difficulties which attend that
work. The comparifon therefore which I made be-
twixt the epopee, and the tragedy, was not altogether
a digreffion ; for it is concluded on all hands, that
they are both the mafter-pieces of human wit.
In the mean time, I may be bold to draw this corol-
lary from what has been already faid. That the file of
heroic
DEDICATION. 219
lieroic poets is very fhort : all are not fuch who have
affumed that lofty title in ancient or modern ages, or
have been fo efleemed by their partial and ignorant ad-
mirers.
There have been but one great Ilias, and one JEnt'is,
in fo many ages. The next, but the next with a long
interval betwixt, was the Jerufalem: I mean not fo
much in diftance of time, as in excellency. After
thefe three are entered, fome Lord Chamberlain fhould
be appointed, fome critic of authority Ihould be fet be-
fore the door, to keep out a crowd of little poets, who
prefs for admiffion, and are not of quality. Mxvius
would be deafening your Lordfhip's ears, with his
'* Fortunam Priami cantabo, & nobile bellum."
Mere fuftian, as Horace would tell you from behind,
without preffmg forward, and more fmoke than fire,
Pulci, Boyardo, and Arioflo, would cry out. Make
room for the Italian poets, the defcendants of Virgil
in a right line. Father Le Moin, with his Saint Louis;
and Scudery with his Alaric, for a godly king, and a
Gothic conqueror; and Chapelain would take it ill
that his maid fhould be refufed a place with Helen and
Lavinia. Spenfer has a better plea for his Fairy Queen
had his adion been finifhed, or had been one. And
Milton, if the devil had not been his hero, inflead of
Adam, if the giant had not foiled the knight, and
driven him out of his flrong hold, to wander
through the world with his lad\-errant; and if there
had not been more machining perfons than human, in
his
aac D E D I C A T I ^r.
his poem. After thefe, the refl: of our Englifli poets
fhall not be mentioned. I have that honour for them
which I ought to have; but if they are worthies, they
are not to be ranked amongft the three whom I have
named, and who are eftablifhed in their reputation.
Before I quitted the comparifon betwixt epic poetry
and tragedy, I (hould have acquainted my judge with
one advantage of the former over the latter, which I
now cafually remember out of the preface of Segrais
before his tranfiation of the ^Eneis, or out of Boffu,
no matter v/hich. The ftyle of the heroic poem is,
and ought to be, more lofty than that of the drama.
The critic is certainly in the right, for the reafon al-
ready urged : the work of tragedy is on the paffions ;
and, in a dialogue, both of them abhor ftrong meta-
phors, in which the epopee delights. A poet cannot
fpeak too plainly on the ftage : for, ** Volat irrevocabile
%'erbum;" the fenfe is loft, if it be not taken flying;
but what we read alone, we have leifure to digeft.
There an author may beautify his fenfe by the boldnefs
of his expreffion, which, if we underftand not fully
at the firft, we may dwell upon it, till we find the fe-
cret force and excellence. That which cures the man-
ners by alterative phyfic, as I faid before, muft pro-
ceed by infenfible degrees; but that which purges the
paffions, muft do its bufinefs all at once, or wholly
fail of its effeft, at leaft in the prefent operation, and
without repeated dofes. We muft beat the iron while
it is hot, but we may polifh it at leifure. Thus, my
Lord, you pay the fine of my forgetfulnefs ; and yet
the
DEDICATION. azi
the merits of both caufes are where they were, and un-
decided, till you declare whether it be more for the be-
nefit of mankind to have their manners in general cor-
refted, or their pride and hard-heartednefs removed.
I mud now come clofer to my prefent bufinefs; and
not thinking of making more in\aru'e wars abroad,
when, like Hannibal, I am called back to the defence
of my own country. Virgil is attacked by many ene-
mies : he has a whole confederacy againft him, and I
mufl endeavour to defend him as well as I am able.
But their principal objections being againft his moral,
the duration or length of time taken up in the a6lion
of the poem, and what they have to urge againft the
manners of his hero; I fhall omit the reft as mere ca-
vils of grammarians ; at the worft but cafual flips of a
great man's pen, or inconiiderable faults of an admi-
rable poem, which the author had not leifure to review
before his death. Macrobius has anfwered what the
ancients could urge againft him; and fome things I
have lately read in Tanneguy, le Fevre, Valois, and
another whom I name not, which are fcarce worth an-
fwering. They begin with the moral of his poem,
which I have elfewhere confeffed, and ftill muft own,
not to be fo noble as that of Homer. But let both be
fairly ftated; and, without contradiding my firft opi-
nion, I can fliew that Virgil's was as ufeful to the Ro-
mans of his age, as Homer's was to the Grecians of
his; in what time foever he may be fuppofed to have
lived and flouriftied. Homer's m.oral was to urge the
neceiTity of union, and of a good underftanding be-
twixt
ft2i D E D I C A T I Nrf
twixt confederate ftates and princes engaged in a war
with a mighty monarch ; as alfo of difcipline in an
army, and obedience in their feveral chiefs, to the fu-
preme commander of the joint forces. To inculcate
this, he fets forth the ruinous effefts of difcord in the
camp of thofe allies, occafioned by the quarrel betwixt
the general, and one of the next in office under him.
Agamemnon gives the provocation, and Achilles
refents the injury. Both parties are faulty in the quar-
xel, and accordingly they are both punifhed : the ag-
greflbr is forced to fue for peace to his inferior on dif-
honourable conditions ; the deferter refufes the fatis-
faftion offered, and his obftinacy colls him his beft
friend. This works the natural effeft of choler, and
turns his rage againft him by whom he was laft af-
fronted, and moft fenfibly. The greater anger expels
thelefs; but his charafter is ftill preferved. In the
mean time the Grecian army receives lofs on lofs, and
is half deftroyed by a peftilence into the bargain.
" Quicquid delirant reges, pleduntur Achivi/'
As the poet, in the firft part of the example, had •
fhewn the bad eifefts of difcord, fo after the reconcile-
ment he gives the good effe5ls of unity. For Hedlor
is flain, and then Troy mull fall. By this it is pro-
bable, that Homer lived when the Median m.onarchy
was grov/n formidable to the Grecians; and that the
joint endeavours of his countrymen were little enough
to preferve their common freedom from ryi encroaching
enemy. Such was his moral, wliich all critics have
allov/ed
DEDICATION. j.zj
allowed to be more noble than that of Virgil, though
not adapted to the times in which the Roman poet lived.
Had Virgil flourifhed in the age of Ennius, and ad-
drelTed to Scipio, he had probably taken the fame mo-
ral, or fome other not unlike it. For then the Romans
were in as much danger from the Carthaginian com-
monwealth, as the Grecians were from the Ailyrian
or Median monarchy. But we are to confider him as
writing his poem in a time when the old form of go-
vernment was fubverted, and a new one juft eftablifhed
by Oclavius Casfar; in effeft by force of arms, but
feemingly by the confent of the Roman people. The
commonwealth had received a deadly wound in the
former civil wars betwixt Marius and Sylla. The
commons, while the firft prevailed, had almoft fhaken
off the yoke of the nobility; and Maius and Cinna,
like the captains of the mob, under the fpecious pre-
tence of the public good, and of doing juftice on the
opprefTors of their liberty, revenged themfelves, with-
out form of law, on their private enemies. Sylla, in
his turn, profcribed the heads of the adverfe party :
he, too, had nothing but liberty and reformation in
his mouth (for the caufe of religion is but a modern
motive to rebellion, invented by the chriftian prieft-
hood, refining on the heathen). Sylla, to be fure,
meant no more good to the Roman people than Marius
before, whatever he declared; but facrificed the lives,
and took the eftates of all his enemies, to gratify thofc
who brought him into power: fuch was the reforma-
tion of the governmeiU by both parties. The fenate
and
t^^ DEDICATION.
and the commons were the two bafes on which it
ftood ; and the two champions of either fadion, each
deftroyed the foundations of the other fide : fo the fa-
bric of confequence muft fall betwixt them, and tyran-
ny muft be built upon their ruins. This comes of al-
tering fundamental laws and conftitutions. Like him,
who, being in good health, lodged himfelf in a phyfi-
cian's houfe, and was over-perfuaded by his landlord
to take phyfic, of which he died, for the benefit of his
doftor: ** Stavo ben (was written on his monument)
ma, perftar meglio, llo qui."
After the death of thofe two ufurpers, the common-
wealth feemed to recover, and held up its head for a
little time. But it was all the while in a deep con-
fumption, which is a flattering difeafe. Pompey,
Craflus, and Csfar, had found the fweets of arbitrary
povvcr; and, each being a check to the other's growth,
ftruck up a falfe friendfliip amongft themfelves, and
divided the government betwixt them, which none of
them was able to affume alone. Thefe were the pub-
lic-fpirited men of their age, that is, patriots of their
own intereft. The commonwealth looked with a florid
countenance in their management, fpread in bulk, and
all the while was wafting in the vitals. Not to trouble
}'our Lordiliip with the repetition of what you know :
iifter the death of CraiTus, Pompey found himfelf out-
witted by Csefar; broke with him, overpowered him
in the fenate, and caufed many unjuft decrees to pafs
againft him: Caefar, thus injured, and unable to refift
the fadion of the nobles, which was now uppermoft
(for
DEDICATION. 125
(for lie was a Marian) had rccourfe to arms; and his
caufc was juft againft Pompey, but not againft his
country; whofe conftitution ought to have been fa-
cred to him; and never to have been violated on the
account of any private wrong. But he prevailed ; and
heaven declaring for him, he became a providential
monarch, under the title of Perpetual Didator. He
being murdered by his own fon, whom I neither dare
commend, nor can juftly blame (though Dante, in his
Inferno, has put him and Caflius, and Judas Ifcariot
betwixt them, into the great devil's mouth; the com-
monwealth popped up its head for the third time, under
Brutus and Gaflius, and then funk for ever.
Thus the Ronian people were grofsly gulled, twice
or thrice over; and as often enfiaved in one century,
and under the fame pretence of reformation. At laft
the two battles of Philippi gave the decifivc ftroke
againft liberty; and not long after, the commonwealth
was turned into a monarchy, by the conduiftand good-
fortune of Auguftus. It is true, that the defpotic
power could not have fallen into better hands, than
thofe of the firft and fecond Caefar. Your Lordfliip
well knows what obligations Virgil had to the latter of
them: he faw, befide, that the commonwealth was-
loft without refource: the heads of it deftroyed; the'
fenate new moulded, grown degenerate; and either
bought off, or thrufting their own necks into the yoke,
out of fear of being forced. Yet I may fafely affirm for
our great author (as men of eood fcnfe are generall/
Vol, XXII. q1 honcft)
2j6 DEDICATION.
honeil) that he was Hill of republican principles m
his heart —
*' Secretifque piis, his dantem jura Catonem."
I think, I need ufe no other argument to jufti fy my
opinion, than that of this one line, taken from the
eighth book of the ^Eneis. If he had not well ftudied
his patron's temper, it might have ruined him with
another prince. But Auguftus was not difcontented,
at leaft that we can find, that Cato was placed, by his
ov/n poet, in Elyllum; and there giving laws to the
holy fouls, who defcrved to be feparated from the vul-
gar fort of good fpirits. For his confcience could not
but whifper to the arbitrary monarch, that the kings
of Rome were at firil eleftive, and governed not with-
out a fenate: that Romulus was no hereditary prince,
and though, after his death, he received divine ho-
nours, for the good he did on earth, yet he was but a
god of their own making : that the laft Tarquin was
expelled juftly for overt-adls of tyranny, and male-
adminiftration ; for fuch are the conditions of an elec-
tive kingdom : and I meddle not with others : being,
for my own opinion, of Montaigne's principles. That
an honeft man ought to be contented with that form
of government, and with thofe fundamental cbnftitu-
tions of it, which he received from his anceftors, and
under which himfelf was born. Though at the fame
time he confeifed freely, that if he could have chofen
his place of birth, it fhould have been at Venice:
which.
DEDICATION. ity
viliich, for many reafons, I diflike, and am better
plcafcd to have been born an Engliihman.
But to return from my long rambling: I fay that
Virgil having maturely weighed the condition of the
times in which he lived.; that an entire liberty was not
to be retrieved : that the prefent fettlement had the
profped of a long continuance in the fame family, or
thofe adopted into it: that he held his paternal eftate
from the bounty of the conqueror, by whom he was
likewife enriched, eflcemed, and cherifhed : that this
conqueror, though of a bad kind, was the -^'ery bed of
it: that the arts of peace fiourilbed under him: that
all men might be happy, if they would be quiet : that
now he was in poflelTion of the whole, yet he (hared a
great part of his authority with the fenate : that he
would be chofen into the ancient offices of the com-
monwealth, and ruled by the power which he derived
from them; and prorogued his government from time
to time : ftill, as it were, threatening to difmifs him-
felf from public cares, which he exercifed more for the
common good, than for any delight he took in great-
nefs: thefe things^ I fay, being confidered by the
poet, he concluded it to be the intereft of his country
to be fo governed : to infufe an awful refpeft into the
people towards fuch a prince : by that refped to con-
Arm their obedience to him : and by that obedience to
make them happy. This was the moral of his divine
poem : honeft in the poet: honourable to the emperor,
whom he derives from a divine extradlion ; and refleft-
ing part of that honoui on the Roman people, whom
0^2 he
^1% D E D I C A T I O N.
he derives alfo from the Trojans ; and not only proH-
table, but neceffary to the prefent age; and likely to
be fucH t6 their pofterity. That it was the received
opinion that the Romans vi^ere defcended from the
Trojans, and Julius Csiar from lulus the fon of
^^neas, was enough for Virgil; though perhaps he
thought not fo himfelf: or that iEneas ever was in
Italy, which Bochartus manifeftly proves. And Ho-
mer, where he fays that Jupiter hated the houfe of
Priam, and was refolved to transfer the kingdom td
the family of i^neas, yet mentions nothing of his
leading a colony into a foreign country, and fettling
there: but that the Romans valued themfelves on
their Trojan anceflry, is fo undoubted a truth, that I
need not prove it. Even the feals which Vv-e have re-
maining of Julius CaeHir, which we know to be an-
tique, have the ftar of Venus over them, though they
were all graven after his death, as a note that he was
deified. I doubt not but one reafon, why Auguflus
fhould be fo paiTionately concerned for the prefervation
of the ^neis, which its author had condemned to be
burnt, as an imperfeft poem, by his laft will and tef-
tament, was, bccaufe it did him a real fervice, as
well as an honour; that a work fhould not be loft,
where his divine original was celebrated in verfe,
which had the character of immortality ftamped upon
it.
Neither were the gre t Rornan families which fiou-
riflied in his time, Icfs obliged to him than the empe-
ror. Your Lordlliip krAO^vs with what addrefs he makes
mention.
DEDICATION. ^rj
mention of them, as captains of fhips, or leaders in
the war; and even fome of Italian extraction are not
forgotten. Thefe are the lingle ftars which are fprink-
led through the .^neis : but there are whole conftel-
lations of them in the fifth book. And I could not
but take notice, when I tranflated it, of fome farour-
ite families to which he gives the vidory, and awards
the prizes, in the perfon of his hero, at the funeral
games which w^ere celclrated in honour of Anchifes,
I infift not on their names; but am pleafed to find
the Memmii amongft them, derived from Mneftheus,
becaufe Lucretius dedicates to one of that family, a
branch of which deftroyed Corinth, I likewife either
found or formed an image to myfelf of the contrary
kind ; that thofe who loft the prizes, were firch as dif-
obliged the poet, or were in difgrace with Auguflus,
or enemies to Maecenas : and this was the poetical re-
venge he took. For *' genus irritabile Vatum," as Ho-
race fays. When a poet is thoroughly provoked, he
will do himfelf juftice, however dear it coft him, " Ani-
mamque in vulnere ponit." I think thefe are not bare
imaginations of my own, though I find no trace of
them in the commentators : but one poet may judge
of another, by himfelf. The vengeance we defer, is
not forgotten. I hinted before, that the whole Ro-
man people were obliged by Virgil, in deriving them
from Troy; an anceftry which they affecled. We,
and the French, are of the r:*me humour: thev would
be thought to defcend from a fon, I think, of HcClor :
and we would have our Britain both named and plant-
^3o B E D I C A T I O N.
ed by a defcendant of -^neas. Spenfer favours this,
qplnion what he can. His Prince Arthur, or whoever
he intends by him, is a Trojan. Thus the hero of
Homer was a Grecian, of Virgil a Roman, of TafT
,^ Italian.
I have tranfgrefred my bounds, and gone farther
than the moral leads me. But if your Lordfhip is not
?ired, I am fafe enough.
Thus far, I think, my author is defended. But as
Auguftus is Hill fliadowed in the perfon of iEneas, of
which I fhall fay more when I come to the manners
which the poet gives his hero, I mull prepare that
fubjeft, by Ihowing how dextroufly he managed both
the prince and people, fo as to difpleafe neither, and
to do good to both; which is the part of a wife and
5vn honeft man : and proves, that it is poflible for a
courtier not to be a knave. I Ihall continue ftill to
fpeak my thoughts like a free-born fubjed, as I am ^
though fuch things perhaps, as no Dutch commentator
could, and I am fure no Frenchman durft, I have
already told your Lordihip my opinion of Virgil; that
he was no arbitrary man : obliged he was to his mafter
for his bounty; and he repays him with good counfel,.
how to behave himfelf in his new monarchy, fo as to
gain the aifedions of his fubjeds, and deferve to be
called the father of his country. From this confidera-
tlon it is, that he chofe the ground-work of his poem,,
one empire deftroyed, and another raifed from the
ruins of it. This was the juft parallel. iEneas
could not pretend to be Priam's heir> in a lineal fuc-
cefiion s
r> E D I C A T r O K. ijt
ceflion : for Anchifes, the hero's father, was only of
the fecond branch of the royal family; and Helenus,
a fon of Priam, was yet furviving, and might lawfully
claim before him. It may be, Virgil mentions him
on that account. Neither has he forp;otten Priamus,
in the fifth of his ^neis, the fon of Polites, youno-efl:
fon to Priam; who was flain by Pyrrhus, in the fe-
cond book, .i^neas Iiad only married Creiifa, Pri-
am's daughter, and by her could have no title, while
any of the male ifTue were remaining. In this cafe,
the poet gave him the next title, which is that of an
eledlive king. The remaining Trojans chofe him to
lead them forth, and fettle them in fome foreign coun-
try. Ilioneus, in his fpeech to Dido, calls him ex-
prefsly by the name of king. Our poet, who all this
while had Auguftus in his eye, had no defire he (hould
feem to fucceed by any right of inheritance, derived
from Julius Caefar; fuch a title being but one degree
removed from conqueft. For what was introduced by
force, by force may be removed. It was better for
the people that they fliould give, than he fhould take.
Since that gift was indeed no more at bottom than a
truft; \''irgil gives us an example of this, in the per-
fon of Mezentius. He governed arbitrarily, he was
expelled ; and came to the derer\ ed end of all tyrants.
Our author fliews us another fort of kingfhip, in the
perfon of Latinus: he was defcended from Saturn,
and, as I remember, in the third degree. He is de-
fcribed a juil and gracious prince; folicitous for the
welfare of his people; always confulting with his fe-
0^4 nate.
a3» DEDICATION.
jiate, to promote the common good. We find him at
the head of them, when he enters into the council-
hall. Speaking firft, but flill demanding their ad-
vice, and fleering by it, as far as the iniquity of the
times would fuffer him. And this is the proper cha-
rader of a king by inheritance, who is bom a father
of his country. iEneas, though he married theheirefs
of the crown, yet claimed no title to it during the
life of his father-in-law. *' Pater arma Latinus ha-
beto," &c. are Virgil's words. As for himfelf, he
was contented to take care of his country gods, who
were not thofe of Latium ; wherein our divine au-
thor feems to relate to the after-praftice of the Ro-
mans, which was to adopt the gods of thofe they con-
quered, or received as members of their common-
wealth. Yet withal, he plainly touches at the office
of the high priefthood, with which Augullus was in-
vefted : and which made his perfon more facred and
inviolable, than even the tribunitial power. It was
not therefore for nothing, that the moft judicious of
all poets made that office vacant, by the death of Pan-
theus, in the fecond book of the -^nels, for his hero
to fucceed in it; and confequently for Auguftus to
enjoy. I know not that any of the commentators
have taken notice of that paffage. If they have not,
I am fure they ought ; and if they have, I am not in-
debted to them for the obfervation; the words of Vir-
gil are very plain,
. *' Sacra, fuofque tibi commendat Troja Peiiates*"
DEDICATION. 135
As for Auguftiis, or his uncle Julius, claiming by
defcent from ^neas ; that title is already out of doors,
i^neas fucceeded not, but was elected. Troy was
fore- doomed to fall for ever.
" Podquam res Afia?, Priamique evertere regnum
*' Immeritum vifum Superis, —
iEneis, lib. III. i."
Auguftus, it is true, had once refolved to rebuild
that city, and there to make the feat of empire : but
Horace writes an ode on purpofe to deter him from
that thought; declaring the place to be accurfed, and
that the gods would as often deftroy it, as it fhould be
raifed. Hereupon the emperor laid afide a projed fo
ungrateful to the Roman people. But by this, my
Lord, we may conclude that he had ftill his pedigree
in his head; and had an itch of being thought a
divine king, if his poets had not given him better
counfel.
I will pafs by many lefs material objeftions, for
want of room to anfwer them : what follows next is of
great importance, if the critics can make out their
charge; for it is leveled at the manners which our
poet gives his hero, and which are the fame which
were eminently feen in his Auguftus : thofe manners
were, piety to the gods, and a dutiful alFedion to
his father; love to his relations; care of his people;
courage and condud in the wars : gratitude to thofe
who had obliged him, and juHice in general to
mankind.
Piety,
234^ DEDICATION.
Piety, as your Lordflilp fees, takes place of all, as
the chief part of his charafter: and the word in Latin
is more full than it can poffibly be expreffed in any
modern language; for there it comprehends not only
devotion to the gods, but filial love and tender affec-
tion to relations of all forts. As inftances of this, the
deities of Troy, and his ov^^n Penates, are made the
companions of his flight : they appear to him in his
voyage, and advife him ; and at laft he replaces them
in Italy, their native country. For his father, he takes
him on his back ; he leads his little fon ; his wife fol-
lows him; but, lofmg his footfteps through fear or ig-
norance, he goes back into the midft of his enemies to
find her; and leaves not his purfuit till her ghoft ap-
pears, to forbid his farther fearch. I will fay nothing
of his duty to his father while he lived, his forrow for
his death; of the games inftituted in honour of his me-
mory; or feeking him, by his command, even after
his death, in the Elyfian fields, I will not mention
his tendernefs for his fon, which every where is viiible :
of his raifmg a tomb for Polydorus, the obfequies for
Mifenus, his pious remembrance of Deiphobus; the
funeral of his nurfe; his grief for Pallas, and his re-
venge taken on his murderer, whom otherwife, by his
natural compaffion, he had forgiven; and then the
poem had been left imperfeft; for we could have had
no certain profpe<5l of his happinefs, while the laft ob-
ftacle to it was unremoved. Of the other parts which
compofe his charader, as a king, or as a general, I need
fay nothings the whole ^iieis is one continued inftance
of
DEDICATION. %js
cf fome one or other of them ; and where I find any
thing of them taxed, it fhould fuffice me, as briefly as
I can, to vindicate my divine raafter to your Lordfhip,
and by you to the reader. But herein, Segrais, in his
admirable preface to his tranflation of the ^Eneis, as
the author of the Dauphin's Virgil juftly calls it, has
prevented me. Him I follow, and what I borrow from
him, am ready to acknowledge to him. For, impar-
tially fpeaking, the French are as much better critics
than the Englifli, as they are worfe poets. Thus we
generally allow, that they better underftand the ma-
nagement of a war, than our iflanders; but we know
we are fuperior to them in the day of battle. They
value themfelves on their generals, we on our foldiers.
Eutthis is not the proper place to decide that queftion,
if they make it one* I fhall perhaps fay as much of
other nations, and their poets, excepting only Taflb;
and hope to make my aflertion good, which is but do-
ing juftice to my country; part of wh'.ch honour will
refleft on your Lordfhip, whofe thoughts are always-
juft; your numbers harmonious, your words chofen,
your expreflions ftrong and manly, your verfe flowing^
and your turns as happy as they are eafy. If you
would fet us more copies, your example would make
all precepts needlefs. In the mean tir\ie, that little
you have written is owned, and that particularly by
the poets (who are a nation not over lavifh of praife to
their contemporaries), as a principal ornament of our
language : but the fweetell eflences are always confined
in the fmalleil glalTes,
\^'hen
«3« DEDICATION.
When I fpeak of your Lordfhip, it is never a digref-
lion, and therefore I need beg no pardon for it; but
take up Segrais where I left him, and fhall ufe him
lefs often than I have occafion for him. For his pre-
face is a perfe(5l piece of criticifm, full and clear, and
digefted into an exad method; mine is loofe, and, as
I intended it, epiftolary. Yet I dwell on many things
which he durft not touch : for it is dangerous to offend
an arbitrary mafter; and every patron who has the
power of Auguftus, has not his clemency. In fliort,
my Lord, I would not tranflate him, becaufe I would
bring you fomewhat of my own. His notes and ob-
fervations on every book are of the fame excellency;
and, for the fame reafon, I omit the greater part.
He takes no notice that Virgil is arraigned for pla-
cing piety before valour; and making that piety the
chiefcharadlerof hishero. I have already faid, from
Boffu, that a poet is not obliged to make his hero a
virtuous man : therefore neither Homer nor Taffo are
to be blamed, for giving what predominant quality they
pleafed to their firft charader. But Virgil, who de-
signed to form a perfeft prince, and would infmuate
that Auguftus, whom he calls y^neas in his poem, v/as
truly fuch, found himfelf obliged to make him with-
out blemifh ; thoroughly virtuous : and a thorough
virtue both begins and ends in piety. TafTo, without
queftion, obferved this before me; and therefore fplit
his hero in two : he gave Godfrey piety, and Rinaldo
fortitude, for their chief qualities or manners. Homer,
who had chofen another moral, makes both Agamem-
non
DEDICATION. 137
riOn and Achilles vicious; for his defign was, to in-
flruft ill virtue, by fhewing the deformity of vice. I
avoid repetition of what I have faid above. \^'hat
follows is tranflated literally from Segrais.
Virgil had confidered, that the greateil: virtues of Au-
guftus confifled in the perfed art of governing his peo-
ple; vhichcaufed him to reign above forty years in
great felicity. He confidered that his emperor was va-
liant, civil, popular, eloquent, politic, and religious;
he has given all thefe qualities to JEntas. But, know-
ing that piety alone comprehends the whole duty of
man towards the gods, towards his country, and
towards his relations, he judged that this ought to be
his firft character, whom he would fet for a pattern of
pcrfedion. In reality, they who believe that the
praifes which arife from valour, are fuperior to thofe
which proceed from any other virtues, have not con-
fidered (as they ought) that valour, deftitute of othef
virtues, cannot render a man worthy of any true
edeem. That quality, which fignifies no more than
an intrepid courage, may be feparated from many-
others which are good, and accompanied with many
which are ill. A man may be very valiant, and yet
impious and vicious. But the fame cannot be faid of
piety, which excludes all ill qualities, and compre-
hends even valour itfelf, with all other qualities which
are good. Can we, for example, gi\ e the praife of
valour to a man who Ihould fee his gods profaned, and
fhauld want the courage to defend them? to a man
wko
ajS DEDICATION.
who fhould abandon his father, or defert his king lit
liis laft neceffity ?
Thus far Segrais, in giving the preference to piety,
"before valour. I will now follow him where he con-
fiders this valour, or intrepid courage, fingly in itfelf;
and this alfo Virgil gives to his -^neas, and that in an
Jieroical degree.
Having firft concluded that our poet did for the bell
in taking the firft charader of his hero from that ef-
fential virtue on which the reft depend, he proceeds to
tells us, that in the ten years war of Troy, he was con-
ildered as the fecond champion of his country; allow-
ing Hedor the firft place; and this, even by the con-
feflion of Homer, who took all occafions of fetting up
iiis own countrymen the Grecians, and of undervalu-
ing the Trojan chiefs. But Virgil (whom Segrais
forgot to cite) makes Diomede give him a higher cha-
2'after for ftrength and courage. His teftiraony is this^
in the eleventh book :
^' — — Stetimus tela afpera contra,
«* Contulimufque manus : experto credite, quantus^
•** In clypeum affurgat, quo turbine torqueat haftam.
** Si duo praeterea tales Idzea tuliftet
«* Terra viros; ultro Inachias venifiet ad urbes
•** Dardanus, Sc verfis lugeret Grsecia fatis.
** Quicquid apud durae cefTatum eft mosnia Trojx,
** Heftoris, JEnexqac manu victoria GraiCim
** Hxfit, 8c in decumum veftigia retulit annum.
«* Ambo animis, ambo infignes prseftantibus armis :
<* Hie pietate prior."*—
I give
DEDICATION. tjc,
1 give not here my tranflation of thefe verfcs;
though I think I have not ill fuccccdcd in them ; be-
ciiufe your Lordfliip is To great a mailer of the original,
that I have no reafon to defire that you fhould fee Vir-
gil and me fo near together. But you may pleafe,
my Lord, to take notice, that the Latin author refines
upon the Greek, and infmuates that Homer has
done his hero wrong, in giving the advantage of the
duel to his own countryman; though Diomedes was
manifeflly the fecond companion of the Grecians; and
Ulyifes preferred him before Ajax, when he chofe him
for the champion of his nightly expedition; for he
had a head-piece of his own ; and wanted only the for-
titude of another, to bring him off with fafety; and
that he might compafs his defign with honour.
The French tranflator thus proceeds : they who ac-
cufe iEneas for want of courage, either underlland not
Virgil, or have read him flightly; otherwife they
would not raife an objedlon fo eafy to be anfwered.
Hereupon he gives fo many inftances of the hero's
valour, that to repeat them after him would tire your
Lordfliip, and put me to the unneceflary trouble of
tranfcribing the greateft part of the three laft ^neids.
In fhort, more could not be expeded from an Amadis,
a Sir Lancelot, or a whole round table, than he per-
forms. ** Proxima quceque metit gladio," is the per-
fect account of a knight-errant. If it be replied, con-
tinued Segrais, that it was not difficult for him to un-
dertake and atchieve fuch hardy enterprizes, becaufe
he wore enchanted arms; that accufation, in the firft
] place.
%^o DEDICATION,
place, muft fall on Homer, ere it can reach Virgil,
Achilles was as well provided with them as ^Eneas,
though he was invulnerable without them : and Ariofto,
the two Taffo's, Bernardo, and Torquato, even our
own Spenfer; in a v/ord, all modern poets have copied
Homer, as v/ell as Virgil j he is neither the iirft nor
laft, but in the midft of them ; and therefore is fafe,
if they are fo. Who knows, fays Segrais, but that'
his fated armour was only an allegorical defence, and
fignified no more than that he was under the peculiar
protedliion of the gods? born, as the aftrologers will tell
us., out of Virgil (who was well verfed in the Chaldean
myfteries}, under the favourable influence of Jupiter,
Venus, and the' Sun. But I infift not on this, be-
caufe I know you believe not there is fuch an art ;
though not only Horace and Perfius, but Auguftus
himfelf thought otherwife. But, in defence of Virgil,
I dare pofitively fay, that he has been more cautious
in this particular, than either his predeceffor or his
defcendants. For ^neas was aftually wounded, in
the twelfth of the iEneis; though he had the fame
god-fmith to forge his arras, as had Achilles, It
feems he was no war-luck, as the Scots commonly call
fuch men, who, they fay, are iron-free, or lead-free.
Yet after this ■experiment, that his arms were not im-
penetrable, when he was cured indeed by his mother*s
help; becaufe he was that day to conclude the war by
the death of Turnus, the poet duril not carry the mi-
racle too far, and reftore him wholly to his former vi-
gour; he was ftill too weak to overtake his enemy;
yet
DEDICATION. 141
yet we fee with what courage he attacks Turnus, when
he faces and renews the combat. I need fa}' no more;
for Virgil defend^ himfelf without needing my aflill-
ance; and proves his hero truly to deferve that name.
He was not then a fecond-rate champion, as they
would have him, who think fortitude the firft virtue
in a hero. But being beaten from this hold,' they will
not yet allow him to be valiant; becaufe he wept more
often, as they think, than well becomes a man of
courage.
In the firft place, if tears are arguments of cow-
ardice, what fhall I fay of Homer's hero ? Shall
Achilles pafs for timorous, becaufe he wept, and wept
on lefs occafions than JEneas ? Herein Virgil muft be
granted to have excelled his mafter. For once both •
heroes are defcribed, lamenting their loil loves : Bri-
fei's was taken away by force from the Grecian; Crciifa
was loft for ever to her hufband. But Achilles went
roaring along the falt-fea fhore; and, like a booby,
was complaining to his mother, when he fhould have
revenged his injury by his arms. iEneas took a nobler
courfe; for, having fecured his father and fon, he re-
peated all his former dangers to have found his wife,
if fhe had been above ground. And here your Lord-
Ihip may obferve the addrefs of Virgil; it was not for
nothing that this paflage was related with all thefe ten-
der circumftances. y£ncas told it ; Dido heard it.
That he had been fo affedionate a hufband, was no ill
argument to the coming dowager, that he might prove
Vol. XXII. R as
84« DEDICATION.
as kind to her. Virgil has a thoufand fecret beauties,
though I have not leifure to remark them.
Segrais, on this fubjed of a hero Ihedding tears,
obfervesj that hiftorians commend Alexander for weep-
ing, when he read the mighty aftions of Achilles.
And Julius Csefar is likewife praifed, when, out of the
fame noble envy, he wept at the victories of Alexan-
der. But, if we obferve more clofely, we fhall find,
that the tears of ^neas were always on a laudable
occafion. Thus he weeps out of compafTion, and ten-
dernefs of nature, when in the temple of Carthage he
beholds the piftures of his friends, v/ho facrificed their
lives in defence of their country. He deplores the la-
mentable end of his pilot Pallnurus; the untimely
death of young Pallas his confederate; and the reft,
which I omit. Yet even for thefe tears, his wretched
critics dare condemn him. They make -^neas little
better than a kind of St. Swithin-hero, always rain-
ing. One of thefe cenfors is bold enough to arraign
him of cowardice; when, in the beginning of the firft
book, he not only weeps, but trembles at an approach-
ing ftorm.
*' Extemplo ^neas folvuntur frigore membra:
** Ingemit, & duplices tendens ad fidera palmas," 8cc,
Eut to this I have anfwered formerly ; that his fear
was not for himfelf, but for his people. And what
can give a fovereign abetter commendation, or recom-
mend a hero more to the affedion of the reader ?
They were threatened with a .tempeft, and he wept;
he
DEDICATION. 243
"he was promifed Italy, an-l therefore he prayed for the
accomplifhment of that promife. All this in the be-
ginning of a ftorm; therefore he ihewed the more early
piety, and the quicker fenfe of ccmpafHon. Thus
much I have urged elfewhere in the defence of Virgil;
and fmce I have been informed, by Mr. Moyle, a
young gentleman whom I can never fufEciently com-
mend, that the ancients accounted drowning an ac-
curfed death. So that, if we grant him to have been
afraid, he had juft occafion for that fear, both in rela-
tion to himfelf and to his fubjefts. I think our ad-
verfaries can carry this argument no farther, unlefs
they tell us that he ought to have had more confidence
in the promife of the gods: but how was he aiTured
that he had underftood their oracles aright? Helenus
might be miftaken, Phoebus might fpeak doubtfully;
even his mother might flatter him, that he might pro-i
fecute his voyage, which, if it fucceeded happily, he
Ihould be the founder of an empire. For tliat Ihe her-
felf was doubtful of his fortune, is apparent by the
addrefs (he made to Jupiter on his behalf. To which
the G:od makes anfwer in thefe words :
*' Farce metu, Cytherasa; manent immota tuorum
" Fata tibi," Sec.
Notwithftanding which, the goddefs, though com-
forted, was not affured : for even after this, through
the courfe of the whole iEneis, fhe ftill apprehends
the intereft which Juno might make with Jupiter againfl:
her fon. For it was a moot point in heaven v/hether
R 2 he
344. DEDICATION.
he could alter fate, or not. And indeed, fome paffa-
ges in Virgil would make us fufpedl that he was of
opinion Jupiter might defer fate, though he could not
alter it. For, in the latter end of the tenth book, he
introduces Juno begging for the life of Turnus, and
flattering her hufband with the power of changing
deftiny. *' Tua qua potes, orfa refleclas." To which
he gracioufly anfwers:
** Si mora prasfentis lethi tempufque caduco
** Oratur juveni, meque hoc ita ponere fentis;
" Tolle fuga Turnum, atque inftantibus eripe fatis.
** Hadenus indulfifle vacat. Sin altior iftis
** Sub precibus venia ulla latet, totumque moveri
** Mutative putas bellum, fpes pafcis inanes.'*
But that he could not alter thofe decrees, the king
of gods himfelf confefTes, in the book above cited :
when he comforts Hercules, for the death of Pallas,
who had invoked his aid before he threw his lance at
Turnus :
Trojas fub moenibus altis.
•* Tot nati cecidere Deum; quin occidit una
** Sarpedon mea progenies: etiam fua Turnum
•*' Fata manent, metafque dati pervenit ad xvu*
Where he plainly acknowledges, that he could not
■fave his own fon, or prevent the death which he fore-
faw. Of his power to defer the blow, I once occa-
lionally difcourfed with that excellent perfon Sir Robert
Howard ; who is better converfant, than any man that
I know.
DEDICATION. 145
I know, in the doftrine of the Stoics, and he fet me
right, from the concurrent teftimony of philofophers
and poets, that Jupiter could not retard the effcds of
fate, even for a moment. For when I cited Virgil,
as favouring the contrary opinion in that verfe,
** Tolle fuga Turnum, atque inftantibus eripe fatis,"
he replied, and I think with exadl judgment, that
when Jupiter gave Juno leave to withdraw Turnus from
the prefent danger, it was becaufe he certainly fore-
knew that his fatal hour was not come : that it was in
deftiny for Juno at that time to fave him ; and that
himfelf obeyed deftiny, in gi\ ing her that leave.
I need fay no more in juftification of our hero's cou-
rage, and am much deceived if he e\ er be attacked on
this fide of his charader again. But he is arraigned
with more (hew of reafon by the ladies; who will make
a numerous party againft him, for being falfe to love,
in forfaking Dido. And I cannot much blame them;
for, to fay the truth, it is an ill precedent for their
gallants to follow. Yet, if I can bring him off with
flying colours, they may learn experience at hercoft;
and, for her fake, avoid a cave, as the worft flielter
they can choofe from a fhower of rain, efpecially when
they have a lover in their company.
In the firft place, Segrais obferves, with much
acutenefs, that they who blame -^^neas for his infenfi-
bility of love, when he left Carthage, contradid their
former accufation of him, for being always crying,
compairionate, and effeminately fenfible of thofe mis-
R 3 fortunes
*46 DEDICATION.
fortunes which befel others. They give him two con-'
trary charafters j but Virgil makes him of a piece, al-
ways grateful, always tender-hearted. But they are
impudent enough to difchnrge themfelves of this blun-
der, by laying the contradiction at Virgil's door. He,
fay they, has fhewn his hero with thefe inconfiflent
charaders : acknowledging and ungrateful, compaf-
fionate and hard-hearted; but, at the bottom, fickle
and felf-interefted. For Dido had not only received
his weather-beaten troops before Ihe faw him, and
given them her proteftion, but had alfo offered them
an equal ihare in her dominion.
<* Vultis & his mecum pariter confidere Regnis?
** Urbem quam flatuo, veltra efl."
This was an obligement never to be forgotten ; and
the more to be confidered, becaufe antecedent to her
love. That paffion, it is true, produced the ufual ef-
fefts of generofity, gallantry, and care to pleafe; and
thither we refer them. But when fhe had made all
thefe advances, it was flill in his power to have refufed
them : after the intrigue of the cave, call it marriage,
or enjoyment only, he was no longer free to take or
leave, he had accepted the favour; and was obliged to
be conftant, if he would be grateful.
My Lord, I have fet this argument in the befl light
I can, that, the ladies may not think I write booty:
and perhaps it may happen to me, as it did to Dr. Cud-
worth, who has raifed fuch flrong objeftions againft
the being of a God and Providence, that many think
he
DEDICATION. »4y
he has not anfwered them. You may pleafe at lead to
hear the adveife party. Segrais pleads for Virgil, that
no lefs than an abfolute command from Jupiter could
excufe this infenfibility of the hero, and this abrupt
departure, which looks fo like extreme ingratitude.
But, at the fame time, he does wifely to remember
you, that Virgil had made piety the firft charader of
iEneas: and this being allowed, as I am afraid it
mull, he was obliged, antecedent to all other confidera-
tions, to fearch an afylum for his gods in Italy, for
ihofe very gods, I fay, who had promifed to his race
the univerfal empire. Could a pious man difpenfe
with the commands of Jupiter, to fatisfy his pafTion ;
or, take it in the ftrongeft fenfe, to comply with the
obligations of his gratitude ? Religion, it is true, muft
have moral honefty for its ground-work, or we (hall
be apt to fufpeft its truth; but an immediate revela-
tion difpenfes with all duties of morality. All cafuifts
agree, that theft is a breach of the moral law : }et, if
I might prefume to mingle things facred with profane,
the Ifraelites only fpoiled the Egyptians, not robbed
them ; becaufe the property was transferred by a reve-
lation to their lawgiver. I confefs. Dido was a very
infidel in this point ; for fiie would not believe, as Vir-
gil makes her Ciiy, that ever Jupiter would fend Mer-
cury on fuch an immoral errand. But this needs uo
anfwer, at lealt no more than Virgil gives it :
** Fata obftant, placidafque viri Deus obftruit aurcs."
R 4 This
44^ DEDICATION.
This notvvithftanding, as Segrais confefles, he might
have (hewn a little more fenfibility, when he left herj
for that had been according to his charafter.
But let Virgil anfwer for himfelf. He ftill loved
her, and llruggled with his inclinations to obey the
gods :
" ' Curam fub corde premebat,
«' Multa gemens, magnoque animum labefaflus
•* amore,**
Upon the whole matter, and humanely fpeaking, I
doubt there was a fault fomewhere ; and Jupiter is bet-
ter able to bear the blame than either Virgil or ^neas.
The poet, it feems, had found it out, and therefore
brings the deferting hero and the forfaken lady to meet
together in the lower regions ; where he excufes him-
felf when it is too late, and accordingly fhe will take
no fatisfadion, nor fo much as hear him. Now Se-
grais is forced to abandon his defence, and excufes
his author, by faying that the ^Eneis is an imperfedl
work, and that death prevented the divine poet from
reviewing it, and for that reafon he had condemned it
to the fire : though, at the fame time, his two tranfla-
tors muft acknowledge, that the fixth book is the rnoft
correal of the whole /Ends, Oh, how convenient is
a machine fometimes in an heroic poem ! This of
Mercury is plainly one, and Virgil was conftrained to
ufe it here, or the honefty of his hero would be ill de-
fended. And the fair fex, however, if they had the
deferter in their power, would certainly have fliewn
him
DEDICATION. 149
him no more mercy than the Bacchanals did Orpheus.
For if too much conftancy may be a fault fometimes ;
then want of conftancy and ingratitude, after the laft
favour, is a crime that never will be forgiven. But
of machines, more in their proper place; where I fhall
Ihew, with how much judgment they have been ufed
by Virgil: and, in the mean time, pafs to another ar-
ticle of his defence, on the prefent fubjeft ; where, if
I cannot clear the hero, I hope at leaft to bring off the
poet; for here I muft divide their caufes. Let iEneas
truft to his machine, which will only help to break his
fall, but the addrefs is incomparable. Plato, who
borrowed fo much from Homer, and yet concluded
for the banilhment of all poets, would at leaft have
rewarded Virgil, before he fent him into exile. But I
go farther, and fay, that he ought to be acquitted;
and deferved, befide, the bounty of Auguftus, and the
gratitude of the Roman people. If, after this, the la-
dies will ftand out, . let them remember, that the jury
is not all agreed ; for Odavia was of his party, and
was of the firft quality in Rome : (he was alfo prefent
at the reading of the fixth -^neid, and we know not
that fhe condemned ^neas; but we are fure (he pre-
fented the poet, for his admirable elegy on her fon
Marcellus.
But let us confider the fecret reafons which Virgil
had, for thus framing this noble epifode, wherein the
whole paffion of love is more exaftly defcribed than in
any other poet: love was the theme of his fourth
book; and though it is the Ihorteft of the whole JEnch,
5 ye'
aso DEDICATION.
yet there he has given its beginning, its progrefs, its
traverfes, and its conclufion : and had exhaufled fo en-
tirely this fubjeft, that he could refume it but very
nightly in the eight enfuing books.
She was warmed with the graceful appearance of the
hero, fne finothered thofe fparkles out of decency, but
converfation blew them up into a flame. Then fhe
was forced to make a confident of her whom fhe befl:
might truft, her own fnler, who approves the paffion,
and thereby augments it; then fucceeds her public
o-wning it; and, after that, the confummation. Of
Venus and Juno, Jupiter and Mercury, I fay nothing,
for they were all machining work : but pofleffion hav-
in<r cooled his love, as it increafed her's, flie foon per-
ceived the change, or at leaft grew fufpicious of a
change: this fufpicion foon turned to jealoufy, and
jealoufy to rage; then fhe difdains and threatens, and
again is humble andintreats: and, nothing availing,
defpairs, curfes, and at lall becomes her own execu-
tioner. See here the whole procefs of that palTion, to
which nothing can be added. I dare go no farther,
left I Ihould lofe the connexion of my difcourfe.
To love our native country, and to ftudy its benefit
and its glory, to be interefted in its concerns, is natu-
ral to all men, and is indeed our common duty. A
poet makes a farther flep ; for, endeavouring to do ho-
nour to it, it is allowable in him even to be partial in
its caufe: for he is not tied to truth, or fettered by the
laws of hiflory. Homer and TafTo are juftly praifed,-
for choofing their heroes out of Greece and Italy.
Virgil
DEDICATION. 251
Virgil indeed made his a Trojan, but it was to derive
the Romans and his own Auguftus from him; but all
the three poets are manifeftly partial to their heroes, in
favour of their country: for Dares Phrygius reports
of Hedlor, that he was flain cowardly; iEneas, ac-
cording to the Left account, flew not Mezentius, but
was ilain by him ; and the Chronicles of Italy tell us
little of that Rinaldo d'Efte, who conquers Jerufalem
in Taflb. He might be a champion of the church;
but we know not that he was fo much as prefent at the
fiege. To apply this to Virgil, he thought himfelf
engaged in honour to efpoufe the caufe and quarrel of
his country againft Carthage. He knew he could not
pleafe the Romans better, or oblige them more to pa-
tronize his poem, than by difgracing the foundrefs of
that city. He faews her ungrateful to the memory of
her firft hu (band ; doting on a ftranger ; enjoyed, and
afterwards forfaken by him. This was the original,
fays he, of the immortal hatred betwixt the two rival
nations. It is true he colours the falfehood of ^neas
by an exprefs command from Jupiter, to forfake the
queen, who had obliged him; but he knew the Ro-
mans were to be his readers, and them he bribed, per-
haps at the expence of the hero's honcfty, but he gained
his caufe however, as pleading before corrupt judges.
They were content to fee their founder falfe to love,
for ftill he had the advantage of the amour : it was
their enemy whom he forfook, and (he might have for-
faken him if he had not got the dart of her ; ihe had
already forgotten her vows to her Sichacus: and " va-
riuin
ft5» DEDICATION.
rlum & mutabile femper femina," is the iTiarpeft fatire
in the feweft words that ever was made on woman-
kind ; for both the adjectives are neuter, and animal
muft be underftood to make them grammar. Virgil
does well to put thofe words into the mouth of Mer-
cury : if a god had not fpoken them, neither durft he
have written them, nor I tranflated them. Yet the
deity was forced to come twice on the fame errand :
and the fecond time, as much a hero as iEneas was,
he frighted him. It feems he feared not Jupiter fo
much as Dido. For your Lordlhip may obferve, that
as much intent as he was upon his voyage, yet he ftill
delayed it, until the meffenger was obliged to tell him
plainly, that if he weighed not anchor in the night,
the queen would be with him in the morning. " No-
tumque furens quid femina poffit;" fhe was injured,
ftie was revengeful, fhe was powerful. The poet had
likewife before hinted, that the people were naturally
perfidious ; for he gives their charadler in the queen,
and makes a proverb of Punica fides," many ages
before it was invented.
Thus I hope, my Lord, that I have made good my
promife, and juftified the poet, whatever becomes of
the falfe knight. And fure a poet is as much privi-
leged to lye, as an ambaffador, for the honour and
intereft of his country; at leaft as Sir Henry Wotton
has defined.
This naturally leads me to the defence of the famous
anachronifm, in making iEneas and Dido contempora-
ries. For it is certain that the hero lived almoft two
hundred
DEDICATION. 153
liundred years before the building of Carthage. One
who imitates Bocaline, fays, that Virgil was accufed be-
fore Apollo for this error. The god foon found that
he was not able to defend his favourite by reafon, for
the cafe was clear : he therefore gave this middle fen-
tence ; that any thing might be allowed to his fon Vir-
gil, on the account of his other merits ; that, being a
monarch, he had a difpenfmg power, and pardoned him.
But, that this fpecial aft of grace might never be drawn
into example, or pleaded by his puny fucceffors in juf-
tification of their ignorance, he decreed for the future,
no poet fhouid prefume to make a lady die for love two
hundred years before her birth. To moralize this
(lory, Virgil is the Apollo, who has this difpenfmg
power. His great judgment made the laws of poetry,
but he never made himfelf a flave to them : chrono-
logy, at beft, is but a cobweb-law, and he broke
through it with his weight. They who will imitate
him wifely, mull choofe, as he did, an obfcure and a
remote ccra, where they may invent at pleafure, and
not be eafily contradided. Neither he, nor the Ro-
mans, had ever read the Bible, by which only his falfe
computation of times can be made out againll him.
This Segrais fays in his defence, and proves it from
his learned friend Bochartus, whofe letter on this fub-
jetfl he has printed at the end of the fourth ^neid, to
which I refer your Lordfhip and the reader. Yet the
credit of Virgil was fo great, that he made this fable of
his own invention pafs for an authentic hiftory, or, at
lead, as credible as any thing in Homer. Ovid takes
it
«54 DEDICATION.
it up after him, even in the fame age, and makes an
ancient heroine of Virgil's new-created Dido ; didates
a letter for her, juft before her death, to. the ingrateful
fugitive; and, very unluckily for himfelf, is for mea-
furing a fword with a man fo much fuperior in force to
him on the fame fubjed. I think I may be judge of
this, becaufe I have tranflated both. The famous au-
thor of the Art of Love has nothing of his own, he
borrows all from a greater mafter in his own profeflion ;
and, which is worfe, improves nothing which he finds.
Nature fails him, and, being forced to his old fhift, he
has recourfe to witticifm. This paffes indeed with h's
foft admirers, and gives him the preference to Virgil
in their efteem. But let them like for themfelves, and
not prefcribe to others; for our author needs not their
admiration.
The motives that induced Virgil to coin this fable,
I have fhewn already; and have alfo begun to fliew
that he might make this anachronifm, by fuperfeding
the mechanic rules of poetry, for the fame reafon that
a monarch may difpenfe with, or fufpend, his own laws,
when he finds it neceffary fo to do ; efpecially if thofe
laws are not altogether fundamental. Nothing is to be
called a fault in poetry, fays Ariftotle, but what is
againft the art; therefore a m.an may be an admirable
poet, without being an exadl chronologer. Shall we
dare, continues Segrais, to condemn Virgil, for having
made a fiftion againft the order of time, when we com-
mend Ovid and other poets who have made many of
their fidions againft the order of nature ? For what are
the
DEDICATION". 255
the fplendld miracles of the Metamorphofes ? Yet thefe
are beautiful as they are related ; and have alfo deep
learning and inftrudive mythologies couched under
them : but to give, as Virgil does in this epifode, the
original caufe of the long wars betwixt Rome and Car-
thage, to draw truth out of fidion, after fo probable a
manner, with fo much beauty, and fo much for the
honour of his country, was proper only to the divine
wit of Maro; and TalTo, in one of his difcourfes,
admires him for this particularly. It is not lawful,
indeed, to contradift a point of hiftory which is known
to all the world ; as, for example, to make Hannibal
and Scipio contemporaries with Alexander; but, in the
dark recefles of antiquity, a great poet may and ought
to feign fuch things as he finds not there, if they can
be brought to embellifh that fubjed which he treats.
On the other fide, the pains and diligence of ill poets
is but thrown away, when they want the genius to in-
vent and feign agreeably. But if the fidions be de-
lightful (which they always are, if they be natural) ;
if they be of a piece; if the beginning, the middle,
and the end, be in their due places, and artfully uni-
ted to each other, fuch works can never fail of their
deferved fuccefs. And fuch is Virgil's epifode of Dido
and JEne-ds; where thefoureft critic muft acknowledge,
th:it if he had deprived his i£neis of i'o great an orna-
ment, becaufe he found no traces of it in antiquity,
he had avoided their unjuft cenfure, but had wanted
one of the greateft beauties of his poem. I fhall fay
more of this in the next article of tlieir charge againll
him.
»5« DEDICATION.
him, which is, want of invention. In the mean time^
I may affirm in honour of this epifode, that it is not
only now efteemed the mod pleafmg entertainment of
the ^neis, but was fo accounted in his own age; and
before it was mellowed into that reputation which time
has given it; for which I need produce no other tefti-
mony than that of Ovid, his contemporary.
'* Nee pars ulla magis legitur de corpore toto,
** Quam non legitimo foedere junftus amor.'*
Where by the way, you may obferve, my Lord,
that Ovid in thofe words, ** non legitimo fcedere
jundlus amor,'* will by no means allow it to be a law-
ful marriage betwixt Dido and JEncdiS : he was in ba-
nifhment when he wrote thofe verfes, which I cite
from his letter to Auguftus : You, Sir, faith he, have
fent me into exile for writing my Art of Love, and
my wanton elegies; yet your own poet was happy
in your good graces, though he brought Dido and
JEntdiS into a cave, and left them there not over-ho-
neftly together : may I be fo bold to alk your majefty,
is it a greater fault to teach the art of unlawful love,
than to Ihew it in the adion ? But was Ovid, the court-
poet, fo bad a courtier as to find no other plea to ex-
cufe himfelf than by a plain accufation of his mailer?
Virgil confefTed it was a lawful marriage betwixt the
lovers; that Juno, the goddefs of matrimony, had ra-
tified it by her prefence ; for it was her bufmefs to
bring matters to that iffue : that the ceremonies were
Ihort we may believe, for Dido was not only amorous,
but
DEDICATION. 2
h7
but a widow. Mercury himfelf, though employed on
a quite contrary errand, yet owns it a marriage by an
innuendo.—-** Pulchramque uxorius urbcm extriiis."—
He calls ^neas not only a hulhand, but upbraids him
for being a fond hufband, as the word *' uxorious" im-
plies. Now mark a little, if your Lordfliip pleafes,
why Virgil is fo much concerned to make this marriage
(for he feems to be the father of the bride himfelf,
and to give her to the bridegroom), it was to make
way for the divorce which he intended afterv/ards; for
he was a finer flatterer than Ovid : and I more tlian
conjefture, that he had in his eye the divorce, which
not long before had pafled betwixt the emperor and
Scribonia. He drew this dimple in the cheek of i5)neas,
to prove Auguflus of the fame family, by fo remark-
able a feature in the fame place. Thus, as we fay in
our homefpun Englifii proverb, ** He killed two birds
** with one ftone;" pleafed the emperor, by giving hlni
the refemblance of his anceitor, and gave him fuch a
refemblance as was not fcandalous in that age. For
to lea\e one wife and take another, was but a matter
of gallantry at that time of day among the Romans.
** Neque haec in fa-dera veni," is the very excufe
which iEneas makes when he leaves his lad}-. I made
no fuch bargain with you at our marriage, to li\c
always drudging on at Carthage; my bufinefs was
Italy, and I never made a fecret of it. If I took my
pleafure, had not you your fhare of it? I leave you
free at my departure, to comfort yourfelf with the next
Itranger who happens to be fliipwrecked on your coaft ;
Vol. XXII. S )^
asS DEDICATION.
be as kind an hoftefs as you have been to me, and you
can never fail of another hufband. In the mean time,
I call the gods to witnefs, that I leave your fhore un-
willingly; for though Juno made the marriage, yet
Jupiter commands me to forfake you. This is the
effedl of what he faith, when it is difhonoured out of
Latin verfe into Englifh profe. If the poet argued not
aright, we muft pardon him for a poor blind heathen,
who knew no better morals.
I have detained your Lordlhip longer than I intended
on this objedion, which would indeed weigh fome-
thing in a fpiritual court; but I am not to defend our
poet there. The next, I think, is but a cavil, though
the cry is great againft him, and hath continued from
the time of Macrobius to this prefent age: I hinted it
before. They lay no lefs than want of invention to
his charge : a capital crime, I muft acknowledge : for
a poet is a maker, as the word fignifies : and he who
cannot make, that is, invent, hath his name for no-
thing. That which makes this accufation look fo
ftrange at the firft fight, is, that he has borrowed fo
many things from Homer, Apollonius Rhodius, and
others who preceded him. But, in the firft place, if
invention is to be taken in fo ftrift a fenfe, that the
matter of a poem muft be wholly new, and that in all
its parts, then Scaliger hath made out, faith Segrais,
that the hiftory of Troy was no more the invention of
Homer, than of Virgil. There was not an old wo-.
man, or almoft a child, but had it in their mouths,
before the Greek poet or his friends digefted it into
this
DEDICATION. 155
this admirable order in which we read it. At this rate,
as Solomon hath told us, there is nothing new beneath
the fun. Who then can pafs for an inventor, if Ho-
mer, as well as Virgil, muft be deprived of that glory ?
Is Verfailles the lefs a new building, becaufe the archi-
ted of that palace hath imitated others which were
built before it ? Walls, doors and windows, apart-
ments, offices, rooms of convenience and magnificence,
ure in all great houfes. So defcriptions, figures, fa-
bles, and the reft, muft be in all heroic poems; they
are the common materials of poetry, furnifhed from
the magazine of nature; every poet hath as much right
to them, as every man hath to air or water. ** Quid
** prohibetis aquas ? ufus communis aqiiarum eft." But
the argument of the work, that is to fay, its principal
adion, the OEConomy and difpofition of it; thefe are
the things which diftinguifh copies from originals.
The poet, who borrows nothing from others, is yet to
be born; he and the Jews Meflias will come together.
There are parts of the iEneis which refemble fome
parts both of the Ilias and of the Odyfles : as, for ex-
ample, iEncas defcended into hell, and Ulyffes had
been there before him : ^neas loved Dido, and Uhf-
fes loved Calypfo : in few words, Virgil hath imitated
Homer's OdyfTcs in his firft fix books, and In his fix
laft the Ilias. But from hence can we infer, that the
two poets write the fame hiftor}^ ? Is there no invention
in fome other parts of Virgils ^neas ? The difpofition
of fo many various matters, is not that his own?
From what book of Homer had Virgil his epifode of
S z Nifus
%66 DEDICATION.
Nifus and Uryalus, of Mezentius and Laufus? From
whence did he borrow his defign of bringing ^neas
into Italy ? of eftablifliing tlie Roman empire on the
foundations of a Trojan colony : to fay nothing of the
honour he did his patron, not only in his defcent from
Venus, but in making him fo like her in his befl fea-
tures, that the goddefs might have miftaken Auguftus
for her fon. He had indeed the ftory from common
fame, as Homer had his from the Egyptian prieilefs.
'* jEneadum Genitrix" was no more unknown to Lu-
cretius, than to him. But Lucretius taught him not to
form his hero; to give him piety or valour for his
manners: and both in fo eminent a degree, that, hav-
ing done what was pofiible for man to fave his king
and country, his mother was forced to appear to him
and reftrain his fury, which hurried him to death in
their revenge. But the poet made his piety more fuc-
cefsful; he brought off his father and his fon; and his
gods witneiTed to his devotion, by putting themfelves
under his protedion, to be replaced by him in their
promifed Italy. Neither the invention nor the conduft
of this great aftion were owing to Hom.er, or any
other poet. It is one thing to copy, and another thing
to imitate from nature. The copier is that fervile imi-
tator, to whom Horace gives no better a name than
that of animal; he will not fo much as allow him to
be a man. Raphael imitated nature; they who copy-
one of Raphaels pieces, imitate but him, for his work
is their original. They tranflate him, as I do Virgil;
^nd fall as fliort of him, as I of Virgil, There is a
kind
DEDICATION. zg-i
kind of invention in the imitation of Raphael : for
though the thing was in nature, yet the idea of it v\ as
his own. Ul}ires travelled, fo did ^Eneas; but nei-
ther of them were the firft travellers: for Cain went
into the land of Nod, before they were born : and nei-
ther of the poets ever heard of fuch a man. If UlyfTes
had been killed at Troy, yet ^Enens muft have gone to
fea, or he could never have arrived in Italy. But the
defigns of the two poets were as different as the courfes
of their heroes; one went home, and the other fought
a home. To return to my firft fimilitude. Suppofe
Apelles and Raphael had each of them painted a burn-
ing Troy; might not the modern painter have fuccccdcd
as well as the ancient, though neither of them had (cen
the town on fire? For the draughts of both were taken
from the ideas which they had of nature. Cities have
been burnt, before either of them were in being. But,
to clofe the fimile as I began it, they would not have
defigned it after the fame manner: Apelles would have
dirtinguifhed Pyrrhus from the reft of all the Grecians,
and fhewed him forcing his entrance into Priam's pa-
lace; there he had fet him iij the fai reft light, and
given him the chief place of all his figures; becaufe
he was a Grecian, and he would do honour to his
country. Raphael, who was an Italian, and defcended
from the Trojans, would have made -^neas the hero
of his piece; and perhaps not with his father on his
back; his fon in one hand, his bundle of gods in the
other; and his wife following (for an ad of piety is
not half fo graceful in a pidure as an a<n of courage) :
S 3 ^'^
aSft DEDICATION.
he would have rather drawn him killing Androgens,
or fome other, hand to hand ; and the blaze of the
fires Ihould have darted full upon his face, to make
him confpicuous amongft his Trojans, This, I think,
is a juft comparifon betwixt the two poets, in the con-
duft of their feveral defigns. Virgil cannot be faid to
copy Homer; the Grecian had only the advantage of
writing firft. If it be urged, that I have granted a re-
femblance in fome parts, yet therein Virgil has excelled
him. For what are the tears of Calypfo, for being left,
to the fury and death of Dido ? Where is there the
whole procefs of her paflion, and all its violent effecfis
to be found, in the languifhing epifode of the Odyffes ?
If this be a copy, let the critics Ihew us the fame dif-
pofition, features, or colouring, in their original. The
like may be faid of the defcent to hell, which was not
of Homer's invention neither; he had it from the ftory
of Orpheus and Eurydice. But to what end did Ulyf-
fes make that journey? iEneas undertook it by the
exprefs commandment of his father's ghoft : there he
was to fhew him all the fucceeding heroes of his race :
and, next to Romulus (mark, if you pleafe, the ad-
drefs of Virgil), his own patron Auguftus Caefar. An-
chifes was likewife to inftruft him how to manage the
Italian war, and how to conclude it with his honour;
that is, in other words, to lay the foundations of that
empire which Auguftus was to govern. This is the
noble invention of our author; but it hath been copied
by fo many fign-poft daubers, that now it is grown
fulfome;
DEDICATION. 265
fulfome; rather by their want of fkill, than by the
commonncfs.
In the laft place I may fafely grant, that by reading
Homer, Virgil was taught to imitate his invention ;
that is, to imitate like him : which is no more than if
a painter ftudied Raphael, that he might learn to de-
fign after his manner. And thus I might imitate Vir-
gil, if I were capable of writing an heroic poem, and
yet the invention be my own : but I fliould endeavour
to avoid a fervile copying. I would not give the fame
ftory under other names, with the fame characters, in
the fame order, and with the fame fequcl ; for every
common reader to find me out at the firft fight for a
plagiary, and cry. This I read before in Virgil, in a
better language, and in better verfe. This is like
Merry- Andrew on the low rope, copying lubberly the
fame tricks which his mailer is fo dextroufly perform-
ing on the high.
I will trouble your Lordfhip but with one objedion
more, which I know not whether found in Le Fevre,
or Valais ; but I am fure I have read it in another
French critic, whom I will not name, becaufe I think
it is not much for his reputation. Virgil, in the heat
of adion, fuppofe for example, in defcribing the fury
of his hero in a battle, when he is endeavouring to
raife our concernments to the higheft pitch, turns fliort
on the fudden into fome fmiilitude, which diverts, fay
they, your attention from the main fubjed, and mif-
fpends it on fome trivial image. He pours cold water
into the cauldron, when his bufmefs is to make it boil.
S 4 This
a54 DEDICATION.
This accufation ^s general againft all who would be
thought heroic poets ; but I think it touches Virgil lefs
than any. He is too great a mafter of his art to make
a blot which may fo eafily be hit. Similitudes, as I
have faid, are not for tragedy, which is all violent,
and where the paffions are in a perpetual ferment;
for there they deaden where they fhould animate; they
are not of the nature of dialogue, unlefs in comedy :
a metaphor is almoft all the ffage can fuffer, which is
a kind of fimilitude comprehended in a word. But
this figure has a contrary effeft in heroic poetry ; there
it is employed to raife the admiration, which is its
proper bufmefs. And admiration is not of fo violent
a nature as fear or hope, compaflion or horror, or any
concernment we can have for fuch or fuch a perfon on
ihe ftage. Not but I confefs, that fimilitudes and de-
fcriptions, when drawn into an unreafonable length,
mull needs naufeate the reader. Once I remember,
and but once, Virgil makes a fimilitude of fourteen
lines; and his defcription of Fame is about the fame
number. He is blamed for both ; and I doubt not but
he would have contrasted them, had he lived to have
reviewed his work: but faults are no precedents. This
I have obferved of his fimilitudes in general, that they
are not placed, as our unobferving critics tell us, in
the heat of any adion : but commonly in its declin-
ing: when he has warmed us in his defcription as
much as poffibly he can, then, left that warmth fhould
languifti, he renews it by fome apt fimilitude, which il-
luftrates his fubjed, and yet palls not his audience. I
need
DEDICATION. ^65
neeJ give your Lordfhip but one example of this kind,
and leave the refl: to your obfervation, when next you
review the whole ^neis in the original, unblemifhed
by my rude tranflation. It is in the firft book, where
the poet dcfcribes Neptune compofing the ocean, on
which ^olus had raifed a tempefl, without his per-
mifiion. He had already chidden the rebellious winds
for obeying the commands of their ufurping mafter:
he had warned them from the feas: he had beaten
down the billows with his mace; difpelled the clouds,
reftored the funfhine, while Triton and Cymothoe were
heaving the fliips from off the quick-fands, before the
poet v»ould offer at a fimilitude for illuftration.
" Ac, Ycluti magno in populo cum fa?pe coorta eft
*' Seditio, f^vitque animis ignobile vulgus,
" Jamque faces, & faxa volant, furor arma miniflrat;
*' Turn pietate gravem, ac meritis fi forte virum qucni
*' Confpexere, filent, arredifque auribusadftant:
«* Ille regit diftis animos, & pedora mulcet:
** Sic cunftus pelagi accidit fragor, asquora poftquam
** Profpiciens genitor, cccloque inveftus aperto
•' Fleflit eqios, curruque volans dat lora fccundo."
This is the firft fimilitude which Virgil makes in this
poem, and one of the longed in the whole, for which
reafon I the rather cite it. While the ftorm u as in its
fury, any allufion had been improper; for the poet
could have compared it to nothing more impetuous
than itfelf; confequently he could have made no illu-
ilration. If he could have illuftrated, it had been an
ambitious
s66 DEDICATION.
ambitious ornament out of feafon, and would have di-
verted our concernment: " Nunc, non erat his locus:"
and therefore he deferred it to its proper place,
Thefe are the criticifms of moft moment which have
been made againft the iEneis, by the ancients or mo-
derns. As for the particular exceptions againft this or
that paflage, Macrobius and Pontanus have anfwered
them already. If I defired to appear more learned
than I am, it had been as eafy for me to have taken
their objections and folutions, as it is for a country
parfon to take the expofitions of the fathers out of Ju-
nius and Tremellius. Or not to have named the au-
thors from whence I had them : for fo Ruasus, other-
wife a moft judicious commentator on Virgil's works,
has ufed Pontanus, his greateft benefaftor; of whom
he is very filent, and I do not remember that he once
cites him.
What follows next, is no objedion; for that implies
a fault: and it had been none in Virgil, if he had ex-
tended the time of his adion beyond a year. At leaft
Ariftotle has fet no precife limits to it. Homer's we
know, was within two months; Taflb, I am fure, ex-
ceeds not a fummer: and, if I examined him, perhaps
he might be reduced into a much lefs compafs, Boflii
leaves it doubtful whether Virgil's aftions were within
the year, or took up fome months beyond it. Indeed the
whole difpute is of no more concernment to the common
reader, than it is to a ploughman, whether February
this year had twenty-eight or twenty-nine days in it.
But, for the fatisfa^^ion of the more curious, of which
number
DEDICATION. 9.67
number I am fure your Lordfhip is one, I will
tranflate what I think convenient out of Segrais,
whom perhaps you have not read : for he has made it
highly probable, that the adion of the ^neis began
in the fpring, and was not extended beyond the au-
tumn. And we have known campaigns that have be-
gun fooner, and have ended later.
Ronfard, and the reft whom Segrais names, who
are of opinion that the aclion of this poem takes up
almoft a year and a half, ground their calculation
thus : Anchifes died in Sicily at the end of winter, or
beginning of the fpring. iEneas, immediately after
the interment of his father, puts to fea for Italy : he
is furprized by the tempeft defcribed in the beginning
of the firft book; and there it is that the fcene of the
poem opens, and where the aftion muft commence.
He is driven by this ftorm on the coafls of Afric : he
ftays at Carthage all that fummer, and almoft all the
winter following : fets fail again for Italy juft before
the beginning of the fpring; meets with contrary
winds, and makes Sicily the fecorid time: this part of
the action compleats the year. Then he celebrates the
anniverfar}' of his father's funeral, and fliortly after
arrives at Cuma?, and from thence his time is taken
up in his firft treaty with Latinus; the overture of the
war; the fiege of his camp by Tumus; his going for
fucccurs to relieve it; his return; the raifmg of the
fiege by the firft battle; the twelve days truce; the fe-
cond battle; the affault of Laurcntum, and the fingle
fight with Turnus , all which, they fay, cannot take
up
ft6S D E D I C A T I O N»
up lefs than four or five months more; by which ac-
count we cannot fuppofe the intire adion to be con-
tained in a much lefs compafs than a year and half.
Segrais reckons another way; and his computation is
not condemned by the learned Ruaeus, who compiled
and publiflied the commentaries on our poet, which
we call the Dauphin's Virgil.
He allows the time of the year when Anchifes died,
to be in the latter end of winter, or in the beginning
of the fpring; he acknowledges that when iEneas is
firft ken at fea afterwards, and is driven by the teni-
peft on the coall of Afric, is the time when the adion
is naturally to begin : he confefTes farther, that ^^Ineas
left Carthage in the latter end of winter ; for Dido
tells him in exprefs terms, as an argument for his
longer Hay,
** Quinetiam liiberno moliris lidere clafTem."
But whereas Ronfard's followers fuppofe that when
jflEneas had buried his father, he fet fail immediately
for Italy (though the tempell drove him on the coall
of Carthage), Segrais will by no means allow that fup-
pofition, but thinks it much more probable that he re-
mained in Sicily till the midll of July, or the begin-
ning of Auguft, at which time he places the firft ap-
pearance of his hero on the fea, and there opens the
aftion of the poem. From which beginning, to the
death of Turnus, which concludes the adlion, there
need not be fuppofed above ten months of intermediate
time; for, arriving at Carthage in the latter end of
fummer.
B E D I C A T I O N. a6j>
fummer, ftaying there the winter following, departing
thence in the very beginning of the fpring, making a
fhort abode in Sicily the fecond time, landing in Italy,
and making the war, may be reafonably judged the
bufinefs but of ten months. To this the Ronfardians
reply, that having been for feven years before in queft
of Italy, and having no more to do in Sicily than to
inter his father, after that office wag performed, what
remained for him, but, without delay, to purfue his
fir ft adventure? To which Segrais anfwers, that the
obfequles of his father, according to the rites of the
Greeks and Romans, would detain him for many days :
that a longer time muft be taken up in the refitting of
his fhips, after fo tedious a voyage, and in refrefaing
his weather-beaten folders on a friendly coaft. Thefe,
indeed, are but fuppofitions on both fides, yet thofe of
Segrais feem better grounded. For the feafl of Dido,
when fhe entertained iEneas firft, has the appearance
of a fummer's night, which feems already almofl end-
ed when he begins his flory : therefore the love v/as
made in autumn; the hunting followed properly, when
the heats of that fcorching country were declining:
the winter was pafTed in jollity, as the feafon and their
love required: and he left her in the latter end of
winter, as is already proved. This opinion is fortified
by the arrival of ^Eneas at the mouth of the Tiber, which
■marks the feafon of the fpring; that feafon being per-
fedly defcribed by the finging of the birds, faluting
the dawn; and by the beauty of the place : which the
poet
£70 DEDICATION.
poet feeems to have painted exprefsly in the feventh
-jEneid :
*' Aurora in rofeis fulgebat lutea blgis,
*' Cum venti pofuere; varias circumque, fupraque
•* Affuetse ripis volucres, & fluminis alveo,
*' iEthera mulcebant cantu."
The remainder of the aftion required but three
months more ; for when ^Eneas went for fuccour to
the Tufcans, he found their army in a readinefs to
march, an^ wanting only a commander : fo that, ac-
cording to this calculation, the .^neis takes not up
above a year compleat, and may be comprehended in
lefs compafs.
This, amongft other circumftances, treated more at
large by Segrais, agrees with the rifmg of Orion,
which caufed the tempeft defcribed in the beginning
of the firft book. By fome pafTages in the Paftorals,
but more particularly in the Georgics, our poet is
found to be an exad: aftronomer according to the
knowledge of that age. Now Ilioneus (whom Virgil
twice employs in embafiies, as the bell fpeaker of the
Trojans) attributes that tempeft to Orion, in his fpeech
to Dido:
" Cum fubito affurgens fludu nimbofus Orion.'*
He muft mean either the heliacal or achronical rifmg
of that fign. The heliacal rifmg of a conftellation
is when it comes from under the rays of the fun, and
begins to appear before day-light. The achronical
rifmg,
DEDICATION. 171
rifing, on the contrary, is when it appears at the clofe
of the day, and in oppofition of the fan's diurnal
courfe.
The heliacal rifing of Orion is at prefent computed
to be about the fixth of July; and about that time it
is, that he either caufes or prefages tempefts on the
feas.
Segrais has obferved farther, that when Anna coun-
fels Dido to flay iEneas during winter, (he fpeaks alfo
of Orion :
*' Dum pelago defasvit hyems, & aquofus Orion.'*
If therefore Ilioneus, according to our fuppofition,
underftand the heliacal rifing of Orion ; Anna mud
mean the achronical, which the different epithets given
to that conftellation feem to manifefl. Ilioneus calls
him " nimbofus:" Anna " aquofus." He is tempeftu-
■ous in the fummer when he rifes heliacally, and rainy in
the winter when he rifes achronically. Your Lordfhip
will pardon me for the frequent repetition of thefe cant
words, which I could not avoid in this abbreviation of
Segrais, who, I think, deferves no little commenda-
tion in this new criticifm. I have yet a word or two
to fay of Virgil's machines, from my own obfervation
of them. He has imitated thofc of Homer, but not
copied them. It was eftabllfhed long before this time,
in the Roman religion as well as in the Greek, that
there were gods; and both nations, for the moft part,
worfhipped the fame deities, as did alfo the Trojans ;
from whom the Romans, I fuppofe, would rather be
5 thought
27« DEDICATION.
thought to derive the rites of their religion, than from
the Grecians, becaufe they thought themfelves de-
fcended from them. Each of thofe gods had his pro-
per office, and the chief of them their particular at-
tendants. Thus Jupiter had, in propriety, Ganymede
and Mercury, and Juno had Iris. It was not for Vir-
gil then to create new minifters ; he muft take what he
found in his religion. It cannot therefore be faid that,
he borrowed them from Homer, any more thaif Apollo,
Diana, and the reft, whom he ufes as he finds occafion
for them, as the Grecian poet did : but he invents the
occalions for which he ufes them. Venus, after the
deftrudion of Troy, had gained Neptune entirely to
her party; therefore we find him bufy in the beginning
of the ^neis, to calm the tempeft raifed by ^olus,
and afterwards conducing the Trojan fleet to Cumaa
in fafety, with the lofs only of their pilot, for whom
he bargains. I name thofe two examples amongft a
hundred which I omit: to prove that Virgil, generally
{peaking, employed his machines in performing thofe
things v/hich might pofilbly have been done without
them. What more frequent than a ftorm at fea, upon
the rifing of Orion? what wonder, if amongft fo
many Ihips, there fhould one be overfet, which was
commanded by Orontes, though half the winds had
not been there which iEolus employed ? Might not
Palinurus, without a miracle, fall afleep, and drop
into the fea, having been over-wearied with watching,
sjid fecure of a quiet pafTage, by his obfervation of the
Ikies;
DEDICATION. a7j
ildes? at leaft iEneas, who knew nothing of the ma«
chine of Somnus, takes it plainly in this fenfe :
" O nimium coelo & pelago confife fereno,
** Nudus in ignota Palinure jacebis arena."
But machines fometimes are fpecious things to amufc
the reader, and give a colour of probability to things
otherwife incredible. And befidcs, it foothed the va-
nity of the Romans, to find the gods fo vifibly con-
cerned in all the anions of their predeceflbrs. We
U'ho are better taught by our religion, yet own every
wonderful accident which befals us for the beft, to be
brought to pafs by fomefpecial providence of Almighty
God, and by the care of guardian angels: and from
hence I might infer, that no heroic poem can be writ
on the Epicurean principles; which I could eafily
demonftrate, if there were need to prove it, or 1 had
leifure.
When Venus opens the eyes of her fon JEnezs, to
behold the gods who combated againfl Troy in that
fatal night when it was furprized, we fhare the plea-
fure of that glorious vifion (which TafTo has not ill
copied in the facking of Jerufalem). Eut the Greeks
had done their bufinefs ; though neither Neptune, Juno,
or Pallas, had given them their divine affiftance. The
moft crude machine which Virgil ufes is, in the epifode
of Camilla, v.'here Opis, by the command of her mif-
trefs, kills Aruns. The next is in the twelfth JEntid,
where Venus cures her fon ^neas. But in the laft of
diefe, the poet was driven to a neceflityj for Turnus
Vol. XXII. T ' was
^4. DEDICATION.
was to be flain that very day; and ^neas, woundect-
as he was, could not have engaged him in fingle com-,
bat, unlefs his hurt had been miraculoufly healed.
And the poet had conlidered, that the dittany, which
fae brought from Crete, could not have wrought fo
fpeedy an efFeft, without the juice of ambrofia, which
fhe mingled with it. After all, that his machine
might not feem too violent, we fee the hero limping
after Turnus. The wound was fkinned; but the
ftrength of his thigh was not reftored. But what rea-
fon had our author to wound ^neas at fo critical a
time ? And how came the cuiffes to be worfe tempered
than the reft of his armour, which was all wrought by
Vulcan and his journeymen ? Thefe difficulties are not
cafily to be folved, without confeffing that Virgil had
not life enough to correft his work; though he had
reviewed it, and found thofe errors which he refolved
to mend ; but being prevented by death, and not will-
ing to leave an iinperfed work behind him, he ordain-
ed, by his laft teftament, that his ^neis fhould be
burned. As for the death of Aruns, who was fnot by
a goddefs, the machine was not altogether (o outrage-
ous as the wounding Mars and Venus by the fword
of Diomede. Two divinities, one would have thought,
might have pleaded their prerogative of impafllbility,
or at leaft not have been wounded by any mortal
hand. Befide that the i^c^f which they fhed, were fo
very like our common blood, that it was not to be
diftinguilhed from it, but only by the name and co-
lour. As for what Horace fays in his Art of Poetry;
that
DEDICATION. tjg
that no machines are to be ufecl, unlefs on fome extra*
ordinary occafion,
•* Nee deus interfit, nifi dignus vindicc nodus;"
that rule is to be applied to the theatre, of which he
is then fpeaking ; and means no more than this, that
when the knot of the play is to be untied, and no other
way is left for making the difcovery, then, and
rot otherwife, let a god defcend upon a rope, and
clear the bufmefs to the audience : but this has no re-
lation to the machines which are ufed in an epic poem.
In the laft place, for the Dira, or flying peft, which
flapping on the fhield of Turnus, and fluttering about his
head, dii^eartened him in the duel, and prefagcd to him
his approaching death, I might have placed it more pro-
perly amongft the objedions. For the critics, who lay
want of courage to the charge of Virgil's hero, quote this
paffage as a main proof of their affertion. They fay our
author had not only fecured him before the duel, but
alfo, in the beginning of it, had given him the advan«
tage in impenetrable arms, and in his fword: that of
Turnus was not his own (which was forged by Vulcan
for his father) but a weapon which he had fnatched
in hafte, and, by miftake, belonging to his charioteer
Metifcus. That, after all this, Jupiter, who was par-
tial to the Trojan, and diftruilful of the event, though
he had hung the balance, and given it a jog of his hand
to weigh down Turnus, thought convenient to give the
fates a collateral fecurity by fending the fcreech-owl to
difcourage him. For which the\' quote thefe words of
Virgil;
T z « Non
^j6. DEDICATION.
,. ** ——-Non me tua turbida virtus
" Tenet, ait; Dii me terrent, & Jupiter hoflis."
In anfwer to which, I fay, that this machine is one
of thofe which the poet ufes only for ornament, and
not out of necefTity. Nothing can be more beautiful,
ot more poetical, than this defcription of the three Di-
rae, or the fetting of the balance, which our Milton
has borrowed from him, but employed to a different
end : for firft he makes God Almighty {ct the fcales
for St. Gabriel and Satan, when he knew no combat
was to follow : then he makes the good angel's fcale
defcend, and the devil's mount; quite contrary to
Virgil, if I have tranllated the three verfes according
to my author's fenfe;
*' Jupiter ipfe duas 3?quato examine lances
** Suftinet ; 8c fata imponit diverfa duorum :
«* Quern damnet labor, & quo vergat pondere le-
" thum."
For I have taken thefe words, " Quern damnet labor,"
in the fenfe v/hich Virgil gives them in another place;
*' Damnabis tu quoque votis;" to fignify a profperous
event. Yet I dare not condemn fo great a genius as
Milton : for I am much miftaken if he alludes not to
the text in Daniel, where Eallhazzar was put into the
balance, and found too light. This is digreflion, and
I return to my fubje<^. I faid above, that thefe two
machines of the balance and the Dira were only or-
namental, and that the fuccefs of the duel had been the
fame
DEDICATION. sjf
fame without them: for, when iEneas and Turnu«
flood fronting each other before the altar, Tumus
looked dejefted, and his colour faded in his face, as
if he defponded of the vidory before the fight ; and
not only he, but all his party, when the ftrength of
the two champions was judged by the proportion of
their limbs, concluded it was '* impar pugna," and that
their chief was over-matched. Whereupon Juturna
{who was of the fame opinion) took this opportunity
to break the treaty and renew the war. Juno herfelf
had plainly told the nymph before-hand, that her bro-
ther was to fight ;
" Imparibus fatis; nee Diis, nee viribus xquis;"
fo that there was no need of an apparition to fright
Tumus : he had the prefage within himfelf of his
impending dertiny. The Dira only ferved to confirm
him in his firft opinion, that it was his delliny to die
in the enfuing combat. And in this fenfe are thofe
words of Virgil to be taken;
** Non mea tua turbida virtus
** Terret, ait; Dii me terrent, &: Jupiter hoflis."
I doubt not but the adverb (foliim) is to be un-
derllood, it is not your v^alour only that gives me this
concernment; but I find alfo, by this portent, that
Jupiter is my enemy. For Tumus fled before when
his firfl: fword was broken, till his fidcr fupphed
him with a better; which indeed he could not ufe;
bccaufe iEneas kept him at a diftance with his fpear,
T 3 I wonder
»7« DEDICATION.
I wonder Rudcus faw not this, where he charges hfs
author fo unjuftly, for giving Turnus a fecond fword^
to no purpofe. How eould he fatten a blow, or make
a thruft, when he was not fuffered to approach ? Be-
fides, the chief errand of the Dira was, to warn Ju-
turna from the field, for fhe could have brought the
chariot again, when (he faw her brother worfted in the
duel. I might further add, that -^neas was fo eager
in the fight, that he left the city, now almoft in his
pofleflion, to decide his quarrel v/ith Turnus by the
fword: whereas Turnus had manifeftly declined the
combat, and fuffered his filler to convey him as fa?
from the reach of his enemy as Ihe could. I fay, not
only fuffered her, but confented to it; for it is plain
he knew her by thefe words :
*' O foror & dudum agnovi, cum prima perartem
" Foedera turbafti, teque h^c in bella dedifli;
** Et nunc nequicquam fallis Dea."
I have dwelt fo long on this fubjeft, that I muft
contraft what I have to fay, in reference to my tranf-
lation : unlefs I would fwell my preface into a volume,
and make it formidable to your Lordfhip, when you
fee fo many pages yet behind. And indeed what I
have already written, either in juflification or praife of
Virgil, is againft myfelf; for prefuming to copy, in
my coarfe Englifh, the thoughts and beautiful expref-
fions of this inimitable poet, who flourifhed in an age
v/hen his language was brought to its laft perfeftion,
for which it was particularly owing to him and Horace,
I will
DEDICATION. 279
J will give your Lordfhip my opinion, that thofe two
friends had confulted each other's judgment, wherein
they (hould endeavour to excel ; and they feem to have
pitched on propriety of thought, elegance of words,
and harmony of numbers. According to this model,
Horace writ his Odes and Epods : for his Satires and
Epiftles, being intended wholly for inftrudlion, required
another ftyle :
** Ornari res ipfa negat, contenta doceri."
And therefore, as hehimfelf profeiTes, are *' fermoni
** propriora," nearer profe than verfe. But Virgil, who
never attempted the lyric verfe, is every where elegant,
fweet, and flowing, in his hexameters. His words are
not only chofen, but the places in which he ranks them
for the found ; he who removes them from the ftation
wherein their mailer (ct them, fpoils the harmony.
What he fays of tlie Sibyl's prophecies, may be as
properly applied to every word of his : they muft be
read, in order as they lie; the leaft breath difcompofes;
them, and fomewhat of their divinity is loft. I can-
not boaft that I have been thus exacl in my verfes,
but I have endeavoured to follow the example of my
mafter: and am the fiiil Englifhman, perhaps, who
made it his defign to copy him in his numbers, his
choice of words, and his placing them for the fweet-
nefs of the found. On this laft confideration, I have
fliunned the Cxfura as much as pofTibly I could. For
wherever that is ufed, it gives a roughnefs to the verfe;
of which we can have little need, in a language which
T 4 u
ago DEDICATION.
is over-flocked with confonants. Such is not the La-
tin, where the vowels and confonants are mixed in
proportion to each other: yet Virgil judged the vowels
to have fomev.hat of an over-balance, and therefore
tempers their fweetnefs with Caefuras. Such differ-
ence there is in tongues, that the fame figure which
roughens one, gives majefly to another : and that was
it which Virgil fludied in his verfes. Ovid ufes it but
rarely ; and hence it is that this verification cannot fo
properly be called fvveet, as lufcious. The Italians
are forced upon it, once or twice in every line, be-
caufe they have a redundancy of vowels in their lan-
guage. Their metal is fo foft, that it will not coin
without alloy to harden it. On the other fide, for the
leafon already named, it is all we can do to give fuf-
ficient fweetnefs to our language: we muft not only
choofe our words for elegance, but for found; to
perform which, a mattery in the language is required,
the poet muft have a magazine of words, and have the
art to manage his few vowels to the beft advantage<>
that they may go the farther. He mufl alfo know the
nature of the vowels, which are more fonorous, and
which more foft and fvveet; and fo difpofe them as his
prefent occalions require : all which, and a thoufand
fecrets of verfilication befide, he may learn from Vir-
gil, if he will take him for his guide. If he be above
Virgil, and is refolved to follow his own verve (as the
French call it) the proverb will fall heavily upon him:
Who teaches himfclf, has a fool for his mafler,
Virgil
Dedication. agi
Virgil employed eleven years upon his JF.nch ; yet he
left it, as he thought himfclf, imperfe»5l. Which
when I ferioufly confider, I wilh, that inftead of three
years which I have fpent in the tranflation of his
works, I had four years more allowed me to corre^fl
iny errors, that I might make my verfion fomewhat
more tolerable than it is : for a poet cannot have too
great a reverence for his readers, if he expcfls his la-
bours fhould furvive him. Yet I will neither plead
my age nor ficknefs, in excufe of the faults which I
have made: that I wanted time, is all that I have to
fay: for fon^ of my fubfcribers grew fo clamorous,
that I could no longer defer the publication. I hope,
from the candour of your Lordihip, and your often
experienced goodnefs to me, that, if the faults are not
too many, you will make allowances with Horace:
*' Si plura nitent in carmine, non ego paucis
** OfFendar maculis, quas aut incuria fudit
" Aut humana pariim cavit natura,"
You may pleafe alfo to obferve, that there is not, to
the bell: of my remembrance, one vowel gaping on an-
other for want of a Casfara, in this whole poem : but
^vhere a vowel ends aword, the next begins either with
a confonant, or v/hat is its equivalent; for our W and
H afpirate, and our diphthongs are plainly fuch; the
greateft latitude I tal<e is in the letter Y, when it con*
eludes a word, and the firft fyllable of the next begins
with a vowel. Neither need I have called this a lati-
tude, which is only an explanation of this general rule :
that
%Sz DEDICATION.
that no vowel can be cut off before another, when we
cannot fink the pronunciation of it; as He, She, Me,
I, &c. Virgil thinks it fometimes a beauty to imitate
the licence of the Greeks, and leave two vowels open-
ing on each other, as in that verfe of the third Pa«
Itoral:
** Et fuccus pecorl, Sc lac fubducitur agnis."
But, " nobis non licet efle tarn difertis:" at leaflr,
if we ftudy to refine our numbers. I have long had
by me the materials of an Englifh Profodia, containing
all the mechanical rules of verfification, wherein I
have treated with fome exaftnefs of the feet, the quan-
tities, and the paufes. The French and the Italians
know nothing of the two firfl: ; at lead their beft poets
have not pradifed them. As for the paufes, Malherbe
firfl brought them into France, within this laft century ;
and we fee how they adorn their Alexandrians. But,
as Virgil propounds a riddle which he leaves unfolved,
" Die quibus in terris, infcripti nomina regum
** Nafcantur flores, & Phyllida folus habeto,*'
fo will I give your Lordfliip another, and leave the ex-
pofition of it to your acute judgment. I am fure
there are few who make verfes, have obferved the
fweetnefs of thefe two lines in Cooper's-Hill;
" Though deep yet clear; though gentle, yet not dull;
** Strong without rage, without o'erfiowing full."
And there are yet fewer who can find the reafon of
that fweetnefs* I have given it to fome of my friends
in
D E D I C A T I O .V. 1K5
in converfation, and they have allowed the criticifm to
be juit. But, fince the evil of fiilfe quantities is diffi-
cult to be cured in any modem language ; fince the
French and the Italians, as well as we, are yet ignorant
what feet are to be ufed in heroic poetry; fmce I have
not ftridly obferved thofe rules myfelf, which I can
teach others; fince I pretend to no diftatorfhip among
my fellow-poets ; fince if I fhould inftrutft fome of
them to make well-running verfes, they want genius
to give them ftrength as well as Aveetnefs ; and above
all, fince }our Lordfliip has advifed me not to publifli
that little which I know, I look on your counfel as
your command, which I Hiall obferve inviolably, till
you Ihall pleafe to revoke it, and leave me at liberty to
make my thoughts public. In the mean time, that I
may arrogate nothing to myfelf, I muft acknowledge
that Virgil in Latin, and Spenfer in Englifh, have been
my mailers. Spenfer has alfo given me the boldnefs
to make ufefometimes of his Alexandrian line; which
we call, though improperly, the Pindaric, becaufe
Mr. Cowley has often employed it in his Odes. It
adds a certain majefty to the verfe, when it is ufed
•with judgment, and ftops the fenfe from overflowing
into another line. Formerly the French, like us, and
the Italians, had but five feet, or ten fyllables, in their
heroic verfe; but fince Ronfard"s time, as I fuppofe,
they found their tongue too weak to fupport their epic
poetry, without the addition of another foot. That
indeed has given it fomewhat of the run and meafure
of a trimeter; but it runs with more adivity than
(Irength :
^?4. DEDICATION.
ftrength: their language is not ftrung with finews like
ourEnglifh: it has the nimblenefs of a grayhound,
but not the bulk and body of a maftiff. Our men and
our verfes overbear them by their weight; and " pon-
•* dere non numero," is the Britilh motto. The French
have fet up purity for the ftandard of their lan-
guage; and a mafculine vigour is that of ours. Like
their tongue is the genius of their poets, light and tri-
fling in comparifon of the Englifh ; more proper for
fonnets, madrigals, and elegies, than heroic poetry.
The turn on thoughts and words is their chief talent;
but the epic poem is too ftately to receive thofe little
ornaments. The painters draw their nymphs in thin
and airy habits, but the weight of gold and of embroi-
deries is referved for queens and goddefles, Virgil is
never frequent in thofe turns, like Ovid; but much
more fparing of them in his iEneis, than in his Pafto-
rals and Georgics :
*^ Ignofcenda quidem, fcirent fi ignofcere manes.'*
That turn is beautiful indeed ; but he employs it in
the ftory of Orpheus and Eurydice, not in his great
poem. I have ufed that licence in his iEneis fome-
times ; but I own it as my fault. It was given to
thofe who underftand no better. It is like Ovid's
** Semivirumque bovem, femibovemque virum."
The poet found it before his critics, but it was a dar-
ling fm which he would not be perfuaded to reform.
The want of genius, of which I have ace ufed the
French, is laid to their charge by one of their own
great
DEDICATION. 1J5
'great authors, though I have forgotten his name, and
where I read it. If rewards could make good poets,
their great mafter has not been wanting on his part ia
his bountiful encouragements: for he is wife enough
to imitate Auguftus, if he had a Maro. The Trium-
vir and Profcriber had defcended to us in a more hide-
ous form than they now appear, if the emperor had
not taken care to make friends of him and Horace, I
confefs the banilhment of Ovid was a blot in his ef-
cutcheon : yet he was only banifhed ; and who knows
but his crime was capital, and then his exile was a fa-
vour. Ariofto, who, with all his faults, muft be ac-
knowledged a great poet, has put thefe words into the
mouth of an evangelift; but whether they will pafs for
gofpel now, I cannot tell:
** Non fu fi fanto ni benigno Auguflo,
*' Come la tuba di Virgilio fuona;
** L'haver havuto in poefia buon gufto,
** La profcrittione iniqua gli pardona."
But heroic poetry is not of the growth of France,
as it might be of England, if it were cultivated, Spen-
fer wanted only to have read the rules of Boffu ; for no
man was ever born with a greater genius, or had more
knowledge to fupport it. But the performance of the
French is not equal to their fkiU : and hitherto we
have wanted (kill to perform better. Segrais, whofe
preface is fo wonderfully good, yet is wholly deftitute
of elevation; though his verfion is much better than
that of the two brothers, or any of the reft who have
attempted
ISS DEDICATION.
attempted Virgil. Hannibal Caro is a great name
amongft the Italians ; yet bis tranllation of the ^Eneis
is mo ft fcandalonfly mean, though he has taken the
advantage of writing in blank verfe, and freed himfelf
from the (hackles of modern rhyme (if it be modern,
for Le Clerc has told us lately, and I believe has
made it out, that David's Pfalms were written in as
arrant rhyme as they are tranflated). Now if a Mufc
cannot run when (he is unfettered, it is a fign fhe has
but little fpeed. I will not make a digreffion here,
though I am ftrangely tempted to it; but will only
fey, that he who can write well in rhyme, may write
better in blank verfe. Rhyme is certainly a conftraint
even to the beft poets, and thofe who make it with
moft eafe : though perhaps I have as little reafon to
complain of that hardfhip as any man, excepting
Quarles and Withers. What it adds to fweetnefs, it
takes away from fenfe; and he who lofes the leaft by
it, may be called a gainer : it often makes us fwerve
from an author's meaning. As if a mark be fet up
fof an archer at a great diftance, let him aim as exaftly
as he can, the leafl wind will take his arrow, and
divert it from the white. I return to our Italian tranf-
lator of the ^Eneis : he is a foot-poet, he lacquies by
the iide of Virgil at the beft, but never mounts behind
Jiim. Dodor Morelli, who is no mean critic in our
poetry, and therefore may be prefumed to be a better
in his own language, has confirmed me in this opinion
by his judgment, and thinks withal, that he has often
xniftaken his matter's fenfe. 1 wouE fay fo, if I durft,
but
DEDICATION. 1S7
"but am afraid I have committed the fame fault more
often, and moregrofly: for I have forfaken Ruaeus
(whom generally I follow) in many places, and made
€xpofitions of my own in fome, quite contrary to him:
of which I will give but two examples, becaufe they
are fo near each other, in the tenth JEncid,
*' — Sorti pater aequus utrique,"
Pallas fays it to Tumus, juft before they fight. Ruasus
thinks that the word pater is to be referred to Evander
the father of Pallas. But how could he imagine that
it was the fame thing to Evander, if his fon were flain,
or if he overcame ? The poet certainly intended Jupiter,
tiie common father of mankind ; who, as Pallas hoped,
would ftand an impartial fpedator.of the combat, and
not be more favourable to Tumus, than to him. The
fecond is not long after it, and both before the duel is
begun. They are the words of Jupiter, who com-
forts Hercules for the death of Pallas, which was im-
mediately to enfue, and which Hercules could not
hinder (though the young hero had addrefTed his
prayers to him for his affiilance) : becaufe the gods
cannot jcontrol deftiny. — The verfe follows ;
" Sic ait; atque oculos Rutulorum rejicit arvis."
Which the fame Ru^us thus conftrues: Jupiter, after
he had faid this, immediately turns his eyes to the
Rutilian fields, and beholds the duel. I have given
this place another expofition, that he turned his eyes
from the field of combat, that he might not behold a
fight fo unpleafing to him. The word rejicit, I know,
vviU
«SS DEDICATION.
will admit of both fenfes; but Jupiter having confefled
that he could not alter fate, and being grieved he
<;ould not, in confideration of Hercules, it feems to
me that he fliould avert his eyes, rather than take plea-
^ijre in the fpedacle. But of this I am not fo confident
as the other, tliough I think I have followed Virgil's
fenfe.
What I have faid, tliough it has the face of arro-i
gance, yet it is intended for the honour of my country;
and therefore I will boldly own, that this Englilh
tranflation has more of Virgil's fpirit in it, than either
the French, or the Italian. Some of our countrymen
liave tranllated epifodes, and other parts of Virgil,
with great fuccefs. As particularly your Lordlhip,
whofe verfion of Orpheus and Eurydice is eminently
good. Amongft the dead authors, the Silenus of my
Lord Rofcommon cannot be too much commended. I
fay nothing of Sir John Denham, Mr. Waller, and
Mr. Cowley; it is the utmoft of my ambition to be
thought their equal, or not to be much inferior to
them, and fome others of the living. But it is one
thing to take pains on - a fragment, and tranflate it
perfeftly, and another thing to have the weight of a
whole author on my fhoulders. They who believe the
"burden light, let them attempt the fourth, fixth, or
^ghth Paftoral; the firft or fourth Georgic; and
amongft the ^neids, the fourth, the fifth, the fe-
"venth, the ninth, the tenth, the eleventh, or the
twelfth; foi: in thefe I think I have fucceeded beft.
DEDICATION. 2S9
Long before I undertook this work, I was no Gran-
ger to the original. I had alfo lludicd Virgil's defign,
bis difpofition of it, his manners, his judicious ma-
nagement of the figures, the fober retrenchments of
his fenfe, which always leaves fomewhat to gratify our
imagination, on which it may enlarge at pleafure;
but, above all, the elegance of his expreffion, and the
harmony of his numbers. For, as I have faid in a
former dilTertation, the words are in poetry, what the
colours are in painting. If the defign be good, and the
draught be true, the colouring is the firft beauty that
ftrikcs the e}e. Spenfer and Milton are the ncareft in
Englifh to Virgil and Horace in the Latin; and I
have endeavoured to form my iiyle in imitating their
mafiers. I will further own to you, my Lord, that my
chief ambition is to pleafe thofe readers who have dif-
cernment enough to prefer Virgil before any other poet
in the Latin tongue. Such fpirits as he defired to pleafe,
£uch would I choofe for my judges, and would ftand
or fall by them alone. Segrais has diilinguilhed the
readers of poetry, according to their capacity of judg-
ing, into three clailes (he might have faid the fame
of writers too, if he had plcafed). In the lovveft form
he places thofe whom he calls Les Petits Efprits: fuch
things as are our upper-gallery audience in a play-
houfe: who like nothing but the hulk and rind of wit;
prefer a quibble, a conceit, an epigram, before folid
fenfe, and elegant expreffion : thefe are mob- readers :
if Virgil and Martial Hood for parliament-men, wc
kJl0^v already who would carry it. But though they
Vol. XXIL U make
59© DEDICATION.
make the greateft appearance in the field, and cry the
loudeft, the beft on it is, they are but a fort of French
Hugonots, or Dutch boors, brought over in herds,
but not naturalized: who have not land of two pounds
per annum in Parnaffus, and therefore are not privi-
leged to poll. Their authors are of the fame level ;
fit to reprefent them on a mountebank's ftage, or to be
mailers of the ceremonies in a bear-garden. Yet
thefe are they who have the moll admirers. But it
often happens, to their mortification, that as their
readers improve their llcck of fenfe (as they may by
reading better books, and by converfation with men
of judgment) they foon forfake them: and when the
torrent from the mountains falls no more, the fwellino^
writer is reduced into his fliallow bed, like the Man-
canares at Madrid, with fcarce water to moiften his
own pebbles. There are a middle fort of readers (as
ive hold there is a middle Hate of fouls) fuch as have
a farther infight than the former, yet have not the ca-
pacity of judging right (for I fpeak not of thofe who
are bribed by a party, and know better if they were
not corrupted) ; but I mean a company of warm
young men, who are not yet arrived fo far as to dif-
cern the difference betwixt fuftian, or ollentatious fen-
tences, and the true fublime. Thefe are above liking
Martial or Owen's epigrams; but they would certainly
fet Virgil below Statius or Lucan. I need not fay
their poets are of the fame tafte with their admirers.
They affedl greatnefs in all they write, but it is a blad-
dered greatnefs, like that of the yain man whom Se-
neca
DEDICATION. 291
ncca defcribes — an ill habit of body, full of humours,
and fuelled with dropfy. Even thefe too defert their
authors, as their judgment ripens. The young gen-
tlemen themfelves are commonly mifled by their poeda-
gogue at fchool, their tutor at the univerfity, or their
governor in their travels : and many of thofe three
forts are the moft pofitive blockheads in the world.
How many of thofe flatulent writers have I known,
who have funk in their reputation, after feven or eight
editions of their works! for indeed they are poets only
for young men. They had great fuccefs at their firft
appearance ; but not being of God, as a wit faid for-
merly, they could not ftand.
I have already named two forts of judges, but Virgil
wrote for neither of them; and, by his example, I am
not ambitious of pleafmg the loweft or the middle form
of readers.
He chofe to pleafe the moll judicious; fouls of the
higheft rank, and tnieft underflanding: thefe are few
in number; but whoever is fo happy as to gain their
approbation, can never lofe it, becaufe they never give
it blindly. Then they have a certain magnetifm in
their judgment, which attrads others to their fenfe.
Every day they gain fome new profelyte, and in time
become the church. For this reafon, a well-weighed,
judicious poem, which at its firft appearance gains no
more upon tlie world than to be juft received, and ra-
ther not blamed, than much applauded, infmuates it-
felf by infenfible degrees into the liking of the reader :
the more he ftudies it, the more it grows upon him ;
U 2 every
a9» DEDICATION.
every time he takes it up, he difcovers fome new graced
in it. And whereas poems, which are produced by
the vigour of imagination only, have a glofs upon
them at firfl, which time v/ears off; the works of
judgment are like the diamond, the more they are po-
liflied, the more luflre they recei\'e. Such is the differ-
ence betwi'Xt Virgil's iEneis, and Marini's Adone:
and, if I may be allowed to change the metaphor, I
would fay, that Virgil is like the fame which he de-
Icribes ;
" Mobilitate viget, virefque acquirit eundo."
Such a fort of reputation is my aim, though in a fiir
inferior degree, according to my motto in the title-
page; ** Sequiturque patrera non paffibus ^quis :'*
and therefore I appeal to the higheft court of judica-
ture, like that of the peers, of which your Lordfhip is
fo great an ornament.
Without this ambition which I own, of defiring to
pleafe the ** Judices Natos," I could never have been
able to have done any thing at this age, when the fire
of poetry is commonly extinguiflied in other men. Yet
Virgil has given me the example of Entellus for my
encouragement : when he was well heated, the younger
champion could not fland before him : and we find
the elder contended not for the gift, but for the ho-
nour; " Nee dona moror." For Dampier has in-
formed us, in his voyages, that the air of the country
which produces gold is never wholcfome,
I had
DEDICATION. 293
I had, long fince, confidered, that the way to plcafe
the beft judges, is not to tranflate a poet literally; and
Virgil leafl: of any other; for his peculiar beauty ly-
ing in his choice of words, I am excluded from it by
the narrow compafs of our heroic verfe, unlefs I would
make ufe of monofyllables only, and thofe clogged
with confonants, which are the dead weight of our
mother tongue. It is poflible, I confefs, though it
rarely happens, that a verfe of monofyllables may
found harmonioufly; and fome examples of it I have
fcen. My firft line of the iEneis is not harfh :
Arms, and the man I fmg, who, forc'd by fate. Sec.
Eut a much better inftance may be given from the lad
line of Manilius, made EnglilTi by our learned and ju-
dicious Mr. Creech:
Nor could the world have borne fo fierce a flame.
Where the many liquid confonants are placed fo art*
fully, that they give a pleafmg found to the words,
though they are all of one fyllable.
It is true, I have been fometimes forced upon it in
other places of this work, but I never did it out of
choice : I was either in hafte, or Virgil gave me no oc-
cafion for the ornament of words : for it fcldom hap-
pens but a monofyllable line turns verfe to profe, and
even that profe is rugged and unharmonious. Philar-
chus, I remember, taxes Balzac for placing twenty
monofyllables in file, without one diilyllable betwixt
them. The way 1 have taken is not fo llrait as meta-
U 3 phrafe,
294- DEDICATION.
phrafe, nor fo loofe as paraphrafe : fome things too I
have omitted, and fometimes have added of my own;
yet the omiflions, I hope, are but of circumftances,
and fuch as would have no grace in Englifh ; and the
additions, I alfo hope, are eafily deduced from Virgil's
fenfe. They will feem (at leaft I have the vanity to
think fo) not fluck into him, but growing out of him.
He fludies brevity more than any other poet ; but he
had the advantage of a language wherein much may
be comprehended in a little fpace. We, and all the
modern tongues, have more articles and pronouns,
befides figns of tenfes and cafes, and other barbarities
on which our fpeech is built by the faults of our fore-
fathers. The Romans founded theirs upon the Greek :
and the Greeks, we know, were labouring many hun-
dred years upon their language, before they brought
it to perfedion. They rejeded all thofe figns, and
cut oiFas many articles as they could fpare; compre-
hending in one word, what we are conftrained to ex-
prefs in two ; which is one reafon why we cannot write
fo concifely as they have done. The word " pater,"
for example, fignifies not only a father, but your fa-
ther, my father, his or her father, all included in a
word.
This inconvenience is common to all modern
tongues ; and this alone conftrains us to employ more
words than the ancients needed. But having before
obfcrved, that Virgil endeavours to be fhort and at the
fame time elegant, I purfue the excellence, and for-
fake the brevity 5 for there is he like ambergris, a
rich
DEDICATION. 995
rich perfume, but of fo clofe and glutinous a body,
that it muft be opened with inferior fcents of mulk or
civet, or the fweetnefs will not be drawn out into ano-
ther language.
On the whole matter, I thought fit to (leer betwixt
the two extremes of paraphrafe and literal tranflation,
to keep as near my author as I could, without lofmg
all his graces, the moft eminent of which are in the
beauty of his words, and thofe words, I muft add, ar«
always figurative. Such of thefe as would retain their
elegance in our tongue, I have endeavoured to graft
on it; but moft of them are of neceflity to be loft,
becaufe they will not ihine in any but their own. Vir-
gil has, fometimes, two of them in a llnej but the
fcantinefs of our heroic verfe is not capable of receiv-
ing more than one : and that too muft expiate for
many others which have none. Such is the difference
of the languages, or fuch my want of fkill in choofmg
words. Yet I may prefume to fay, and I hope with
as much reafon as the French tranflator, that, taking
all the materials of this divine author, I have endea-
voured to make Virgil fpeak fuch Englifh, as he would
himfelf have fpoken, if he had been born in England,
and in this prefent age. I acknowledge with Segrais,
that I have not fucceeded in this attempt according to
my defire; yet I fhall not be wholly without praife, if
in fome fort I may be allowed to have copied the clear-
nefs, the purit}-, the eafinefs, and the magnificence of
his ftyle. But I fhall have occafion to fpeak farther on
this fubje(^, before I end the preface,
U 4 When
29€ DEDICATION,
When I mentioned the Pindaric line, I fhould have
added, that I take another licence in my verfes ; for I
frequently make ufe of triplet rhymes, and for the
fame reafon, becaufe they bound the fenfe: and there-
fore I generally join thefe two licences together, and
make the laft verfe of the triplet a Pindaric: for,
befides the majefty which it gives, it confines the fenfe
within the barriers of three lines, which would lan-
guilh if it were lengthened into four. Spenfer is my
example for both thefe privileges of Englifh verfes :
and Chapman hath followed him in his tranfiation of
Homer. Mr. Cowley has given into them after both,
and all fucceeding writers after him. I regard them
now as the Magna Charta of heroic poetry; and am
too much an Engliihman to lofe what my anceftors
have gained for me. Let the French and Italians va-
lue themfelves on their regularity : ftrength and eleva-
tion are our ftandard. I faid before, and I repeat it,
that the affefted purity of the French has unfmewed
their heroic verfe. The language of an epic poem is
almoft wholly figurative ; yet they are fo fearful of a
metaphor, that no example of Virgil can encourage
them to be bold with fafety. Sure they might warm
themfelves by that fprightly blaze, without approach-
ing it fo clofe as to finge their wings : they may come
as near it as their mailer : not that I v.'ould difcou-
rage that purity of diftion in which he excels all
other poets. But he knows how far to extend his
franchifes ; and advances to the verge, without ven-
turing a foot beyond it. On the other fide, without
being
DEDICATION. «97
facing injurious to the memory of our Englifh Pindar,
I will prefume to fay, that his metaphors are fame-
times too violent, and his langnage is not always
pure; but, at the fame time, I muft excufe him;
for, through the iniquity of the times, he was forced
to travel, at an age when, inftead of learning foreign
languages, he fhould have ftudied the beauties of his
mother tongue, which, like all other fpeeches, is to
be cultivated early, or we fhall never write it with any
kind of elegance. Thus by gaining abroad, he loil
at home : like the painter in the Arcadia, who, going
to fee a Ikirmifh, had his arms lopped off: and return-
ed, fays Sir Philip Sidney, well inftrutfled how to
draw a battle, but without a hand to perform his
work.
There is another thing in which I have prefumed to
dedate from him and Spenfer. They both make he-
miftichs (or half verfes) breaking off in the middle
of a line. I confefs there are not many fuch in the
Fairy Queen : and even thofe {ew might be occafioned
by his unhappy choice of fo long a ftanza. Mr. Cow-
ley had found out, that no kind of ftaff is proper for
an heroic poem, as being all too lyrical : yet though
he wrote in couplets, where rhyme is freer from con-
ftraint, he frequently afFeds half verfes ; of which we
find not one in Homer, and I think not in any of the
Greek poets, or the Latin, excepting only Virgil;
and there is no queftion but he thought he had Virgil's
authority for that licence. But, I am confident, our
poet never meant to leave him, or any othcr^ fuch a
pre-*
298 DEDICATION.
precedent ; and I ground my opinion on thefc two
reafons : firft, we find no example of a hemiftich in
any of his Paftorals or Georgics : for he had given
the lad finifhing ftrokes to both thefe poems. But his
^neis he left fo uncorreft, at leaft fo fhort of that
perfedion at which he aimed, that we know how hard
a fentence he pafTed upon it; and, in the fecond place,
I reafonably prefume, that he intended to have filled
up all thofe hemiftichs, becaufe, in one of them, we
find the fenfe imperfeft.
*' Quem tibi jam Troja— '*
which fome foolifh grammarian has ended for him with"
half a line of nonfenfe ;
" peperit fumante Creiifa."
For Afcanius muft have been born fome years before
the burning of that city, which I need not prove. On
the other fide, we find alfo, that he himfelf filled up
one line of the fixth ^Eneid, the enthufiafm feizing him
while he was reading to Auguftus :
*' Mifenum i^,olidem, quo non praeflantior alter
** MiQ ciere viros."
To which he added in that tranfport, " Martemque
** accendere cantu :" and never was a line more nobly
finiflied, for the reafons which I have given in the
book of Painting. On thefe confiderations I have
Ihunned hemiftichs ; not being willing to imitate Vir-
gil to a fault ; like Alexander's courtiers, who afFe<5led
to
DEDICATION. »99
to hold their necks awry, becaufe he could not help
it. I am confident your Lordfhip is, by this time, of
my opinion ; and that you will look on thofe half lines
hereafter, as the imperfect produds of a hafty Mufe :
like the frogs and ferpents in the Nile; part of them
kindled into life, and part a lump of unformed unani-
mated mud.
I am fenfible that many of my whole verfes are as
imperfedl as thofe halves, for want of time to digefl:
him better: but give me leave to make the excufe of
Boccace, who, when he was upbraided that fome of
his novels had not the fpirit of the reft, returned this
anfwer: that Charlemain, who made the Palladins,
was never able to raife an army of them. The leaders
may be heroes, but the multitude muft confift of com-
mon men.
I am alfo bound to tell your Lordfhip, in my own
defence, that, from the beginning of the firit Georgia
to the end of the M JEndd, I found the difficulty of
tranflation growing on me in every fucceeding book r
for Virgil, above all poets, had a ftock which I may
call almoft inexhauftible, of figurative, elegant, and
founding words, I, who inherit but a fmall portion
of liis genius, and write in a language fo much infe-
rior to the Latin, have found it \ery painful to vary
phrafes, when the fame fenfe returns upon me. Even
he himfelf, whether out of neceffity or choice, has
often expreffed the fame thing in the fame words; and
often repeated two or three whole verfes^ which he had
ufed before. Words are not fo eafily coined as money ;
and
goo D E D I C A T I N.
and yet we fee that the credit not only of banks, bat
of exchequers, cracks, when little comes in, and
much goes out. Virgil called upon me in every line
for fome new word ; and I paid fo long, that I was al-
moft bankrupt: fo that the latter end muft needs be
more burdenfome than the beginning or the middle;
and confequently the twelfth ^neid coft me double
the time of the firft and fecond. "V^'hat had become
of me, if Virgil had taxed me with another book ? I
had certainly been reduced to pay the public in ham-
mered money for want of milled ; that is, in the fitme
old words which I had ufed before. And the receivers
muil have been forced to have taken any thing, where
there was fo little to be had,
Eefides this difHculty (with which I have ftruggled,
and made a Ihift to pafs it over) there is one remain-
ing, which is infuperable to all tranflators. We are
bound to our author's fenfe, though with the latitudes
already mentioned (for I think it not fo facred, as
that one iota muft not be added or diminifhed, on pain
cf an anathema). But Haves we are, and labour on an-
other man's plantation; we drefs the vineyard, but
the wine is the owner's : if the foil be fometimes bar-
ren, then we are fure of being fcourged : if it be fruit-
ful, and our care fucceeds, we are not thanked; for
the proud reader will only fay, the poor drudge has
done his duty. But this is nothing to what follows;
for, being obliged to make his fenfe intelligible, we are
forced to untune our own verfes, that we may give his
meaning to the reader, He who invents, is mailer
of
DEDICATION. 501
of his thoughts and words: he can turn and var}' them
as he pleafes, till he renders them harmonious. But
the wretched tranflatorhas no fuch privilege: for being
tied to thoughts, he muft make what mulic he can in
tlie exprelfion ; and for this reafon it cannot always be
fo fvveet as that of the original. There is a beaut/
of found, as Segrais has obferved, in fome Latin words,
which is wholly loft in any modern language. He
inftances in that " mollis amaracus,"' on which Venus
lays Cupid in the firft ^neid. If I fhould tranflate it
fweet-marjoram, as the word fignifies, the reader
would think I had miftaken Virgil : for thofe village-
words, as I may call them, give us a mean idea of the
thing; but the found of the Latin is fo much more
pleafmg, by the juft mixture of the vowels with the
confonants, that it raifes our fancies, to conceive fome-
what more noble than a common herb; and to fpread
rofes under him, and ftrew lilies over him — a bed not
unworthy the grandfon of the goddefs.
If I cannot copy his harmonious numbers, how fhall
I imitate his noble flights, where his thoughts and
words are equally fublime?
** Quern quifquis ftudet asmulari,
•* ceratis ope Dedalasa
" Nititur pennis, vitreo daturus
** Nomina ponto.'*
What modem language, or what poet can exprefs
tiie majeftic beauty of this one verfe amongft a thou-
iknd others!
♦* Aude
30* DEDICATION.
*' Aude hqfpes contemnere opes, & te quoque dignuirt-
*' Finge Deo."
For my part, I am loft in the admiration of it : I con-
temn the world when I think on it, and rayfelf when
I tranllate it.
Lay by Virgil, I befeech your Lordlhip, and all my
better fort of judges, when you take up my verfion,
and it will appear a pafTable beauty when the original
Mufe is abfent: but, like Spenfer's falfe Florimel,
made of fnow, it m^elts and vanifhes when the true one
comes in fight. I will not excufe, but juftify myfelf
for one pretended crime, with which I am liable to be
charged by falfe critics, not only in this tranflation,
but in many of my original poems, that I Latinize too
much. It is true, that when I find an Englifh word
fignificant and founding, I neither borrow from the
Latin, or any other language; but when I want at
home, I muft feek abroad.
If foundino: words are not of our growth and ma-
nufadure, who (hall hinder me to import them from a
foreign country? I carry not out the treafure of the
nation, which is never to return; but what I bring
from Italy I fpend in England : here it remains, and
here it circulates ; for, if the coin be good, it will pafs
from one hand to another. I trade both with the liv-
ing and the dead, for the enrichment of our native
language. We have enough in England to fupply our
necefiity; but if we will have things of magnificence
and fplendor, we muft get them by commerce. Poetry
requires
DEDICATION. 3^?
requires ornament, and that is not to be had from our
old Teuton monofyllables ; therefore if I find any ele-
gant word in a claffic autlior, I propofe it to be natu-
ralized, by ufmg it myfclf; and, if the public ap-
proves of it, the bill pafles. But every man cannot
diftinguifh betwixt pedantry and poetry: every man,
therefore, is not fit to innovate. Upon the whole
matter, a poet muft firft be certain that the word he
would introduce is beautiful in the Latin; and is to
confider, in the next place, whether it will agree with
the Englifli idiom : after this, he ought to take the
opinion of judicious friends, fuch as are learned in
both languages ; and laftly, fmce no man is infallible,
let him ufe this licence very fparingly; for if too
many foreign words are poured in upon us, it looks as
if they were defigned, not to aflift the natives, but to
conquer them.
I am now drawing towards a conclufion, and fufpe^l
your Lordfhip is very glad of it. But permit me firft
to own what helps I have had in this undertaking.
The late earl of Lauderdale fent m^e over his new
tranflation of the ^neis, which he had ended before
I engaged in the fame dcfign ; neither did I then in-
tend it: but fome propofals being afterwards made me
by my bookfeller, I defired his Lordfhip's leave, that
I might accept them, which he freely granted ; and I
have his letter yet to ihew for that permifTion. He
refolved to have printed his work, which he might
have done two years before I could publifli mine; and
had performed it, if death had not prevented him.
5 But
SC4. DEDICATION.
But ha^'Ing his manufcrlpt in my hands, I confulted
k as often as I doubted of my author's fenfe : for no
man underftood Virgil better than that learned noble-
man. His friends, I hear, have yet another and more
corred copy of that tranflation by them ; which had
tJiey pleafed to have given the public, the judges muil
have been convinced that I have not flattered him,
Befides this help, which was not inconfiderable, Mr.
Congreve has done me the favour to review the ^^neis,
and compare my verfion with the original. I fliall ne-
ver be afhamed to own that this excellent young man
has fliewed me many faults, which I have endeavoured
to correft. It is true, he might have e^ily found
more, and then my tranflation had been more perfect.
Two other worthy friends of mine, who delire to
Iiave their names concealed, feeing me fl:raitened in
my time, took pity on me, and gave me the life of
Virgil; the two prefaces to the Pafl:orals and the
Georgics, and all the arguments in profe to the whole
tranflation ; which, perhaps, ha« caufed a report that
the two flrfl: poems are not mine. If it had been true
that I had taken their verfes for my own, I might
have gloried in their aid; and, like Terence, have fa-
thered the opinion that Scipio and Lslius joined with
me. But the fame {{ylc being continued through the
whole, and the fame laws of verflfication obferved, are
proofs fuflicient that this is one man's woik : and your
Lordfliip is too well acquainted with my manner to
doubt that any part of it is another's.
That
DEDICATION. 305
That your Lordfliip may fee I was in earneft when
I promifed to haften to an end, I will not give the rea-
fons why I writ not always in the proper terms of na-
vigation, land-fervice, or in the cant of any profef.
fion. I will only fay, that Virgil has avoided thofe
proprieties, becaufe he writ not to mariners, foldiers,
aftronomers, gardeners, peafants. Sec. but to all in
general, and in particular to men and ladies of the firlt
quality, who have been better bred than to be too
nicely knowing in the terms. In fuch cafes, it is
enough for a poet to write fo plainly that he may be
underftood by his readers; to avoid impropriety, and
not affed to be thought learned in all things.
I have omitted the four preliminary lines of the firfl:
JEncid, becaufe I think them inferior to any four
others in the whole poem, and confequently believe
they are not Virgil's. There is too great a gap betwixt
the adjedive " vicina" in the fecond line, and the
fubftantive ** arva" in the latter end of the third,
which keeps his meaning in obfcurity too long; and
is contrary to the clearnefs of his (lyle,
** Ut quamvis avido,'*
is too ambitious an ornament to be his; and,
" Gratum opus agricolis,'*
are all words unneceflary, and independent of what he
faid before.
Vol. XXII. X ** Hor-
3o6 r> E D I C A T I O N.
** Horrentia Martls arma,"
IS worfe than any of the reft. " Horrentia" is fuch a
flat epithet as TuIIy would have given us in his verfes.
It is a mere filler, to flop a vacancy in the hexameter,
and conned the preface to the work of Virgil. Our
author feems to found a charge, and begins like the
clangor of a trumpet :
** Arma, virumque cano; Trojas qui primus ab
** oris.'*
Scarce a word without an R, and the vowels, for
the greater part, fonorous. The prefacer began with
** Ille ego, which he was conftrained to patch up in
the fourth line with " At nunc," to make the fenfe
cohere. And if both thofe words are not notorious
botches, I am much deceived, though the French
tranflator thinks otherwife. For my own part, I am
ather of the opinion, that they were added by TucCa
and Varius, than retrenched.
I know it may be anfwered by fuch as think Virgil
the author of the four lines, that he afferts his title
to the iEneis, in the beginning of this work, as he
did to the two former, in the laft lines of the fourth
Georgic. I will not reply otherwife to this, than by
defiring them to compare thefe four lines with the four
others, which we know are his, becaufe no poet but he
jalone could write them. If they cannot diftinguifli
creeping from flying, let them lay down Virgil, and
take up Ovid de Poato in his ftead. My mafter
5 needed
DEDICATION. J07
needed not the afliftance of that preliminary poet to
prove his claim. His own majeftic mien difcovers him
to be the king, amidft a thoufand courtiers. It was a
fuperfluous office, and therefore I would not fet thofc
verfes in the front of Virgil, but have rejededthera to
my own preface :
** I, who before, with fhepherds in the groves,
** Sung to my oaten pipe their rural loves,
" And iffuing thence, compell'd the neighbouring
*' field
*' A plenteous crop of rifrngcorn to yield,
** Manur'd the glebe, and ftock'd the fruitful plain,
•' (A poem grateful to the greedy Twain), " &c.
If there be not a tolerable line in all thefe fix, the
prefacer gave me no occafion to write better. This is
a juft apology in this place. But I have done great
wrong to Virgil in the whole tranflation : want of time,
the inferiority of our language, the inconvenience of
yhyme, and all the other excufes I have made, may
alleviate my fault, but cannot jullify the boldnefs of
my undertaking. What avails it me to acknowledge
freely, that I have not been able to do him right in
any line! For even my own confeffion makes againft
me; and it will always be returned upon me. Why
then did you attempt it ? to which no other anfwer
can be made, than that I have done him lefs injury
than any of his former libellers.
What they called his pidure, had b^en drawn at
length fo man)^ times by the daubers of alaioft all na-
X 2, iioas*
30? D E D I C A T I N.
tions, and ftill fo unlike him, that I fnatched up thd
pencil with difdain ; being fatisfied beforehand that I
could make fome fmall refemblance of him, thoii^h I
muft be content with a worfe likenefs. A fixth Pafto-
ra], a Pharmaceutria, a fmgle Orpheus, and fome
other features, have been exadly taken; but thofe ho-
liday-authors write for pleafure, and only fhewed us
what they could have done, if they would have taken
pains to perform the whole.
Be pleafed, my Lord, to accept, with your wonted
goodnefs, this unworthy prefent which I make you,
I have taken off one trouble from you, of defending
it, by acknowledging its imperfedions : and, though
fome part of them are covered in the verfe (as Eridho-
nius rode always in a chariot to hide his lamenefs),
fuch of them as cannot be concealed you will pleafe to
connive at, though, in the ftridnefs of your judg-
ment, you cannot pardon. If Homer was allowed to
nod fometimes, in fo long a work, it will be no won-
d-er if I often fall afleep. You took my Aureng-zeb
into your proteftion, with all his faults ; and I hope
here cannot be fo many, becaufe I tranflate an author
who gives me fuch examples of correftnefs. What
my jury may be, I know not; but it is good for a cri-
minal to plead before a favourable judge; if I had
faid partial, would your Lordfhip have forgiven me ?
Or will you give me leave to acquaint the world, that
I have many times been obliged to your bounty fmce
the Revolution? Though I never was reduced to beg
a charity, nor ever had the impudence to alk one, either
of
DEDICATION. 5^5
of your Lordfliip or your noble kinfman the carl of
Dorfet, much lefs of any other ; yet, when I leaft ex-
peded it, you have both remembered me: fo inhe-
rent it is in your family not to forget an old fervant.
It looks rather like ingratitude on my part, that u here
I have been fo often obliged, I h<\\e appeared fo fcl-
dom to return my thanks, and where I was alfo fo
fure of being well received. Somewhat of lazinefs
was in the cafe, and fomewhat too of modefty, but
nothing of difrefped or unthankfulnefs. I will not
fay that your Lordlhip has encouraged me to this prc-
fumption, left, if my labours meet with no fuccefs in
public, I may expofe } our judgment to be cenfured.
As for my own enemies, I fliall never think them
worth an anfwer; and if your Lordfhip has any, they
will not dare to arraign you for want of knowledge in
this art, till they can produce fomewhat better of
their own, than your EfTay on Poetry. It was on
this confideration that I have drawn out my preface to
fo great a length. Had I not addreffed to a poet and
a critic of the firft magnitude, I had myfelf been
taxed for want of judgment, and fliamed my patron
for want of underftanding. But neither will you,
my Lord, fo foon be tired as any other, becaufe the
difcourfe is on your art : neither will the learned reader
think it tedious, becaufe it is ** ad clerum." At leaft,
when he begins to be weary, the church-doors are
open. That I may purfue the allegory with a (hort
prayer, after a long fermon,
X 3 May
3,e DEDICATION,
May you live happily and long, for the fervice of
your country, the encouragement of good letters, and
die ornament of poetry ! which cannot be wilhed more
earnelUy by any man, than by
Your Lordlhip*s
moft humble, moft obliged,
and moll obedient fervant^
JOHN DRYDEN^.
THE
C 311 J
THE
FIRST BOOK
O F T H E
iE N E I S.
THE ARGUMENT.
The Trojans, after a feven years voyage, fet fail for
Italy ; but are overtaken by the dreadful ftorm, which
JEolus raifes at Juno's requeft. The tempeft fmks
one, and fcatters the reft. Neptune drives off the
winds, and calms the fca. ^neas, with his own
fhip, and fix more, arrives fafe at an African port.
Venus complains to Jupiter of her fon's misfor-
tunes. Jupiter comforts her, and fends Mercury to
procure him a kind reception among the Carthagi-
' nians. iEneas, going out to difcover the country',
meets his mother in the fhape of an huntrefs, who
conveys him in a cloud to Carthage ; where he feea
his friends whom he thought loft, and receives a
kind entertainment from the queen. Dido, by a de-
vice of Venus, begins to have apaflionfor him, and,
after fome difcourfe with him, defires the hiftory of
his adventures fmce the fiege of Troy, which i*
the fubject of the two following bogk$»
X i ARMS
314 DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
ARMS and the man I fing, who forc'd by fate.
And haughty Juno's unrelenting hate;
Expell'd and exil'd, left the Trojan fhore;
Long labours, both by fea and land, he borej
And in the doubtful war, before he won 5
The Latian realm, and built the deftin'd town:
His banifli'd gods reftor'd to rites divine.
And fettled fure fucceflion in his line :
From whence the race of Alban fathers come.
And the long glories of majeftic Rome. 10
O^ Mufe ! the caufes and the crimes relate.
What goddefs was provok'd, and whence her hate;
For what offence the queen of heaven began
To perfecute fo brave, fo juft a man!
Involv'd his anxious life in endlefs cares, 15
Expos'd to wants, and hurry 'd into wars!
Can heavenly minds fuch high refentment (how 5
Or exercife their fpite in human woe?
Againft the Tiber's mouth, but far away.
An ancient town was feated on the fea; 20
A Tyrian colony; the people made
Stout for the v/ar, and fludious of their trade.
Carthage the name, belov'd by Juno more
Than her own Argos, or the Samian fhore.
Here flood her chariot, here, if heaven were kind, 2^
The feat of awful empire fhe defign'd.
Yet Ihe had heard an ancient rumour fly
(Long cited by the people of the iky) ;
That
}
JE N E I S. B O O K I. ^rj
That times to come fhould fee the Trojan race
Her Carthage ruin, and her towers deface; 30
Nor, thus confin'd, the yoke of fovereign fv^ay
Should on the necks of all the nations lay.
She ponder'd this, and fear'd it was in fate;
Nor could forget the war (he wag'd of late.
For conquering Greece againft the Trojan (late, 35'
Befides, long caufes working in her mind.
And fecret feeds of envy, lay behind.
Deep graven in her heart, the doom remain'd
Of partial Paris, and her form difdain'd ;
The grace beftow'd on ravirtid Ganymed, 40
Eledra's glories, and her injur'd bed.
Each was a caufe alone, and all combin'd
To kindle vengeance in her haughty mind.
For this, far diftant from the Latian coaft.
She drove the remnants of the Trojan hoft : 4?
And feven long years th* unhappy wandering train
Were tofs'd by ftorms, and fcatter'd through the main.
Such time, fuch toil, requir'd the Roman name.
Such length of labour for fo vaft a frame.
Now fcarce the Trojan fleet with fails and oars 5*
Had left bv.hind the fair Sicilian fhores;
Entering with chearful (houts the watery reign.
And ploughing frothy furrows in the main ;
When, labouring ftill with endlefs difcontent.
The queen of heaven did thus her fury vent. 5^
Then am I vanquifh'd, muft I yield, faid Ihe,
And muft the Trojans reign in Italy ?
■ So
ix4r DRYDEN'S VIRGIL,
So fate will have it, and Jove adds his force;
Nor can my power divert their happy courfe.
Could angry Pallas, with revengeful fpleen, 6q
The Grecian navy burn, and drown the men?
She, for the. fault of one offending foe.
The bolts of Jove himfelf prefum'd to throw :
With whirlwinds from beneath fhe tofs'd the fhip.
And bare expos 'd the bofom of the deep : 6^
Then, as an eagle gripes the trembling game.
The wretch yet hiffing with her father^s flame
She ftrongly feiz'd, and, with a burning wound,
Transfix'd and naked, on a rock flie bound.
But I, who walk in awful ftate above, ^q
The majefty of heaven, the filler-wife of Jove,
For length of years my fruitlefs force employ
Againft the thin remains of ruin'd Troy.
What nations now to Juno's power will pray.
Or offerings on my flighted altars lay? -y^
Thus rag'd the goddefs, and, with fury fraught.
The reftlefs regions of the florms Ihe fought;
Where, in a fpacious cave of living ftone.
The tyrant -^olus from his airy throne.
With power imperial curbs the ftruggling winds, 8*
And founding tempefts in dark prifons binds.
This way, and that, th' impatient captives tend.
And, prefTing for releafe, the mountains rend :
High in his hall, th' undaunted monarch ilands.
And fhakes his fceptre, and their rage commands : S^
Which did he not, their unrefifted fway
Would fweep the world before them in their way:
Earth,
JEHEIS, BOOK!. 51^
Earth, air, and feas, through empty fpace would roll.
And heaven would fly before the driving foul!
In fear of this, the father of the gods 90
Confin'd their fury to thofe dark abodes.
And lock'd them fafe within, opprefs'd with moun-
tain loads:
Impos'd a king, with arbitrary fway.
To loofe their fetters, or their force allay.
To whom the fuppliant queen her prayers addrefl, 95
And thus the tenour of her fuit exprcfs'd.
O iEolus ! for to thee the king of heaven
The power of tempefts and of winds has given :
Thy force alone their fury can reftrain.
And fmooth the waves, or fwell the troubled main :
A race of wandering (laves abhorr'd by me.
With profperous paffage cut the Thufcan fea :
To fruitful Italy their courfe they fteer.
And for their vanquilh'd gods defign new temples there,
Raife all thy winds, with night involve the fldes; 105
Sink or difperfe my fatal enemies.
Twice feven, the charming daughters of the main.
Around my perfon wait, and bear my train ;
Succeed my wiih, and fecond my defign.
The faireft, Deiopeia, fhall be thine ; 110
And make thee father of a happy line.
To this the god — 'Tis yours, O queen! to will
The work, which duty binds me to fulfil.
Thefe airy kingdoms, and this wide command.
Are all the prefents of your bounteous hand i 11^
Youii
}
^« DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
Yours is my fovereign's grace, and as your guefl,
I fit with gods at their celeftial feaft;
Raife tempefts at your pleafure, or fubdue;
Difpofe of empire, which I hold from you!
He faid, and hurl'd againft the mountain fide I20
His quivering fpear, and all the god apply 'd!
The raging winds rufh through the hollow wound.
And dance aloft in air, and Ikim along the ground :
Then, fettling on the fea, the furges fweep;
Raife liquid mountains, and difclofe the deep! 125
South, eaft, and weft, with mix'd confufion roar.
And roll the foaming billows to the fhore.
The cables crack, the failors' fearful cries
Afcend; and fable night involves the Ikies;
And heaven itfelf is ravilh'd from their eyes
Loud peals of thunder from the poles enfue.
Then flaihing fires the tranfient light renew;
The face of things a frightful image bears.
And prefent death in various forms appears !
Struck with unufual fright, the Trojan chief, 155"
With lifted hands and eyes, invokes relief!
And thrice, and four times happy thofe, he cry'd.
That under Ilian walls before their parents dy'd!
Tydides, braveft of the Grecian train.
Why could not I by that ftrong arm be flain, 140
And lie by noble He«5tor on the plain ;
O great Sarpedon, in thofe bloody fields.
Where Simois rolls the bodies and the Ihields
Of heroes, whofe difmember'd hands yet bear
The dart aloft, and clench the pointed fpear! 14.^
Thus
! 130 J
I
^NEIS. BOOK I. 517
Thus while the pious prince his fate bewails.
Fierce Boreas drove againft his flying fails.
And rent the fheets: the raging billows rife.
And mount the tofling veffcl to the ikies :
Nor can the Ihivering oars fuftain the blow ; i ^o
The galley gives her fide, and turns her prow:
While thofe aftern defcending down the lleep.
Through gaping waves behold the boiling deep!
Three Ihips were hurry'd by the fouthern blail.
And on the fecret flielves with fury call.' j^^
Thofe hidden rocks, th' Aufonian failors knew.
They call'd them altars, when they rofe in view.
And fhow'd their fpacious backs above the flood!
Three more fierce Eurus In his angry mood
Dalh'd on the (hallows of the moving fand, 160
And in mid ocean left them moor'd a-land!
Orontes* bark that bore the Lyclan crew,
(A horrid fight) ev'n in the hero's view.
From ftem to ftern, by waves was overborn :
The trembling pilot, from his rudder torn, 1 65
Was headlong hurl'd: thrice round, the fhip was toft.
Then bulg'd at once, and in the deep was loft!
And here and there above the waves were feen
Arras, pidures, precious goods, and floating men.'
The ftouteft vefTel to the ftorm ga\'e way, 1 70
And fuck'd through loofen'd planks the ruftiing fea!
Ilioneus was her chief: Alethes old.
Achates faithful. Abas young and bold,
Endur'd not lefs: their ftiips, with gaping feams.
Admit the deluge of the briny ftreams ! 175
Mean
yi8 DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
Mean time imperial Neptune heard the found
Of raging billows breaking on the ground :
Difpleas'd, and fearing for his watery reign.
He rear'd his awful head above the main :
Serene in majefty, then roll'd his eyes i So
Around this fpace of earth, and feas, and fkies.
He faw the Trojan fleet difpers'd, diftrefs'd.
By flormy winds and wintery heaven opprefs'd.
Full well the god his filler's envy knew.
And what her aims and what her arts purfue: 185
He fummon'd Eurus and the weftern blaft.
And firft an angry glance on both he caft :
Then thus rebuk'd; Audacious winds! from whence
This bold attempt, this rebel infolence ?
Is it for you to ravage feas and land, 1 90
Unauthoriz'd by my fupreme command?
To raife fuch mountains on the troubled main ?
Whom I But firft 'tis fit the billows to reftrainj
And then you (hall be taught obedience to my reign.
Hence, to your Lord my royal mandate bear, 19^
The realms of ocean and the fields of air
Are mine, not his ; by fatal lot to me
The liquid empire fell, and trident of the fea.
His power to hollow caverns is confin'd.
There let him reign, the jailor of the wind : 20Q,
With hoarfe commands his breathing fubjedls call.
And boaft and blufter in his empty hall!
He fpoke; and while he fpoke, he fmooth'd the fea,
Difpell'd the darknefs, and rellor*d the day :
Cymothoe,
lin, j-
reign. J
}
i^NEIS. BOOK I. si^
Cymothoe, Triton, and the fea-grecn train 20^
Of beauteous nymphs, and daughters of the main.
Clear from the rocks the vefiels with their hands j 1
The god himfelf with ready trident ftands, >
And opes the deep, and fpreads the moving fands ; J
Then heaves them off the ihoals; where'er he guides
His finny couriers, and in triumph rides.
The waves unruffle, and the fea fubfides.
As when in tumults rife the ignoble crowd.
Mad are their motions, and their tongues are loud;
And flones and brands in rattling vollies fly, 2 1 ^
And all the ruftic arms that fury can fupply;
If then fome grave and pious man appear.
They hufh their noife, and lend a lifteningear;
He foothes with fober words their angry mood.
And quenches their innate defire of blood : 220
So when the father of the flood appears.
And o'er the feas his fovereign trident rears.
Their fury fails : he ikims the liquid plains.
High on his chariot, and with loofen'd reins
JMajeftic moves along, and awful peace maintains
The weary Trojans ply their fhatter'd oars
To neareft land, and make the Libyan fhores.
Within a long recefs there lies a bay.
An ifland (hades it from the rolling fea.
And forms a port fecure for fhips to ride, 230
Broke by the jutting land on either fide:
In double ftreams the briny waters glide.
Betwixt two rows of rocks, a fylvan fcene
Appeals above, and groves for ever green;
A grot
.}
}
|io DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
A grot Is form'd beneath, with mofly feats, 233;
To reft the Nereids, and exclude the heats.
Down through the crannies of the living walls
The cr^'ftal ilreams defcend in murmuring falls.
No hawfers need to bind the veflels here.
Nor bearded anchors, for no ftorms they fear, 240
Seven fhips within this happy harbour meet.
The thin remainders of the fcatfcr'd fleet.
The Trojans, worn with toils, and fpent with woes.
Leap on the welcome land, and ktk their wiih'd repofe.
:Firfl:, good Achates, with repeated ftrokes 245
Of clafhing flints, their hidden fire provokes;
Short flame fucceeds a bed of withered leaves
The dying fparkles in their fall receives ;
Caught into life, in fiery fumes they rife.
And, fed with ftronger food, invade the fkies. 250
The Trojans, dropping wet, or (land around
The chearful blaze, or lie along the ground;
Some dry their com infeded with the brine, m
Then grind with marbles, and prepare to dine. ^
^neas climbs the mountain's airy brow, 25^
And takes a profped of the feas below :
Jf Capys thence, or Antheus he could fpy;
Or fee the ftreamers of Caicus fly.
No veflels there in view : but, on the plain.
Three beamy fl:ags commands a lordly train 260
Of branching heads ; the more ignoble throng
Attend their ftately fteps, and flowly graze along.
He fl:ood; and while fecure they fed below.
He took the quiver, and the trufty bow '
Achates
-ffiNEIS. BOOK r: 31,
Achates ufed to bear; the leaders fir/l 26r
He laid along, and then the vulgar pierc'd;
Kor ceas'd his arrows, till the fhady plain
Seven mighty bodies with their blood diilain.
For the feven (hips he made an equal fhare.
And to the port return 'd, triumphant from the war.
The jars of generous wine (Aceftes' gift.
When his Trinacrian fhores the navy left)
He fet abroach, and for the feaft prepar'd.
In equal portions with the ven'fon Ihar'd.
Thus while he dealt it round, the pious chief, 275;
With chearful words, allay'd the common grief:
Endure, and conquer; Jove will foon difpofe
To future good, our paft and prefent woes.
With me, the rocks of Scylla you have try'd;
Th' inhuman Cyclops, and his den defy'd. 283
What greater ills hereafter can you bear?
Refume your courage, and difmifs your care
An hour will come, with pleafure to relate
Your forrows paft, as benefits of fate.
Through various hazards and events we move 28^
To Latium, and the realms foredoom'd by Jove.
Call'd to the feat (the promife of the (kies)
Where Trojan kingdoms once again may rife.
Endure the hardfhips of your prefent ftate.
Live, and referve yourfelves for better fate. 290
Thefe words he fpoke ; but fpoke not from his heart :
His outward fmiles conceal'd his inward fmart.
The jolly crew, unmindful of the paft.
The quarry fhare, their plenteous dinner hade;
Vol, XXII, Y Some
}
3W DRYDEN^S VIRGIL.
Some ftrip the Ikin, fome portion out the fpoll ;
The limbs, yet trembling, in the cauldrons boil
Some on the fire the reeking entrails broil.
Stretch'd -on the grafly turf, at eafe they dine;
Reftore their ftrength with meat, and chear their fouls
with wine.
Their hunger thus appeas'd,, their care attends 300
The doubtful fortune of their abfent friends ;
Alternate hopes and fears their minds pofTefs, .
Whether to deem them dead, or in diftrefs.
Above the reft, ^Eneas mourns the fate
Of brave Orontes, and th' uncertain ftate 30^
OfGyas, Lycus, andof Amycus:
The day, but not their forrows, ended thus.
When, from aloft, almighty Jove furveys
Earth, air, and ihores, and navigable feas.
At length on Libyan realms he fixt his eyes : 310
Whom, pondering thus on human miferies.
When Venus faw, ihe with a lively look,
Not free from tears, her heavenly fire befpoke
O king of gods and men, whofe awful hand
Difperfes thunder on the feas and land ; 315
Difpofes all with abfolute command :
How could my pious fon thy power incenfe?
Or what, alas! is vanifh'd Troy*s oiFence?
Out hope of Italy not only loft
On various feas, by various tempefts toft, 320
But (hut from every fhore, and barr'd from every coafl^
You promis'd once, a progeny divine,
■Of Romansj rifmg from the Trojan line.
In
iENEIS. BOOK I. 3»3
In after-times Ihould hold the world in awe.
And to the land and ocean give the la'^-. 325
How is your doom revers'd, which cas'd my care
When Troy was ruin'd in that cruel war!
Then fates to fates I could oppofe; but now.
When fortune ftill purfues her former blow.
What can I hope ? What worfe can flill fucceed ? 330
What end of labours has your will decreed ?
Antenor, from the midft of Grecian hofts.
Could pafs fecure, and pierce th' Illyrian coafts:
Where, rolling down the fteep, Timavus ra\es.
And through nine channels difembogues his waves.
At length he founded Padua's happy feat.
And gave his Trojans a fecure retreat:
There fix'd their arms, and there renew'd their name.
And there in quiet rules, and crown'd with fame:
But we, defcended from your facred line, 340
Entitled to your heaven and rites divine.
Are banifh'd earth, and for the wrath of one.
Removed from Latium, and the promis'd throne.
Are thefe our fceptres? thefe our due rewards?
And is it thus that Jove his plighted faith regards?
To whom, the father of immortal race.
Smiling with that ferene indulgent face.
With which he drives the clouds and clears the (kies,
Firft gave a holy kifs ; then thus replies :
Daughter, difmifs thy fears: to thy defire 350
The fates of thine are fix'd, and ftand entire.
Thou fhalt behold thy wifh'd Lavinian walls.
And, ripe for heaven, when fate iEneas calls,
Y 2 Then
3?4. DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
Then Ihalt thou bear him up, fublime, to me;
No councils have revers'd my firm decree. 3^$
And, left new fears difturb thy happy ftate.
Know, I have fearch'd the myftic rolls of fate :
Thy fon (nor is th' appointed feafon far)
In Italy Ihall wage fuccefsful war;
Shall tame fierce nations in the bloody field, 36a
And fovereign laws impofe, and cities build.
Till, after every foe fubdued, the fun
Thrice through the figns his annual race fhall run :
This is his time prefix'd, Afcanius then.
Now call'd liilus, fhall begin his reign. 365
He thirty rolling years the crown Ihall wear:
Then from Lavinium Ihall the feat transfer:
And, with hard labour, Alba-longa build;
The throne with his fucceflion fhall be fill'd.
Three hundred circuits more: then fhall be feen, 370
Ilia the fair, a prieftefs and a queen.
Who, full of Mars, in time, with kindly throws
Shall, at a birth, two goodly boys difclofe.
The royal babes a tawny wolf fhall drain.
Then Romulus his grandfire's throne fhall gain, 375;
Of martial towers the founder fhall become.
The people Romans call, the city Rome.
To them, no bounds of empire I affign;
Nor term of years to their immortal line.
Ev'n haughty Juno, who, with endlefs broils, 380
Earth, feas, and heaven, and Jove himfelf turmoils;
At length aton'd, her friendly power fhall join.
To cherilh and advance the Trojan line.
The
iENEIS. BOOK r. 325
The fubjeft world (hall Rome's dominion own,
And, proftjate, fliall adore the nation of the gown.
An age is ripening in revolving fate.
When Troy Ihall overturn the Grecian flate:
And fweet revenge her conquering fons fhall call.
To crufh the people that confpir'd her fall.
Then Ca^far from the Julian ftock fhall rife, 39a
Whofe empire ocean, and whofe fame the (kies.
Alone fhall bound; whom, fraught with Eaftem fpoils.
Our heaven, the juft reward of human toils.
Securely fhall repay with rites divine ;
And incenfe fhall afcend before his facred fhrine. 395
Then dire debate, and impious war fhall ceafe.
And the ftern age be foften'd into peace :
Then banifh'd faith fhall once again return.
And veflal fires in hallow 'd temples burn.
And Remus with Quirinus fnall fuflain 400
The righteous laws, and fraud and force reflrain.
Janus himfelf before his fane fhall wait.
And keep the dreadful ifTues of his gate.
With bolts and iron bars : within remains
Iraprifon'd fury, bound in brazen chains : 405
High on a trophy rais'd, of ufelefs arms.
He fits, and threats the world with vain alarms.
He faid, and fent Cyllenius witli command
To free the ports, and ope the Punic land
To Trojan guefls; lefl, ignorant of fate, 410
The queen might force them from her town and flate :
Down from the fleep of heaven Cyllenius uie?.
And cleaves J with, all his wings, the ) ielding fkies.
y 3 Soon
326 DRYDEN^S VIRGIL,
Soon on the Libyan fhore defcends the god.
Performs his meffage, and difplays his rod; 415
The furly murmurs of the people ceafe.
And, as the fates requir'd, they give the peace.
The queen herfelf fufpends the rigid laws, m
The Trojans pities, and protefts their caufe.
Mean time, in fhades of night JEnc?LS lies; 42XJ
Care feiz'd his foul, and deep forfook his eyes :
But when the fun reilor'd the chearful day.
He rofe, the coaft and country to furvey.
Anxious and eager to difcover more :
It look'd a wild uncultivated ihore: 425
But whether human kind, or beafts alone
Pofiefs'd the new-found region, was unknown.
Beneath a Jedge of rocks his fleet he hides ; 1
Tall trees furround the mountains Ihady fides : >
The bending brow above a fafe retreat provides. 430 J.
Arm'd with two pointed darts, he leaves his friends,.
And true Achates on his fteps attends*
Lo, in the deep reeefles of the wood.
Before his eyes his goddefs mother ilood r
A huntrefs in her habit and her mien ; 43'5
Her drefs a maid, her air confefs'd a queen.
Bare were her knees, and knots her garments bind ; "I
Loofe was her hair, and wanton'd in the wind ; >
Her hand fuftain'd a bow, her quiver hung behind. J
She feem'd a virgin of the Spartan blood : 440 ■
With fuch array Harpalice beftrode
Her Thracian courfer, and out-ftripp'd the rapid
flood.
Hoi
-JENEIS. BOOK r. 3tf
Ho! ftrangers! have you lately feen, fhe fald.
One of my fifters, like myfdf array 'd ;
Who crofs'd the lawn, or in the foreft ftray'd ? 445
A painted quiver at her back fhe bore,
Vary'd with fpots, a lynx's hide (he wore:
And at full cry purfu'd the tufky boar?
Thus Venus: Thus her fon reply 'd again.
None of your fifters have we heard or feen, 4^0
V^ir^in! or what other name you bear
Above that ftylej O more than mortal fair!
Your voice and mien celeftial birth betray!
If, as you feem, the fifter of the day;
Or one, at leaft, of chafte Diana's train, 4^; jp
Let not an humble fuppliant fue in vain :
But tell a ft ranger, long in tempefts tofs'd.
What earth we tread, and who commands the coaft?
Then on your name (hall wretched mortals call.
And offer'd victims at your altars fall. 460
1 dare not, fhe reply "d, aflume the name
Of goddefs, or celeftial honours claim:
For Tyrian virgins bows and quivers bear.
And purple bufkins o'er their ancles wear.
Know, gentle youth, in Libyan lands you are : 465
A people rude in peace, and rough in war.
The rifmg city, which from far you fee.
Is Carthage, and a Tyrian colony.
Phoenician Dido rules the growing ftate, T
Who fled from Tyre, to fliun her brother's hate: 470 I
Great were hex wrongs, her ftory full of fate, J
Y 4 Which
32S DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
Which I will fum in Ihort. Sichseus, known
For wealthy and brother to the Punic throne,
PDlTefs'd fair Dido's bed : and either heart
At once was wounded v/ith an equal dart. 47 j;
Her father gave her, yet a fpotlefs maid ;
Pygmalion then the Tyrian fceptre fway'd :
One who contemn'd diAdne and human la;vs»
Then ft rife enfu'd, and curfed gold the caufe.
The monarch, blinded with defire of wealth, 480
With fteel invades his brother's life by ftealth;
Before the facred altar made him bleed.
And long from her conceal'd the cruel deed :
Some tale, fome new pretence, he daily coin'd.
To foothe his filler, and delude her mind» 48^
At length, in dead of night, the ghoft appears
Of her unhappy lord : the fpeftre ftares.
And with erefted eyes his bloody bofom bares.
The cruel altars and his fate he tells.
And the dire fecret of his houfe reveals : 490
Then warns the widow and her houfliold gods
To feek a refuge in remote abodes.
Xaft, to fupport her in fo long a way,
lie Ihews her where his hidden treafure lay.
Admoniih'd thus, and feiz'd with mortal fright, 495
The queen provides companions of her flight:
They meet, and all combine to leave the ftate.
Who hate the tyrant, or who fear his hate.
They fe;ze a fleet, which ready rigg'd they find;
Kor is Pygmalion's trqafure left behind, 500
I The
}
^NEIS. BOOK r. J,,
The vefTels, heavy laden, put to fea
With profperous winds, a woman leads the way,
I know not, if by ftrefs of weather driven.
Or was their fatal courfe difpos'd by heaven!
At laft they landed, where from far your eyes ^o^
May view the turrets of new Carthage rife;
There bought a fpace of ground, which, Byrfa calFd
From the bull's hide, they firft inclos'd, and wall'd.
But whence are you? what country claims your birth?
What feek you, ftrangers, on our Libyan earth ? ^lo
To whom, with forrow ftrcaming from his eyes.
And deeply fighing, thus her fon replies :
Could you with patience hear, or I relate,
O nymph! the tedious annals of our fate!
Through fuch a train of woes if I fhould run, ^r c
The day would fooner than the tale be done f
From ancient Troy, by force expell'd, we came.
If you by chance have heard the Trojan name :
On various feas, by various tempefls tofs'd.
At length we landed on your Libyan coaft: 520
The good ^neas am I call'd, a name.
While fortune favour'd, not unknown to fame:
My houfliold gods, com.panions of my woes.
With pious care I refcued from our foes ;
To fruitful Italy my courfe was bent, 52^
And from the king of heaven is my defcent.
\\'ith twice ten fail I crofs'd the Phrygian fea;
F'ate and my mother goddefs led my way.
Scarce fcven, the thin remainder of my fleet.
From ftorms preferv'd, within your harbour meet:
Myfelf
}
330 DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
Myfelf diftrefs'd, an exile, and unknown,
Debarr'd from Europe, and from Afia thrown.
In Libyan deferts wander thus alone.
His tender parent could no longer bearj j
But, interpofmg, fought to foothe his care. . ^$^ I
Whoe'er you are, not unbelov'd by heaven.
Since on our friendly fhore your fhips are driven.
Have courage : to the gods permit the reft.
And to the queen expofe your juft requeft.
Now take this earneft of fuccefs, for more : 54a
Your fcatter'd fleet is join'd upon the (hore ;
The winds are chang'd, your friends from danger free.
Or I renounce my (kill in augury.
Twelve fwans behold, in beauteous order move.
And ftoop, with clofing pinions, from above: 545
Whom late the bird of Jove had driven along.
And, through the clouds, purfu'd the fcattering throng:
Now all united in a goodly team.
They Ikim the ground, and feek the quiet ftream. ■
As they, with joy returning, clap their wings, 550
And ride the circuits of the Ikies in rings :
Not otherwife your Ihips, and every friend,
A.lready hold the port, or with fwift fails defcend.
No more advice is needful, but purfue
The path before you, and the town in view. ^^'^
Thus having faid, Ihe turn'd, and made appear
Her neck refulgent, and diihevel'd hair;
Which, flowing from her flioulders, reach'd the ground.
And widely fpread ambrofial fcentj around :
Ir
JSINEIS. BOOK T. 551
In length of train defcends her fwceping gown, 560
And, by her graceful walk, the queen of love is known.
The prince purfu'd the parting deity.
With words like thefe: Ah! whither doft thou fly?
Unkind and cruel, to deceive your fon
In borrow 'd fhapes, and his embrace to ihun; ^6^
Never to blefs my fight, but thus unknown ;
And ftill to fpeok in accents not your own!
Againft the goddefs thefe complaints he made;
But took the path, and her commands obey'd.
They march obfcure, for Venus kindly fhrouds, 570
With mifts, their perfons, and involves in clouds :
That, thus unfeen, their paffage none might (lay.
Or force to tell the caufes of their way.
This part perform'd, the goddefs flies fublimc.
To vifit Paphos, and her native clime: ^-j^
Where garlands ever green, and ever fair.
With vows are ofFer'd, and with folemn prayer,
A hundred altars in her temple fmoke,
A thoufand bleeding hearts her power invoke.
They climb the next afcent, and, looking down, 580
Now, at a nearer diftance, view the town :
The prince, with wonder, fees the ftately towers.
Which late were huts, and Ihepherds' homely bowers;
The gates and ftreets ; and hears from every part
The noife and bufy concourfe of the mart. 585
The toiling Tyrians on each other call.
To ply their labour: fome extend the wall;
Some build the citadel ; the brawny throng
Or dig» or pufli unwieldy {lone$ along.
Some
33S BRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
Some for their dwellings choofe a fpot of ground, 590
Which iirft defign'd, with ditches they furround.
Some laws ordain, and fome attend the choice
Of holy fenates, and eleft by voice.
Here fome defign a mole, while others there
Lay deep foundations for a theatre : ^9 j
From marble quarries mighty columns hew.
For ornaments of fcenes, and future view.
Such is their toil, and fuch their bufy pains.
As exercife the bees in flowery plains ;
When winter paft, and fummer fcarce begun, 600
Invites them forth to labour in the fun :
Some lead their youth abroad, while fome condenfe
Their liquid ftore, and fome in cells difpenfe.
Some at the gate ftand ready to receive
The golden burden, and their friends relieve. 605
All, with united force, combine to drive
The lazy drones from the laborious hive; ,
With envy ftung, they view each other's deeds;
The fragrant work with diligence proceeds.
Thrice happy you, whofe walls already rife; 610
^neas faid; and view'd, with lifted eyes.
Their lofty towers : then entering at the gate,
Conceal'd in clouds (prodigious to relate).
He mix'd, unmark'd, among the bufy throng.
Borne by the tide, and pafs'd unfeen along. 61^
Full in the centre of the town there ftood.
Thick fet with trees, a venerable wood ;
The Tyrians landed near this holy ground.
And, digging here, a profperous omen found ;
From
JENEIS. BOOK I. 33J
From under earth a courfer's head they drew, 623
Their growth arid future fortune to forcfhew:
Tliis fated fign their foundrefs Juno gave.
Of a foil fruitful, and a }>eopIe brave.
Sidonian Dido here with folemn flate
Did Juno's temple build and confecrate: 61^
Enrich'd with gifts, and with a golden fhrine;
But more the goddefs made the place divine.
On brazen fteps the marble threfhold rofc.
And brazen plates the cedar beams inclofe ;
The rafters are with brazen coverings crown'd, 6^0
The lofty doors on brazen hinges found.
What firfl .^neas in this place beheld,
Reviv'd his courage, and his fear expell'd.
For while, expeding there the queen, he rais'd
His wandering eyes, and round the temple gaz'd ; 6^^
Admir'd the fortune of the rifmg town.
The driving artlfts and their arts renov/n :
He faw, in order painted on the wall,
AVhatever did unhappy Troy befall :
The wars that fame around the world had blown, 64a
All to the life, and every leader known.
There Agamemnon, Priam here he fpies.
And fierce Achilles v» ho both kings defies.
He ftopp'd, and weeping fald, O friend! ev'n here
The monuments of Trojan woes appear! 645
Our known difafters fill ev'n foreign lands:
See there, where old unhappy Priam (lands!
Ev'n the mute walls relate the warrior's fame.
And Trojan griefs the Tyrians' pity claim.
He
}
334- BRYDEN'S VIRGIX.
He faid: his tears a ready paffage find, 650
Devouring what he faw fo well defign'd ;
And with an empty pifture fed his mind.
For there he faw the fainting Grecians yield.
And here the trembling Trojans quit the field,
Purfu'd by fierce Achilles through the plain, 6^^
On his high chariot driving o'er the llain.
The tents of Rhefus next his grief renew.
By their white fails betray 'd to nightly view.
And wakeful Diomede, whofe cruel fword
The Gentries flew, nor fpar'd their flumbering lord.
Then took the fiery fteeds, ere yet the food
Of Troy they tafte, or drink the Xanthian flood.
Elfewhere he faw where Troilus defy'd
Achilles^ and unequal combat try'd.
Then, where the boy difarm'd, with loofen'd reigns.
Was by his horfes hurry 'd o'er the plains :
Hung by the neck and hair, and dragg'd around, "|
The hoftile fpear yet flicking in his wound ; >
With tracks of blood infcrib'd the dufty ground. J
Mean time the Trojan dames, opprefs'd with woe, 1
To Pallas' fane in long proceflion go, >
In hopes to reconcile their heavenly foe: J
They weep, they beat their breafts, they rend their -%
hair, 1
And rich embroider'd vefls for prefents bear ; f
But the ftern goddefs ftands unmov'd with prayer. -*
Thrice round the Trojan walls Achilles drew
The corpfe of Hedor, whom in fight he flew.
Here
JENEIS. B O O K I. ,3j
Here Priam fues; and there, for fums of gold.
The lifelefs body of his fon is fold.
So fad an obje<5l, and fo well exprefs'd, 680
Drew fighs and groans from the griev'd hero's breaft:
To fee the figure of his lifelefs friend.
And his old fire, his helplefs hand extend.
Himfelf he faw amidft the Grecian train,
Mix'd in the bloody battle on the plain: 6S^
And fvvarthy Memnon in his arms he knew.
His pompous enfigns, and his Indian crew.
Penthefilea, there, with haughty grace.
Leads to the wars an Amazonian race;
In their right hands a pointed dart they wield; 690
TJieleft, for ward, fullains the lunar (hield.
Athwart her breaft a golden belt fhe throws,
Amidil the prefs alone provokes a thoufand foes ;
And dares her maiden arms to manly force oppofe.
Thus while the Trojan prince employs his eyes, 69 j
Fix'd on the walls with wonder and furprize.
The beauteous Dido with a numerous train.
And pomp of guards, afcends the facred fane.
Such on Eurotas' banks, or Cynthus' height,
Diana feems; and fo Ihe charms the fight, -70©
When in the dance the graceful goddefs leads
The choir of nymphs, and overtops their heads.
Known by her quiver and her lofty mien.
She walks majeftic, and Ihe looks their queen :
Latona fees her fhine above the reft, -70^
And feeds with fecret joy her fiknt breaft.
Sucli
335 DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
Such Dido was ; with fuch becoming ftate,
Amidft the crowd, (he walks ferenely great.
Their labour to her future fway ihe fpeeds.
And, paffing with a gracious glance, proceeds: 710
Then mounts the throne, high plac'd before the Ihrine;
In crowds around the fwarming people join,
She takes petitions, and difpenfes laws.
Hears and determines every private caufe.
Their talks, in equal portions, fhe divides, 715
And, where unequal, there by lots decides.
Another way, by chance, >^neas bends
His eyes, and unexpeded fees his friends :
Antheus, Sergeftus grave, Cleanthus ftrong.
And, at their backs, a mighty Trojan throng; 720
"Whom late the tempeft on the billows tofs'd.
And widely fcatter'd on another coaft.
The prince, unfeen, furpriz'd with wonder ftands.
And longs, with joyful hafte, to join their hands:
But, doubtful of the wifh'd event, he flays, 72 _j
And, from the hollow cloud, his friends furveys :
Impatient till they told their prefent ftate.
And where they left their Ihips, and what their fate;
And why they came, and what was their requell ;
For thefe were fent, commiffion'd by the reft, 730
To fue for leave to land their lickly men.
And gain admiflion to the gracious queen.
Entering, with cries they fill'd the holy fane;
Then thus, with lowly voice, Ilioneus began :
O queen! indulg'd by favour of the gods, 73^
To found an empire in thefe new abodes j
To
}
iENEIS. BOOK I. 357
To build a town, with ftatutes to reftrain
The wild inhabitants beneath thy reign :
We wretched Trojans, tofs'd on e\ ery fliore.
From Tea to fea, thy clemency implore: 74.0
Forbid the fires our ihipping to deface^
Keceive th' unhappy fugitives to grace.
And fpare the remnant of a pious race.
We come not with defign of wafteful prey.
To drive the- country, force the fwains away: 74^
Nor fuch our ftrength, nor fuch is our defire.
The vanquifh'd dare not to fuch thoughts afpire,
A land there is, Hefperia nam'd of old.
The foil is fruitful, and the men are bold :
Th' Oenotrians held it once, by common-fame, 750
Now caird Italia, from the leader's name.
To that fweet region was our voyage bent.
When winds, and every warring clement
Difturb'd our courfe, and, far from fight of land.
Call our torn velTels on the moving fand: 755;
The fea came on; the fouth with mighty roar,
Difpers'd and dafli'd the refl upon the rocky (bore,
Thofe few you fee efcap'd the ftorm, and fear,
Unlefs you interpofe, a Ihipwreck here ;
What men, what monfters, what inhuman race, 760
What laws, what barbarous cuftoms of the place.
Shut up a defart fhore to drowning men.
And drive us to the cruel feas again !
If our hard fortune no compaflion draws.
Nor hofpitable rites, nor human laws.
The gods are juft, and will revenge our caufe.
Vol. XXII. Z yEneas
765!
}
338 DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
^neas was our prince; a jufter lord.
Or noble warrior, never drew a fword :
Obfervant of the right, religious of his word.
If yet he lives, and draws this vital air, 770
Nor we his friends of fafety fhall defpair;
Nor you, great queen, thefe offices repent.
Which he will equal, and perhaps augment.
We want not cities, nor Sicilian coafts.
Where king Aceftes Trojan lineage boafts. 77 j
Permit our Ihips a fhelter on your Ihores,
Refitted from your woods with planks and oars;
That, If our prince be fafe, we may renew
Our deftin'd courfe, and Italy purfue.
But if, O beft of men! the fates ordain 780
That thou art fwallow'd in the Libyan mainj
And if our young liilus be no more,
Difmifs our navy from your friendly Ihore;
That we to good Aceftes may return.
And with our friends our common loffes mourn. 78^
Thus fpoke Ilioneus; the Trojan crew
With cries and clamours his requeft renew.
The raodeft queen a while, with down-caft eyes,
Ponder'd the fpeech; then briefly thus replies;
Trojans, difmifs your fears : my cruel fate, 790
And doubts attending an unfettled ftate.
Force me to guard my coaft from foreign foes :
Who has not heard the ftory of your woes ?
The name and fortune of your native place.
The fame and valour of the Phrygian race? 795
5 We
1
jgSNEIS. B O OK I. 339
We Tyrians are not fo devoid of fenfe.
Nor fo remote from Phoebus' influence.
Whether to Latian fhores your courfe is bent.
Or, driven by tempefts from your firft intent.
You feek the good Aceftes' government; 800.
Your men Ihall be receiv'd, your fleet repair'd.
And fail, with fiiips of convoy for your guard :
Or, would you ftay, and join your friendly powers.
To raife and to defend the Tyrian towers.
My wealth, my city, and myfelf are yours. 805:
And would to heaven the ftorm, you felt, would bring
On Carthaginian coafts your wandering king.
My people Ihall, by my command, explore
The ports and creeks of every winding fhore.
And towns, and wilds, and fhady woods, in queft 810
Of fo renown'd and fo defird a gueft.
Rais'd in his mind the Trojan hero ftood.
And long'd to break from out his ambient cloud ;
Achates found it; and thus urg'd his way:
From whence, O goddefs-born, this long delay? 815:
What more can you defire, your welcome fure.
Your fleet in fafety, and your friends fecure ?
One only wants : and him we favv in vain
Oppofe the ftorm, and fwallow'd in the main!
Orontes in his fate our forfeit paid, 820
The reft agrees with what your mother fald.
Scarce had he fpoken, when the cloud gave way.
The mifts flew upward, and dlflTolv'd in day.
The Trojan chief appear'd in open fight,
Auguft in vifage, and ferenely bright, 82^
Z 2 His
34.0 DRYDEN*S VIRGIL.
His mother goddefs, with her hands divine,
Hadform'd his curling locks, and made his temples (hinej
And given his rolling eyes a fparkling grace;
And breath 'd a youthful vigour on his face i
Like polifh'd ivory, beauteous to behold, 83,0
Or Parian marble, when enchas'd in gold.
Thus radiant from the circling cloud he broke.
And thus with manly modefty he fpoke :
He whom you feek am I : by tempefts toft.
And fav'd from fhipwreck on your Libyan coaft: 835"
Prefenting, gracious queen, before your throne,
A prince that owes his life to you alone.
Fair majefty, the refuge and redrefs
Of thofe whom fate purfues, and wants opprefs.
You, who your pious offices employ 840
To fave the relics of abandon'd Troy,
Receive the fiiipwreck'd on your friendly lliore;
With hofpitable rites relieve the poor;
AfTociate in your town a wandering train.
And ftrangers in your palace entertain. 845
What thanks can wretched fugitives return.
Who fcatter'd through the world in exile mourn ?
The gods, if gods to goodnefs are inclin'd).
If afts of mercy touch their heavenly mind ;
And more than all the gods, your generous heart, 850
Confcious of worth, requite its own defert!
In you this age is happy, and this earth :
And parents more than mortal gave you birth.
While rolling rivers into feas Ihall run.
And round the fpace of heaven the radiant fun : 855:
While
^NEIS. BOOK I.
34-J
}
While trees the mountain-tops with (hades fupply.
Your honour, name, and praifc, fhall never die.
Whate'er abode my fortune has affign'd.
Your image fhall be prefent in my mind.
Thus having faid; he turn'd with pious hafte, S6o^
And joyful his expeding friends embrac'd: >
With his right hand Ilioneus was grac'd, J
Sereflus with his left ; then to his breaft
Cloanthus and the noble Gyas prefs'd;
And fo by turns defcended to the reft. 865
The Tyrian queen ftood fix'd upon his face,
Pleas'd with his motions, ravifli'd with his grace:
Admir'd his fortunes, more admir'd the man;
Then rccolle6led ftood; and thus began:
What fate, O goddefs-bom, what angry powers 8 70
Have caft you iliipwreck'd on our barren fhores ?
Are you the great ^Eneas, known to fame.
Who from celcftial feed your lineage claim?
The fame iEneas, whom fair Venus bore
To fam'd Anchifes on th' Idean ftiore? 875
It calls into my mind, though then a child.
When Teucer came from Salamis exil'd ;
And fought my father's aid, to be reftor'd :
My father Belus then with fire and fword
Invaded Cyprus, made the region bare, 880
And conquering, finifti'd the fuccefsful war.
From him the Trojan fiege I underftood.
The Grecian chiefs, and your illuftrious blood.
Your foe himfelf the Dardan valour prais'd.
And Ju9 own anceftry from Trojans rais'd. 885"
Z 3 Enter,
34-* DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
Enter, my noble gueft ; and you fhall find.
If not a coftly welcome, yet a kind.
For I myfelf, like you, have been diftrefs'd;
Till heaven afforded me this place of reft.
Like you, an alien in a land unknown, 890
I learn to pity woes, fo like my own.
She faid, and to the palace led her gueft.
Then offer'd incenfe, and proclaimed a feaft.
Nor yet lefs careful for her abfent friends.
Twice ten fat oxen to the fhips fiie fends ; 895
Eefides a hundred boars, a hundred lambs.
With bleating cries, attend their milky dams.
And jars of generous wine, and fpacious bowls.
She gives to chear the failors drooping fouls.
Now purple hangings cloath the palace Vv-alls, 900
And fumptuous feafts are made in fplendid halls :
On Tyrian carpets, richly wrought, they dine;
"With loads of maffy plate the fide-boards Ihine.
And antic vafes all of gold embofs'd
(The gold itfelf inferior to the coft) : 90^
Of curious work, where on the fides were feen
The fights and figures of illuftrious men ;
From their firft founder to the prefent queen.
The good ^neas, whofe paternal care
lulus' abfence could no longer bear, 910
Difpatch'd Achates to the Ihips in hafle.
To give a glad relation of the paft ;
And, fraught with precious gifts, to bring the boy
Snatch'd from the ruins of unhappy Troy ;
A robe
}
<^ N E I S. B O O K I. 345
A robe of tiffue, ftifFwith golden wire; 91^
An upper veft, once Helen's rich attire;
From Argos by the fam'd adultrefs brought:
With golden flowers and winding foliage wrought;
Her mother Leda's prefent, when (he came
To ruin Troy, and fet the world on flame, 923
The fceptre Priam's eldeil daughter bore.
Her orient necklace, and the crown (he wore;
Of double texture, glorious to behold;
One order (ct w^ith gems, and one with gold.
Infl:ru6led thus, the wife Achates goes : 92^
And in his diligence his duty (hows.
But Venus, anxious for her fon's affairs.
New counfels tries ; and new defigns prepares :
That Cupid (liould aflfume the (hape and face
Of fweet Afcanius, and the fprightly grace: 930
Should bring her prefents, in her nephew's (lead.
And in Eliza's veins the gentle poifon (hed.
For much (he feai*d the Tyrians, double-tongued.
And knew the town to Juno's care belong'd.
Thefe thoughts by night her golden (lumbers broke;
And thus alarm'd to winged love (he fpoke :
My fon, my (Irength, whofe mighty power alone
Controls the thunderer on his awful throne;
To thee thy much-afflidled mother flies.
And on thy fuccour, and thy faith relies. 940
Thou know'ft my fon, how Jove's revengeful wife^
By force and fraud, attempts thy brother's life,
Z 4 And
}
344 DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
And often haft thou mourn'd with me his pains;
Him Dido now with blandifhment detains;
But I fufpedl the town where Juno reigns. 945 .
For this, 'tis needful to prevent her art.
And fire with love the proud Phoenician's heart,
A love fo violent, fo ftrong, fo fure.
As neither age can change, nor art can cure.
How this may be perform 'd, now take my mind ;
Afcanius, by his father, is defign'd
To come, with prefents, laden from the port.
To gratify the queen, and gain the court.
I mean to plunge the boy in pleafing fleep.
And, raviih'd, in Idalian bowers to keep? 955
Or high Cythera : that the Tweet deceit
May pafs unfeen, and none prevent the cheat.
Take thou his form and fhape. I beg the grace
But only for a night's revolving fpace;
Thyfelf a boy, affume a boy's diffembled face, 960.
That when, amidft the fervour of the feaft.
The Tyrian hugs, and fonds thee on her breaft.
And with fvveet kiifes in her arms conftrains.
Thou mayft infufe thy venom in her veins.
The god of love obeys, and fets afide 965
His bow and quiver, and his plumy pride :
He walks Iiilus in his mother's fight;
And in the fweet i-efemblance takes delight.
The goddefs then to young Afcanius flies.
And, in a pleafmg flumber, feals his eyes; 970
LuU'd in her lap, amidft a train of loves.
She gently bears him to her blifsful groves :
Then
}
^NEIS. BOOK T. 345
Then with a wreath of myrtle crowns his head.
And foftly lays him on a flowery bed.
Cupid, mean time, affum'd his form and face, 97^
Following Achates with a (horter pace.
And brought the gifts. The queen already fate,
Amidft the Trojan lords, in fhining ftate.
High on a golden bed : her princely gueft
Was next her fide, in order fate the reft. 980
Then canifters with bread are heap'd on high ;
Th' attendants water for their hands fupply;
And, having wafh'd, with filken towels dry.
Next, fifty handmaids in long order bore
The cenfers, and with fumes the gods adore. 985
Then youths, and virgins, twice as many, join
To place the difhes, and to ferve the wine.
The Tyrian train, admitted to the feaft.
Approach, and on the painted couches reft.
All on the Trojan gifts with wonder gaze; 990
But view the beauteous boy with more amaze!
His rcfy-colour'd cheeks, his radiant eyes.
His motions, voice, anilhape, and all the gods difguife.
Nor pafs unprais'd the veft and veil di\'ine,
Wliich wandering foliage and rich flowers entwine.
But, far above the reft, the royal dame,
(Already doom'd to love's difaftrous flame)
With eyes infatiate, and tumultuous joy.
Beholds the prefents, and admires the boy.
The guileful god, about the hero long, looo
With childrens' play, and falfp embraces, hung;
Then
34.6 DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.
Then fought the queen : fhe took him to her arms
With greedy pleafure, and devour'd his charms.
Unhappy Dido little thought what gueft.
How dire a god {he drew fo near her breaft. i oo^
But he, not mindlefs of his mother's prayer.
Works in the pliant bofom of the fair;
And moulds her heart anew, and blots her former care.
The dead is to the living love refign'd.
And all ^neas enters in her mind, loio
Now, when the rage of hunger was appeas'd.
The meat remov'd, and every gueft was pleas 'd.
The golden bowls with fparkling wine are crown'd.
And through the palace chearful cries refound.
From gilded roofs depending lamps difplay loi^
Nodurnal beams, that emulate the day.
A golden bowl, that fhone with gems divine.
The queen commanded to be crown'd with wine.
The bowl that Belus us'd, and all the Tyrian line
Then, filence through the hall proclaim'd, Ihe fpoke:
O hofpitable Jove! we thus invoke.
With folemn rites, thy facred name and power!
Blefs to both nations this aufpicious hour!
So may the Trojan and the Tyrian line.
In lafting concord, from this day combine. 1025"
Thou, Bacchus, god of joys and friendly cheer.
And gracious Juno, both be prefent here:
And you, my lords of Tyre, your vows addrefs
To heaven v/ith mine, to ratify the peace.
The goblet then llie took, with nedar crown'd 1030
(Sprinkling the firft libations on the ground),
And
}
tvhcnce t
h difpenfe; l
ir influence. J
JE N E I S. B O O K T. 34.7
And rals'd it to her mouth with fober grace.
Then, fipping, ofFer'd to the next in place.
'Twas Bitias, whom fhe call'd, a thirlly foul.
He took the challenge, and embraced the bowl: 103^
With pleafure fwilld the gold, nor ceas'd to draw.
Till he the bottom of the brimmer faw.
The goblet goes around; lopas brought
His golden lyre, and fung what ancient Atlas taught.
The various labours of the wandering moon, 1040
And whence proceed th' eclipfes of the fun.
Th' original of men and beafts ; and whence
The rains arife, and fires their warmth
And fix'd and erring ftars difpofe theii
What fhakes the folid earth, what caufe delays 1045
The fummcr nights, and fhortens winter days.
With peals of Ihouts the Tyrians praife the fong;
Thofe peals are echo'd by the Trojan throng.
Th' unhappy queen with talk prolong "d the night.
And drank large draughts of love with vaft delight.
Of Priam much enquired, of Hedor more:
Then afk'd what arms the fwarthy Memnon
What troops he landed on the Trojan fhore.
The deeds of Diomede vary'd the difcourfe.
And fierce Achilles, with his matchlefs force. 1 r r
At length, as fate and her ill ftars requir'd.
To hear the feries of the war defir'd :
Relate at large, my god-like gucft, (he faid.
The Grecian ftratagems, the town betray 'd;
The fatal iffue of fo long a war, 1060
Your flight, your wanderings, and your woes, declare.
For,
wore ; I
348 DR YD EN'S VIRGIL.
For, fince on every fea, on every coaft.
Your men have been diftrefs'd, your navy tofs'd.
Seven times the fun has either tropic view'd.
The winter banilh'd, and the fpring renew'd, 1065
CONTENTS
[ 349 ]
O N T E N
OF THE
TWENTY-SECOND VOLUME.
T 7 ERSES to Mr. Dryden, on his Tranfla-
^ tion of Virgil,
Page 5
Dedication of the Pastorals, to Lord Clif-
ford, - _ -
13
Pastoral I. Tityrus and Meliboeus
21
II. Alexis
26
III. Pal^emon
31
IV. Pollio
39
V. Daphnis
43
VI. Silenus
49
VII. Melibceus
5S
VIII. Pharmaceutria
60
IX. Lycidas and Mocris
67
X. Callus
72
Dedication of the Georgics, to the Earl
of
Chesterfield,
79
The Georgics, Book I.
9'
IL
116
III.
144
IV.
^74
Dedication
350 CONTENTS.
Dedication of the -^neis, to the Earl of Mul-
GRAVE, - - Page 207
The iENEis, Book I, - - * 311
END OF VOL. XXIL
^^1^
-N REGIONAL LIBRARY faCIL"
B 000 001 771 5