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 PROPERTII 
 MONOBIBAO2; 
 
 O R, 
 T HAT BOOK OF THE 
 
 ELEGIES 
 
 O F 
 
 P R O PER TJJJ S, 
 
 ENTITLED 
 
 CYNTHIA; 
 
 TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH VERSE: 
 WITH CLASSICAL NOTES. 
 
 MOSCHU3. 
 
 LONDON, 
 
 Printed for H. PAYNE, oppofite Marlborough-houfe, 
 
 Pall-Mall. 
 MDCCLXXXU.
 
 Stack 
 Annex 
 
 02,0 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 TT^EW of the amatory poets of antiquity can 
 * perhaps lay fo high a claim to pre-eminence 
 as the Umbrian bard, Sextus Aurehus Propertius ; 
 yet it is aftonifhing, confidering his merit, which if 
 univerfally acknowledged, that he has not been at- 
 tempted in Englifh in later times ; I fay in later 
 times, becaufe fome hundred years ago there did 
 appear, as I am told, a tranflation of Propcrtius 
 by one Diamond : I never hav r e been fortunate 
 enough to met with an exemplar of this book, 
 but it muft be extremely valuable on account 
 of its fcarcity, not, as we may readily conceive, 
 from the elegance of the verfion. The French 
 have two transitions of Propertius ; one by a famous 
 old writer, the Abbe Marolles, who has tranilated, 
 A 2 or 
 
 \ 
 
 c
 
 iv PREFACE. 
 
 or rather blundered through a variety of the Latin 
 claffics ; the other by Monf. de Longchamps, who 
 generally expix :Tes his author's meaning with much 
 accuracy, and much of that delicacy which amorous 
 fubjects require: both thefe productions arc in 
 profe, as the French generally publifii their tranf. 
 lations of the claffics. Propertius has likewife been 
 verfifled, not inelegantly, in the Italian tongue, by 
 Guido Riviera : this work I found in a collection of 
 .all the Latin poets, tranflated by different authors 
 into Italian, printed at Milan, 173!) in twenty-nine 
 volumes. 
 
 It is certainly fome degradation to Englifh lite- 
 rature to find, that we have fo long overlooked one 
 of the tendereft writers that Elegy can boaft ; while 
 other nations, not at all our fuperiors in polite 
 learning, have particularly diftinguiflied him. In 
 fome meafure therefore to repair this negleft, I will 
 venture to offer to the world a tranflation of the firft 
 book of the Elegies of Propertius, which, as it has 
 ever been efteemed by the critics a diftincl work, 
 and as fuch ftyled Proper til Monobiblos, cannot there- 
 fore
 
 PREFACE. r 
 
 tore be regarded as an incomplete production. My 
 chief aim in this undertaking has been to tranflte 
 with fidelity, but not without fome attention to the 
 harmony of numbers : I hare alfo endeavoured to 
 give a more correct copy of the context than has yet 
 appeared, principally following the Vulptan edition. 
 J3y my notes, 1 hope I have not only fometimei 
 elucidated thofe obfcure mythological paflages, 
 \vhich perpetually occur in Propertius ; but have 
 alfo made fuch claflic obfervations, as will be ufe- 
 ful, if not entertaining. 
 
 Should the public fmile on this attempt ; the 
 tranflator may be induced, at fome future feafon, 
 to make a compleat tranflation of Propertius ; which 
 he would the more readily engage in, as the world 
 has been given to underftand *, that fuch a publi- 
 cation would be highly acceptable to the republic 
 of letters. 
 
 * See the Monthly Review for 0tobr, 17!*. Page 308. 
 
 THE
 
 THE 
 
 LIFE 
 
 O P 
 
 PROPERTIUS, 
 
 EXTRACTED FROM 
 
 JO. ANTONIUS VULPIUS. 
 
 WE know for certain, that Scxtus Aurelim 
 Propcrtius was born in that region of 
 Umbria which borders neareft upon Etruria ; this 
 is fufficiently teftified by his elegies ; but to which 
 of the remaining towns of Umbria we muft attri- 
 bute the birth of this confpicuous character, is hard 
 to determine: the point is left as dubious, after all 
 the Tcontroveriics and opinions of the learned, inch 
 b a a$
 
 viii THE LIFE 
 
 as Philippus Beroaldus, Flavius Blondus, Pctrus Cri- 
 nitus, Leander Albertus, Jofephus Scaliger, Cafpai' 
 Scioppius, Julius Lipfius, Joannes Paflcratius, Thad- 
 dxus Donnola, Diomedes Montefpercllius, Fran- 
 fcifcus Carolus, Corradu?, ^nd others. Many con- 
 tend thit he was a native of Mcvania, which was a 
 city of Umbria ; and manufcrjpts indeed feem to 
 favour this belief: fome fay that he \ras born in 
 Amcria, others in Affifium, others again varioufly 
 call his birth-place Hifpellum, Fulginuim, Falcum, 
 Spoletum, and Pernfia : but we had better pals 
 over this intricate f abject, which might furnilh 
 ample matter for a whole volume; and let us not 
 confine to any particular fpot in Umbria the honour 
 of having given birth to our poet ;; iuffice it to fay 
 that he was an Utnbrian : however, it may not be 
 improper to hint to the literati ; that we iliould go 
 near to find out the real birth-place of Propertius, 
 if we could difcover, from any old infcription, in 
 what city of Umbria the family of the Paffieni lived : 
 Pliny * fpeaks of one Paullus Pafiienus, a celebrated 
 Roman knight, remarkable for his learning, and a 
 writer of elegies ; he was a fellow citizen with Pro- 
 pertius. who numbers him among his anccftqrs : 
 perhaps the mother of Paullus Paffienus derived her 
 origin from the enfranchifed family of Aurclia. 
 
 Epift. 15. tit. 6, 
 
 Lf*
 
 OF P R O P E R T I U S. ix 
 
 Let us now fay a few word* refpefting the nomrn, 
 and cognomen of Propertius. The Atirelian family at 
 Rome was once Plebeian ; if we look back to that 
 period, when Romulus, and fome other Roman 
 kings, dirtinguilhed the patricians from the reft of 
 the people ; nevertheless it was afterwards ennobled 
 by many curule magistrates : hiftorians divide this 
 family into the three branches of the Cottae, the 
 Oreiles, and the Scauri ; each of which produced 
 illultrious characters, who held, and honourably 
 maintained the firft dignities of the republick : but 
 thsfe fenatorial families have little to do with our 
 Propertius, an enfranchised knight ; he never ac- 
 quired any honours, nor did he even court them ; 
 he was ever the Sport of fortune*, as he tells his 
 .patron Tullus ; and, addreffing his Cynthia, he 
 fays, that he boafted no noble blood, no triumph* 
 of his anceftors f : yet we muft not from hence con- 
 clude, that he uas of an obfcure family, or that his 
 rank in life, was mean ; on the contrary, as he was 
 born in Umbria, and in that part of it too which 
 bordered upon Etruria; we fhould rather conjecture 
 that his race was not only illuftrious, but that it 
 might even claim a connexion with Tufcan kings : 
 Scrvius t has a paflage, which feems to corroborate 
 this opinion, wherein he inform* us, that M." Porciui 
 
 < Z%. 6. Lib r. f Rie Z- J 9- ^'- * * r " Krgi''- 
 
 jf'.n. ". -rrr. 697. 
 
 b Cat6
 
 x THE LIFE 
 
 Cato relates, that the Capenates, a Tufcan people, 
 built Veji with the affiflance of kingPropsrtius, who: 
 it feems \vas one of the moft ancient of the Etrurian 
 monarehs : Veji^ by the way, was a large magnifi- 
 cent city in Tufcany, and formerly vied with ROJDC 
 itfelf ; but after a ten years fiege, it was at length 
 razed to the ground by M. Furius Camillus : Our 
 poet therefore, as though ftung with a fenie of for- 
 mer greatnefs, mournfully exclaims* ; 
 
 Et t'eji vcteres, ct vos turn regna fulfil* ; 
 Et vcftro pojita cjl aurca fella foro. 
 
 It is much to be regretted, that the book of pedi- 
 grees written by M. P. Cato is not extant; as it 
 might ferve to let the prefent doubtful and obfcur* 
 iubjeft in a certain, clear light : however, we may 
 reafonably enough conjecture, that the poet Proper- 
 tius, though perhaps in a private ftation, was never- 
 thelefs of royal extraction: Silius Italicus f makes no 
 fcruple to affirm the fame thing of Ennius, that 
 father of the Roman poets j he fay a : 
 
 Ennius antitpia Mrjfapi ab origin 
 
 t As to the time of out poet's birth ; we are in^ 
 formed, from the beft chronological authorities, that 
 
 . 10. L-l 4. f raai^. I) A . i;. ver. 393.
 
 OF PROPERTIUS, xi 
 
 It happened A. U. C. 696. during the Confulfliip * 
 of L. Calpurnius Pifo, and of A. Gabinius; in which 
 tear Cicero was banilhed : this we learn from the 
 words of Pfopertius himfelf, who thus introduces 
 an aftrologer Comrnem orating the poet's misfbr 
 tunes f : 
 
 Ojjaque hgljli non ilia estate IcgenJa 
 
 PatrtS) et in tcnues cogeris ipfe Lares* 
 Nam tua quum muhi verfarenl rurajuvetrct t 
 
 Aljlulit cxcultas perfica tiiftii opes. 
 Max ubi lutta rudi dimiJJ'd eft aurca collo t 
 
 Mains et ante dcos lilcra fumta toga : 
 Turn tibi pauca fuo ilc carrhine diftat Apollo ', 
 Et vctat irfano <vcrla tonarefaro. 
 
 He relates, thdt when he wats yet a boy, his father 
 died; and that he was robbed of his paternal wealth 
 at that unhappy period of time, when, after the Phi- 
 lippine war, all the Italian fpoil was divided among 
 the veteran foldiers of Auguftus ; he then proceeds 
 to tells us t that he confecrated or hung up to his 
 houfliold gods the golden bulla of his infancy, which 
 diftinguilhed free-born children from flaves and 
 
 * Vulpius here fepms to be guilty of an anacliror.ifm ; f./r -~\ 
 all the chronological tables I have confulted I find, that L 
 Calpurnius Pifo and A. Gabinius were Con fu h, A. L T . C. 695. 
 and that P. Corneliui Lentulus and Q^Cscilius Metclluswere 
 Confuls in 696. 
 
 f Eleg. I. Lit. 4. 
 
 b 4 bondmen;
 
 xii THE LIFE 
 
 bondmen ; and that he aflumed the toga vlrll'n^ or 
 robe of manhood ; which change of drefs generally 1 
 took place at the age of fifteen, or feveuteen; 
 and at this time \ve learn, that he gave himlelf 
 .wholly up to a poetic indolence, fpurning the 
 tumult of the Forum, and the clamour of pleaders. 
 The divilion of the lands of Italy among the foldier* 
 of Auguflus took place, A. U. C. 713. from this 
 number if we deduct feventeen, the age at which he 
 tells us he began to write poetry, it fixes the birth 
 of Propertius at the very a-ra above-mentioned. 
 
 The father of our poet, it would appear, was the 
 fame Srxttis Propertius, whom Cicero mentions in 
 his orations *, as attacked by Publiire Cloditis the 
 tribune, when the latter excited fedition In the re- 
 publick, and grafped at the wealth of its citizens.. 
 Soon after the death of his father, he loll his mo- 
 ther, under whofe tutelage he received his edu<batio. 
 Thvi he writes to his Cynthia -j- ; 
 
 Offa tili j tiro per matris^ tt offa parent!.; \ 
 (Hi fall/>y ci/tis bcu fit mibl iitcrqae gravh) 
 
 Mt till ad cxtremas maHfirwny vita t tctxbras. 
 
 His learning, and happy talent for poetry, acquired 
 him the patronage and friendfliip of C. Clinius Ma?-, 
 cenas, a Roman knigjit of noble defcent, and a great. 
 
 Orr. pro Owfta. f %. ifr. Lib. a.
 
 OF PROP E R T I U S. xI3 
 
 encourager of the polite arts ; near to whofe garden 
 in the Efquiline region Propertius dwelt. It is to be 
 wondered that Propertius never mentions Horace, 
 -nor Horace Propertius, in any of their poems, by 
 way of mutual kinduefs ; tlthough they lived as it 
 TV ere under the lame roof, and were dear to the fame 
 patron * : but the noted truth of Hefiod is ever/ 
 day experienced, *ff*//.Et;\- Mfa-jLiT. One of Virgil's 
 ancient biographers obfervet, that none of the poets 
 who flouriflied under the reign of Augiiftus had a 
 friendmip for each other, lo envious was each of his 
 fellow bard's fame and honour ; Virgil alone, bv 
 reafon of his iingular fwceuiels of difpofition, excited 
 nojealoufy, but was beloved by all. Horace, who 
 was nothing free from that invidious temper, which 
 leads one poet to tharl at another, though he fliould 
 even walk in a different track on Parnaflus from 
 him, does not Icruple, with great politenefs and 
 affection, to yield up the paitoral reed to Virgil; he 
 
 fays f : 
 
 Mollc atquc fitcctum 
 
 I'irgilio adnutrunt gautknta rurc CamKna". 
 
 Pro]>ertiu8 too highly cxtolls the Mantuan bard, in 
 ^ie laft elegy of his Iccond book. 
 
 It is not improbable, that our poet is meant by 
 the talkative intruder, whom Horace j laflies with 
 
 # QJ. t. Lit. I. f Sat. IQ. Lit. I, t Sat. 9. LI. ;r. 
 
 fo
 
 iiv THE LIF 
 
 fo much fpleefi, for pefrering him in the Forxim $ 
 for we learn that this impertinent was expert art? 
 poetry, and fludioiis of his perfon : 
 
 Nam quis me fcrilerc plwef, 
 
 dut citius pojfit iter/its ? quis membra movers 
 
 MoUiitt ? 
 
 Now Propertius * does confefs hiiwfelf to be fo'me- 
 what of a coxcomb, in order perhaps to be upon a 
 footing with Cynthia, who was extravagantly fond 
 of drefs j \vitnefs his own words : 
 
 Nrcquiq'iam f>crfi/fa meis ungucnta capillh ; 
 Ibat et exfiefifo plant a mordta gradu. 
 
 Horace lilcewife informs us, that this trouWefome 
 acquaintance \vas known to him by name only ; 
 which was perhaps a llro'ke levelled at Prbpertius,- 
 ivho oftentatioufly called himfelf the Roman Calli-i 
 machus f : he alfo tells Horace, that h'e is a learned; 
 character, dafti fiimiu ; and recommends himfelf to 
 be his puffer before their joint patron Mxcenas, ba- 
 ker rs magnum aJjutorcm : being alked by Flaccus, who' 
 his mother and relations were ; he anfwers, that he 
 had buried them all ; which agrees admirably well 
 with what we ha^e before related concerning our 
 Unfortunate poet. Horace's fubfequent iatire j ought 
 
 F!tg. 4. Lib z. f Eleg. i, 1$. 4. * Efijt. 2. Lib *.- 
 3 like wife
 
 OF PROPERTIUS. x>- 
 
 likewife to be confidered here, in fupport of our 
 conjecture: we ir.dit then remark, that Propertius 
 is omitted among the number of thole poets, whom 
 Horace wiflies to pleafe with his poetry; and it is 
 probable that, as our poet certainly did copy various 
 writers of antiquity, he is intended by t\\e Jimivs in 
 that fatire, who is acculed, together \vith Hermo- 
 genes, of being delighted oiilv with the wanton lavs 
 of Calvus, andC;itulhi3 ; which poets, we may further' 
 obferve, are never once fpoken of by Propertius ; 
 although the earlieft editions of the works of each, 
 connect them together in one and the fame volume- 
 Horace * in another place leeir:S to allude to Pro- 
 pertius, in the perfon whom through dcrilion 'h<2 
 calls Callimachils, and whom he reprefents as highly 
 charmed with Mimncfnms, which Propertius f con- 
 fefles he was, when he fays : 
 
 Plus in amort ita/el Mimnerini vcrjtts Hcmero. 
 
 Vulpius tells Us, thit however daring may be thd 
 opinion he has advanced, of Propertius being thus 
 eharadterilcd by Horace ; Itill he cannot be per- 
 luacled to lay it alide, after fupportiug his conjecture 
 by fo many pnllages from the poet of Venulia ; 
 obfcrving with Cicero J, that where a linglc fir* 
 cumftance may not weigh, yet circumftances impli- 
 
 f r.i.g. 9- Lih. t. * Di N*t. r :. 
 cat at
 
 *vi THE LIFE 
 
 cated and aggregated ought certainly to do fo : and 
 he likewife adduces, upon this fubject, the following 
 elegant line from P. Syrus : 
 
 Auxilia bumrlia, firma conjetifus faclt 
 
 Propertius was mvich cfieemed by one Gallus, a 
 man of noble birth, and of an amorous complexion ; 
 as well as by Tullus, \vho was of a confular family, 
 diftinguifhed with magiiterial honours : he lived in 
 the molt friendly familiarity with Ovid, Ponticus, 
 and BafTus, who were contemporary bards with 
 him ; and to their judgments he fubmitted his pro- 
 ductions before they appeared in publick : he was 
 doatingly fond of his miltrefs Hoftin, a lady of high 
 rank, whom he difguifes under the name of Cynthia, 
 as we learn from Apulc'itis * \ fhe was gifted with 
 every natural and acquired endowment ; nor did flic 
 abilain from a facrcd intercourfe with trie Alwfes. 
 Thoie who imagine that Propertius was contented 
 with this accomplifhcd fair only, cannot have fnf* 
 ficiently read his works ; for in one elegy f he con- 
 fefles to his friend Demophoon, that he had many 
 loves, and was an admirer of every beautiful woman; 
 which elegy, as well as many others of our poet, 
 Ovid \ has imitated r however, we may lufptcl, that 
 
 Src a mote upon tliis Object to T.ltg. T. 
 
 f Eltf. 11. L-k. i. ; sfaarum, f.ltg 4- >'4 z- 
 
 be
 
 OF P R O P E R T I U S. xvii 
 
 he tfften dealt in fictitious argument, fuited to elegiac 
 competition. lie flattered Auguftus more than 
 once *, too unmindful or' the wrongs he had re- 
 ceived from him and his Ibldicry ; and courted the 
 favour of this great prince with all the fervility of 
 vcrie. He feems to have taken, as his models in 
 writing, Catlimuchus and Philetas, among the 
 Greeks ; and Tibullus and Virgil, among the Latins. 
 Many wrongfully attribute to him the honour of 
 having firlt given the Romans a tafte of Grecian 
 elegy ; but they fliould recollect, that Catullus f 
 had done the lame thing before him with great fuc- 
 cefs : lie certainly ranfacked all Greece to adorn hii 
 writings, whk'h are ieaibned with tranfmarine fait, 
 to ufe Vul plus's phrale ; and he was evidently ftudi- 
 ous of ancient fable. It is more than probable, 
 whatever N. 1 kin tins may urge to the contrary, 
 that Ovid was l<d to the writing of his Fafti and 
 Heroic Epiftles by the reading of Propertius ; who 
 has anticipated in many elegies of his fourth book, 
 and particularly ia his beautiful adclreis from Are- 
 thufa to Lycotas, much of what Nafo has faid. 
 Though bravery and underilanding do not ahvaya 
 go hand in hand, yet our bard was endued with a 
 fpirit capable of heroiim ; as we may conclude from 
 
 * Ekg. 6. Lit. 4- and alilti. 
 
 f Vide Catul!. Cinaiiia 51. el 65. which are translations 
 froJT) Ssj>j>Uo, and Callimachus.
 
 xviii THE LIFE 
 
 what he fo learnedly lings, refpeamg the anti- 
 quities of Rome % the victories of Augullus, nnd 
 .the matron Cornelia wife of Paulhis the cenfor; 
 on thefe fubjects his numbers arc lofty, and foar be- 
 yond the flight of elegy, Some, as Quintilian in- 
 forms us, give Propertius the pre-eminence over 
 Tibullus in elegiac poetry; and Paullus Palfiemu 
 his kinfman followed his fteps very clofe, if we may 
 credit Pliiiius Crceifius, in poetical compofition. 
 
 Having met with difguft in his love affairs, which 
 did not fucceed according to his wifhes, he deter- 
 . mined to vifit Athens ; but whether he really went 
 thither is uncertain ; it is moil probable that he 
 fpent the dole of life in the purfuit of thofe {Indies 
 .which employed, as we are informed, his earlier 
 age ; for I cannot coincide in opinion with Douza, 
 that he died when young ; becaufe, fays the critick, 
 we find him ever recommending hi mfelf to his mif- 
 .trefs by reafon of his youthful vigour, never making 
 mention of his old-age ; as though it was neceflary 
 tint his life and his writings fliould terminate at the 
 fame period : the authority of Ovid f has greater 
 weight, who appears to enumerate Propertius among 
 the living of his days : 
 
 lnvcniei eadcm ulancll p rtfcfpta Proper ti? 
 
 Dftrifius minima act tameu tile nota (ft. 
 His cgofucccjji, quonia/ii prefjlantla candor 
 
 "Nomiiia vivcrutii JJjtnmlare jubtt* 
 * J/^. I. 6. xi. Lib. 4. f 'Trijlia ) Lil. 2. ver. 465. 
 
 Befides)
 
 OF PROPERTIUS. xix 
 
 Betides ; when Ovid went into Pontns, he was fifty 
 years of age; which he himfelf tells us, in the be^ 
 ginning of his Ibis, a poem he composed during his 
 exile : 
 
 Tempus ad hoc luftris mi hi jam Us quinqite ptralls % 
 Omnefuit Mufa carmen incrme mea, 
 
 As Nafo then was born A.U. C. 711. he muft have 
 attained his fiftieth year A U. C. 761. at which acra 
 Propertius, if living, was 65 years old. 
 
 We will not attempt to difcover, as it is no way 
 material, whether our bard was connected by any 
 ties of affinity with Propertius Celer the praetor, 
 who, pleading his poverty to the flate, was enriched 
 by Tiberius Caefar * with an hundred thouiand 
 feflerces f , the fcantinefs of his patrimony being 
 well known to the emperor. 
 
 Such are the circumftances, which the faith of 
 hiilory, and the plaufibility of conjecture furnifH 
 refpecling the life of Propertius ; as to what the 
 more fabulous legends afiert, let thofe who chufe it 
 pay attention to them. 
 
 Vide Tacitus, Amid. Lit. r. 
 f About 6zjo pounds ftcrling. 
 
 LEGY
 
 ' 

 
 PROPERTII 
 
 MONOBIBAOZ.
 
 PROPERTII MONOBIBAO2, 
 
 S EV 
 
 CYNTHIA. 
 
 E L E G I A I. 
 
 CYNTHIA pfima fuis miferum me cepit 
 ocellis, 
 
 Conta&um nullis ante Cupidinibus. 
 Turn mihi conftaritis dejecit lumina faftus, 
 Et caput impofitis preflit Amor pedibus. 
 
 PROOEMIUM. 
 
 ErouMiufius informs us, that moft of the ancient criticks 
 called this firft book of the Elegies of Propertius, Mwobiblos ; 
 becaufe, fay they, it came out originally before the other three: 
 yet fome few contend, that the whole four books of Elegies 
 comprifcd in one, was what the older editors meant by Profxrtii 
 Menabibhs; but Juftus Lipfius, Var. Lefl. Cap. 16. Lib.i. af- 
 firms, that this title ought properly to be applied to the fourth 
 book; becaufe the three preceding ones are wrote upon amatory 
 trifles, whereas the fourth is upon one certain material fubjeft : 
 however Jo. Scaliger, for a variety of excellent reafons, infifts 
 upon the firft book only being called Proptrtii Montbibloi ; in 
 which he is followed by Vulpius, and the generality of good 
 commentators. 
 
 Donee
 
 [ 3 ] 
 
 THE 
 
 CYNTHIA 
 
 O F 
 
 PROPERTIUS. 
 ELEGY I* 
 
 FIRST Cynthia's eyes this wretched heart fub- 
 du'd, 
 
 Which ne'er before had figh'd with am'rous pain ; 
 When Love my unrelenting afpedt bow'd, 
 
 And trampled on my neck with proud difdain 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 The poet, in this firft elegy, informs his friend and patron, 
 Tullus, that it was Cynthia who firft inflamed him with that 
 love, for which he requelts a remedy. 
 
 r. Cynthia] According to Apulcius, in /ipolog. Propertius 
 celebrates his miftreis Hoftia or Hoftilia, under the name of 
 Cynthia; as Ttbnllus's Flavia, in his elegies, was called Delia; 
 and Catullus's Clodia, in his verle, was natni-d Lelbia. It has 
 been conjectured, that Hoftia was delceuded from Tullus Hof- 
 t:lius, the third kin? of the Roman*.. 
 
 13 z At
 
 I 
 
 4 PROPERTII ELEGIJE. Lib. i. 
 
 Donee me docuit caftas odifle puellas 5 
 
 Improbus, et nullo vivere confilio. 
 Et mihi jam toto furor hie non deficit anno, 
 
 Quum tamen adverfos cogor habere deos. 
 Milanion nullos fugiendo, Tulle, labores 
 
 Sievitiam durae contudit lafidos. 19 
 
 Nam modo Partheniis amens errabat in antris, 
 
 Ibat et hirfutas ille videre feras. 
 Ille etiam Hylaei percuflus vulnere rami 
 
 Saucins Arcadiis rupibus ingemuk. 
 Ergo velocem potuit domuifle puellam. 15 
 
 Tantum in amore preces, et benefadta valent. 
 In me tardus Amor non ullas cogitat artes : ~ 
 
 Nee meminit notas, ut prius, ire vias. 
 
 5. Donee ms docuit, ?<:.] I look upon the poet's meaning to 
 be ; that the voluptuous pleafures Cynthia had granted him, 
 caufed him to look with coldnefs upon more virtuous characters. 
 Some fay, that by ca/!as puellas he means the Mufes ; but furely, 
 had he hated them, he never could have written four books ef 
 love-elegies. 
 
 9. Milanion} Which fome wrongfully write Minalion, and 
 confound with Hippomehcs ; is the fame who fell in love with 
 Atalanta, daughter of Jafus king of Arcadia ; they hunted to- 
 gether, and killed the Caledonian boar. Ovid mentions them, 
 Art, Jfmat'. L. 2. 
 
 9. Tulle] Perhaps this was L, Volcatius Tullus, the cot- 
 league of Augufhis, in his fecond confullhip; but the faft is 
 uncertain ; fee Dio, Lit. 49. Something further of him may be 
 leajnt from i'%. 6. 
 
 II. Partbeni'i in aittris~\ Parthenius was a mountain in 
 Arcadia, fo called from Diana's virgins who hunted upon it, 
 among whom was Atalanta; fome fay her father expofed her 
 there when a child, and that Ihe was luckled by a tigrefs. 
 
 At
 
 Eleg. i. ELEGIES OF PROPERTIUS. 5 
 
 At length the tyrant taught me to deteft 
 Chafte nymphs, and banifli'd reafon from my mind : 
 
 Nor one whole year has the dire frenzy ceas'd; 
 Still Fate forbids my miftrcis to be kind ! 
 
 No toils, O Tullus ! did Milanion dread, 
 
 When Atalanta's pride he forc'd to yield 10 
 
 Now to Parthenian caves he raging fled, 
 Now briftly monfters daringly beheld. 
 
 Struck by the pond'rous club which Hylaeus bore, 
 Arcadia's rocks could witnefs each loud groan ; 
 
 :Then braving danger, and the Centaur's pow'r, 15 
 The nimble-footed maid he nobly won. 
 
 Thus pray'rs, and gen'rous deeds will much avail 
 In hopelefs flames; yet Love, a tardy friend, 
 
 To me no arts, as ufual, will reveal, 
 
 No wily ways that to affection tend. 20 
 
 13. Uyluel p. v. rami'] Hylatus, the rival of Milanion in 
 Atalanta's love, is the famous Centaur, who attempted to 
 ravirti the bride of Pirithous at the nuptial feaft; fee fome men- 
 tion of it in Virgil, Gee. 2. Ovid, in his An. Amat. Lib. I. 
 tells us, that Hylxus wounded Milanion with an arrow, but 
 the Centaurs are more generally reprefented as armed with 
 trunks of trees ; with fuch weapons they fought the Lapi- 
 'th*.' 
 
 15. velocem p. d. pucttam] The epithet velox, fiaift in tie 
 tbace, muft not caufe us to confound this Atalanta, with the 
 ether, a celebrated racer, and daughter of Schcenu* king of 
 Scyrui. 
 
 B 3 But
 
 6 PROPERTII ELEGI/E. Lib. r. 
 
 At vos, deduclae quibus eft fallacia Lunce, 
 
 Et labor in magicis facra piare focis : 20 
 
 En agedum, dominae mentem convertite noftrae, 
 
 Et facite ilia meo palleat ore magis. 
 Tune ego credidsrim vobis, et fidera, et amnes 
 
 Pofle Cytaeaeis ducere carminibus. 
 Et vos, qui fero lapfum revoca'tis, amici, a 
 
 Qusrite non fani peftoris auxilia. 
 Fortiter et ferrum, faevos pademur et ignes : 
 
 Sit modo libertas, quae velit ira, loqui. 
 Ferte per extremas gentes, et ferte per undas, 
 
 Qua non uila meum femina norit iter. 39 
 
 Vos remanete, quibus facili ueus annuit aure, 
 
 Sitis et in tuto Temper amore parts. 
 In me noilra Venus noles exercet amaras, 
 
 Et nullo vacuus tempore detit Amor. 
 
 19. deduElte fallicia Luna~\ Thp ancients had an idea of aN 
 tracing the Moon Sy magic towards the earth, by which (he 
 depolued a (lime of great efficacy upon certain herbs; thus 
 Lucan, Lib. 6. 
 
 Et patitur tantos catitu deprtffa laiores, 
 Donee fnppojitat preprior dtjpumet in kerbas. 
 
 Tibullus, Virgil, and a variety of ancient claflks, fpeak of the 
 Moon's being influenced by magical arts. 
 
 20. facra] May here imply either certain infernal deities, 
 r the manes of the dtceafed, which could only be quieted by 
 tnyftic rites. See a note upon manei to Eleg. 19. VuL-Plus. 
 
 24. Cyt&csts carrtlmkui] Cyta, the birtli-place of the noted 
 forcrrels Medsea, was the capital of Colchis, a country aboun- 
 ding in poifonous herbs ; and remarkable for the fcience of 
 witchcraft. 
 
 Hoc
 
 . i. ELEGIES OF PROPERTIES. 7 
 
 But you, whofe fpells can draw the toil'd Moon down, 
 Whofe magic pyres can wailing ghofts appeafe, 
 
 O, let my Cynthia's will your influence own ! 
 While her wan cheek a hue like mine difplays : 
 
 Then will I credit that yon ftarry height, 2$ 
 
 That floods, Cytaan incantations rule 
 
 And you, my friends, who warn me when too late, 
 O, bring relief, and heal my wounded foul ! 
 
 Steel and fierce flames with patience I can bear, 
 But what rage prompts with freedom let me fay ; 30 
 
 Waft me thro* fartheft climes, thro' billows, where 
 No prying nymph can track my diftant way ! 
 
 You, to whom Cupid with aflenting nod 
 
 Lends a kind ear, whom mutual loye delights, 
 
 fie happy it ill ! while me the cruel god 35 
 
 Purfues, and Venus faddens all my nights. 
 
 ?9, 3. ferte per undas, S^a, &c,"\ This paflage fecms to 
 Juvc been imitated by Ariofto, Cant. 21. Stropb. 19. 
 
 Tra molti tal gli ftarve cleggtr juejto, 
 
 Lafciar tl'^4rgeo rintnnjechexza antiqna t 
 Lungi andar it, che nonjia manifejlo 
 Mai piu it fuo ns,mt a lafemina inljua. 
 
 31. Deus annuit"] The nod of aflent is beautifully cxpreflcd 
 by Catullus, in the charaler of old age; his thought is quite 
 aovcj ; fee his Efitbalantium Julia " Manlii, vtr. 163. 
 
 B 4 Be
 
 8 PROPERTII ELEGIVE, Lib. i. 
 
 Hoc, moneo, vitiate m alum, iua quemque moretur 3$ 
 Cura, neque afTueto mutet amore locum. 
 
 Quod fi quis monitis tardas adverterit aures, 
 Heu referet quanto verba dolore mw ! 
 
 ELEGIA
 
 Eleg. i. ELEGIES OP PROPERTIES. 
 
 Be warn'd, ye blifsful lovers, by my fate ; 
 
 And from a nymph that's kind forbear to 
 Thofe who rejeft my counfel, when too late 
 
 Shall think with keen remorfe on all I fey, 40 
 
 ELEGY
 
 E L E G I A II. 
 
 OU I D juvat ornato procedere, vita, capiilo, 
 Et tenues Coa vefte movere finus ? 
 Aut quid Orontea crines perfundere myrrha, 
 
 Ttque peregrinis vendcre muneribus ? 
 Naturai-que decus mercato perdere cultu ? jj 
 
 Nee finere in propriis membra nitere bonis ? 
 Crede mihi, non ulla tuaj medicina figuras eft. 
 
 Nudus Amor formse non amat artificem. 
 Adfpice, quot fummittat humus formofa colores ? 
 
 Ut veniant hederae fponte fua melius : jo 
 
 He admonifhes Cynthia for being too fond of drefs; and by 
 a variety of examples proves, that Ihe would appear to more ad- 
 vantage with lefs ornament. 
 
 2. Coa wcfti] In Cos were firft manufactured, it is faid, 
 filkcn garments, by one Pamphile the daughter of Platis; in- 
 deed this ifland, which is one of the ./Egean Cyclades, is cele- 
 brated by many dailies for its fine filks : Varro calls fuch tranf- 
 parent garments, vitro* toga:. The Groningen MS. and many 
 .old printed editions have Cea vefla. 
 
 5. Orontea myrrba] The Orontes was a large river of Syria, 
 which bathed, among other towns, Antiochia; fee Pliny, Lib, 5. 
 Cap. 42. Scaliger obferves, that Propertius gives the epithet of 
 Orontean to myrrh, not becaufe it grew in Syria ; but becaufe 
 it came from Antiochia, whither it was carried at t the grand 
 mart of the Eaftern trace. 
 
 Surgat
 
 ELEGY II. 
 
 WH Y to walk forth, fweet life, thy trefle? 
 braid? 
 
 Why in the Coan garb's thin folds array'd ? 
 Why with Orontes' myrrh thy locks imbue ? 
 Thy beauty's price enhance by foreign mow ? 
 Why Nature's charms with purchas'd luftre hide, 
 Nor let thy limbs difclofe their genuine pride ? 
 Truft me thy face wants no cofmetick's aid ; 
 Love's naked god abhors the dreffing trade : 
 O, mark what blooms the painted earth difplays, 
 How of themfelves befl climb the ivy-fprays, 19 
 
 5. cuhu ?] Thus elegantly Lucretius, Lib. 4. 
 Namfac'tt ipfa fuis interdum feminafiflii, 
 Mvrigerift/ue modis, et munda cgrporis cultv, 
 Ut facile infuefcat fecum vir degtrt -vitam. 
 
 Tertullian, in his book on women's drefs, has a curious difTer- 
 tation on the difference of the words ornatus and cultm; live lat- 
 ter implies a neatnefs in drefs, the former a decorating of one's 
 pcrfon fo as to attracft admiration. 
 
 7. -median a] See Ovid's poem, de medicatnlne faciti, as a com- 
 ment on this word. 
 
 8. foi mce arttficeni] Plautus, in JluluL A. 3. S. 3. enumerates 
 the various dreffers by profeflion of antiquity; fuch were the 
 ornatricei, cinljicna, f>brvgienes t aurijicu, fatagiarii, and others. 
 
 7 How
 
 ii PROPERTII ELEGIJE. Lib. i 
 
 Surgat &c in foils formofius arbutus antris, 
 
 Et fciat indociles currere lympha vias : 
 Utora natives perlucent picfta lapilios, 
 
 Et volucres nulla dulcius arte canant. 
 Non fie Leucippis fuceendit Caftora Phoebe, 1 5 
 
 Pollucem cultu non HilaVra foror. 
 Non Idse, et cupido quondam difcordia Phoebo 
 
 Eveni patriis filia litoribus. 
 Nee Phrygium falfo traxit candore maritum 
 
 Avefta externis Hippodamia rotis : 20 
 
 Sed fades aderat nullis obnoxia gemmis, 
 
 Qualis Apelleis eft color in tabulis. 
 
 ii. arbutus] This is evidently that ever-gren w call the 
 ftrawberry-tree; fee Virgil's commentators on this word, in 
 Getrg. i. among whom, Servius calls it a tree bearing, red 
 apples, which Pliny terms udvnes, becaufe they cannot be eat by 
 reafon f their great roughnefs. 
 
 15, 16. Pbcibe, P. e. *. Hllaira] Thefe two daoghters of 
 leucippus, king of Sicyon, were betrothed to Lynceus and 
 Idas, fons of Aphareus ;.but Caftor and Pollux ftole them away; 
 and the fuitors, endeavouring to regain their miftrefles, were 
 cvercome by thcfe heroes of divine race : Theocritus, Idyl. 22. 
 gives an account of the battle; fee mention of the ftory in 
 Laclantius Firmianus, L. i. C. 20. and in Hyginus, Fab. 80. 
 Some old editions for HUa'ira have Tbela'ira. 
 
 18. Ev eni Jili*] Marpeffa is here meant: Idas, the fon of 
 Aphareus, carried her away in a flying chariot given him by 
 Neptune ; and Evenus her father, purfuing the ravifher as far 
 as the river Lycarmaj was drowned there. Apollo loved Mar- 
 pcfTa, and difputed her with Idas; when Jupiter fent Mercury 
 to determine the ftrife, by deciding according to the inclina- 
 tion of Marpefla, who preferred Idas to Apollo. See Homer, 
 Jliad 9. Apollodorus, Lit. I. and Hyginus, Fat. 242. 
 
 Non
 
 Eteg. 2. ELEGIES of PROPERTIES. 13 
 
 How in lone caves arbutus lovelier grows, 
 Thro' untaught channels how the ftreamlet flows, 
 How native gems deckt fhores fpontaneous yield, 
 And fweeter notes by untam'd birds are trill'd! 
 
 Leucippus' daughter, beauteous Phoebe, firNd ao 
 Young Caftor's bofom, with no gaudes attir'd j 
 And her fair fitter HilaYra too, 
 As unadorn'd, delighted Pollux* view* 
 No oftentatious ornaments could boaft 
 Evenus' offspring, on her native coaft ; 45 
 
 When once the nymph the caufe of difcord prov'd 
 *Twixt Idas, and the God who fondly lov'd. 
 Nor Hippodamia, when the fa-anger's car 
 In triumph bore away the virgin fair, 
 By beauties borrow'd from the it ores of drt, 30 
 Subdu'd to love her Phrygian huflband's heart ; 
 No jewels heighten'd her bright face, that fliow'd 
 Such tints as in Apelles' pictures glow'd. 
 
 20. Hippedami*'] Her ftory is varioufly related ; but faba - 
 lifts in general agree, that her father Oenomaus rcfolved not 
 to give her in marriage to any one who could not excel him in 
 the chariot race; Pelops the Phrygian, by plotting with the 
 charioteer of Oenmas, beat him in the race, and won Hip- 
 podamia, whom he carried away externis rerit, that is Pbrygiis 
 rotis. Tkij ftory is happily touched upon by Parrhafius, in his 
 comment on Claudian, Lib. z. 
 
 az. ^ Aftlh'u e. clr i. tabulii.'] Thefe words do nor, as 
 Pafteratius pretends, allude to the four colours which Apelles 
 was faid to ufe ; but to the great beauty of his fubjefls, which 
 were generally nudities; among them was principally his Veaus 
 Anadyomene, 
 
 Thefe
 
 jj. PROPERTII ELEGISE. Lib. I. 
 
 Non illis ftudium vulgo conquirere amantes, 
 
 lllis ampla fatis forma, pudicitia. 
 Non ego nunc vereor, ne fis mihi vilior iftis. i$ 
 
 Uni fi qua placet, culta puella {at eft : 
 Quum tibi prasfertim Phoebus fua carmina donet, 
 
 Aoniamque libens Calliopea lyram : 
 Unica nee defit jucundis gratia yerbis, 
 
 Omnia quaeque Venus, quaeque Minerva probat. 30* 
 His tu Temper eris noftrse gratiffima vita?, 
 
 Taedia dum miferse fmt tibi luxuri*. 
 
 25. Non tgo nunc vereorj &c.~] This is a happy turn of the 
 poet's; who, fearing left Cynthia ilnuld imagine that the men- 
 tion of thefe heroines of antiquity implied an oblique cenfure 
 njten her condudl, pays her this compliment. VULHIUS. 
 
 27. Quum tibi prefer tint) S?c.J We learn from this diftichy 
 Slid the reft of the elegy, for the firft time ; that Cynthia was 
 Skilled in poetry, mulickj and every other pohtt accomplilh- 
 menti 
 
 ELEGI A
 
 Eleg. 2. ELEGIES oP PROFERTIUS. f 
 
 Thefe heroines ftrove not various loves to win, 
 Enough for them by chaftity to fhine ; ,35. 
 
 Yet fure in virtue thou canft vie with theie ; 
 She wants no charms, who can one lover pleaie. 
 
 Since thine is all that Phoebus can inlpire, 
 Thine fond Calliope's Aonian lyre, 
 Thine the choice gift of plealing fpeech, my fair, 40' 
 Thine all that's Beauty's, all that's Wifdom's care; 
 'Tis furely thine to gild my life with joy, 
 But ne'er let odious pomp thy thoughts employ ! 
 
 30. 0.qufe<jucVcnut,q.Minc>vaprobat.'] Cynthia was not only 
 gifted by Venus with charms, but likewife by Minerva with 
 thofe polite arts over which fhe particularly prefides ; fucht 
 the ancients efteemed weaving, fpinning, and others. 
 remarks the ambiguity of the word prtbat- 
 
 &LEGY
 
 E L E G I A III. 
 
 OtJALIS Thefea jacuit cedente carina 
 Languida defertis Gnofia litoribus : 
 Qualis & accubuit primo Cepheia foamo, 
 
 Libera jam duris cautibus Andromede : 
 Nee minus affiduis Edonis feffa choreis 
 
 Quails in herbofo concidit Apidano : 
 Tails vifa mihi mollem fpirare quietem 
 
 Cynthia non certis nixa caput manibuS. 
 Ebria quum multo traherem veftigia Baccho, 
 
 Et <juaterent fera nofte facem pueri. IQ 
 
 Hanc ego nondum etiam fenfus deperd-itus omnes 
 
 Molliter impreffo conor adire toro. 
 
 Propcrtitis, returning From a debauch late at night, flag- 
 gerecl to his miftrefs, ^hom he found afleep j and relpe&fully 
 retraining his amorous inclinations; forbore to wake her. 
 
 2. Languida Gnofia} Ariadne is fo called from Gnofus, the 
 principal city of Crete ; her being deferted by Thefcus, as Ihe 
 lay aileep, on the ifland of Naxos, is beautifully related by 
 Catullus, in his Eplilalamium Peki & TLttjJas. 
 
 3, 4. Cepheia Andromt3a\ The ftory of Andromeda, daughter 
 *>f Cepheus and Calliope, who was chained to a rock, and deli- 
 Vcred byPerfcus, is very well known: See Lucian, Dialog. XIV. 
 
 5. Edonis'] The Edonides, fo called from Edon a mountain 
 in Thrace where they kept their orgies, are the fame with the 
 Msenades, Thyades, and other pricftcfles of Bacchus. 
 
 Et
 
 C '7 3 
 
 ELEGY III. 
 
 AS wrapt in (lumbers lay the Cretan maid 
 On the bleak coaft, while Thefeus' veffel fled; 
 As too the fair Andromeda repos'd, 
 When firft her limbs from the rude cliff were loos'd ; 
 And as the Masnas, with long rites oppreft, 5 
 
 Sinks on Apidanus' green marge to reft : 
 So Cynthia flept, foft breathing, while her arms 
 Feebly fuftain'd her head's reclining charms ; 
 When to the nymph my reeling fteps I bore, 
 And the boy's midnight torch blaz'd on before, to 
 
 Nor yet were all my wand'ring fenfes fled, 
 Eager I fought the nymph's foft-printed bed: 
 And, though my heart a twofold impulfe fvvay'd ; 
 Tho' Love, tho' Bacchus, gods by all obey'd! 
 
 6. in hti bofo Jlpidar.o :~] The Apidanus was a beautiful river 
 of ThelTaly, whole current ran very peaceful till it joined the 
 Enipeus. Lucan mentions it, U'b. i. 
 
 10. E.qvaterent f.n.facem fuen.'] It was not uncommon for the 
 rafces of antiquity to be lighted home, by fome one equivalent 
 to our link-boy. Thus Plautus, CurcuL A, i. S. i. 
 
 Tutf t'tbi pair ; lau'..<s luti: ctrtim, 
 
 C Bade
 
 i8 PjiOPERTlX ElEGIJE. Lib. t. 
 
 Et quamvis duplici correptum ardore juberent 
 
 Mac Amor, hac Liber, durus uterque deus,- 
 Subje&o leviter politam tentare lacerto, i 
 
 Ofculaque admota fumere, et arma manu : 
 Non tameri aufus eram dominje turbare quietem, 
 
 Expertaj metuens verbera faevitiae. 
 Scd fie intentis hasrebam fixus ocellis, 
 
 Argus ut ignotis cornibus Inachidos* 20 
 
 Et modo folvebam noftrfi de fronte corollas, 
 
 Ponebamque tuis, Cynthia, temporibus. 
 Et modo gaudebam lapfos formare capillos ; 
 
 Nunc furtiva cavis poma dabam manibus. 
 Omnia quae ingrato largibar munera fomno, 25 
 
 Munera de prono fa?pe voluta finxi. 
 Et quoties raro duxti fufpina rnotu, 
 
 Obftupui vaho cfedulus aufpicio : 
 
 13. duflia comptim ardore] In like manner Ovid, Milan, iz, 
 
 Quam vino peflus, tarn virgini vifa 
 A> del) et ebrietai gemimtn libidine rcgnat* 
 
 1 6. Ojrulajiie a. fumere) et arma m.J Vulpius, aftei Gfo- 
 novius, too refineclly reads ad ora, inftead of ad arma ; al- 
 luding to that kind of kifs, by the Greeks called yineu.V) and 
 which Tibullus mentions Eltg. 5. Lib. i. where the perfoii 
 kiffed is taken by the ears like a pot. See Martinus Kcmpius's 
 rare and curious diircrtation de Ofcula in gencre. Theocrirui, 
 1'iyl. 5. and Ariirsenetus, Epijl. 5. Lib. I. mention this kifs: 
 the Italians call it a Florentine kifs. 
 
 20. ipurr'n cerniliH] Commentators re not agreed, whether 
 the poet ir.8:ns, that Argus with his hundred eyes was igno- 
 rant of the hoined charge lo cor fir net! 'to him by Juno; 
 oi> thac lo herfclf was ignorant of her being transformed to 
 
 Ne
 
 Eleg'. 3. ELEGIES OF PROPERTIUS. 19 
 
 Bade me attempt her with a loft embrace, 15 
 
 Kifs htr ripe lips, and rifle ev'ry grace} 
 
 Still I ne'e"r ventur'd to awake my love, 
 
 Leil with her wonted fcorn flie might reprove ; 
 
 But my forid eyes, that from her charms ne'er flray'd, 
 
 Thofe charms in filent extafy furvey'd : 20 
 
 &ot more intent could wakeful Argus view 
 
 lo unconfcious of her budding brow. 
 
 NOW from my head the chaplet I unbound, 
 
 And with the wreath my Cynthia's temples crown'd; 
 
 Now I adjiifted, with arduous care, 35 
 
 The looferi'd plaits of her diforder'd hair; ^ 
 
 Or to her hollow palm, which paffive lay, 
 
 With am'rous ftealth an apple I'd convey. 
 
 Such fondnefs, lavifh'd on thy thanklefs reft, 
 
 Scem'd as rejected by thy rifing breaft : 30 
 
 Oft when 1 faw thee heave the deep-fetch'd figh ; 
 
 Methought fome danger it portended nigh, 
 
 a cow : lo was the daughter pf Inachus. See the flory in OviJ-, 
 Met am. I. 
 
 a i. ftlvelam n. d. f. corollas^] Every one knows that the an- 
 cients wore wreaths of flowers at their drinking-bouts? our 
 poet then came with his garland on to the lleeping Cynthia. 
 Anacrcon will be the beft comment on thispaffage, Od. 4. 5. & 6. 
 
 24. furtlva cavil foaia d. mar.'ibut.~] Whatever figurative turn 
 commentators may give to this line; Vulpius is of opinion, that 
 they were really apples that our poet thrult into the hand of his 
 niitrefs, which haa an indecent allufion ; for giving an apple 
 to a woman, was a kind of immodeft love-challenge among the 
 ancients. See Caiullus's mention of this fubjecl, in his poem to 
 HortaluS; and his fcholiaftb upon the ^aflage. 
 
 C i That
 
 -o PKOPERTII ELEGISE, Lib. i 
 
 No qua tibi infolitos portarent vifa timores, 
 
 Neve quis invitam cogeret efle fuam. 30 
 
 Donee diverfas percurtens Luna feneflras, 
 
 Luna moraturis fedula huninibxis, 
 Compoiitos levibus. radiis pate fecit ocellos. 
 
 Sic ait in molli fixa toro cubitum : 
 Tandem te noftro referens injuria leclo 35 
 
 Alterius claufis expulit e foribus. 
 Namque ubi longa me:e confumfti tempora noclis 
 
 Languidus exadis, hei mihi, lideribus ? 
 O utinam tales producas, improbe, nodes, 
 
 Me miferam quales Temper habere jubes. 40 
 
 Nam modo purpureo fallebam ftamine fomnum, 
 
 Rurfus et Orpheae carmine fefla lyra?. 
 Interdum graviter mecum deferta querebar 
 
 Externo longas fepe in amore moras : 
 Dum me jiicundis lapfam fopor impulit alis. 4 
 
 Ilia fuit lacrymis ultima cura meis. 
 
 31. dlvcrfui ptrcurrens LutiafcnejSras,~\ The Moon in her courfe 
 (hining full upon Cynthia's face, through the windows which 
 were oppolite her bed, lb as to awake her, is an image of cx- 
 jquilite beauty; and her reproach, in the fubfequent Hues, is 
 delicately tender. 
 
 ELEGI A
 
 Eleg. 3. ELEGIES OF'PROPERTIUS. 21 
 
 That fears unufual did thy dreams invade, 
 And that fome fancied rival forc'd my maid. 
 
 Now thro' the fronting windows gleam'd the 
 Moon, 35 
 
 Whofe ling'ring luftre too officious {hone ; 
 The filver radiance op'd her flumb'ring eyes, 
 Then with uplifted head me fweetly cries: 
 
 " And doft thou to my bed at length repair, 
 *' Debarr'd accefs to fome more fav'rite fair ? 40 
 ' ' Enfeebled youth, to thefe fond arms untrue, 
 " Where didfl thou vvafte the night to Cynthia due? 
 " Ah, long long night! for lo! in yonder Ikies 
 " Each ftar's faint beam before the morning flies : 
 *' O, would heav'n grant, unfaithful wretch, 'twere 
 thine 45 
 
 ' * To wear away fuch tedious nights as mine ! 
 " By turns I tried the loom's impurpled toil, 
 " The tuneful lyre, and fain would fleep beguile : 
 " Sometimes I wept; then thought, foribok by thee, 
 ' That fome new love had caus'd thy long delay; 50 
 *' Till Morpheus wav'd his glad wings o'er my head : 
 ** Thus the fierce torrent of my tears was ftay'd." 
 
 41. Nam mdo, &c .] Cynthia tried fometimes to keep her- 
 feH awake, by fpinning or weaving her purple wool or thread, 
 a polite amufement among the Roman ladies ; and fornctimes, 
 by playing upon the lyre, which by way of excellence the poet 
 terms Orphean. 
 
 C 3 ELEGY
 
 I ] 
 
 E L E G I A IV. 
 
 OUID -mihi tarn mtiltas laudando, Bafle, puellas 
 Mutatum domina cogis abire mea ? 
 Quid me non pateris, vitas quodcumque fequetur, 
 
 Hoc magls aflueto ducere fervitio ? 
 Tu licet Antiopse fbrmam Ny&eidos, ct tu 
 
 Spartanam referas laudibus Hermioncn, 
 Et qxiafcumque tulit formofi temporis jetas, 
 
 Cynthia non illas nomen habere finet. 
 Nedum, fi levibus fiierit collata figuris, 
 
 Inferior duro judice turpis eat. 10 
 
 He accufes his friend Baflus, of endeavouring to deftroy his 
 pailion for Cynthia ; and threatens him with all the misfortunes 
 that an enraged woman can inflidl upon him. 
 
 i. BaJJc t ~\ Who this Baflus really was is uncertain : it ha* 
 been generally conjeiflurcd, that it was Caefius Baflus a lyric 
 poet, mentioned by Quintilian, Lib. 10. and by Perfius, Sat. 6. 
 A Saleius Baflus is fpoken of by Juvenal, Sat. 10. Horace com- 
 memorates a noted drinker of the name of Baflus; and Ovid, 
 in his Triflia, L. 4. hg. ult. tells us of Baflus a celebrated 
 Iambic poet. 
 
 5. dnthpae Ny&cidoi,'] ^.miope >Vas the daughter of Nyfteus 
 kitig of Thebes, whom Jupiter feducecl from her huibnd Lycus 
 under the form of a fatyr; fhe conceived by him the twins 
 Zethus and Amphion. See Ovid, Met, 6. and Hyginus, Fab, 
 7 and 8.
 
 ELEGY IV. 
 
 TELL me, why thus extoll each various maid? 
 To quit my love ivould Baflus then perfuade ? 
 Why not allow, while this poor life remains, 
 To hug with transport my accutfom'd chains ? 
 Now fweet Antiope of Nyctaean race, 5 
 
 Now bright Hermione the Spartan Grace, 
 All who adorn this beauty-boaftmg age, 
 Thy commendation in their turns engage : 
 But learn, that Cynthia from the lift of fame 
 Can with her charms erafe the fairefl name ; ro 
 With meaner beauties then her beauties place, 
 And vulgar judges muft their worth confefs. 
 
 6. Sfartatiam Hcrmuntr.,] Hcrmione, daughter of Helen and 
 Menclaus king of Sparta, married Oreites, and was ravifhed 
 from him by Pyrrhus fn of Achilie.s j which ftory has given 
 rife to many beautiful compoficions, both among the ancients 
 and modems. 
 
 ().Ji levitus futrit, Sfr.] The meaning of the poet, whofe ex- 
 prcfiion in this diftich is rather obfcure, feems to be this : " If 
 Cynthia can furpafs in charms even Antiape, or Hermione ; 
 how much muft flir excel] every common-rate beauty, even in 
 the eyes of an indifferent jodge/ agrcjli et inslcgaitti ff>tiatan t sc 
 Pafei-atius interprets it." 
 
 C 4 But
 
 24 PROPERTII ELEGIJE. Lib. i. 
 
 Haec fed forma mei pars eft extrema furoris : 
 
 Sunt majora, quibus, BaiTe, perire juvat. 
 Ingenuus color, et multis decus artibus, et qua; 
 
 Gaudia fub tacita ducere vefte libet. 
 Quo magis et noftros contendis folvere amores, i c 
 
 Hoc magis accepta fallit uterque fide. 
 Non impune feres, fciet haec infana puella, 
 
 Et tibi non tacitis vocibus hoftis erit. 
 Nee tibi me poft hasc committet Cynthia, nee te 
 
 Quan-et : erit tanti criminis ilia memor. 29 
 
 Et te circum omnes alias irata puellas 
 
 Differet : heu nullo limine carus ens. 
 Nullas ilia fuis contemnet fletibiis aras, 
 
 Et quicumque facer, qualis ubique, lapis. 
 Non ullo gravius tentatur Cynthia damno, y.$ 
 
 Quam fibi quum rapto ceflat amore deus, 
 Praecipue noftri. maneat fie femper, adoro : 
 
 Nee quidquam ex ilia quod querar, inveniam. 
 
 13. multh artlbut,~\ Such polite accompliftimcnts are here im- 
 plied, as finging, dancing, painting, weaving, &c. See' the con- 
 clufion of Ehg. z. 
 
 14. tacita vfli\ How beautifully fimple is this expreflion, 
 defcribing the -vjlis or ftr&gula as the fileut witnefs of love. 
 
 18. non tacitit vocibus brftit .] Cynthia Ihall not chaftife you 
 in a friendly whifper, as one whom fhe ftrives to amend ; but 
 fhe ihail openly and loudly rail at you. VULP jus. 
 
 21. circum alias o. fucllas] Thus Plautus, in his Miles glar ios. 
 d. z. 5. 5. 
 
 ft allojw, frotri <vitl':qe fkrta, $uec circtmi vicixts vagus. 
 
 ELEGJA
 
 "Eleg. 4. ELEGIES OF PROPER-TUTS. z$ 
 
 But think not, Baflus, 'twas her form alone, 
 Superior talents my affeftion won : 
 Her pure complexion, that no art had ftain'd ; i j 
 The various rare endowments flie attain'd ; 
 And the rich joys which well flic could impart 
 Beneath the bed's mute cov'ring, gain'd my heart. 
 Strive all thou canfl our loves to difunite, 
 And ftill more ftrong our mutual faith we'll plight ; 20 
 Vengeful I'll tell thy arts, thy nymph fliall rage, 
 No filent war with thce mall Cvnthia wage ; 
 Urg'd by thy crimes, (he'll treat dice with negleflj 
 Warn me from hence thy converlc to reject ; 
 In female circles flie'll thy name traduce, 35 
 
 Till ev'ry nyraph will banifh thee her houfe; 
 Her wrathful tears fliall on each altar run, 
 On all that's facred, on each halloiv'd ftone : 
 No lofs can Cynthia with lefs patience bear 
 Than when love robs her of what mofl: is dear, 30 
 
 Robs her of me Thus long may (he remain, 
 
 Nor ever let her am'rous bard complain ! 
 
 24. Et q. fac?.r, y. u. lapis.'} Properties fays, that Cynthia 
 {hall pray f every deity to be adverfe to Baffus, not only in the 
 principal temples, but even wherever ihe meets with any trifling 
 ftone (landing in the road that is deemed facred; for the Romans 
 held many fuch in veneration, and dedicated them to inferior 
 deities, ihaping them into rude figures ; from whence they ac- 
 quired the various names of "Termin;, HirnKc t Csmpitales, &r. 
 Thus Tibullus, Lib. i. Eieg. i. 
 
 ant "vencror, feu Jiiptf habet dtftrlttt in agrts t 
 Stu vclus i trivio forea ferta iafji. 
 
 ELEGY
 
 E L E G I A V. 
 
 IN V I D E, tu tandem voces compefce moleftas, 
 Et fine nos curfu, quo fumus, ire pares, 
 Qurd tibi vis, infane ! meos fentire furores ? 
 
 Infelix ! properas ultima noffe mala. 
 Et mifer ignotos veftigia ferre per igncs, cj 
 
 Et bibere e tota toxica Thefialr!. 
 STon eft ilia: vagis fimilis conlata puelfis : 
 
 Klollifer irafci non fciet ilia tibi. 
 Quod (i forte aufis non eft contraria noftris, 
 
 At tibi curartim millia quanta dabit I ic 
 
 He diffiiadcs hit friend Callus from purruing his arnor.ous.de- 
 figns upon Cynthia ; pointing out to him all he would fufler from 
 tshe tyranny of fuch a miftrefs,. even fliould his love be crowned 
 with fuccefs. 
 
 i. voces W?/7<n,] By thefe wards are meant thofe impcrtu- 
 aities whi^h GalJus continually ufcd, requefting Propertius tn 
 ( aft the pander for him, and render Cynthia favourable to his 
 
 4. ultima mala.] This expreflion implies the extremity of 
 noro\3S misfortune : in like manner Petrarch, Sonetto 67. 
 
 f voi ch' Amort awawpa , 
 A'ct v'i>tdtigiatifu 1'c/lrttM ardai'tt
 
 ELEGY V; 
 
 RIVAL ! at length thy odious fpeech reftrain, 
 And let us each an equal path maintain : 
 Wouldft thou, ralh mortal, tempt the pangs I bear? 
 Ah, wretch! th* extremes of nai^y to dare, 
 Flames yet untried thus madly to explore, 5 
 
 And fw allow all Thefiaiia's pois'nous itore. 
 Cynthia, unlike the varying harlot crew, 
 With fixt revenge will each offence purfue ; 
 And mould me haply grant our bold requefr, 
 O, with what cares thy peace fhe would molell ! 10 
 
 <>. tote MxieaTkeffaHa.] Theffaly is notsd by many writers, 
 as remarkable for its poifons; feeTibullus, Ehg. \. Lib. I. and 
 Horace, Gd.i-j. Lib. i. The poet very judicioafly unites the ideas 
 of fire and poifon, as they both conduce to lovej thus Virgil, 
 Mnt'td i. 
 
 Occultiim inffires ignem, faHafque vener.t. PASS ERAT lus. 
 
 7. vagit fueilis:'] That is to fay; women who are pleafed 
 with a variety of lovers; who are of a changeable difpofition; 
 and who, if offended with nc lover, forget the offence upon the 
 introduction of a new one : fuch is the fenfe Beroaldus judi- 
 cioufly attributes to this paffage: Lucretius, in a iimilar man- 
 ner, gives to Venus the epithet -udgivaga. 
 
 9. aujis rt/iris,] Meaning, your temerity iu loving her, and 
 mine in abetting your love. Vo L r i u s. 
 
 ShcM
 
 2& PROFERTII ELZGIIR. Lib. i. 
 
 Nen tibi jam fomnos, non ilia relinquet ocellos. 
 
 Ilia feros animis adligat una viros. 
 Ah mea contemtus quoties ad limina curres, 
 
 Quum tibi fingultu fortia verba cadent : 
 Et tremulus mccttis orietur fletibus horror, 1-5 
 
 Et timor informem ducet in ore notam : 
 Et quaecumque voles fugient tibi verba querenti : 
 
 Nee poteris, qui fis, aut ubi, nofle mifer. 
 Turn grave fervitium noflrae coge're puelloe 
 
 Difcere, et exclufum quid fit abire domum. z 
 Nee jam pallorem toties mirabere noflrum, 
 
 Aut cur fiin toto corpore nullus ego. 
 Nee tibi nobilitas poterit fuccurrere amanti: : 
 
 Nefcit Amor prifcis cedere imaginibus. 
 Quod ft parva tuae dederis veftigia culpne, 25 
 
 Quana cito de tanto nomine rumor cris ? 
 
 74. fo>-ita <vtrbi cadent :] Similar is the following paffage in 
 Jibullus, Elcg, 6. Lib. 2. 
 
 Bdagna liquor : fid magnlfice tn'ibl tnagna locuto 
 Excutiunt claufee fortia verba fora. 
 
 rc. Et tytmiilin m. o. f. borror, fefc.] There cannot be a bet- 
 scr comment on this beautiful cliftich, than Sappho's ode to a 
 female friend, found in Longinus. 
 
 ly. fugient tibi verba] This eloquent filcnce is happily cx 
 fsefied by Taflo, in his Atnvntas, Cbor. Jilts z, 
 
 fu in lei facondi detti 
 
 Sciogli la lingua de fcdeli tuei; 
 
 ff>:Jfo fo ftrana, e nwa . 
 
 Noa
 
 Eleg. 5* ELEGIE* OF PROPERTIUS. 29 
 
 She'd break thy fleep, thine eyes with tears flie'd 
 
 drown, 
 
 To hind the proucleft foul is her's alone : 
 Oft as defpis'd thou'lt to my friendfliip fly, 
 And thy vain boafts fliall vanifli with a iigh ; 
 A thrilling horror fliall fucceed thy tears, i| 
 
 Thy livid cheek betray thy am'rous fears, 
 Thy fault'ring tongue in vain would fpeak thy woe, 
 And where, or what thou art, thou fcarce (halt know: 
 Then learn how hard a bondage is thy doom, 
 How hard to live an exile from her home ; 29 
 
 Then at the loVe-fick palenefs of my face, 
 At my lank frame, Ihall all thy wonder ceafc; 
 Thy noble lineage thou malt boaft in vain, 
 Love will thy ftatu'd ancefcors difdain ; 
 And if in part thou but reveal'ft thy flame, z$ 
 
 Thy birth with fcoffers fliall increafe thy fliarae. 
 
 SptJJo In un dir confufo, 
 
 i'n parole interroHe 
 
 Mcglio fi ef prime il core t 
 
 E fiu far, cue fi m*va, 
 
 Cke nttn jl fa ten vaci adorne t dottf. 
 
 E'l Jiltntio ancor fuole 
 
 tiatitr fr'ugbi, e parole. BROUKHUSIVS. 
 
 24. JV. a. prifcli c, imnv'in:but.] The Roman nobles preferred 
 waxen effigies of their anceftors in certain cafes for that pur- 
 pofe 5 they held thefe in great reverence ; and upon the death f 
 a relation, they were expofed, aud carried in the funeral procef- 
 fion. See Pliny, Cap. 2. Lib. 35. Cicero, In Pifonem, fays: 
 Irrepjijli ad bonores commendatione fum-Jarum imaginum, quai'iim 
 nlhil babet prater cohrem, 
 
 6 To
 
 _jo PKOP'ERTII EL'EGL*:. Lib. i. 
 
 Nbri ego turn potero iolatia ferre roganti, 
 Qnum mihi nulla mei fit medicina mali. 
 
 Sed pariter miferi focio cogemur amore 
 
 Alter in alterius mutua flere finu. 30 
 
 Quare quid poffit mea Cynthia, define, Galle, 
 Qnarere : non impuiic ilia rogata venit. 
 
 f.j. fide anr-re] Hiving a partrtrr in the affcftion of a mir- 
 tcels, however infufierable it may appear to an Englilh min.d, 
 \i-as not uncommon among the Romans ; othenVife we (hould 
 ot finJ Propcrtius expoltulating fo' cordially with his friend 
 Callus The poet of Verona was in the fame predicament ; 
 tfrituete his lines to his partfon Maiirius : Car. 6f. 
 
 Ifyt:t Joturti ni,b : s, ifyuc de.d'-t dim'.natK r 
 Ad fUfm c Mi/nine i exercs/';.m;n avuirci- 
 
 L E G I A
 
 Eleg. 5. ELEGIES OF PROPERTIUS. 31 
 
 To thee fhall I deny the alk'd relief, 
 
 As yet no medicine has allay'd my grief; 
 
 One fate involves us both ; alike diftreft, 
 
 Our tears we'll mingle on each other's breaft. 30 
 
 To tempt her ligour, Callus, then forbear ; 
 Cynthia will punifli each prefumptuous pray'r. 
 
 31. Ga1le,~] Who this Callus was is uncertain ; though fome 
 contend it was Cornelius Callus the poet, of whom w have oe 
 elegy left; the cotnpefitions generally attributed to him r^ 
 jiven by Baillct to one Maximian. There wcra many Galli f 
 noble birth, among the Lilian and Cornelian families at Xom*. 
 
 ELEGY
 
 C r- 
 
 E L, E O I A VI. 
 
 NON ego nunc Hadriae vereor mare nofcerc 
 tecum,' 
 
 Tulle, neque &gxo ducere vela falo : 
 Cum quo Riphseos poffim confcendere montes, 
 Ulteriufque domos vadere Memnonias. 
 
 Sed 
 
 IT* excufes himfclf from accompanying his patron Tullus 
 Into Afia, whither he was going as pro-conful; by reafon of 
 ITjfcthia, to whofe fondnefs the poet refolvcs entirely to devote 
 his unhappy life. This is the fame Tullus fpoken of in Eleg. i. 
 and of whom we fliall find frequent mention hereafter. 
 
 I Hadn* mare mfca-i] The Adrian, or Adriatic fea, fo called 
 from Adria, a city built at the mouth of the river Po, is like- 
 wife termed by the Latins, the Superior, and the lenian feaj 
 it is the Gulf of Venice of the moderns. 
 
 2. sEgcco ducere vela fa/a : ] According to Pliny, Lib. 4. Cap. i r. 
 and Varro, Lii. 2. Cat>. i. the JEgean fea is fo called from a 
 K>ck named n>-/t which refembles a leaping goat; others fay it 
 was fo termed from vEgaeus king of Athens, who threw himfelf 
 into it for the foppofcd lofs of his fon Thefeus. See Catullus, 
 Epithet. Pel. et Thetyd. 
 
 3. RipbtfsscetfcenJeremiHtti,'] Thefe are mountains inScythia, 
 fli called from their bleak fnuation, and perpetual fnows; Vir- 
 
 .gii nukes frequent mention of them. Some texts have Rif&i 
 montts. 
 
 4. ditmi vadere Memwiias.'] Mcmnonian and Ethiopian are 
 fvnonvmous terms; forMtmnon, foa of Tithonus and Aurora,
 
 t 33 J 
 
 ELEGY VI. 
 
 THINK not I fear to tempt the Adrian fea ; 
 Or plough, my friend, ^Egaean waves with 
 
 thee : 
 
 Since o'er Riphaean heights our cburfe \ve bent) 
 And far beyond Memnonian regions went : 
 
 was king of ./Ethiopia; he was (lain By Achilles. See Ovirf, 
 Met*m. 13. A paiiage in Qxuntus Curtius, Lib. 4. C.a*. 8. 
 throws much light upon the fubjc'ft. Eroukhufius gives a 
 variety of different readings upon the word Mr 
 
 6. Mutat'j<[-jc cnlere] The frequent change of colour inCynthia's 
 face indicated the perturbation of her cnind. VuLPiui. 
 
 10. itgrato t. a i/.] I cannot conceive what fenfe thofe editors 
 tould affix to this paffage, who wrote irdto. Broukhulius very 
 juftly has in 
 
 T3, 14- drjflai c. A'.henat) A. dfi.c-, &V.] From hence v. f e may 
 collect, fays Vulpius, that Tullu? remained foirtetimes at Athens 
 before he fet foot in Alia. Athenian learning, and Aliatic 
 luxury, need no comment 5 every hiilorian, and poet, ahnoll: 
 mentions them. 
 
 17. Ofculaque pppof.it d. s, d. v>n'o,~\ This perplext line has 
 Undergone a variety of expofitions; Scaliger interpfetj i thus: 
 *' Ihe lhall tell what kilfcs are her due to the wind," w ich he 
 terms off>i/itus, bccaufe thofe with whom we convcrfe ar gene- 
 rally fuppofed to be O|>pofite to us ; but I have tranflatct accor- 
 ding to the more apt interpretation of Burrr.anr.us, whic is ap- 
 proved by BrciukJr.iluis and Vulpius. 
 
 P But
 
 34 PROPERTII ELEGI^. LiS. i, 
 
 Sed me complexce remorantur verba puellx t 5 
 
 Mutatoque graves ficpe colore preces. 
 3Ha mihi totis argutat nodtibus ignes, 
 
 Et queritur nullos efle relifta deos. 
 Ilia meam mihi fe jam dtnegat, ilia minattir, 
 
 Qux folet ingrato triflis arnica viro. jo 
 
 His ego non horam pofTum durare querelis. 
 
 Ah pereat, fi quis lentus amare poteft. 
 An mihi fit tanti doctas cognofcere Athenas, 
 
 Atque Alias veteres cernere divitias : 
 Ut mihi dedufta faciat convicia puppr * 
 
 Cynthia, et infanis ora notet manibus : 
 Ofculaque oppoflto dicat fibi debita vento, 
 
 Et nihil infido durius efle viro ? 
 Tu patrui meritas conare anteire fecures y 
 
 Et vetera oblitis j,ura refer fociis. 20 
 
 Nam 
 
 19. patrui"] Perhaps Tullus's uncle was L. Volcatius TulluB, 
 who was conful with M. Lcpidus, two years before the confu- 
 late of Cicero, as Sallult, in Catal. writes; and is the lame 
 mentioned by Horace. Ckl. 8. L-.b. 3. 
 
 19. fcc:tres,~] This word is metaphorically put for the office of 
 Conful; every one knows, that the lidtora carried the fafces anil 
 axes bound together, before the confuls, in public oiiicial prc- 
 cciiions. 
 
 20. vetera obiitti j;ira-rtj\r fcfUs."] \VhenCy7.icus, the mofl: 
 flouriihing city of Alia, and the beft rTc<fled to the Roman 
 government, was beiu-ged with a large army by Micliriclates ; 
 it was faved from the ravages of war by the wife counlHs of 
 
 - L. Lucullus, and by the valour of its citizens, who- were in 
 tonfequencs endowed with fcvcral immunities, and a-j'ov/cr to 
 
 en aft.
 
 jEleg. 6. ELEGIES OF PROPERTIUS. 3,5 
 
 But me detains the fond encircling fair, 5 
 
 Her words, her changeful bloom, her ardent pray'r ; 
 Now through whole nights my paffion fhe'il upbraid, 
 Vows there's no gods in heav'n ; llnce thus betray'd ; 
 Now flie refufes to be mine ; and then 
 Threats all that weeping ma ids can threat falfe men. 10 
 
 And fhall I bear one hour that me mould mourn ? 
 Perifli the wretch, whofe flame thus faint could burn ! 
 Can learned Athens yield fo much delight, 
 Can Alia's boalted wealth fo charm the fight ; 
 That, when my veflel's launch* d into the main, 1 5 
 Cynthia with keen invedlives mould complain.; 
 With defp'rate hands her beauteous face affail ; 
 And piteous tell, how the unfavdurihg gale 
 Wafts far away thofe kifles that are due ; 
 How nought's fo hard to bear as lo\e untrue ? 20' 
 Go then, furpafs thy uncle's honour'd reign, 
 Thy loft compatriots* ancient rights regain. 
 
 cna5t their own laws : but a party of them having Wiled fomi 
 Romans in a feditious quarrel, Augulhis reduced them to.thcit 
 former Wate of fervitudc, M. Appuleius and P. 5'ilius, COSS. 
 However, Augufius reftored their liberties to them in the con,- 
 fullhip of M. Drufus Libo, and L. Qalpurnins Pilbf according 
 to Dio CaTius, Lib. 5. Whether Tullus was fcnt to thcCyziceui 
 -A-hr. they were duing penance, or when they were a free peo- 
 ple, is doxibted; Vulpius thinks from thfe word ficiis. that it 
 was when they were .a free people, and confequently the iocii of 
 the Romans. See Cicero', fro ttge Manilla: Strabo /J/>. 1*4 
 Corn. Tac'tus, Lift. 4. and Suetonius, in Tiber'to. Heinfius very 
 injudicionlTy wnte&ftrit) interpreting ; " rend'rthe }""ruTi -again 
 frfpt-ftable by s lws." 
 
 D z Ntf
 
 ^6 PROPER TII ELEGISE. Lib. i. 
 
 Nam tua non aetas umquam ceflavit Amori j 
 
 Semper et armata; cura fuit patrirc. 
 Et tibi non umquam noftros puer ille labore* 
 
 Adrerat, et lacrimis ultima vota meis. 
 Me fine, quern Temper Toluit Fortuna jacere, 25 
 
 Hanc animam extreme reddere nequitia?. 
 Multi longinquo periere in amore libenter ; 
 
 In quorum numero me quoque terra tegat. 
 Non ego fum laudi, non natus idoneus armis : 
 
 Hanc me militiam fata fubire volunt. 30 
 
 At tu feu mollis qua tendit Ionia, feu qua 
 
 Lydia Padoli tinguit aratra liquor : 
 Seu pedibus terras, feu pontum carpere remis 
 
 Ibis, et accept! pars eris imperil : 
 Turn tibi fi qua mei veniet non immemor hora, 35 
 
 Vivere me duro fidere certus eris. 
 
 24. ultima vota'] Broukhufius thus reftorcs the old and ele- 
 gant reading; the generality of editions have ONir.ia r.ota, and 
 fbmc few fomnia Hita. 
 
 51. rrii/lii Ionia,'] Ionia was a Grsecian colony of LeflerAfia^ 
 to \vhith Str^bct, Lib. 14. gives ten continental, and two infular 
 ^!tic.> ; it w<i; nou-tl, lays Vulpius, for luxury, magnificent 
 buildings, fumptuvius apparel^ mufick, dancing, aud a profutin 
 ot hrlois." 
 
 ELEGIA
 
 Eleg. 6. ELEGIES OF PROPERTIUS. 37 
 
 No am'rous indolence thy temper charm'd, 
 Thou in thy country's caufe vvert ever arm'd ; 
 Cupid ne'er taught thee to endure my cares, 2^ 
 Or wifli for death to flay thy ceafelefs tears : 
 7h' extremes of fortune fince I'm doom'd to pro\e, 
 O, kt me give my foul a loofe to love ! 
 To lafting flames fome willing martyrs die, 
 And midil that number let my relicks lie ; 30 
 
 Not born for martial toil, or aught that's great, 
 Beneath Love's banners I enlift my fate. 
 
 Shoulcl'il thou Ionia's wanton foil explore, 
 Or where Paclolus bathes rich Lydia's fliore ; 
 Should'rt thou earth's regions tread, or ocean dare, 35 
 Or watch that empire trufted to thy care ; 
 Still think, if chance remind thee of thy friend, 
 That baleful planets on his life attend. 
 
 32. Lydia Prt-?-,//, V.] Pa&olus, noticed by almoft every 
 poet for iis golden fands, is a river rifing from the mountain 
 Tmolus, and runs through Lyciia, a province of Afia Minor, 
 celebrated for its wealthy monarch Crrefus. Some editions have 
 a-.ifra, implying, that the waves of Paftolus gild tha very 
 - (lures of the Lydians as they waih their laudi. 
 
 D 3 ELEGY
 
 E 38 ] 
 
 E L E G I A 
 
 VII. 
 
 DU M tibi Cadnieoe dieuntur, Pontice, Thebze, 
 Armaque fratern* triftia militia : 
 Atque, ita lira felix, prime contendis Homero, 
 
 Sint modo fata tuis mollia carminibus : 
 Nos, ut confuemus, noftros i'gitamus amores} 5 
 aliqxiid durum quxrimus in dominam. 
 
 Nff 
 
 He tells his poetical friend Ponticus, that if he fhould become 
 a lover; he would then prefer, like hirnfelf, the tendcrnefs cf 
 clcay to the grandeur of heroics. 
 
 T. Pcrtice,~] This is the fame Ponticus, whom Ovid comme- 
 tr.orates in his Triflia, Eit'g. TO. Lib 4. and calls borto darum; 
 1>e \vrote :n hexameters the Thebaid, or the hiftory of the wars 
 liciv-een the contending brothers Polynices and Eteocles ; nor 
 a line of this poem is preferved to us which Brcukhuiius much 
 
 laments ; though the lofs is in a g 
 p-nics Statius, who has treated the 
 meruator is of opin ; on, that the po 
 in the Atigufian age, mu,ft have e 
 S'atius, who lived in a Jefs cultiv. 
 Lib. 4. and Paufanias, in Bxu. for 
 
 eat degree made up by Pa- 
 
 me fubjcft ; but the com- 
 m of Povuicus, who lived 
 celled in latinity that of 
 
 See Diodor. Sic. 
 
 n account of the Theban 
 
 l. Cadmt* Tb<rb#,~} Thebes, a c'ty of Ba-otin, with its feven 
 gates, K, for JiftindHon's fake, caileii Cadmean, from its founder 
 Cadmus fpu of A^cnor. See Ovid, Mitam. >. and Statii s,
 
 [ 39 ] 
 
 ELEGY VII. 
 
 WHILE, Ponticus, Cadmean Thebes you fing. 
 And the dire wars which feuds fraternal 
 bring ; 
 
 While you, I vow, mu# fhare great Homer's praife, 
 Should the Fates fmile propitious on your lays ; 
 JVly mufe with wonted voice of love complains, <J 
 And ftrives to footh fierce beauty with its ftrains : 
 
 Tf> t k. i. This city was the birth-place of "Bacchus, Hercules, 
 Pindar, and many other celebrated characters; and yet fome 
 annotators,, I fee, have ignorantly confounded it here with the 
 Egyptian Thebes, whofe hundred gates are fung by Homer. 
 
 3. itajim ftl'ixj\ A peculiar mode of afleveration among the 
 Latins : thus Suetonius, in fiber. C. 21. jucund'ffime, et, ita Jim 
 
 fdixj vir foi t'tffime! Catullus in like manner lays, itj me dii 
 fiment ! 
 
 3. c rjntctidii Homer<i^] Homer has ever been allowed, bcuh^y 
 ancients and moderns, to be the prince of poets; witnefs 'uvcnai, 
 Sat. 9. and Horace, Od. 9. Lib. 4. That elegant poet Joannes 
 Secundus fpcaks of ranking with Homej as one of the felicities 
 <u" elyiium ; fee his fecond Bajlum. 
 
 rbij btatornm nobii ajjurgerct omn'u ; 
 
 Inyjt berb'.d'n fedilikus, 
 
 'ir M^oriidat frima nosfedc locarent. 
 
 D 4 'Tis
 
 4 PROPERTII ELECTS. Lib. i. 
 
 Nee tantum ingenio, quantum fervire dolori 
 
 Cogor, et aetatis tempora dura queri. 
 Hie mihi conteritur vitre modus, haec mea fama eil : 
 
 Hinq cupio nomen carminis ire rnei. IQ 
 
 Me laudent do&ae folum placiiifle puellce, 
 
 Pontice, et injuitas fepe tuliffe minas. 
 Me legat affidue poft haec negletftus amator, 
 
 Et profint illi cognita noftra mala. 
 Te quoque fi certo puer hie concvuTerit arcu, i cj 
 
 Quod nolim noftros evoliiifle deos : 
 Longe caftra tibi, longe mifer agmina feptem 
 
 Flebis in asterno furda jacere fitu. 
 
 7. Ntc t. ingenio, q. fer-vire dnhr'i~\ To this line, which by the 
 ay has ferved as a motto to a variety of Jove-elegies in our 
 
 of Propertius in view, in Sonetto, 2 : 
 
 E cerio tgni mio fiudio in qucl teryp'era 
 Pur di sfogart ii A',l',ro^o (are 
 In qvcihbe ttodri) non d* cicqutftar fant&. 
 
 Piangcr csrcai, non gia del fianto onore. 
 
 9. H. m. ctnte'itur v. .] The above-mentioned annotator 
 tluis pai sphrafes ihis paffagc : Hoc in Jludio currimus, bac in fa- 
 laflta lufiamur. 
 
 II. di&<e f. p. pue!Lc,~\ For the endowments of Cynthia, fee 
 Eleg. I. and 4. Similar are the lines from Ovid, Eleg. 13. Lit. Z. 
 Me ju-vet in gren-.ii dcfia: legijjc puella, 
 Aunkm tt furhja'ipt* prct-a/e mea. 
 
 16. S^.n.n. /.vtlu'JJc d.~\ The common reading here is e-vlclnJJ'e { 
 as it was fp wrote in the Groaingen, Colbertine, and other 
 
 MSS
 
 Eleg. 7. ELEGIES OF PROPERTIUS. 41 
 
 'Tis grief, not genius, bids my numbers flow, 
 
 Bids me bewail life's unabating woe : 
 
 Such is the race I run ; be this my fame, 
 
 Hence let my fong acquire a deathlefs name ! 10 
 
 Mine is renown, becaiife th' accomplifh'd fair 
 
 None elfe could charm, or her proud menace dare : 
 
 Neglefted lovers, ftudy then my lore, 
 
 And gather wifdom from the wrongs I bore ! 
 
 But if the wanton God mould once fubdue 15 
 Thy untaught heart, with his unerring bow ; 
 (Yet may the am'rous pow'rs, that rule my mind, 
 Not yet for thee the thread of love unwind !) 
 
 MSS. the Vatican MS. has te viil-iffe; but Beroaldus found in 
 many MSS. evoluijje, which reading is now adopted by all goei 
 editors of Propertius. Broukhufius accordingly t!ms interprets 
 the line : I hope that the g-,di prcjiding over gentle pajjiom, bavf 
 ii',t at yet btgun t> unwind tbofc ffindls defined te thy love : and 
 he adds : This is a moft charming image of Venui and all the train 
 of Cupid ; t [pinning as it were the fate of lover;, in the fame mannf 
 as the Parces arefaid to fftia tbt life if martali. The claffic quo- 
 tations Broukhufius adduces in fupport of this fcnfe are (tquail/ 
 numerous, icfpcftable, and convincing. 
 
 17. agmina feptemlj At the feven gates of Thebes were feveti 
 camps, and feven commanders, namely Adraftus, Polynices, 
 Tydeus, Amphiaraus, Hippomedon, Capaneus, and Partheno- 
 pqju^. See Euripides, in Pljoenijf. jtfchylus, and others. Thus 
 Ovid, Trift. E. i. L. z. 
 
 Cur tacui Tbebas, et futna vulntra frjtrum, 
 Etfepteta f>orta;f*b duct quamque fuo. 
 
 18. fterno /. /. fitu \\ That is ; your work will lie in fome 
 p orner of your library, in fome chefl among moths and fpidcrs, 
 pc-Tcr te be hnhhed. Vw LP ivs. 
 
 Then
 
 42 PROPER in ELEGIA-:. Lib. r, 
 
 Ef fruilra cupies niollem componere verfum, 
 
 Nee tibi fubjiciet carmina ferns Amor. 20 
 
 Tune me non humilem mirabere la-pe poetam : 
 Time ego Romania prreferar ingeniis, 
 
 Nee poterunt juvene.s notfro reticere fepukro, 
 Jlnloris nn/iri magne poetajaces. 
 
 Tu cave noflra tuo contemnas carmina faihj. 25 
 venit magno fccnore tardus Amor. 
 
 10. 7\ r . i.fuhji;iet carmina fe^us jfiKOr.~j Love, fays the poet, at 
 fo laic a period in life cannot tench you to compofe amatory 
 vcr&s, which is rather the employment of yuth. 
 
 PASSERATIUS. 
 
 24- str&rii noflrj, &c.~] The thought contained in this line 
 is truly elegant : the amorous youths who were ufetl to read my 
 lays with pleafare, fays Properiius, will often exclaim, as they 
 pal's l>y my tomb ; 'here the dear paet lies. The ancients fre- 
 i;*m!y flopped at ccitain iepukhral monuments^ to pay a kind 
 
 of 
 
 E L E G J A
 
 Eteg. 7. ELEGIES OF PROPER-TITS, 43 
 
 Then fhall thy camps, then thy feven legions die, 
 And in the daft for ever iilcnt lie ; ro 
 
 Then flialt thou ft rive to write foft verfe in vain, 
 For Love fo late invok'd will thee difdain ; 
 Then, no mean bard, me fhnlt thou oft admire, 
 As I to Roman wit's firit feat afpire; 
 And youilis fnall fay, while o'er my tombtheydwell, 2 _j 
 Hc>cjl. -/>s the barA t XDofan% cur loves j" -uv//. 
 
 But let not epic pride di!dain my lay, 
 Such fcorn at laft Love amply will repay. 
 
 pf rdlgirus homage to their dt-ceafcd friends, by fome pathetic 
 exclamation, of which every poet slmoft can fr.rnifh an cx.un- 
 j>!c. See Virgil, jEneul, Lib. 9. Theocritus, Idyl. 23. ai)4 
 Ovid in a varii-ty cf places. Pahnerius ; and Scal'gi-r. lorjua 
 write iia!< ; the jGroniogen MS. has fata. 
 
 26. mfign', fa-mire] The following quot.itloii from Tibullui 
 J\-il] ihew the force of this expie'.lion ; l-.l g. 6. Lib. z. 
 
 Sfxs f-jlch credit aiatis 
 et!t:n.i: jut? tnjv i;o fa-mi e i fdd it nrtr r 
 
 I L EG Y
 
 [ 44 J 
 
 E L E G I A VIII. 
 
 TUNE igitur demons ? nee te mea cura moratur ? 
 An tibi fum gelidfi vilior Illyria ? 
 Et tibi jam tanti quicumque eft ifte, videtur, 
 
 Ut fine me vento quolibet ire velis ? 
 Tune audire potes vefani murmura ponti 5 
 
 Fortis, et in dura nave jacere potes ? 
 Tu pedibus teneris pofitas fulcire pruinas ? 
 Tu potes infolitas, Cynthia, ferre nives ? 
 
 He firft expoftulates with Cynthia, who was about to fet off 
 with fome praetor to lllyria ; and then rejoices, that his fond 
 intreaties have prevailed upon her to Hay at Rome. 
 
 2. Ill'ir'nt :~\ This region is alfo called Illyris, and lllyricum, 
 from Illyrius the fon of Polyphem* ; it is a bleak country, 
 bounding Epirus towards the Adriatic. Sec Strabo, Lib. 7. and 
 Appian, ~m B. Illy. 
 
 3. qulcamque tjl fat] This expreflion denotes a man of obfcure 
 rigin ; Plautus frequently fays, rdiofus a quhquis : and we 
 may here remark ; that praetors were a clafs of men who often 
 rofe from nothing, and were advanced to the practorial dignity, 
 by being either the tools of a court faction, or the paralite of 
 the emperor; fuch a charafter was Mcmmius, the praetor of 
 Bithynia, fe feverely Ia1:cd by Catullus. 
 
 o
 
 [ 45 3 
 
 ELEGY VIII. 
 
 ART mad? nor can my cares thy flight beguile? 
 Am I than cold lllyria's coaft more vile? 
 Is then this upftart wretch indeed fo dear, 
 That without me thou any wind would'ft fliare ? 
 Canft thou, my Cynthia, hear the roaring deep 5 
 Unmov'd ; and in the hard rough veflel deep ? 
 Can thy foft feet divide the frofts below ? 
 And canft thou bear unufual drifts of fnow ? 
 
 5, 6. Tune aitdire pntis v. m. p. Forth,"] Similar is the fol- 
 lowing pafTage from Perdu s, Sat. 5. 
 
 Tun* vtare tranfil as? tiifi torta cannabe fulto 
 Ciena Jit in tranjlro ? 
 
 7. po/itat pruliiat?] Broukhufius tells us, that every thing 
 that falls from heaven, as fnow, dew, &c. is faid to be to/id/m ; 
 fo Horace, Od. to. Lib. 3. has pofitat nivn : but I apprehend, 
 that by pepta pruina are fimply meant, frofts placed beneath 
 ur feet. Scaliger from his MSS. read ruinas, which may be 
 proper enough ; Lucretius, Lib. 6. has ruina grandimt ; and 
 Virgil, yt'-/. i. ceeli mina. 
 
 f-. infalitas, nivetf] As Cynthia lived at Rome, where fnows 
 v;crc not frequent, the air being always mild and warm there 5 fo 
 Ae *v but little able to bear a cold fevere climate. 
 
 fASSERATZVS.
 
 46 TROPE*!*! ELtGiJE. Lib, 
 
 O utinam hibern.-e duplicentur tempora brumar, 
 
 E* fit iners tardis navita Vergiliis. 
 Nee tibi Tyrrhcna Iblvatur f'unis arenfi, 
 
 Neve inimica meas elevet aura prcces : 
 Atqueego non videafn tales fubfidere ventos, 
 
 Qmim tibi prove&as aufcrct unda rates. 
 Et me defixum vacua patiatur in ora 
 
 Crudelcm infefta fa?pe vocare .ma mi. 
 Sed quocumque modo de me, perjura, mcreris^ 
 
 Sit Galatea true non aliena \\x : 
 Ut te felici prajvefta Cevaunia rcmo, 
 
 Accipiat placidis Oi icos aequoribus. 
 Nam me non ullae poterunt corrumpere txdxf 
 
 (^riin ego, vita, tuo limine vera 
 
 TO. tarJli rtrg'iliii.'] Feflns tells us, that the Pleiaifs ai'e 
 termed / / i^i/ ; ' > - bec.iufc at theik" riling the )|>rig cnJs ami Hira- 
 nu-r commences: Scrvius fays, that they denoted the time Hir 
 bi'ginning navigation ; he alfo places this conflcllation before the 
 knee of "the bull, bull Pliny places it in tlie bull's tail. Thete 
 fevcn flars arc feigned to be the daughters of Atlas and Plrione. 
 
 ii. fttlvatitr fruit] The Roman? faflened their flirps/ by 
 tying tlitm to a llake, which they called either frimnrjiiuf or 
 
 IfS^/A 
 
 I'j. sffjtic egn non v'uiratrt, (~fi:.'] Propertius vvould not have 
 th<: tformy winds teafe, even at that feafcm of the year when 
 it is cultomary to have calm weather, and Ihips fee out upon. 
 their voyages. 
 
 r6. infefta manu.~\ Thefe words are generally interpi'eteit by 
 a l::iml iL'Lit impsi-itiitalc/y bttktni bjck the fjarttr.g nythph : but 
 Vulpius rather interprets them by, a hand injur I ->ut to bis prrj>n ; 
 as tearing his h'air, linking his bolom, and doing ad\s of del- 
 jicratior,. 
 
 i Nc*
 
 . 8. ELEGIES OF PROPERTIES. 47 
 
 O, double be the winter's rude domain 1 . 
 Let ling'ring leamen ling' ring itnrs detain ! 10 
 
 On Tyrrhene fliores Ml let thy cable ftny, 
 Nor fnatch th' unfriendly blaft my pray'rs away ! 
 Ne'er Jet my eyes behoUl thefe winds fubftde, 
 When thylaunch'd fhipfhall cleave the boift Yous title. 
 And force me on the defert fliore forlorn i j 
 
 With wretched hands to blame thy cruel fcorn ! 
 Yet treat me as thou wilt, thott perjur'd maid, 
 May Galatea Hill thy paffage aid ! 
 And Oricum's calm coaft, Ceraunia part 
 With profp'rous oars, receive thee fafe at lail ! 29 
 
 No fecond paffion (hall my bofona ftain j 
 Still will I haunt thy door, and ftill complain ; 
 
 18. Galatea] Bcroaltlus tells us, that the poet more part Icu- 
 larlv invokes Galatea, as fhe was the guardian of lilyria, { 
 called from her lou Illyrius. 
 
 19-. pr*fv;fia Ceraunia] The vulgar editions have, very cor- 
 i*upiedly, veSnm per caruli ; and Heinfius writes, ft,Ji vi&t 
 Ceraunia. The Ceraunian mourttains of [>irus wfre 1o callcdj 
 from being frequently ftruck with thurtder, ein'o T.^-HY^V /.i ; ai/va"v-. 
 
 19. remo,"] The veflels of the ancients were generally l~mll, 
 and worked by oars ; they feldom ventured ou the open fca / 
 but coalled along the ihore. VULPIUS. 
 
 io. Or'not~\ This city is fituated on the confines of Eniro*;; 
 if i= alfo called Oricum, and is famous for its turpentine. See 
 Fliny, Lib. 3. Cap. 23. At this place the young merchant 
 Cj>'cs was detained in the arms of his Ciiloe. Sec Horace, 
 OU. 7. Lib. 3. 
 
 :i. tuo 1'itiine -v. ejucrar.~\ The beft comment upon this jraf- 
 ftge is tlie fjxteenih Elf gy.
 
 48 PROPERTII ELZGIJK. Lib. I, 
 
 Nee me deficiet nautas rogitare citatos : 
 
 Dicite, qucrportu claula puella mea ell ? 
 Et dicam ; Licet Atraciis confulat in oris, 23 
 
 Et licet Eleis, ilia futura mea eft. 
 Hie erit. hie jurata manet, rumpantur iniqui. 
 
 Vicimus. afliduas non txilit ilia preces. 
 Falfa licet cupidus deponat gaudia livor : 
 
 Deftitit ire novas Cynthia noftra vias. 30 
 
 Illi earns ego : et per me furiilima Roma 
 
 Dicitur : et line, me dulcia regna negat. 
 Ilia vel angufto mecum requieicere leao, 
 
 Et quocumque modo maluit efle mea, 
 Qnam fibi dotata; regnnm vetus Hippodamiae, 3$ 
 
 Et quas Elis opes ante pararat equis: 
 
 44. p. clau/a] That is, flickered from the fea : a word of 
 good omen, Vulpius obferves. 
 
 25. Atraciu c. i. oris,'] The Atracn were a people of JEtolia, 
 whom Pliny calls Strata, from the river Atrax, which flows intw 
 the Ionian fea; from whence begins Achaia. SteStrabo, Lib. 9. 
 For Lest jftracii:, the Groningen MS. has Airaci'n licet bete; 
 which Scaliger altered for the j.jefent reading. 
 
 a6. E'eit,"] The Elei are a people of Achaia, or Peloponne- 
 ius. See the note on Elis further on. Ptolomy fpeaks of Eleus, 
 a city of Epirus j and Stephanas mentions anotnerof the Hel- 
 lefpont. 
 
 27. H'cerit: &c.~\ Lipfius, f r ar. Lcfl. Cab. 18. Lib. 2 would 
 iiegin anew elegy from this J'ne; but Paiicratius highly con- 
 lemris it, and praifes tliis frclh exordium, as it were, of the 
 foet's. 
 
 27. man:t.] The diftich that cont.rns this word is grtatly 
 and defervedly praifcd by Vulpim : Broukhoiius a!fo oifervvt^ 
 that the esprcffion ntsMO't, i; admirably contralted with that of 
 irf im the fourth following line.
 
 Jilcg. S f ELEGIES OF PROPERTIUS, 49 
 
 And to each failor, as he haftens by, 
 What port now flickers Cynthia? will I cry: 
 Whether on Atrax', or on Elis' plain, 25 
 
 The nymph abide, flie fhall be mine again- 
 Here (hall flie come ! here, having fworn, (he '11 flay ! 
 Conqueft is mine !-r my foes now pine away ! 
 For \vell I knew, fuch faithful conftant pray'r 30 
 My miftrefs' gentle bofom could not bear: 
 Let carping malice her falfe joys lay by, 
 My Cynthia hence defifts new paths to try : 
 She loves me, loves e'en Rome too for my fake ; 35 
 And crowns flie'd fcorn, unlefs I crowns partake ; 
 Had rather on fbme little bed recline, 
 Content in any manner to be mine, 
 Than Hippodamia's regal dow'r obtain, 
 Or the vaft treafures Elis' horfes gain ; 4.0 
 
 29. cufulus I'mor :] That is, defirous of injuring t the envi- 
 ous are ever injurious to thofe whom they envy. VULPIUS. 
 
 33' an u fl ". r. lefio,] This exprefiion is exquilite; U ftrongly, 
 and delicately marks the affeftion of Cyrvthia for her pott. 
 
 35. ngnum iiitut] Pifa in Elis is alluded to, whiph Pelops 
 received in marriage wjiu Hippodamia ; fee mention mde of 
 her, in Eleg. 2. 
 
 36. Elii] Or Elea, was a region of Peloponnefus, befween 
 Athaja and Mclfenia ; ar.d was bounded by the promontory o 
 Araxus, according to Strabo, Lib. %. in it ftoocl '-he city of El's, 
 famous for the temple and image of Jupiter Olympius, as well 
 as for the Olympic games there celebrated. Kljs wss one of 
 the richeft cities iu the world ; from ihe number pf its pitizen^, 
 their commerce /in horfes, and the wealth which neighbouring 
 countries ppured in upon them every five years, when they 
 crowded t the Olympic jamr 1 ;.
 
 5<3 PROPERTII ELEGISE. Lib. i 
 
 Quamvis magna daret, quamvis majora daturus ; 
 
 Non tamen ilia meos fugit avara finus. 
 -Hanc ego non auro, non Indis fle&ere conchis, 
 
 Sed potui blandi carminis obfequi. 40 
 
 Sunt igitur Mufze, neque ainanti tardus Apollo : 
 
 Queis ego fretus amo. Cynthia rara mea eft. 
 Nunc mihi fumma licet contingere fidera plantis,, 
 
 Sive dies, feu nox venerit, ilia mea eft. 
 Nee mihi rivalis certos fubducet amores. 45 
 
 Ifta meam norit gloria canitiem. 
 
 37. Quamv'u magna daret, Qfc."] Alluding to the praetor, 
 whom Cynthia was near accompanying into lllyria. 
 
 38. ilia tnioi fugit avara linut."] This is a very happy expref- 
 fion ; and to tafte the full beauty of it, the reader muft recol- 
 left, that the ancients often kept their money in the folds of 
 their garment, Jinui ; and in their girdles alfo : our poet's garb 
 was but ill furnilhed with money, it feetns. Bioukhufius had 
 father write meo Jinu, meaning to the bofom. 
 
 ELEGIA
 
 Eleg 8. ELEGIES 9F PSOPERTIUS, 51 
 
 Tho' large his gifts, his promifes tho } great; 
 Her heart, not felfifh, courts my humble ftate: 
 5 Tis not with Eaftern fhells, or gold, I move ; 
 * J'is with the Toothings of the mufe I love. 
 
 Nor Phoebus-, nor the Nine a lover flum ; 4$ 
 On thefe I reft, and Cynthia is my own : 
 Now fure I tread where higheil planets fliine, 
 Ily night, by day, js peerlefs Cynthia mine ! 
 No more a rival can fupplant my flame, 
 Hence my white hairs (hall lafting glory claim, 59 
 
 4.2. rara\ The ancients were very fond of this tender 
 epithet ; and our poet frequently applies it to his miftrefs. 
 Many old mfcriptions, from Gruterus, have coxivci RAais- 
 
 E L E G Y
 
 C s* J 
 
 E L E G I A IX. 
 
 DICEBAM tibi ventures, inrifor, amores, 
 Ncc tibi perpetuo libera verba fore. 
 Ecce jaces, fupplexque venis ad jura puellae, 
 
 Et tibi mine quovis imperat emta modo. 
 Non me Chaoniae vincant in amore columbae 5 
 
 Dicere quos juvenes qusque puella domet. 
 Me dolor et lacrymse merito fecere peritum : 
 
 Atque utinam pofito dicar amore rudis. 
 Quid tibi nunc mifero prodeft grave ducere carmen, 
 Aut Amphionise moenia flere lyrae ? 10 
 
 Plu* 
 
 He derides his friend Ponticus, the fame whom he addrefles 
 In Eleg . 7. for being now a Ibve to that pafiion he fo lately de 
 fpifed. 
 
 4. imperat emta] That is ; (he whom you bought as a flave, 
 who was your ancil/a, now controuls your alfVftions, The 
 Romans called, by way of contempt, fuch men as had amours 
 with their fair flates, ancillariil!.. Thus Martial. Efig. 58. 
 
 Lit. 2. 
 
 sf*ci!tario!um tiui te vteat uxor at ipfa 
 Lcflicariab ejl : e/lii, dlauita, farts. 
 
 5. Cbaonia celumbte] In Chaonia, a part of Epirus, flood the 
 city of Ddon ; appertaining to which was the noted wood of 
 
 oaks,
 
 C 53 3 
 
 ELEGY IX. 
 
 I Told thee, fcoffer, thou fhould'ft wear love's 
 chain, [reftrain : 
 
 Thy vaunting fpeech ere long thou fhould'it 
 Lo ! to the nymph a fuppliant wretch art thou ; 
 And ihe fo late thy flave, is miftrefs now : 
 Sure as Chaonian doves, I can foretel 5 
 
 What youths (hall beauty's pow'rful influence feel ; 
 With grief and tears this fldll I've dearly bought; 
 O, were I free from love, and {till untaught ! 
 
 Say, wretch, what now avails thy epic fwell ; 
 Or of Amphion's lyre-built walls to tell ? 10 
 
 oaks, facred to Jupiter, where he had a temple ; the doves that 
 frequented this wood, according to Paufanias, in jjcha'icit, were 
 ufed to fpcak the oracles of the god ; and Virgil, Gfurg. 2. tells 
 MS that the trees themfelves whifpered oracles. See Herodotus, 
 Lib. z. upon this fubjcft. 
 
 7. Aft drjhr & lacryitut m. fecere peritumtl In like manner 
 Tibullus, Eltg. 8. Lib. i. 
 
 Ipfa fenus magico religatum bracbia noJo 
 Pcrdtculty multit non fine vtybiribut. 
 
 10. Ampblonlte m. f. lyne?~\ Amphion, fon of Jupiter and 
 Antiope, was faid to play fo well Upon a lyre gsven him by 
 Mercury, as to caufc the ftones to move, and form of themfelves 
 the walls of Thebes ; alluding to his civilization of the The- 
 bans, by introducing the polite arts among thrm. See Horace, 
 Efifl. ad Pi/net. 
 
 3 In
 
 EtE'c,i/fc. Lib. t. 
 
 Plus in amore valet Mimnermi verfus Homero. 
 
 Canr-ina manfuetus lenia quiefit AriW. 
 I, q uclo, et trillcs iftos compone libellos : 
 
 Et cane quod quaevis nofle puella velit. 
 Quid fi Aon eflct fficrtis tibrcpph 1 ? nunc tu 15 
 
 Infanus medio flumine quaeris aquam. 
 Kecdum etiam palies, vero nee t?.ngeris igni. 
 
 Haec eft vcnturi prima favilla mail. 
 Tune magis Annenias cupies acctdere tigres > 
 
 Et mag's infernae vincnla nc-ffc rotae : 29 
 
 Quam pueri totis arCum (entire medullis, 
 
 Et nihil iratae pofie negare tuae. 
 Nullus Amor cuiquam faciles ita prsbuit alas, 
 
 Ut-non alterna prelFerit ilia manu, 
 
 Nee. 
 
 tT. Mianeratt verjttij Mim^rrmus, a poet of Colophon, and 
 coumpuraiy with Solon, was a joyous debauchee ; he loved one 
 Njr.no, a r.irl who played upon the flute, as we k-arn from a 
 rneai of Hcrrr.cfianax, aiioth(u- poet of Colophon, cited by At he-' 
 n*-us, Lit. IV Sonic fragments of Mimnermus are ftund !n 
 Fulvius Urlinus. He was the- fir A inventor, it is faid, of the 
 pentameter verfe : Horace thus mentions him, I'fift- 6. Lib. 1. 
 
 Nil rft jotiindum ; vivas in an.trejvcijju-c. 
 
 73. trljl^i. comp-.ii,- litcl'a ] That is; (hut up your Thebaid, 
 
 sncl lay it bv. Ci(.cro ufes the word coi/ifonc i;j the fame man-' 
 
 r?r, .in his'l'/-.^. f..':.7.o. Lib. )6. f..:hr^ c'.tufnne ; ind'tcw, 
 
 <)<i!,t>i Metretkio titcffri. The more common editions have </ t - 
 
 -. f.'ic'l's f>i-!(i f l The a'oinn'anrc of Inndfome women th,it 
 -r ,n' Rome,' where no one cou'.cl want a miilrefs, are to be 
 t-ifiycd, fays Paflerat'us; but the iiUcq-i-clation of Vulj'ins
 
 Elcg. g. ELEGIES OF PROPERTIUS. 55 
 
 In love, Mimnermus above Homer rofe ; 
 Bland Cupid feeks the ftrain that fweetly flows : 
 Go then, afide thy lays difaft'rous throw, 
 And fing what ev'ry maid would with to know ! 
 What, were thy nymph of hard exccfs? fi nee now 15 
 Thy thiriVs unquench'd mid waves that freely flow: 
 Not yet thou'rt pale, no real flames you prove ; 
 This the firft kindling ipark of future love : 
 Armenian tigers foon thou'lt rather dare, 
 Or on the wheel Ixion's torture bear, 20 
 
 Than feel the pangs Love's pow'rful fhafts convey, 
 And a tyrannic nymph's command obey ; 
 For Cupid never lends fuch flatt'ring wings, 
 But joy and grief alternately he brings. 
 
 By 
 
 Is certainly more judicious; " you endure torments, my friend, 
 when you love your ancilla, one fnbjeft to yaur will and plea- 
 fure; what then would you do, if your miflrefs were a free 
 woman, of noble parentage > whom there were no hopes of ever 
 enjoying?" 
 
 1 6. media flumitu <pt*r'n ayuam.] This is taken from the Greek 
 proverb: i> ^ax7c>i ^IT, V - i/r.c. 
 
 19. Armenia! c. a. tigres,] Armenia was a part of Afia, between 
 mount Taurus and Caucatns, adjoining to Hyrcania ; all which 
 tratft of country was famous for wild hearts. Virpi!, F.el-jg. 5, 
 and Tibullus, Eltg. 6. Lib. 3. fpeak of Armcniaa tigers. 
 
 20. infernee -vincuia r<>t<e :J For the ftory of Ixion, fee Ovid, 
 Mttam. 4. 
 
 23. Nullut Awy &c.~] This paflage, which is the mofr 
 
 ebfcure perhaps of any in Propertius, has been the ground upon 
 
 which commentators have had as it were a pitched battle, lays 
 
 Vulpius ; whole interpretation, as it it fo very fingular, I will 
 
 E 4 give
 
 $6 PROPERTII ELEGiJEi Lib. i* 
 
 Nee te decipiat, qu6d fit fatts ilia parata. 2^ 
 
 Acri&s ilia fubit, Pontice, fi qua tua eft. 
 Quippe ubi non liceat vacuos feducere ocellos, 
 
 Nee vigilare alio nomine, cedat Amor ? 
 Qui non ante patet, donee manus attigit ofla. 
 
 Quifquis es, affiduas o fiige blanditias. 3^ 
 
 Ulis et iilices et poffunt cedere quercus : 
 
 Nedum tu poflis, fpiritus ifte levis. 
 Quare, ni pudor eft, quamprimuru errata fatere. 
 
 Dicere quo pereas fsepe in amore levat. 
 
 ELEG I A 
 
 give my readers for cviriofuy's fake. Figure tv yourjclf a boy, 
 tuba buds in bis hnttd n bird tied to a firing ; ntti> ht lits it ru>t and 
 Jlf a little, noiv diaiut it Lack, and jlrokes the poor thing; in like 
 manner Cupid plays tuitb an enjia-vtd hvcr ; often he hofeni bis 
 bond:, and giv'S him fcrr.e hofet <f liberty, but jujl as he thinks bim- 
 Mf fret, he h drawn bark again into captivity. I will forbear to 
 enumerate the tedious and various explanations of others ; and 
 Cnly dbferve, that I think the following eafy Fenfe may be 
 made out of this difiich: Cupid ivai nevtr yet fa propitious, bat 
 that be opprrfi tbe l-ver, fometimc; -.uith the hand of pleasure, ftift- 
 timei -with the band if fain: attributing to his hands two uppo- 
 litc powers, in the fame manner as Ovid, Mctam. i! attributes 
 to him two different lhafts of difterent efficacy. 
 
 25. Nee te dccifiat, &c.~] Broukhufius intimates, that many 
 deceive themfelves by imagining, that becaufe they can hav6 
 free accefs to their miftrerTtSj they can fate thrir pnflion, and fo 
 get rid of it, and avoid that fubjoftion to which it often reduces 
 a lover ; adding, that Ovid's precept upon this head, in his 
 Remed. Jlnt'jr. is rather a dangerous one. 
 
 Exphnda cjlfit'n ifta tibi, qua ptrd'.tus ardes, 
 Cedimut: &c. 
 
 ij, 28. ^uiffe ubi, &c Nee vigilare, ge.'] 1 have adbpte 
 the punctuation, and interpretation of Broukhulii:s, in thefe tw 
 lines; by putting a comma after nomine, and a mark of inter- 
 rogation
 
 fcleg. t). ELEGIES OF PROPERTIUI. $f 
 
 By her obedience be hot thou mifled ; 2 $ 
 
 The more fhe's thine, the more her influence dread : 
 Think not, when none but her thou joy'fl to viewj 
 Liv'ft for none elfe, thou canft thy flame fubdue ; 
 Not till the wafted frame our ill declares, 
 The dire effect of pois'nous love appears : 3* 
 
 O flum, whoe'er thou art that read'ft my lays, 
 Shun thofe officious blandifliments that pleafe ! 
 O'er rocks and oaks fuch blandifliments prevail ; 
 Suits then refiflance with a wretch fo frail ? 
 
 If fhame forbids not, thy fond errors tell ; $$ 
 Oft it relieves, our paflion to reveal. 
 
 rogation after^wor; for with a comma only after ocel/es, I cannot 
 make fenfe of the line; which, as it now ftands, bears the fol- 
 lowing interpretation : Far Jincc yu cannot turn afide your lookt 
 with freedim from your m'iftrcjs, and fince yiu keep love's perpetual 
 vigilifor her alone'; think'Jl tbeu that fo contumaciout a faffion can be 
 JuMued? 
 
 29. <$ui ran ante fatet, &c.~] A medical metaphor, taken from 
 latent dileafcs, which are only difcovereil by their effe<5ls. The 
 GroniHgen MS. and others have culls, which however makes no 
 alteration in the fenfc. 
 
 ofugt] Such is the judicious correction of Pafleratius, which 
 is adopted by Vulpius: other editions have tffugf, and aufuge. 
 
 31. ///;'* & flees & p. c. qutrcut :] So Congreve, in his 
 Mourning Bride, A. i. S. i. attributes the fame power to 
 mufick, as our poet does to love : 
 
 Mufick has charms to footh the favage breafl> 
 To foften rocks, or bend a knotted oak. 
 
 33. n't ptidor ejl, q. erratt f.~\ I have adopted Oouza's aherl- 
 tion of tr, for fi t as brtter connecting the fenfe with the fubfe- 
 quent line : Vulpius retains Ji, thus interpreting the line : If 
 any frame it left in yr,ti t confcfs your fault ; not yout fault In lwlng\ 
 but your fault <-J bw\r,g hitb:rto dcjpijcd tbe fttuer of iove* 
 
 ELEGY
 
 t 58 ] 
 
 E L E G I A X. 
 
 OJuctinda quies, pfirno quUm teftis amori 
 Affueram veftris confcius in lacrymis. 
 O rtoftem meminifle mihi jucunda voluptas. 
 . O quoties votis ilia vocanda meis ! 
 Qvmm te complex:! morientem, Galle, puella 5 
 
 Vidimus, et longa ducere verba mora. 
 Qtiarnvis labentes premeret mihi fomnus ocellos, 
 
 Et mediis ccelo Luna riiberet equis : 
 NOR tamen a veftro potui fecedere lufu, 
 
 Tantus in aiternis vocibus ardor crat. 16 
 
 He comrriemorates the r.ighr, in which he wa c an cye-witnefs 
 to tne amorous pleafrrs his friend Gallu; cniovec! with his firft 
 ^liilrCls ; and inftiuiSs him how to prefervc their tender union. 
 
 T. prlmn ameri] This was Callus's firft amour ; for he had 
 Hitherto defpifed the power of love, as we leani from Elcg. 5. 
 Where he is mentioned. 
 
 t,. puel1a\ Vulpins informs us, this is not to be underftood of 
 tycoris the frced-woman of the fcnator Volumnius, whom Vir- 
 gil celebrates in his tenth Bclogue, and who is lung by the poet 
 Cornelius Gailus. 
 
 6. kngo d. v. mora.] So Lipfius, Gebhardus, Scaliger, Brouk- 
 fiiifius, and Viilpius write; though the vulqar editions have 
 hii^&m mot-am. Virgil, Mr.tid. 4. ufes much the fame words ts 
 *<prrfs t difficulty of utterance) tongas injlitum du-.ert wets. 
 
 Scd
 
 r *? 3 
 
 ELEGY X. 
 
 OBlifsful flight, when thy firft loves I view'd ! 
 I, who erir faw each am'rous tear that flow'd ; 
 Q, blifsful rapture, which that night endears ! 
 Oft I'll invoke it in my tender pray'rs : 
 'Twas then I faw thee, breathlefs, fpeechlefs, laid ; $ 
 Entwin'd, o Gallus ! by thy circling maid : 
 Tho' fcarce my drowfy eyes from fleep refrain'd, 
 Tho' their mid fky the red Moon's fleeds had gain'd ; 
 Still from thofe raptures I could not depart, 
 YOU? mutual murmurs breath'd fuch warmth of 
 heart. 10 
 
 8. mediit c. L, r. tquii :~] This defcription of midnight con- 
 tains a beautiful hypallage in the Latin, which is ui'traul- 
 latable in our language; Horace, Od. n. Lib. 2. elegantly 
 mentions the reddening of the moon ; Virgil, Gear. 4. tells us, 
 that a red moon portended wind. The poets have variouily 
 j-:tured the moon's chariot; Feftusfays it v.as drawn by mules, 
 becaufe their birth was fpurious like the light of the moon ; 
 Aufonius gives heifers to it; Fulgentius, in Prcem. Lib.i. 
 harncfles bulls to it ; but Ovid, Fuji. 4. and Manilius, attribute 
 horfes to it, as well as our poet. 
 
 10. elternlt vocibits~\ Pafferatius would irfinuate, that th 
 broken interrupted murmurs of Gallus only are meant ; but I 
 other imagine, that Propertius intended to exprefs the mtcr- 
 Tha.iged love-murm'us of Gallus and his miftrefs. 
 
 7 But
 
 &> PROPERTII ELEGIJE. Lib. i. 
 
 Sed qtioniafn non es veritus concreclere nobis, 
 
 Accipe commiflae munera Ixtitiae. 
 Non folum veftros didici reticere dolores. 
 
 Eft quiddam in nobis majus, amice, fide. 
 Poflum ego diverfos iterum conjungere amantcs, 1 5 
 
 Et dominne tardas poflum aperife fores : 
 Et poflum alterius curas fanare recentes j 
 
 Nee levis in verbis eft medicina meis. 
 Cynthia roe docuit Temper quaecumque petenda, 
 
 Quaeque cavenda forent: non nihil egit Amor. 20 
 Tu cave ne trifti cupias pugnare puellse, 
 
 Neve fuperba loqui, neve tacere diu : 
 
 1 2. Recife ctmmiffae munera lattti*.] I know not whether to fay, 
 that thefe four words contain greater force or obfcurity ; this how- 
 ever is certainly their meaning : " Accept the wholefome advice 
 I am about to give you, as a recompenfe for having made me a 
 witnefs of your moll fecret pleafurei." 
 
 14. wajus t JMt.] For> as Ovid fays, Art. Amat, Lit. ^. 
 
 Exigu* eft virtuif prcefiare Jilentia rebut: 
 At contra grav:t eft culpa, tacenda loyti. 
 
 To teach all that is to be obferved in love-affairs belongs to the 
 greatly-experienced, and demands our utmoft efteem. 
 
 VULPIVS. 
 
 15. Jiverfei i. c. amantes,"] Beroaldus, Volfcus, and Brouk- 
 fcafuis, read thus, from the beft MS. authorities, and not dtvifot, 
 though in my epinion the fenfe is equally goad, whether we fay 
 farted Invert, 01 Jlrcryed lovers. 
 
 16. aperirt fares:] This is a common poetic phrafe to cxprefs" 
 dmiflion to a miftrefs ; fo Terence, Eunuch. 
 
 %tii nunc furtvfiatus uno dlgitulo fora apcris. 
 
 17. Et foffum a/teriui c.f. r.] A commentator has the follow- 
 ing fhrewd remark upon this paflage : How can the poet cur* 
 
 Neu
 
 Eleg. 10. ELEGIES OF PRCPERTIUS. 61 
 
 But fince to me thou haft thy joys declar'd, 
 Let this thy am'rous confidence reward : 
 I've learnt not only to conceal thy grief; 
 My faith, clear friend, can yield ftill more relief i 
 'Tis mine the parted pair to reunite, 15 
 
 And ope the door that's fluit by beauty's fpite ; 
 'Tis mine to heal the lover's recent wound* 
 And in my counfel no fmall virtue's found : 
 "f was Love, 'twas Cynthia did my judgment guide i, 
 They taught me what to feek, and what avoid. 20 
 
 Ne'er thwart the nymph, if anger flic puts on ; 
 Faftidious fpeech, and tedious (ilence flnm ; 
 
 Never 
 
 rhe ills of another, when he could not tdminifter relief to his 
 own ? as he informs us in Eleg. 5." 
 
 $uum tr.'.bi nulla met Jit mediiina nta.li, 
 
 The expreffion of fanare curat Is ufed alfo by Tibullus, Eleg. 3, 
 Lib. a. 
 
 18. NIC levit in vsrbii, feff.] Similar is the following Greek 
 line, from Plutarch, ConfJat. 
 
 And thus loo Horace, Epi/i. I. Lit. r. 
 
 Sum vcrla :t v:eeSf quibut bunc Itnlrl dohrea 
 Poffii, tt magnum mtrbi depnmre fartem. 
 
 Whether there be any efficacy in words prwnounced after a cer. 
 tain myftical manner, is fully argued by Czlius Rhodiginus, 
 Ansm. Le^l. Co f. 14. L b. 16. VVLPIUS. 
 
 ji. Tu cavt in ft/I: t &c.l To the fame purpofc Ovid, Art. 
 Am*:. Lit. i. 
 
 Cedt repugnant!, (edendo vifior alibis. 
 
 21. Neve tacere diu:~\ Applicable in this place is the follow. 
 5i)g Greek pivverb, from the eighth book of Anftotlc's Etli x, j
 
 Lib. Ii 
 
 Keu fi quid petiit, ingrata frontc neg;iris, 
 
 Neu tibi pro vanoverba benigna cadant. 
 Irritata venit, quando contemnitur ilia : 2$ 
 
 Tvec meminit juftas ponere laefa miiias. 
 At quo fis humilis magiSj et fubjeftus Amori, 
 
 Hoc magis effeftu faepe fruare bono; 
 Is poterit felix una remanere puellA, 
 
 Qui numquam vacuo pedtore liber erit. 30 
 
 ELEGIA 
 
 Ito/Xre; fiXiof (WTojttycfl' JilXi/srjy : for certainly nothiivg caii 
 be more reprehenfible in fricndfhip, than that determined 
 filence, which Alexander, in Q^Curtius, calls JiUntium ttyr- 
 matuttt. 
 
 Z4. pro vans v. b. f.j Ovid. Efift. Brifeid. makes ufe of the 
 like phrafe : 
 
 At mta prs nulls pondere <vtria cadunt, 
 
 17. 4t quo Jis humilh, 6ft-.] Thus Vulpius interprets this 
 pailagc : " As Love was before unfriendly and malicious to you, 
 io will he by obfequioufnefs become kind and friendly; and 
 thu will you reap larger rewards." But tht experienced amo- 
 rous
 
 leg. 10. ELEGIES OF PXOPERTIUS,- 
 
 Never unkindly what flie alks deny, 
 Nor from thy mind let one fond promife fly : 
 Wrathful flie'll prove, if thoufhouldftoncedifdain ; 
 And if offended, her juft wrath maintain : 
 The more thou'rt humble, and fubdoed to .Love, 
 The more delicious fweets thou'rt fure to prove. 
 He with one nymph will live contented moft, 
 Whofe captive heart of no free choice can boaft. 
 
 rous preceptor of the Italians does not always recommeod hu- 
 mility; for, fays Petrarch, Canzin. 4. 
 
 Talor wnilta fpegne difdegnt> t 
 Takr finfiamma. 
 
 30. vfcaa peSore liber] That is ; one who was never fo free 
 from the chains of his miftrefs, as to leave himfelf expofcd t* 
 the captivating influence of another woman. Vulpios, after 
 quoting the following apt linos from Ovid, Art, Amat. Lib, it 
 Te fetttptr videat, tlbi jemptr presbeat aurtmt 
 Exhibcant within noxytte dsejfiie tu'is. 
 
 exclaims: amantes r af.it e minuti, et ad opus ctamttatif PaiTeratittf 
 interprets liber t byfcrox; becaufe a lover freed from his bo& 
 Jage is a moil ferocious animal. 
 
 ELEGY
 
 E 
 
 [ 64 j 
 
 E L E G I A XL 
 
 CQJJID te mediis ceflantem, Cynthia, Bajis, 
 Qua jacet Herculeis femita litoribus, 
 
 He exprefles his fear, left Cynthia's mind (hould be fo con- 
 Tamilian J by the licentious manners of Baix, s to (hake her 
 conilancy ; and advifes her to leave that fcene of diffipatioii. 
 
 1. Bajh,'] Baix, fo called from Baius, one of Ulyfles's com- 
 panions buried there, according to Lycophron, in Cajfandra, was 
 a little town in Campania, between Mifenum and Puteoli, 
 fituate upon what is now called the Gulf of Naples ; its warm 
 baths were rcforted to in winter by the more wealthy Romans, 
 as well for medicinal, as pleafurable purpofes ; in ihort, it was 
 |o them, what the city of Bath is to us. Seneca, Efifl. 3 1 . fpt aks 
 of the voluptuous delights of Baiz ; Dio Ca<fius, Lib. 48. pic- 
 tures it to us in the moft brilliant colours; and Horace, Ef-tft, I- 
 Lib* I. calls it the lovelieft fpot on the face of the earth. 
 
 2. Herewith femita Utaritut,^ Diodorus Siculus, Lii. 5. and Strabo, 
 Lib. 5. relate, that Hercules, the better to convey into Greece th 
 oxen he had ftolen from the royal giant Gci yon at Gades, formed 
 a road for their paflagc near Baix ; this road ftill cxifts, and is 
 mentioned by S51iusItalicus,L;'i. n. in the following lines, which 
 form an admirable comment on the beginning of this elegy; 
 
 Docet ilfe, ttpentcs 
 
 Und feranl nomen Bui*, comitem'jur tifjijje 
 Dtiltc/jirt puftpii ftagnt fua nomina ninnftiat. 
 Sift hie Luc'ina manfiffi vocatfla quondam 
 Cicyti ntcmorat, mediant in gtirgitt ponti 
 Harculeum cnmniindat iter, tjua difcidit a'jutr 
 AmpLitiyoniaitcs, a> mtnti viffor Hitcri f 
 
 6 7t
 
 [ 6$ J 
 
 ELEGY XI. 
 
 IM M E RS'D in joys midil Bail's gay abode, 
 Near which extends the Herculean road ; 
 Delighting now Thefprotia to furvey, 
 Now great Mifenum, wafh'd by fubjeft fea; 
 
 3. Thf/pi-st! regne] The geographical reader may reafonably 
 te furprifed to meet with Thefprotia upon this ground ; but let 
 him fee the light which Scaliger only has thrown upon this 
 learned gloom, and then judge for himfelf. " By the kingdom 
 of Thcfprotus is meant the Cumoean coalt, upon which flood 
 I'uteoli; for this coaft was peopled by a colony of the Arrtbra- 
 cian Abanti-s, from Thefprotia, which was a part of Epirus, 
 near Chaonia, fo called from Thefprotus the fon of Pelafgus, 
 according to Apolloiiorus, Lik. 3. fo Gaul was termed Francia, 
 from the German Franci, or Franconians who fettled there; 
 Normania, Burgundia, arid other places, in a fimilar manner 
 derive their names." Scaliger then adds, that " Baias ftood in 
 the middle of the coaft ; from whence Cynthia faw to her left 
 Putcoli, on the Ciiir.x-an or Thelprotian ihoce ; and to the 
 right Mifenum." Dio Calnus, Lib. 48. particularly dcfcribcs 
 this centrical fituation of Baiae. 
 
 4. Mjini; ntt:/:l>us,~] The poet, by a common figure, here 
 changes the more accepted word Mifenum, as Pliny writes it, 
 Cap. 5. Lib. 3. for Mifense ; fo Catullus, Car. 45. has Syria; 
 Britann:afau?, uling the plural for the finguiar. Mifenum was a 
 town and promontory near Cumse, fo called from a trumpeter 
 of that name, who being killed for rivalling a Triton in his art, 
 vras buried there by' JEncas ; fee the itory in Virgil. Mn. 6. 
 
 F ' Say
 
 66 PROPERTII ELEGISE. Lib. i. 
 
 Et modo Thefproti mirantem fubdita regno, 
 
 Et modo Mifenis asquora nobilibus, 
 Noftri cura fubit memores ah ducere nodes ? 5 
 
 Ecquis in extremo reftat amore locus ? 
 An te neicio quis fimulatis ignibus hoftis 
 
 Suflulit e noftris, Cynthia, carminibus ? 
 Atque utinam mage tevremis confifa minutis 
 
 Parvula Lucrina cymba moretur aqua : 19 
 
 Aut teneat claufam tenui Teuthrantis in unda 
 
 Alterns facilis cedere lympha manu : 
 Quam vacet alterius blandos audire fufurros 
 
 Molliter in tacito litcre compofitam. 
 Ut Iblet amoto labi cuftode puella 15 
 
 Perfida, communes nee meminifle deos. 
 
 5. ab ducere] Such is the reading of Broukhufius, and Vulpius 
 from the beft MS. authority : different editions have abduce t 
 addiicere, and traducire. 
 
 6. in extremo r. a. /ecus ?~\ Broukhufius thus interprets this 
 paflage, " Do I ftill retain a place in your affection, o Cynthia, 
 though we are fo widely feparated, that there remain no hopes 
 of feeing you, which is the fmalleft of fatisfa&ions in love ? 
 Similar he obfcrves, is the expreffion of cxtrema linea amare, in 
 Terence, Eunucb. A. 4. S. z. 
 
 IO. Lucrina aquai] The Lucrine lake, near the celebrated 
 /tvernus, in the vicinity of Baiae, was plentifully ftored with 
 iifh, according to Servius, ad Georg. 2. and the Roman ladies 
 often amufed themfelves with filhing parties upon it ; indeed it 
 took its name, according to Pompeius Feftns, from the lucrum, 
 or wealth its filh procured. An. Salut. 1538, an earthquake 
 happened, which threw up a large mountain in it, called by the 
 Italians, Munte nuow di cenn-e. It is now a mere puddle, as 
 Addifon tells us in his travels. Moft gf the Roman poets and 
 blftorjans mention this lakee 
 
 Non
 
 Eleg. ir. ELEGIES OF PROPERTIUS. 67 
 
 Say, does the mem'ry of paft nights remain ? 5 
 
 And doft thou, far remov'd, thy love maintain ? 
 Does fome ftrange rival, with diflembled flame, 
 From my fond page blot out my Cynthia's name ? 
 O, would'ft thou rather on the Lucrine tide 
 Some little fkiffwith {lender paddles guide ! 10 
 
 Or fhelter'd fecret on clear Teuthras' wave, 
 With pliant arms the yielding waters cleave ; 
 Than, fort reclin'd upon the tranquil beach, 
 Lift to fome lover's bland infidious fpeech : 
 So the frail beauty, who efcapes her fpies, 15 
 
 Sins, and forgets love's common deities. 
 
 ir. claufam tenui Teitthraniit i. unda\ So ScaTiger corrected this 
 line from the corrupted reading teutantis : and Broukhufius found 
 in one MS. Ttutrant'n, which feems to favour Scaliger's emen- 
 dation. Stilus Italicus, Lit. ii. calls a certain inhabitant of 
 Cumae, Teuthras. 
 
 Perfonat Euboka Ttutbras tcftudtnty Cymes 
 Incola. 
 
 Broukhufius therefore does not doubt, but that there was t 
 noted creek, or bathing-place, perhaps covered in, (hence Cyn- 
 tbia is ftyled c.'a:'fam) for the privacy of the ladies, as Vulpius 
 obferves, belonging to fome fmall river, near Baioe, named 
 Teuthras, well known in the time of Propertius. 
 
 15. amoto cufadc] The Roman ladies had their guardians and 
 keepers, who watched them with all the vigilance of Spanifli 
 duennas. See Tibullus upon this fubje<l, in various places j 
 thus in Eltg. i. Lib. 2. 
 
 Na'ti pfoa eft nofra cvjltdia f<fva putlt'er. 
 
 F 2 Not
 
 68 PROPERTU ELEGI^. Lib. I. 
 
 Non quia perfpefta non es mihi cognita fama ; 
 
 Sed quia in hac omnis pnrte timetur amor. 
 Ignofces igitur, fi quid tibi trifle libelli 
 
 Attulerint nofh'i. culpa timoris erit. 2 
 
 An mihi fit major carx cuflodia matris, 
 
 Aut fine te vitae cura fit ulla meae ? 
 Tu mihi fola domus, tu, Cynthia, fola parentes, 
 
 Omnia tu nollraj tempora Isetitine. 
 Sen triflis veniam, feu contra lastus amicis, 2$ 
 
 Quidquicl ero, dicam, Cynthia cainTa fuit. 
 Tu modo qujmprimum corruptas defere Bajas : 
 
 Multis ilia dabunt litora diffidium : 
 Litora quas fuerant caflis inimica puellis. 
 
 Ah pereant baja: crimen amoris aquae. 30 
 
 1 8. in hac pa>'te~j The poet fays, we are wont to be diffident 
 of every tniirrefs, who, having no fpy over her adlions, muft be 
 liable to go aftray. PASSERATIUS. 
 
 21. j4n m'bijtt major c. c. >.] Vulpius, in my opinion, thui 
 wrongfully interprets this paflage : " Can I prize more than 
 thee, o Cynthia, that mother who ftands me in the Head of* 
 guardian ?" obferving, that Propertius was educated by his mo- 
 ther, as we may learn from the firft elegy of his fourth book. 
 But, to ufe Vulpius's own expreffion, I call it fr'gtda Interpte- 
 tatio : the meaning of the paflage certainly is : " Could I take 
 more care of my own mother than of thee, o Cynthia ?" 
 
 23. fu mibi fol* Janus, fr.] So Andromache, in her beaua- 
 ful fjiecch to Hcftor, from Homer, Iliad, 6. 
 
 E L E G I A
 
 Eleg. u. ELEGIES OF PROPERTIUS. 69 
 
 Not but that fame befpcaks thy conduct juft ; 
 Yet, fuch thy ftate, the lover will miftruft : 
 O, pardon then, if e'er my erring fong 
 Sufpicion breath'cl! from fear my guilt has fprung: 
 Dear is thy fafety, as a mother's dear ! 
 For life without thee were not worth my care ! 
 Thou, Cynthia ! parent, kindred, art to me ; 
 All, all my pleafures are compris'd in thee ! 
 If fad, if mirthful, to my friends I feem ; 25 
 
 I'll fay 'tis Cynthia does my temper frame. 
 
 Hafte then from Baix ? s diflblute retreat ; 
 With am'rous dilcord are thofe fhores replete, 
 Shores that to virtuous nymphs moft hoftile prove ; 
 All, perifli Baice's ilream, that bane of love 1 30 
 
 'Kit nafflyww;, o-J li fXOf -^aXtno; 7rajxo.Tti;. 
 
 30. c ritnen amtrli] Vulpius adduces upon thefe words a very- 
 apt and beautiful epigram, from the Cataleftics of Puhxus, 
 Lib, 2. with which I will treat my reader. 
 
 Ante bonim Venertm fclidte per litora Baiff : 
 Ilia natart lactts cum lampadc jufjlt Am'jrem. 
 Dam natat, algtntct cecidit fcintilla per undas ; 
 (fine vapor ujjit aquai. quicumjue natavit, aniavit, 
 
 F 3 ELEGY
 
 E L E G I A XII. 
 
 OUTD mihi defidias non ceflas fingere crimen, 
 ,,- Quod faciat nobis confcia Roma moram ? 
 Tarn multa ilia rr.eo divifa eft millia leclo, 
 
 Quantum Hypanis Veneto diffidet Eridano. 
 Nee mihi confuetos amplexu nutrit amores 5 
 
 Cynthia, nee noftra dulcis in aure fonat. 
 Olim gratus eram : non illo tempore cuiquam 
 Contigit, ut fimili pofTet amare fide. 
 
 He rolls fome friend, perhaps Tullus or Gallus, who had ac- 
 cufed him of being detained at Rome by Cynthia, that his 
 miftrefs was very Jiliant from him at prelent ; meaning that (he 
 was at Baix ; and he then reflects with tendernefs upon his paft 
 union with her. 
 
 L. faciat worfitnf"] This was a Latin law phrafe, according to 
 Vulpius; however Vifgil, Fclog. 10. makes ufc of it : 
 Natf. nequt Parnojji vobis jug", nam neque Pindl 
 Vila mnrxm fectre. 
 
 2.. einfeia Rf,:nft~\ That is; Rome who was confcious. and 
 could witnefs whether he had any amours or no, during Cyn- 
 thia's abfence. 
 
 3. multa nillia'] The word faffuum. is to be untlerilood : fo 
 CauiJlus, Carm. 9. 
 
 ycrar.ni, omnilui e nit'-s nm'ic'.s, 
 es mibi miUlbus trecemis.
 
 I 7' 
 
 ELEGY XII. 
 
 WHY tax me ftill with criminal delay, 
 Becaufe at Rome, at confcious Rome, I flay ? 
 Far diftant from thefe arms is Cynthia now ; 
 Far as from Hypanis, Venetian Po : 
 To nnrfe my wonted flame, no more the fair 5 
 Folds me, or whifpers rapture in mine ear. 
 
 There was a time when the dear nymph I charm'd, 
 No bofoms then fuch faithful paffion warm'd ; 
 
 4. Hyfxvris'] This was a riTer of Scythia near the Boryffnenes, 
 Jifeharging itfclf into the Euxine fea ; its vraters run pcre til! 
 they mix with thofe of the fountain Exampeus, when they be- 
 come bitter and noxious. See Ovid, Metam. 15. Strabo, Z.;. 7. 
 ani Sdinus, Gof>. o. though the poet may refer to the Indian 
 Hypanis; near which, fays Ariftotle, Hft. Airim. I^b. 5. cer- 
 tain Httle beaits gentratej which live bt a (Jay. 
 
 4. fcntto ErMae.J This rrrer is well fcnwTn by the poets, 
 under the name of the PaJut, aad Pa,: Virgil calls it the king 
 of rivers ; it is termed Venetian,, becaufe it empties, it fdf into 
 the Adriatic fea, near the borders of the Venetian territory. 
 
 d. in/Ira ciuleis i* eure fonta.'], So Petrcoiss, or feme uncertain 
 author, is Cetaltfi. Vtt, Poet* 
 
 i . vera vtm't alibi vccit rmago ; 
 Blaxdior arguta tinnit it sure Jvxtit. 
 
 S. Jtmifi fi&.~\ Vulpios runs Jnto> feme very nice d'ifiinftions. 
 lapon this paffage;- concern-ing whether the faith of Cynthia, or 
 Pi-opertius, is to-be und^rftood j and, differing from Pafieratios^ 
 fee afErou that Cynthia's faith is meant. 
 
 F 4. But
 
 ji PROPERTII ELEGISE. Lib. i. 
 
 Invidiae fuimus. an me dens obruit ? an qnce 
 
 Lefta Prometheis dividit heiba jugis ? 10 
 
 Non fum ego qui fueram. mutat via longa pxieilas. 
 
 Quantus in exiguo tempore fugit amor ! 
 Nunc primum longas folus cognoicere nodes 
 
 Cogor, et ipfe meis auribus efle gravis. 
 Felix qui potuit pnefenti flere puellae. 1 5 
 
 Non nilul afperfis gaudet Amor lacrymis. 
 Ant fi defpelus potuit mutare calores, 
 
 Sunt quoque tranflato gaudia fervitio. 
 
 9. an m. dens o. anyt'<f, V.J The poet, in this pafTage, fcem 
 to contraft celeftial and human envy: " Was it (fays he) th 
 influence of forne envious god, 01 of fome mortal, that pane 
 vis?" 
 
 10. Pi-owttbeii heiba jugis ?~] So the poet terms Caucafus, 
 mountain in Alia, from Prometheus, who was chained to ii 
 the ftory is well known ; it was noted for herbs of magica 
 virtue : Turnebus intimates, that Propertius here meant th 
 aconite, a poifonous herb, which was faid to fpring from tl 
 blood of Prometheus; and refers us to Seneca, in Md<, 
 v. 706. but hear the elegant lint- s of Valerius Flaccus upon th 
 poifonous herb of Caucafus. Lib. 7. 
 
 C?n%itbr inde finuS) ct QUA jib: fida mapjj vis 
 
 Nulla, PrometLece Jlvrim de Janguine fbra: 
 
 Caucafnim pi-omit, nutrltajue gramina tabo, 
 
 S^ua facer ilk tti-ves inter frifltfjut fnliaii 
 
 Durat alltque cruer; quum vijcert -vultur adefo 
 
 Ttllitur e fcopalis, et roflro rorat aperto. 
 
 Idem nee long] languefcit finibus c*vl 
 
 Iinitnrtale -v;re>is : idem flat fulmina cantra 
 
 Sanguii, et in media Jionfctint ignibui berbee. 
 13. lonnas notfes] The above-cited author beautifully defcribcs 
 the refllefs nights of lovers, in the beginning of the fcventh book. 
 oi his Argonautics. 
 
 16. gaudet dmor Ijctymii.] Thus beautifully Taflb, in his 
 Amyntas, Atto i. Sc. z. 
 
 Mi
 
 Eleg. 12. ELEGIES OF PROPERTIES. 73 
 
 But foon to envy were we doom'd a prey, 
 
 Some jealous god fure fnatch'd our blifs away ; 10 
 
 Or the curs'd pow'r of noxious herbs, that grew 
 
 On fteeps Promethean, broke a love fo true : 
 
 Chang'd is my fate, by diftance chang'd the maid! 
 
 And, ah, how iudden is affeftion fled ! 
 
 Now tedious nights I'm forc'd to wafte alone, 15 
 
 And my own ears I vex with ceafelefs moan : 
 
 'J hrice happy he, who to fome prefent fair 
 
 Can weep ; for Love enjoys the falling tear ! 
 
 Paf.e fagna I'htrbettr, il 
 
 Ma il crudi Amor dl lagrimtji fjfce, 
 
 Ni Je ne m'iflra mai fatolh. 
 
 But of all the poets who have treated this futyecfl, none has fbc- 
 ceeded fo happily, as Joannes Pierius Va'-riauus, in an elegant 
 infcription formerly placed in the garden of Ifabclla princcls 
 of Mantua : it is intituled, 
 
 CoPIDO FoN'TANUS. 
 
 A^ua bfc, fyci-enn! <ju<e redundatfiumlr.e^ 
 Ntn tft, lit ominare, venis eruta: 
 Not fiftulatim riiptas baatir *etif.!is : 
 Non permiatui lympba fibter'-amos 
 Emija plumbo projlilt foratili : 
 Non fpiritali pulja foile excluditan 
 SfJ ex aiHjntum lafrimis, ifiai inpi-obus 
 Pafcit Cjpido, manat utida jugiter. 
 
 17. mutan calorss,~] The Groningen, and Borrichian MSS, 
 h avo coi'irt s ; but how they reconcile fuch reading, I am at a 
 1'jl'b LJ conceive. 
 
 18. tran/lato %audia fervirio.'] Vulpius obferves, that it is the 
 idea of revenging a defpifed love, that makes the change of 
 amorous fervhude i"wm. 
 
 Or
 
 74 FROPERTII ELEGIJE. Lib. i. 
 
 Ml neqtie amare aliam, neqtie ab hac difcedere fas eft. 
 Cynthia prima fait, Cynthia finis erit. 20 
 
 20. Cyntlta priwa fuit, C. f. *.] It Is hardly pofliBIe to do 
 faffiiee in tranflation to this fimply elegant line: i like manner 
 Ovidj Jbfetam. 14. 
 
 Tnfrimus et uftimtts UK ardor sra. 
 
 ELEGIA
 
 Eleg. 12. ELEGIES OF PROPERTUJS. 75 
 
 Or, if negle&ed, can his flame remove ; 
 
 For change of bondage gives a giift to love 20 
 
 Pleas'd with one nymph, from her I'll not depart j 
 Cynthia firft charm'd, and laft fhall charm my heart! 
 
 ELEGY
 
 E L E G I A XIII. 
 
 TU, quod faspe foles, noftro latabere cafu, 
 Galle, quod abrepto folus amore vacem. 
 At non ipfe tuas imitabor, perfide, voces. 
 
 Fallere te numquam, Galle, puella velit. 
 Dum tibi deceptis augetur fama puellis, 
 
 Certus et in nullo quseris amore moram : 
 Perditus in quadam tardis pallefcere curis 
 
 Incipis, et primo lapfiis abire gradu. 
 Haec erit illarum contemti poena doloris : 
 
 Multarum miferas exiget una vices. 
 
 He addrefles his friend Gallus; who, from a roving libertine, 
 had at laft fixed to one miltrefs, and congratulates him upon it. 
 
 2. abrtpto amore] Alluding to Cynthia's being at Baix, and 
 perhaps poffefled by fome rival. See Eleg. n. 
 
 6. in nullo qiutrh amore moram :] You do not fcek or defire 
 to remain long with any miflrefs ; fimilar is the expre<fion of 
 Tibullus, Eleg. 3. Lib. i. 
 
 Iff* egofolator, quum jam utaatiata deefij'em, 
 Qucercbam tordas aiixiut ufque moras. 
 
 And Broukhufius obferves here; that Gallus, and Catullus's 
 Lelbia were of difpofitions exaftly fimilar ; witnefs what the 
 krd of VeroBft fays: Carm. n. 
 
 u. Cum
 
 t 77 3 
 
 ELEGY XIII. 
 
 STILL, as thou'rt wont, with mirth my woes 
 deride ; 
 
 While I forlorn lament a miitrefs fled : 
 Yet, faithlefs youth, I'll not thy taunts return ; 
 No female falfliood does my Callus mourn : 
 While nymphs betray'd increafe thy am'rous fame, 
 While fickle itill thou rov'fl from flame to flame ; 
 Yet for one fair at length thy cheeks grow pale, 
 And in the firft attack thy efforts fail ! 
 One fhall avenge full many a flighted maid, 
 By one the wrongs of thoufands be repaid ! jo 
 
 One fliall each vagrant loofer love conftrain, 
 And no new concjueft flialt thou ftrive to gain ! 
 
 Cum full vivat valeatque moec}jis t 
 Qnoi Jlmul complcxa tenet (reccntos, 
 Nullui amaas vcre, fed siLmtidcni omnium 
 Hi* rumpens. 
 
 8. p. I. abirt gradu,~] This metaphor is taken from gladiators, 
 or wreftlerS ; who arc faid to give ground, gndu akire, whea 
 they arc made to retreat by their conquering adverfaries. 
 The vulgar editions have adire ; it being io wrote in the Col- 
 bcrtine, Borrichian, and Gj'oninren, MSS. 
 
 5 Untaught
 
 j8 pROPERTti ELEGISE* Lib. I. 
 
 Hsec tibi vulgares iftos compefcet ainores. 
 
 Nee nova qucerendo femper amicus eris. 
 Hsec ego non rumore malo, non augxire do&usj 
 
 Vidi ego. me, quaefo, tefte negare potes ? 
 Vidi ego te toto vinhim languefcere collo, 15 
 
 Et flere injedis, Galle, din manibus : 
 Et cupere optatis animam deponere labris, 
 
 Et quce deinde meus celat, amice, pudor. 
 Non ego complexus potui diducere veftros : 
 
 Tanttis erat clemens inter utrofque furor. 29 
 
 Non fie Haemonio Salmonida mixtus Enipeo 
 
 Ta^narins facili preffit amore deus. 
 
 tr. cavpefcet amores.~\ Livineius reads ccmfotiet, from the 
 Vatican MS. but comf>?fcet is certainly the moft applicable 
 word to give the fenfo of this paffage : Virgil has comfefcere 
 culf>3tn, Tibullus toixfefcere dolores, Horace compifcere damorem t 
 Ovid tomf-effere iram, and Juvenal compefcere labellum* 
 
 i^. non rumore m. non atigure d.~\ No envious report, no fkill 
 in divination, taught me this, fays he ; but I was an eye-wit- 
 neis to it; fo Tibullus, Eleg. 8- L<b. i. 
 
 fftC mibi funt fcrtes, me cffnjiia fibra deorum, 
 I'ratcinit evcntus ncc mibi cantus avis. 
 
 17. labrii,~\ Many editions have iierbis, making a far lefs 
 elegant fenfe ; Scaligcr, and Douza affirm, thit the true read- 
 ing is membr'u; but what has pudor to do in the fubfequent 
 line, if we admit a reading that borders fo much upon obfce- 
 nity ? Bronkhufius refers us to the i^th Kifs of Joannes Se- 
 cund*ibj. as the bell comment on this paflage. 
 
 Ncc
 
 Eleg. 13. ELEGIES OF PROPERTIUS. 7^ 
 
 Untaught by fame, unfldU'd in prophecy, 
 I've feen and canft them what I faw deny ? 
 Lock'd to her neck, I've feen thee panting laid ; 15 
 IVefeen thy tears ; thine arms thrown round themaid; 
 On her dear lips I've feen thee wifh to die ; 
 Nay wifli thoie things, which fliame muft needs 
 
 pafs by. 
 
 Not e'en my prefence could your raptures ftay, 
 Such raging paffions bore your fouls away : 20 
 
 Lefs fond the god whom Tosnarus adores, 
 When with Enipeus, thro' Hasmonian mores, 
 He mixt his waves ; and to his fraudful breaft 
 The beauteous daughter of Salmoneus preft; 
 
 21, 2. H. Salmonlda m. E. T] Tyro ; daughter of Salmo- 
 neus, whofe infolence punifhed by Jupiter is mentioned i* 
 Virgi!, JEn, 6. fell in love according to the poets with the 
 river Enipeus, which is termed Haemonian, or Theflalian, to 
 diilinguifh it from the Enipeus of Achaia, mentioned byStrabo, 
 Lib. 8. the Theflaliaa Enipeuf joins the Apidanus according t 
 Ovid, Metam. 6. and Lucan Lib. 2. when it becomes very rapid. 
 Neptune, who is here ftyled T<ena<ius, from Taenarius, a pro- 
 montory in Laconia, where he had a temple, affumed, in order 
 to enjoy Tyro, the form of the river Enipeus; and begot upon 
 her Pelias and Neleus, See the ftory in Apollodorus, Lib. i, 
 Diodorus Siculus, Lib. 5. and in Ovid, Mitam. 6. Vulpius her* 
 warns us, to beware of the error of the learned Muretus, wba 
 thinks that Propertius had forgot himfelf, when -he wrote this 
 paffage ; for that the Enipeus for which Tyro fighed was La 
 Peloponnelus ; and that it was for the Enifeus and r.ot die 
 Enipeus which ran in Theflaly ; this diftaiftion is noticed by 
 Eultathius, from Strabo: however :t is certain that other au- 
 thors do attribute to the Feloponncfian EnipKus, what our poet 
 does to the Theffalian. See Homer, Qdyff. n. upon this fub- 
 |ft, 
 
 Left
 
 80 PROPERTII ELEGISE. Lib. t. 
 
 Nee fie cceleftem flagrans amor Herculis Hcbch 
 
 Senfit ab Oetceis gaudia prima jugis. 
 Una dies omnes potuit prxcurrere amantes : 25 
 
 Nam tibi non tepidas fubdidit ilia faces. 
 Nee tibi pneteritos pafla ell fuccedere faftus : 
 
 Nee fmet abduci : te ttnis ardor aget. 
 Nee mirum, qnum fit Jove digna, et proxima Led, 
 
 Et Ledae partu, gratior una tribus, 30 
 
 Ilia fit Inachiis et blandior heroinis, 
 
 Ilia fuis verbis cogat amare Jovcm. 
 Tu veto, quoniam femel es periturus amorc, 
 
 Urere. non alio limine dignus eras. 
 
 24. ab Oetteii /'".] So Scaliger juftly cor tcled the cor- 
 rupted reading in Oetelt ; for Hercules wedded H be in heaven, 
 according to the rclHmony of a variety of poe s, having left 
 Oeta, the Theflalian mountain, where he wa buried. See 
 Homer, Odyf. II. alfo Seneca's Hercules Oataui and hear Ca- 
 tullus in fupport of this opinion, Ctrm, 65. 
 
 Pluribus ut ctxli tcrretur janua divls, 
 Hebe nee longa virgir.itate font. 
 
 25. Una dies omnes, cS\-] That day, in which you began t 
 love, faw you furpafs in. paflion all thofe lovers, that fable or 
 hiftory make mention of. 
 
 28. obiuri:~\ That is, to be led away hy the charms of ano- 
 ther miftrefs. 
 
 28. eget.'] So Tibullus, Ehg. 5. L\b. i. 
 
 ut pir plana citus fo/a vcrbtrc tl<rbt 
 Itr adjueta verj'at ab ai te pucr*
 
 fcleg; 13. ELEGIES OF PROP^RTIUS; fit 
 
 Lefs fond Alcides, when from Oeta's height 25 
 He rofe to regions of eternal light, 
 And firft enfolded in his longing arms 
 Celeftial Hebe's ever-blooming charms. 
 
 One day! and thine exceeds all former fires, 
 
 No lukewarm flame thy beauteous rhaid^ infplres ; 36 
 She wills j paft pride no longer can avail, 
 No wand'rer thou;'her pow'r thy breaft mail feel! 
 Nor is it ftrah'ge that fuch fhould be thy lore^ 
 When thy bright fair might grace the arms of Jove : 
 As Leda's felf, or Leda's daughter fair^ 3 ij 
 
 She with the beauteous three might well compare ; 
 Not Argive heroines with her charms can vie, 
 Her fpeech might win the ruler of the fky. 
 
 Since doom'd to paffion, let thy flame burn on; 
 Of her thou'rt worthy, and of her alone : 40 
 
 30. gratier una triins,] Leda, whom Jupiter debauched under 
 the fhapc of a fwan, and her two daughters Helena and 
 Clytemncftra, fo remarkable for their beauty, partwularly the 
 former; are here meant ; the births of thefe two daughters are 
 differently related. See Hyginus, Fat. 77. and Ovid, flfi:am.6, 
 
 31. triacbiis be'oinli,"^ Inachus, king of the Argives, and fon 
 'f Oceanus and Tethys, according to Apollodorus, Lib. i. had 
 a daughter named Io, and i grandaughter named Niobe ; both 
 of whom had a beautiful progeny : by Inachix then arc to b'c 
 underwood Arrives, and Greeks. PASSERATits. 
 
 34. Uren.~\ Though no ief* than eight MSS. have ut'rt, 
 as Broukhufius informs ; yet he prefers urcrt, which ccr- 
 taitily makes * more elegant Unfe, and ii generally adopted. 
 
 G. New
 
 8* PROPERTII ELEGUE. Lib. i. 
 
 Qua tibi fit felix, quoniam novus incidit error: 35 
 Et quotcurr.que voles, una lit ifta tibi. 
 
 34. limlne] Some editions have latnim, and others nomin: j 
 but //'i is often put for the perln to whom the heuic, ttotri 
 or threlhold belons^ 
 
 E L E G I A
 
 Elcg. i3< ELEGIES OF EROPERTIUS, 83 
 
 New is thy love, fo profp'rous may it be ! 
 And let this nymph be ev'ry nymph to thee. 
 
 36. quotcumqui\ Such is the judicious alteration of D.,uza 
 from quQd:untut ; and Broukhulius rightly terms it, argutA 
 
 C 2 ELEGY
 
 C 14 
 
 E L E G I A XIV. 
 
 TU licet abjeUis Tiberina mollher undi 
 Lefbia Mentorco vina bibas opere : 
 t modo tarn eelercs mireris currere lintres, 
 Et modo tarn tardas funibus ive rates : 
 
 Et 
 
 He addreiTes his friend Tullus ; with wliofe riches he fets 
 in competition the pleafure refulting from his love. Thij elegy, 
 fays Vulpius, is moft fweet, florid, fprightly, and polilhed ; it 
 breathes the utmoft freedom, and its numbers arc fimple, fofr r 
 round, well-turned ; in a word, they arc Propenian : and we 
 may fay of our bard, what Cowky faid of Anacreon, in the 
 tharafter of Love: 
 
 All thy verfe is fofter far, 
 
 Than the downy feathers are 
 
 Of my wings, or of my arrows, 
 
 Of my mother's doves, or fparrows ; 
 
 Graceful, cleanly, fmrooth, and round; 
 
 All with Venus' girdle bound. 
 
 Broukhufnis informs us, that Joannes Secundus Ras beautifully 
 imitated this elegy, together with Eleg. 3. Lib. 3. of Tibullus, 
 in the fecond elegy of his full book. 
 
 1. Tiberina art 'a\ From this paflage, as wril as from many 
 others, it appears, that Tullus was no mean perfonage ; Imce, 
 like other Romans 01 condition, he had his villa on the banks 
 of the Tiber. 
 
 z. Aftntarfc optrc :j So high-wrught drinking-cups are ca!led f 
 by way of excellence. Mentor was a famous fculp'tor or em- 
 bJflcr; of whole workmaalhip, Pliny informs us, Lib. 33*. 
 
 Cap. 1 1.
 
 C 8? 3 
 
 ELEGY XIV. 
 
 GO rhen, on Tiber's velvet banks recline ; 
 Aad in Mentorean cups quaff Lelbian wine: 
 Go view thy rapid wherries cleave the tide, 
 Or drawn by cords thy barges flowly glide j 
 
 View 
 
 C:tf>. IT. that the orator Lucius Craffus bought two goblets, at 
 an hundred HSS. Martial frequcrtly fpeaks of Mentorean 
 cups; and Cicero, as well as many others, mentions them. We 
 may here remark, that the ancients made their more coftly 
 drinking-cups of gold, gems, and a compofition called murrha t 
 about which antiquaries are fo much divided; fome contend it 
 was the fatie with the onyx; but Montfaucon, who gives 
 various fpccimcns of the ancient dripking-vafes, is convinced 
 from what Arrian fays, that it was a feparate matter : the 
 murrhinian cups were moft efteeraed of all others, as well for 
 rhe'r old and purple lliadcs, as for their natural perfume f 
 they were firft brought into Rome by Pompey, when he returned 
 in triumph from the Eait. 
 
 2. Lc/bia vina] This wine is noted by Horace, as a light 
 wine fit for the fummer, and not intoxicating; Athenxus terms 
 it o'^ciaiov ; it is the fame with what Virgil, Go. z. and our poet, 
 J'ltfg. 9. Lib. 4. call Mcthymnfttm, from Methymna, a city of 
 Lelbos. See what Ariftotle fays of Lefbian wine, according to 
 Aulus Gellius, Lib. iz. Cap. 5. 
 
 4. fun'iliui ire ratn:~\ The ancients, like us, not only navigate J 
 veffels along rivers with fails and oars, but alfo drew them 
 along with cords fattened to men and be alts : thus Aufonius, 
 n Mtfelfi, 
 
 G 3 Tu
 
 86 PRPPERTII ELEGIJE. Lib. j. 
 
 Et nemus omne fatas intendat yertice iilvas, 5 
 
 Urgetur quantis Caucafus arboribus ; 
 Non tamen ifta meo valeant contendere amon. 
 
 Nefcit Amor magnis cedere divjtiis. 
 Nam five optatam mepum trahit ilia quietem, 
 
 Sen facilj totum ducit amore diem: IG 
 
 Turn mihi Padoli veniunt fub tecta liquores, 
 
 Et legitur rubris gemma fub aequoribtis. 
 Turn mihi cefluros fpondent mca gmdia reges: 
 
 Qua: mnneant, dum me fata perire volent. 
 Nam quis divitiis adverfo gaudet amore ? i f 
 
 Nulla mihi trifti praemia fint Venere. 
 
 T-u Juplices foftite was. ; tt juutK amnt ftcuncti 
 l,aberis, ut cehres firiini -vada cancita remi ; 
 Et JUUM per rifas nufjuam cefl'zr.te rtmulco 
 IniinduM collo malarum "uincula. aaittx. 
 
 t > . fafas /ilvat,~] Livmeius injudicoufly writes facrai filvas ; 
 but PalTcratius juftly interprets thefc words, vec^ planted in cer- 
 tain tanks vr orders; for Jll-ua is often put, as he clearly proves^ 
 for a finglc tree: in fuch ranks, Virgil, Gear. z. recommends 
 the planting of vines, as well for utility as ornament. The 
 Romans went to an immcnfe expence in the culture of their 
 uoods, or parks belonging to their villas. Sre an excellent note, 
 and applicable (lory upon this fubjeift, in Grain^er's fibullusj 
 Mg. 3. Lib. 3. 
 
 S. tfrfcii Jfmor, fiff.] So our poet, Elg. 5. 
 Nejcif Amvr frifcit cectsrf imaginiius, 
 
 5. trak'it quiet cm j\ Pafferatius interprets this paffage by; con- 
 
 tracing, JJwttnirtg the night; for the night to a very fond lover, 
 
 when with his nvllrefs, never feems long enough; but I think, 
 
 tht trahcn here limply means tlucere, as Virgil ufes it, &r.cid.fy 
 
 Hate d?j, pita hoc f'tb cafu duan fimnoi ? 
 
 HU
 
 Eleg. 14. ELEGIES OF PROPERTIUS. 87 
 
 View thy tall trees their cultur'd ranges fprend, 5 
 Like woods that burden'd Caucafus o'erfliade : 
 Yet what are thefe compar'd with my fond joys ? 
 Love will not yield to all that wealth fupplies ! 
 Methinks if e'er with me fhe fpends the night, 
 Or kindly waftes the day in dear delight ; 10 
 
 Beneath my roof Padtolus rolls its (lores, 
 And gems I cull on Erythraean fhores : 
 Then beyond kings my joys proclaim me bleft ; 
 May thefe remain, while life mall warm this breaft ! 
 Xlf crofs'd in paffion, who will riches heed ? 15 
 
 ( When Venus fmiles not, then we're poor indeed I 
 
 12. L rulrisgcmnsa f. ajuorious.] The Erythraean fea, fo nam<d 
 by the Greeks from its king Erythr.i, is called by the Latins 
 ir,are rtibrum ; perhaps, fays Pliny, Lib. 3. Cap. 2$. from its 
 waters being tinged red, by the reverberation of the folar rays; 
 perhaps from the colour of its fands, or foil ; or from the natu- 
 ral rtdnefs of its waters. And in his Proem, to Lit. 12. he in- 
 forms us, that on its banks were found in great quantities 
 pearls and curious fheUs, particularly the tnurex, from which 
 a purple Jye was ex t rafted. 
 
 14. dum nit fata ptrire uolent.'] Broukhufius cannot perfuade 
 himfclf, that Propertius wrote thus ; for, fays he, it is dura 
 a'yuc inauffiicata locutio; from which, he adds, that the Romans 
 religioufly abftained; and he would fain fubftitute in its room 
 venire, or maiierei but Jet thofe fubfcribc to this refinement who 
 chufc it. 
 
 16. trifli] This word here means, unkind, unpropitious ; as 
 inT.bullus, EL 6. L. i. 
 
 &//><', ut induear, 6!anJoi offen *fib't valtus: 
 Pojl tauten u mijero trtftis et afpcr, Slmvr. 
 
 16. prufwii} This word is ufurped for pecuniary riches, by 
 acvius, after Prifciaaus. 
 
 G 4 She
 
 88 FROPERTII E^EGI^, Lib. i. 
 
 Ilia poteft magnas heroum infringere vires : 
 
 Ilia etiam duris mentibus efle dolor. 
 Ilia neque Arabium metiiit tranfcendere lirnen, 
 
 Nee tiniet qftrino, Tulle, fubire toro : aQ 
 
 Et miferum totp juvenem verfare cubili. 
 
 Quid relevant variis ferica textilibus ? 
 Qune mihi dum placata aderit, non ulla verebor 
 
 Regna, nee Alcinoi rminera defpicere. 
 
 ELEGI A 
 
 19. Arabium tranJcenJere limen,"] Some editors write lefs cle- 
 gjtntly ctxfctndtrt. By Arabian ihrefholds, or doors, are under- 
 liopcl'fucri valuable ones as are made of ony.x, or alabaftcr, 
 which is found in Arabia. See Diodorus Siculus, Lib. z. opon 
 Arabian marble; and Pliny, Lib. 36. Caf. 7. The wealthy Ro- 
 mans incrufied their whole houfLS with m.yble ; and we are 
 informed by Pliny, that l^Iamurra Formiamis, a Roman knight, 
 whom Catullus lalhes with fuch determined virulence, was the 
 firll in Rome who fo decorated his houfc. 
 
 22. variis firica trxtililus f] Woven coverlids for beds, as 
 well as all other woven manufactures, Babyknica fliagiila ft 
 ftrifir-anata, were firlV invented by the Egyptians, as Pliny tells 
 us, l>!b. 7. C p. 56. tho(!e of iilk were particularly coflly ; fpr 
 iiik was but little known among the Romans: Theophane?, trie 
 Byzantine historian, te{h us, that a certain Peilian firft brought
 
 14. ELEGIES or FROPERTXUS, 
 
 She lays the hero's boafted vigour low, 
 
 Tis Venus melts the hardeft heart to woe ; 
 
 She on Arabian threfholds dares to tread, 
 
 Th' empurpled couch, o Tullus ! dares invade; JO 
 
 She on his bed can ftretch the fighing fvvain, 
 
 Then o'er it fpreads the piclur'd (ilk in vain. 
 
 Prppitious prove, thou charmer of the Ikies. ! 
 And thrones I'll fcorn, Alcinous' wealth deijpife ! 
 
 filk-worms from the nation of the Seres, the prefent Chinefe, 
 to Conftantincple ; under the emperor JuftiuLan ; and taught 
 the Romans how filk was produced. Salmafius, in J^fijc. 
 stfervej, that the ancients had, like us, filk fluffs, woven with 
 thread one way, and filk another; which they called Jubfericif 
 and tramoferici ; but fuch as were entirely of filk they called 
 be/oferici, and cfteenqed at a high value. Spartianus informs 
 us, that the magnificent emperor Heliogabalus was the firft who 
 wore a garment wholly of filk ; and Vopifcus remarks, that, in 
 the time of Aurclian, a pound of filk was worth a pound of 
 pM. 
 
 24. sflcinoi munera] The riches of Akinous, king of the 
 Phxacians ; and the vaft gifts he lavilhed upon Ulyflcs, at hi 
 departure from Corcyra, are amply dcfcribesi by Homer, Odj/ff. 7. 
 
 ELEGY
 
 C 9 J 
 
 E L E G I A XV. 
 
 S^FE egomulta tux levitatis dura timcbam, 
 Hac tamen cxcepta, Cynthia, perfidia. 
 Adfpice, me quanto rapiat Fortuna pcriclo : 
 
 Tu tamen in noftro lenta timore venis. 
 Et potes hcfternos manibus componcre crines, r 
 
 Et longa faciem quasrere defidia. 
 Nee minus Eois peftus radiare lapillis, 
 Ut formofa novo quas parat ire.viro. 
 At non fie Ithaci digrefTu mota Calypfo 
 
 Pefertis olim fleverat acquoribus. 10 
 
 ISIultoo 
 
 He upbraids Cynthia with her difregard of his misfortune?, 
 nd her ill-timed attention to dicfs ; nevcrthelefs vowing eter- 
 nal love for her. 
 
 j. dura\ Various editions have damna, jwa, fga. 
 
 y,. pirfidia.~] We are not acquainted with the particular cir- 
 cumftance, about which the poet taxes his mifirels with [xrrfiJy ; 
 nor what was his dangerous fitnatin. 
 
 <. bejlcriias crlncs,~\ Many editions have exfernnr, to which 
 reading Eeroaldus and Volfcus aflent; Liplius hov.'-ver wni. 
 tafiernv!, and he is fupported by fome few MSS. in/hrnt crines 
 me*n d-ifnevclled hair, that is, hair that was braided or drcif 
 -/eticniay, and requires r.e'w braiding te-c)ay : thy- Ovid, .'In,
 
 9' J 
 
 E L E G Y XV. 
 
 OFT has thy frailty, Cynthia, mov'd my fear; 
 But this deceit I little thought to bear : 
 Ah, fee what dangers Fortune round me thrawi! 
 Yet art thou flow to heed my dreaded woes : 
 Thy wanton fingers ftiil new-braid thy hair, j 
 
 Adjuft thy perion with protra&ed care ; 
 Still Eaftern gems irradiate all thy breaft ; 
 60 fhines fome nymph for her new bridegroom drelh 
 
 Not thus Calypfo, on the defert fliore, 
 Pid once her flying Ithacus deplore ; 10 
 
 E; ntvlefla dtctt muhas coma, fcffe jacere 
 ijejiernam credas : ilia reftxa modo eft. 
 
 6. fa*. itm yu^re re] Macrobius, Saturnal. Lib. 3. Cap. 13. has 
 the fame expreffion: Fuit enim veftita ad munditient curiofo, et ut 
 ktnc am:flus irct, facieat in Jfxtulo queercbat. And by the way we 
 muft remark, that faciet here means, not merely the face, but 
 the whole figure. VULPIUS. 
 
 g. Utformofa, &fr.] So Tibullus, 2/^.4. Lib. 3. 
 Ut juvtni frlmuin virgo dedufla mar/to. 
 
 9. Itbaci digrejfu mota Caiypfol Every one knows how Ulyfles, 
 king of Ithacus, was detained byCalypfo in the iflaud ofOgygia; 
 till Mercury was fent to him 10 command his departure. See 
 Pomcr, Odyff. Lit. 5. et 7. 
 
 With
 
 9* PROPER TII ELEGIA:. Lib. r. 
 
 Multos ilia dies incomtis mcefta capillis 
 
 Sfiderat, injufto multa locuta falo. 
 Et, quamvis numquam pofthac vifura, dolebat, 
 
 Ilia tamen longa; confcia laetitiae. 
 Alphefiboea Hios ulta eft pro conjuge fratre?, ijj 
 
 Sanguinis et cari vincula rupit Amor. 
 Nee fie ^Efoniden rapientibus anxia ventrs 
 
 Hypfipyle vacuo conftitit in thalamo. 
 Hypfipyle nullos poft illos fenfit amores, 
 
 Ut femel Haemonio tabuit hofpitio. zo 
 
 Conjugis Evadne fere* elata per ignes 
 
 Occidit Argivae fama pudicitias. 
 
 Quarum 
 
 i z. mjujlt Jah.'] Calypfo calls the fca unjuft, for carrying away 
 of Ulyffes. 
 
 15. Alpbejtkaca f. vita tft p. e. fratrei,~\ Alcmjeon, to revenge 
 the death of his father Amphiaraus, kilfed his mother Eriphyle ; 
 for which he was purfued by the Furies, and fled to the houfe 
 c/f Phegeus at Pfophis in Arcadia ; he there married Alj'hcfibopa, 
 daughter of Pfcegeus, and gave her his mother's necklace: 
 Alcmzon, growing tired pf h : s wife, married Callirrhoe, daugh- 
 ter of Acheleusj fhe aflted him for his mother's necklace, arid 
 to humour her, he went to demand it of Alphefibcea, whofe 
 brothers Temenus and Axion, according to Paufanias, in Arcad. 
 Hew him for dilhonouring their lifter ; and Alphcfibtea after- 
 wards flew them, as the murderers of her hulband. See the 
 ilory in Apollodorus, Lib. 3. alfo in Hyginus, Fab. 241. whs 
 relates that Aicmxon was flam by Phegcus himfelf. Ovid, 
 WIetnm. 9. and in his Rented, dnoi: lightly touches upon it. 
 
 18 HypJityU~\ When all the Lemnian women agreed to kill 
 every male relation that belonged to them, this heroine was 
 the only one who refufed to flay her royal father Thoas king 
 of Lcmnos 5 and when queen of that illand, Ihe married Jafon 
 who was her gueit ; but he left her, to go upon the famous ex- 
 pedition
 
 Bleg. 15. ELEGIES OF PROPERTIUI. <^ 
 
 With fcatter'd locks flic fate for many a day 
 All mournful, and reproach'd the faithlefs fea 
 Tho' he was doom'd no more to charm her fight, 
 She footh'd her grief with thoughts of paft delight. 
 Alphefibwa, with her brother's breath, i 
 
 Fondly aveng'd her much-lov'd hufband's death ; 
 And love, uxorious love ! in her withftood 
 Thofe ties by moft held dear, the ties of blood ! 
 Not thus When Jafon far, far diftant fail'd, 
 Her widow 'd bed Hypfipyle bewail'd ; 9 
 
 She let no fecond fires inflame her breaft, 
 But languifli'd flill for her Hsemonian gueft. 
 Evadne, firft mid virtuous Argives plac'd, 
 Breath'd on her hufband's parting pyre her lad; 
 
 pedition to Colchis^ and being dethroned by her own fubjeAs, 
 Ihe became at lalt the flave of Lycus, or Lycurgus, king 
 Thebes. See her beautiful epiftle to Jafon, in Ovid. AIT* 
 Valerius Flaccus, Lib. z. and moil of the Argonautic poets. 
 
 21. Evfdne'} She was the daughter of Mars, byThebetke 
 wife of Afopus ; and ftie married Capaneus, who was liruck 
 with thunder in fcaling the walls f Thebes: fuch was Evaln*s 
 love for her hulband, that Ihe threw herftlf upon his uineral 
 
 pile. See Scrvius, in Virgil. JEntiJL. 6. Statius at the emd of 
 his Thebaid, and others. She was called Evadne from her large 
 dower, tfai implying nuptial gifts. MURETUS. 
 
 21. ferot r.] The vulgar editions have vry inl-egantly *t!fe- 
 rs ; and Brottkhuiius tells us, that he had intended to have 
 Wrote mifttt. 
 
 it. data] This Is a funersl exprefllon, rtther metaphorically 
 introduced here ; for, as Vulpius wifely remarks, it cannoc 
 ftrictljr be applied to perfons who throw thetnfclves on Ac 
 funeral pile: dead bodies, when Cirricd fotih Co lc laid upon 
 the pile, wre faid to be d*:i.
 
 FROPERTII ELECT*:, Lib. t, 
 
 nulla tuos potuit convertere mores, 
 
 Tu quoque uti fieres nobilis hiftoria* 
 Detfne jam revocare tuis perjuria verbis, ?$ 
 
 Cynthia, ct oblitos parce monere dcos. 
 .udax ah nimium, noftro dolitura periclo, 
 
 Si quid forte tibi durius mciderit. 
 Muta prius vaito labantur flumina ponto, 
 
 Annus et inverlas duxerit ante vices : iv 
 
 Quam tua fub noltro mutetur pectore. cura, 
 ' Sis quodcumque voles, non aliena tamen.. 
 Quamve mihi viles ilti \-ideantur ocelli, 
 
 Per quos fepe mihi credita perfidia eft. 
 Hos tu jurabas, fi quid mentita iiiiill-s,. ^^ 
 
 Ut tibi luppofitis exciderent manibus. 
 
 28. incitftrir.~] Many contend that the word iliould be acciJ;- 
 r'tt, v/luch was a word of bad omen, and ufrd only in fj^-akiag 
 '*f misfortunes; Vulpias produces a multitude of inllaiyces tcf 
 yrove this ; but Broukhulius from authority fays, th.u in.idf'-t 
 is equally an ill-fated word ; he alfo refers us to Arill.ent ti:i, 
 ffi/i. 9. l.\L. 2. upon the fubjeA of this tliftich. Thole, v. uu' 
 are curious concerning Roman fuperftition in orniuou-j words^ 
 may confult. P. Manutius, Epift. z. Lib. I. 
 
 29. MJ[S p. ir, I. fiu"ina p.~\ Such is the imich-pfleemec! 
 etneudation of Sluretus, from Malta Jtum .i, v.'hich i, in the 
 commentators language, frigida Itflin. Pn!u-ratius telh us, that 
 
 'in one old MS. he found Attifo, v hich rc,ulii);j is highly to be 
 approved, and may be pruferable to Muta\ for rivers falling' 
 into the ocean with i noifc is perhaps not fo generally cha- 
 
 raifterilHc ; however, as all good edition* have Mutu, I have 
 prelei'ved it, and tranllaEed accordingly. 
 
 Sis qwdcumque vcles,'] Whether thy life br a ehafte, or * 
 one i 11:11 I Jove thre, and woyi'd have thee trifle. 
 
 VutPJUE. 
 
 3 'El 
 
 ,. y.. 5. 
 
 dillolutc
 
 tleg. i^. ELEGIES OF PROPERTIES. *^j 
 
 Yet fuch examples can't thy mind engage, * 
 
 Like thefe, to grace the bright hirtoric page : 
 
 Cynthia, no more repeat thy perjuries ; 
 
 Nor rOufe the flumb'ring vengeance of the Ikies ! 
 
 Too daring wretch ! fome fad reverfe of fate 
 
 bhall haply teach thee to lament my ftate. 39 
 
 Rather may floods glide noifelefs to the main, 
 Or thro* the year inverted fcafons reign ; 
 Than in my breaft this paffion fliould decline, 
 Or thou, whate'er thou art, (houUrft not be mine; 
 Than I fliould gaze with hatred on thofe eyes, 35 
 Which oft have fmil'd fuch pleafing perfidies ! 
 By thefe thou'it fvvorn, that if thy faith betray'd 
 One vow, thofe hands fliould tear them from thy 
 head! 
 
 -i^-viht oce!ll,~\ The ancients regarded nothing fo dear as the 
 eyes ; it was a common mode of exprefiion to sail any thiaj 
 dear as their eyes j thus Catullus, Carat. 81. 
 >uiati, Jt tlil vis ocitlcii dchere CatitHum: 
 Aut al'udfi quid iariui eft oiitlif. 
 
 And in like manaar that exquifite poet, Mr. Gray, in his Bar.40 
 Dear, as the light that vifits thefe fad eyes, 
 Dear, as the ruddy drops that warm my heart. 
 
 36. [tippofitit excidcrtnt minlbui.^ The Latin idiom could not 
 fee finely rendered ; the eyes dropping out of the head, as a 
 P'jnithment due to perfidy, is not an uncommon image; Plautu* 
 ijai an cxpreflion fomething fimilar, Co/in. At, ^, Sc. 6. 
 
 Ut fa sea 'as tnungtre ttr nafmn tuts, 
 
 And
 
 6 PROPERTII ELEGIJE. Lib. l 
 
 Et contra magnum potes hos attoltere Solcm ? 
 
 Ncc tremis admiflae confcia nequitiae? 
 Quis te cogebat multos pallere coleres, 
 
 Et fletum invitis ducere luminibus ? 4 
 
 Queis ego nunc pereo, fimiles moniturus amantes, 
 
 O nulli tutum credere blanditiis. 
 
 37. Et centra magnum, &c.~\ The following paflage, from. 
 JLucrctius, may ferve as the belt comment on this line t Lik,i 
 Primitm Craiut bomo mortahs tollere contra 
 Eft oculos aufuf> primufque ebjifterc ctntra. 
 
 The Sun was fuppofed to be the general obferver of human fc4 
 fiens; thus Agamemnon,, in Homer, Iliad, i. 
 
 ' Of 7TVT f if 0f >^ TTflirT* i7iXaj 
 
 ELEGIA
 
 Elcg. 15. ELEGIES or PROPERTIUS. 9^ 
 
 And canfl thou lift them to yon glorious Sun, 
 Nor confcioiis dread thofe wrongs which thcu halt 
 done ? 4 ^ 
 
 Who forc'd thy cheeks to wear this varying hue, 
 Or bade unwilling tears thine eyes bedew ? 
 
 O, witlefs youths ! like me who fadly figh, 
 Truft not thofe blandifliments by which I die* 
 
 3<). multes ptUere cci-.rr;,'] This is a happy afid forcible e\- 
 preCion ; for thofe who grow pale fhcw a variety of huts upon 
 their countenances: fee how d.ffcr irmly the clafi'ic autho.'s dc- 
 fcribc palencfs ; Horace, Kpad. 7. has slllitit or a pallor inficit -. 
 gain, in Od. 10. L't> 3. Tin-Jus vioii palLr amant'wm : and, in 
 f>od 10. poll.r lu'cu', ; which reminds me of Catullns's exj>ref- 
 Iion, in C:'r>n. 63. Mii'j;ii pjl'on rx allnit am'i : and aga'n, in 
 C'rm. 80. Jajur^ta fjliid.ir j'.atua. Ov.d, jMctant. 4. has ihels 
 Jines : 
 
 pirtt*i'<r c-cr.'s 
 Lurid. i exjaiigues f>a!l:r mvirtii in i>t?t>a, t 
 
 II K L E G Y
 
 E L E G I A XVI. 
 
 OU^E fiieram magnis olim patefa&a triumphis 
 Janua Tarpejae nota Pudicitia?, 
 Cujus inaurati celebrarunt limina currus 
 Captoruin lacrymis humida fupplicibus : 
 
 Nunc 
 
 The door of a certain harlot complains of having fallen from 
 its priftine dignity to its prefent ftate of difhonour. 
 
 This fatire is highly, and defervedly praifed by Broukhufius ; 
 but the objeft of it is entirely unknown at prefent ; and perhaps 
 was to many, even in the time it was wrote, as Vulpius juftly 
 obfcrves : however, Hie is fuppofed to be no mean perfonagc. 
 Catullus has a poem, wherein a door fpeaks ; Tibullus, Et'cg. 2. 
 Hl>. i. addrefles a door; and fo does Phxdromus, in the 
 Curcul.o of Plautus. 
 
 i, 2. patefifij triimfbii Janus'] Beroaldus was deceived, ia 
 fuppofing that a triumphant gate-way is here intended ; janua, 
 as Servius, in JEncid. i. informs us, is ftri&ly the door of * 
 houfe; thefe are his words: Janua eft prlmut domus ingrejjut ; 
 fu dt&a, qu:a jfano conficrarum cjl omne principltim. The meaning 
 then is; that the houfe this door led to was once noted far 
 the triumphs of its warlike mafter, whoever he was ; it being 
 cuftomary to hang in the veftibulum of the houfe the trophies 
 of war, and the fpoils taken by the conqueror, in his return 
 from the capitol, after the triumphal proceflion. See what 
 Cicero fays of Pompey's triumph, in Phillip, 2*
 
 [ 99 J 
 
 ELEGY XVI. 
 
 OPEN to* fplendid triumphs t>nce was I, 
 No Granger to Tarpeian Chaftity ; 
 My threfhold, bath'd with captives' fuppliant tears, 
 Has gain'd renown from gold-emblazon'd cars j 
 
 But 
 
 2. Ta-ffjte nota Pudicitijc,~] Nor mufc we regard what Be- 
 roaldus fays, concerning an allufion to the chafte veltal Tar- 
 pcia; Silvius, the Delphin editor, and the old French tran (la- 
 ter Marolles, have adopted his error. Chaftity, Pudicitia, was 
 worlhiped as a goddefs among t!ie Romans; and as fuch we 
 muft underftand the word here ; the epithet Tirpeia is given to 
 the goddefs, to imply Patrician Ghaftity, or fuch as was obferved 
 by the Roman nobles; metaphorically meaniug, that the family 
 who once inhabited the houfe was noble, and virtuous : Tar- 
 peian means, noble, graced with triumph ; every one knows, 
 that the triumphal proccflions went in pomp to the Capitol or 
 Tarpeian rock. 
 
 3. inau'-ati ctlcbrarunt limina currus"] The gate fays ; that it 
 was dignified by the gilded chariots which belonged to its 
 irafter ; and which have yifited it, *s he returned from his 
 triumph. 
 
 4. Captorum lacrym'n h. /.] It was cuftomary, after captives 
 had graced the victor's triumph, to have them put to death in a 
 ciungean ; it is probable then, fays Vulpius, that when they 
 reached in proceflion the viftor's houfe, they implored mercy 
 with tears. Albtnovanus, Confolat. ad Liviam, has forac lines, 
 which let this in. a very clear light. 
 
 H z -r
 
 reo PROPERT/I ELEGIJE. Lib. i. 
 
 Nunc ego nocturnis potorum faucia rixis 
 
 Pulfata indignis ia>pe queror manibiis. 
 t mihi non clefunt turpes pendere corollas 
 
 Semper, et exclufi figna jacere faces. 
 Nee poHum infamis dominte defendere noctes 
 
 Nobilis obfcocnis tradita carminibus. i* 
 
 Nee tamen ilia lua; revocatur parcere fama?, 
 
 Turpior et fieclt vivere luxuria. 
 Hax inter gravibus cogor deflere querelis 
 
 Supplicis ah tongas triftior excubias. 
 
 in* 
 
 yf? t'lijui -v<n'* fupere/i, Germans a, nulhttr. 
 
 P.ftinodo tu fff'ias, barbare, morte JMt. 
 jldfpiciam rcgum livtmin coHa catcnis ; 
 
 Dureqitc pcrfccvas vincii/a nexa manus : 
 Et tandem trtpidoi vnltu< : irqr<e ilia ferae um 
 
 Jitvitit Ltcrimat d-.ctdere vra genii. 
 Spiritui tile m'nax, tt Drufi mo> tc fufei let, 
 
 Carnifci in mcejlo carcerc daitdut erit. 
 C'.n/iflam, Jttttfjuc Oiulii, lentufqtie -vidcAt 
 
 Strata fsr i>bj\nxt corpora nuda viat, 
 
 ~j, lurpct f>. ct>rol!<t] The door calls the wreaths 
 thcv proclaim the amours of its miftrefs : the lovers of antiquity 
 wci'c ulcd to hang garlands of flowers upon the doors f their 
 lair-ones. Ste TibulRis, F.leg. z. Lib. i. and Lucretius, Lib. 4, 
 upon this fubjeiit; as well as * varuty of other poets. 
 
 di,Ji fignaj. face i-l The lover not being able to get ad- 
 e, put his torch oui, and licpt at the door till morning,, 
 ttheu he k-lt it behind him ; which betrayed to paficngers, 
 vliut this haulc gallant 1 ; did call late at night : and upon 
 the d ors of ft-ch houks, it wai not uncommon to fcribble 
 nt pocirv, and luiua.mev inve&ivcs againit the fair inha- 
 
 b.ur.t i
 
 Elcg. 16. ELEGIES or PROPERTIUS. roi 
 
 But vext with drunkards' midnight broils, and beat 5 
 
 By impious hands, I now lament my fate; 
 
 With unchafte wreaths I'm hung ; and oft is f'een 
 
 Some torch extinft that fpeaks th' excluded {wain : 
 
 My miflrefs's lewd nights I can't cbny ; 
 
 So known, fo dreft with bawdy rhymes am I ! 10 
 
 Nor will (he learn a virtuous name to prize, 
 
 Or flnm, iefs vile, this age of luxuries : 
 
 While, from a ftipplumt's plaint more piteous grown, 
 
 His long long vigils I with tears bemoan ; 
 
 b'tant; as the fubfrquent diftich of our poet fiie\vs. 
 Sat. 5. fpeaks ef the exunci torch in the fame manner. 
 
 Ditm Ckryfciti udat 
 Ebr'tui ti'.tefo>-(i cxi'mfla cum f.ict cants. 
 
 It. rcvacatvr, fef<.] This word, Vulp'us jaftly remaclcs, im- 
 plies both acceding to a thing, and receding from it. ll'a eienint 
 fim':na, fays he, nin re-uocabatur ad parccndum f.ima: futt, neyue /* 
 vivtndt tiagitlnc. Some, putting a comma at turpior, interj>ret 
 thus; "it is imiioffiblc to prevail upon one more abandoned 
 than this woman (turpior ilia.) to have feme regard for a good- 
 aame." 
 
 tj, 14. I1-JC inter, fc*r. Suppticis, Sfc.] I have adopted thefis 
 1'nes, as altered by Broukhnfiu*; in preference to the Iefs ck- 
 ^arft reading of Scaligcr, which rns thus : 
 Has inter -gravlut c-fir dejUre qucril is 
 Sufplich a. longis tri/ii-jr cxmbiil. 
 
 Broukhufius fupports his correction, which certainly breathes 
 purer latiniiy than Scaliger's text, upon thefe grounds, jy./v, 
 fays he, Paffcratios found in one old edition : e : ght MSS. 
 have grj-v'iius jncrelit : Gcbhardus, from MS. authority, reads 
 ah for a: and it needs no great licence to put /o/tgasex ub'us, for 
 htigii e.\-(ubils. \Vc may remark with Vulp'us, lhat tl.i\ Intel* 
 is here equivalent to in!*rej. 
 
 H 3 My
 
 io* PROPERTII E-LZGIJK. Lib. T. 
 
 Ille meos numquam patitur requiefcere poftes, 15 
 
 Arguta referens carmina blanditia : 
 Janua vel domina penitus crudelior ipsa. 
 
 Quid mihi tarn duris claufa taces foribus ? 
 Cur numquam referata meos admittis amores, 
 
 Nefcia furtivas reddere mota preces ? ae 
 
 Nullane finis erit noftro concefla dolori ? 
 
 Triftis et in tepido limine fomnus erit ? 
 Me mediae no&es, me fidera prona jacentem ? 
 
 Frigidaque Eoo me dolet aura gelu. 
 Tu fola humanos numquam miferata labores 25; 
 
 Reipondes tacitis mutua cardinibus. 
 O utinam trajecla cava mea vocula rima, 
 
 Percuflas dominae vertat in auriculas. 
 Sit licet et faxo patientior ilia Sicano, 
 
 Sit licet et ferro durior et chalybe : 3^ 
 
 17. Janua vel, &c,~] Here begins the noflurnal complaii\t of 
 the excluded lover, which is unequalled hi beauty by any thing of 
 the kind in antiquity: fuch ftrenading fongs addrolt to doors, the 
 Greeks called 7irajtX-je-i^yo, according to Plutarch, in Entice. 
 Dacier infifted, that the icthOde of Horace's jd Book was the 
 i)ly perfect example of the carmen paracloujitbyrum, that rrmaincd 
 to us; but he furely forgot this elegy of PropertiuSj as well as 
 Ovid's, Eleg. 6. Lib. i. not to mention Tibullus, and Plautus, 
 fee the firft note to this elegy i and likewile Theocritus, 
 Uyl. 3- 
 
 az. in tepido limine f. *.] That is; " fhall I flill pafs comfott- 
 lefs nights upon your threfhold, which is made warm by my 
 continually flceping there ?" The place we lie upon to lleep, is 
 'generally kept warm by our bodies. 
 
 Non
 
 !eg. 16. ELEGIES OF PROPERTIUS. 103 
 
 My wakeful frame is ever doom'd to hear 1 5 
 
 The filver flatt'ry of his tuneful 1 pray'r. 
 
 " O door, more cruel than thy miftrefs, why 
 " Do thy mute valves, unkind, acceis deny? 
 ** Wilt thou ne'er open to my am'rous woe; 
 " Or, kindly mov'd, report each fecret vow ? 20 
 " Shall nought at length my ceafelefs forrovvs charm ? 
 " Shall my rude flumbers ftill thy threfhold warm? 
 " E'en waining ftars, e'en midnight's hallow'd reign, 
 " And the chill breath of morn regard my pain; 
 " Thou, only thou! untouch'd by human grief, 25 
 *' On filent hinges hxmg denieft relief: 
 " O, much I wifli, fome pervious cleft could bear 
 ' My murmur'd accents to her wond'ring ear! 
 " As Etna's rocks unfeeling were the fair, 
 " Let her with iron, or with Heel compare; 30 
 
 73. Jidtra frona'] Though many editions bnve.p/ma, yet 
 prona is certainly a preferable reading ; the following beautiful 
 line- from Homer. OJyJf. iz. will be the bell comment upon the 
 rrovd pronx: 
 
 24. Frigidatjut ECO m. d. aura t!u.~] The cool air btfore fun- 
 r'fe is beautifully defcribetl by Aufonius, in his IJyllium on the 
 
 Role : 
 
 Vcr crat, tt blando morJtntia f'igcra ferfi 
 
 Spirabat trocto mane revcfia din. 
 Sinfiier Eua pi tec tjjerat ourajngales. 
 
 H 4 " Yet
 
 104. PKOPERTII ELEGISE. Lit), it 
 
 Non tarren ilia fncs potent compefcere ocelloa, 
 
 Surget et invitis fpiritus in lacryn i. 
 Nunc jacet alterius ielici nixa hicerto. 
 
 At me a noclurno verba caduut Zephyro. 
 S;d tu fola mci tn maxima ciuifla. doloris 35 
 
 Vida mcis numquam, Janua, niuneribus. 
 Te mm ulla mea? Ice lit petulantia lin<nia>, 
 
 Qriae lolct iratus dicere trita loco : 
 Ut me tarn lon^a ran cum patiare quercla 
 
 Solliciias trivio pervigilarc moras. 4 
 
 At tibi llipe novo deduxi carmina verfu, 
 
 Ofculaque imprcffis nixa dedi gradibus. 
 Ante tuos quoties verti me, periida, pofles, 
 
 Debitaque occultis vota tuli manibus ? 
 Haec ille, et li qua: miferi novillis amantes, 45 
 
 Et matutinis obftrepit alitibus. 
 Sic ego mine domina; vitiis, et Temper amantis 
 
 fleiibus, sterna differor iavidi.':. 
 
 E L E G I A 
 
 ;6. TKehmxr.eribus-~\ O gate ! not to be prevailed upon by t'nofc 
 g.uiands wit'n which I have acjornej you, i>y the iibati'ons of 
 wnic-s and unguents I have laviihcd upon you, nor by my tears 
 4nd fupplicntiors. 
 
 42. grjJ'ib .5.] PafTcratius reads genlimt, making a very far- 
 Ti ti:hed ir,tcrpi - ctation, Vulpius oblerves, that the houfes of llic 
 wealthy weia afcended by flights of fteps, as well as the tcm- 
 lfs of deities, jiiti other public buildings; thus Ovid, Efijt. 
 . 
 
 _'! nmfLm redo, g-adibits fublimt, Dlartt. 
 3. dint ru's q. iitrt't me, p. f r 'Ji",] I rather think the poet 
 o fay, that h'<; turned himlelf often towards the 
 tlo*
 
 leg. 16. ELEGIES OF PROPERTIVS. icj 
 
 *' Yet furc loft pity would bedpw her eyes, 
 " And midil her tears (he'd heave unbidden fighs j 
 ** While fome lov'd youth now folds her with delight, 
 " Pour'd is my moan on the vain blaft of night : 
 " O door! thou fole chief caufe of all my woe, 35 
 " Not brib'd by all the ofPrings 1 beftow, 
 41 Thee with rude phrafe my tongue did ne'er ill- 
 treat, 
 
 " Such phrafe as youths, when vext, to doors repeat; 
 ** That I, grown hoarfe with frequent wail, fhould 
 
 meet 
 
 *' Such long negleft, and nightly range the ftreet! 
 *' Oft in choice verie for thee I fram'd the fong, 
 " And to thy fteps my warmeft kifles clung; 
 *' Turn'd to thy frame, vile thing ! how oft I've flood, 
 ** And paid with fecret hand each vow I ovv'd." 
 
 Thefe, and fuch plaints as fuit a fwain forlorn, 45 
 He'll urge; and ftun the clam'rous birds of morru 
 Thus the flill-weeping youth, and luftful dame, 
 Brand with eternal infamy my fame. 
 
 door to do it hgma^e ; but Vulpius would infer, that he means 
 a certain circumvolution of the body, which was a kind of re- 
 ligious ceremony among the ancients. Pliny, L'b. z. Cip. 28. 
 fays thus : in adorando dexti ant ad ofculum referimut : totum corfut 
 iircumaglmui : qu'A in l.ciium feajje Gallic religiofiitt credunt. 
 
 46. mjtu'inis alitlb'ts."] The cock, or the fwallow, are per" 
 haps more particularly alluded to hen-. 
 
 ELEGY
 
 t 106 ] 
 
 E L E G I A XVII. 
 
 ET merito, quoniam potui fugifie puellam, 
 Nunc ego defertas alloquor alcyonas. 
 Nee mihi Caffiope folito vifura carinam ; 
 Omniaque ingrato litore vota cadunt. 
 Quin etiam abfenti profunt tibi, Cynthia, venti. 5 
 
 Adfpice quam faevas increpat aura minas. 
 Nullane placatas veniet fortuna procellae ? 
 Hseccine joarva meum furms arena teget ? 
 
 He writes this elegy at fea, when endangered by a tempeft, 
 which he attributes to the elements avenging Cynthia's caule ; 
 and begs her to avert his impending fate. 
 
 The abrupt beginning Et merito, &c. is a much efleemed 
 beauty in this elegy. 
 
 2. defei'tat aUoquor altyaftas.~] This introdu&ion of the halcyon 
 is very apt here, fays Broukhufius ; as it is a folitary querulous 
 feeing, like the lover wh addreffes it; and fo tenacious of con- 
 jugal fidelity is this bird, that whrn one of a pair dies, the other 
 revcr weds again, but pines away with grief; which is emble- 
 matic of our poet's love for Cynthia. PafTeratius infers, thst 
 Propertius addreffes the halcyon, as wifhingfair weather; which 
 the appearance of this bird foretells : for every one knows the 
 ftory of the halcyon's making its neft upon the fea, ai.d hatch- 
 ing its eggs there; during which time of feven days, the fea is 
 perfectly calm : the halcyon's neft is often found OB the Medi- 
 terranean. See the ftory of Ceyx and Alcyone, in Ovid, 
 Mctaai. u. and \\hat Ariltotlc, Lib. 5. Cap. 9. fays of the rare 
 appearance of this bird. 
 
 Tu
 
 I 7 3 
 
 ELEGY XVII. 
 
 AND j'uftly fure, fince from the nymph I fled. 
 To the lorn halcyons am I (Jpom'd to plead; 
 My bark Caffiope regards no more, 
 Loft are my vows upon the faithlefs fliore ! 
 For abfent Cynthia are the blafls combin'd ; 5 
 
 Hark, how hoarfe vengeance murmurs in each wind ! 
 Shall no kind fortune fmooth the billowy wafte ? 
 On thefe mean fands fliall my wreckt bones be caft? 
 
 3. C.iJJlope] Or Cafliopea, was the mother of Andromeda, 
 and wife of Cepheus king of Ethiopia. See the note to An- 
 dromeda, in Eleg, 3. She was changed into a contfellation of 
 thirteen ftarsj and is reprefented as moving in her orbir, with 
 her head turned upwards ; Manilius therefore calls her invtrfam ; 
 and the Arabians name her mulier fedii, that is, fedem in Jiliquaf- 
 (ro cunt falir.a dellbuta. It was a conftcllation particularly ufeful 
 to the ancient navigators, and Vulpius luppofes a favourable 
 one : See Hyginus, Lib. z. et 3. 
 
 5. a'offnti profutit tibi, C. venti.~] The w-nds adrerfe to me, 
 are favourable to you, o Cynthia: and league witli you, iii 
 puniihing me for quitting you. 
 
 6. Adfpke] Is here pot for aud:; fo Seneca, Ctnfol, ad Mar- 
 t'tam, Cap. -. Office, multono* tnimaHitm juaai concitata Jine dtji- 
 dna. 
 
 s Th r
 
 io8 PROPERTII. ELECTS. Lib. i 
 
 Tu tamen in melius farvas converte querelas. 
 
 Sat tsbi fit pocnae nox, ct iniqua vada. 10 
 
 An poteris liccis mea fata reponcre ocellis ? 
 
 Ofsaque nulla tuo noftra tenere finu ? 
 Ah pereat qxiicumquc rates, et vela paravit 
 
 Primus, et invito gurgite fecit iter. 
 Ncnne fuit melius dotninx pervincere mores, x 
 
 (Qinmvis dura, tamcn rarn puclla fuit.) 
 Qnam fie ignotrs circumdnta liiora filvis 
 
 Cernere, ct opratos qu rrere T\ ndarida? f 
 IH'.c fi qxra meum fcpeliflent fata dolorem,. 
 
 Ultimus et pofito fraret ainore lapis : z& 
 
 Ilia meo caros don'fiet funcrc crinc?, 
 
 MolHter et tencra poneret ofTa i-osa. 
 
 11U 
 
 TC. 5<MiA/./iri Brov.khulu:? writes, Sat tiki fat. 
 
 T2i Q/J'mjHC nulla t:.-o, i2?f.] This line is rather ohfrurr : by 
 efTa nallo ncftri fome \vould imply a ccr.otaphc, or a mci-e n-ccp- 
 racle, made in honour of thofe bones vvhiih the fca hail rie- 
 prlvecl it of": bi-.t the words rtpmwe we* fata, in liie forpgomg 
 line, I think contradict fuch a ft;pi oluion : I interpret with 
 Vulpiur., " my banes rcdncfd to but little, hv btinc; burnt on 
 the pilf." So, in Elfg. 5. is the fame mode of s:-.prtluo;i; 
 
 rfut carf.m tote cotpere nJlus ere. 
 
 Some editions for tsnllj read tnuta, snii perl-aps very properly, 
 Every one knows that :h ancitnts cos.k-clcd tlu: burnt bones of 
 the deeeafed, held them to tlstir bofoin?, and inclofed them in. 
 an urn which tliey oficn embraced. Tacit nr, Lib 3. re|-ivf.-nis 
 Agrippina, ns t'.c 'mi-Vf the ihip, embraciii" the luiu-i'.il um of 
 her 'hufband Germanic. -.s : ihas too Tibullur, I'.!,--. :. Li'., i. 
 
 J\'cw >} mii>: mater, 
 %* .^ /' wceftot offa p.ruf* Juiu*. 
 
 77. ignvt'.s circumJata. l.ttraflvii] Vul|iiiis 'nUerpiets tlr . p;if- 
 fage by, "f<.r: : gn ' io;a } ivi',>b an i ;/j it-> d'f,i -:'' l>nt I u.>i-Ut
 
 Elcg. 17. ELEGIEI OF PROPEKTIUS. 109 
 
 Thy imprecations fpare ! for yon black fkies, 
 
 Yon dang'rous fhoals, thy vengeance mould fuffice: 10 
 
 Tearlefs could'ft thou compofe my corie, and ftrain 
 
 To thy fond breaft the afhes that remain ? 
 
 Peri (h the wretch ! who firit upon the fea 
 
 Tliic'd barks, and fails; and plough'd th' unbidden 
 
 way ; 
 
 Ah, fwceter far a miftrefs to perfuade ! ir 
 
 (For tho' hard-hearted, matchlefs is my maid !) 
 Tlian thus to view ft range woods furround the fliore, 
 And the Twin-brothers ardently implore : 
 Should fate, where dwells the nymph, inter my xvoes; 
 And the fad ft one mark where her loves repofe ; 20 
 With her dear trefles fure flie'll drefs my tomb, 
 And in my urn bid fliort-liv'd rofes bloom ! 
 
 Oft 
 
 interpret very differently by ce a coaft furrounded with the tmfts 
 f foreign vcflels/' for fo we may interpret Jylv'n : wiincfsCA- 
 iuilijs, Carm. 4. 
 
 Ubi ij)e I"j1 fbaf lut fnlta fuit 
 
 Qtmaia Jl.VJ, 
 
 18, nftatts q. Ti-].!ir!Jai*~\ Caftor and Pollux, or t!ie twin- 
 fiars, was a conUrllatiou particularly propitious to navigators; 
 Horace, Od. 3. Lib, I. meuuous it, as well as a variety oi" other 
 vritcrs. 
 
 19. HKc~\ That ii at Rome, where Cynthia,was. 
 
 lj. caroi dwfftt f. crinei,] The cuftom of the ancients cut- 
 ting off their hair, and laying it as a tender facrifice upon the 
 tombs of dcceafed relations, is vanoully reco djd : in Homer, 
 Iliad 23. the Greeks cut otf their hair, and cover the dead body 
 t Pairoclus with it ; Sappho alfo mentions it, in her epigran* 
 upon the death of the hcautii'ul Timas. 
 
 22. tfr.it SL rofa.] So Horace, Od. 3. Lib, 2. fpeaklng of thii 
 traulient dowsr : 
 
 Et
 
 ito PROPERTII ELEGIJE. Lib. i. 
 
 Ilia meum extremo clamaflet pulvere nomen, 
 Ut inihi non ullo pondere terra foret. 
 
 At vos jequoreoe formosa Doride natas 25 
 
 Candida felici folvite vela choro. 
 
 Si quando veilras labens Amor attigit undas, 
 
 , Manfuetis focio parcite Ihoribus. 
 
 Et n'imi'unt brews 
 Flora amaenos ferre jube rtftr. 
 
 The ancients not only placed the burnt bones of their relations 
 in an urn, which contained rofes; but even llrewea rofes about, 
 and adorned the farcophagus with them, at the funeral cere- 
 mony ; as Pliny informs us, L:b. 21. Cap. 3. and in his preface 
 to that book gives as a reafon for it, that flowers were emble- 
 matic of mortality. 
 
 23. meum e. elamaffet p, niimen,~\ The cuftom of invoking the 
 manes of the deceafed, in order to appeafe them, and that the 
 ground might not lie heavy on them, is a piece of fuperftition 
 f which we find innumerable inflances amonr; the poets ; the 
 invocation was generally repeated thrice; Magna manes ter 
 tinct vocav!) fays Virgil, JEmid, 6. and the claffic reader muft 
 
 have 
 
 EJLEGIA
 
 Eleg. 17. ELEGI* OF PROPERTIUS. m 
 
 Oft to my lateft duft my name addrefs ; 
 
 So might the turf my relicks lightly prefs ! 25 
 
 And you, ye Nereids, from fair Doris fprung, 
 Loofe the white fails, and come a profp'rous throng! 
 If Love from heav'n e'er fought your moift abode, 
 Give ftormlefs fiiores to one who ferves that god ! 
 
 have met in various infcriptions with the letters, STTL. Sit 
 tibi terra levii. The Greeks in a fimilar manner faid, Ktl>i y>7 
 TTO xaAjjrToi. Broukhufius would read muncre for fuiveie t 
 which may perhaps make a better fenfe. 
 
 26. Candida vela] White fails were emblematic f good for- 
 tune. See upon this fubjeft, the ftory of Thefeus, in Catullus'a 
 Argonautic poem. 
 
 27. v. labens Amor a. u.~] That is ; Love flying from heaven 
 into the fea : fo Virgil, JEveidt n. labere nyrr.pbs polo. 
 
 PASSERATIUS. 
 
 28. Jocio] To me your fellow-fufferer in love : for thus Vul- 
 pius interprets the whole diftich : " if ever you loved, o ye. 
 Nereids; it is but juft th*t you ftiowld pity ne who i * 
 Uvr." 
 
 ELEGY
 
 E L E G I A XVIII. 
 
 HALC certe deferta loca, et taciturna querenti j 
 Et vacmim Zephyri poffidet aura nemus. 
 Hk licet occukos proferre impune dolores, 
 
 Si modo fola queant faxa tenere fidem. 
 Unde tuos primum repctam, mea Cynthia, fuftus ? 
 Quod mihi das flendi, Cynthia, principium? 
 
 He complains, in fume romantic folitude, of the pride and 
 cruelty of his miftrefs ; which io ur.dcfeiveiily repay the CQU. 
 flancy of his affeftion. 
 
 This elegy is juttly efteemed one of the moft tender, and 
 plaintive in Propertius"; though it is not free from ambiguities, 
 and perplexities in the text: the Delphui ecliior conjecture, 
 lhat Propertius wrote this elegy at his farm, on the bank of the 
 Clitumnus ; from what Pliny fays, Efift. 8. Lib. 8. 
 
 X. Htfc c. defcrt* loca, et taciturna q ] Broukhiifius adduces * 
 beautiful Italian quotation froin Sannazariu?, in imitafon of 
 this paffage ; Or fin fur fola, ?f. See his /Yrjr. l'<i-\ z. and 
 Vulpius contrafls it with the fwcct complaint of the virgin 
 Chariclia, in Heliodorus, Hift JEtbiop. Lib. r. 
 
 6. ficndi frindfium ?~] PafTcratius interprets thus : " upon 
 what account was it, o Cynthia, that you taught me tiilt to 
 weep:" but Vulpius obferves, that th'fe words are, txirdiurK 
 r(lon:s qittruitt ; and wituefles Theocritus, in l j harma{tutri<.i:
 
 [ "3 J 
 
 ELEGY XVIII. 
 
 LONESOME thefc glooms, and peaceful to 
 lorn fwains ; 
 
 Along th' unpeopled grove bland Zephyr reigns 3 
 Here may we dare our fecret griefs to tell, 
 For defei t rocks thofe griefs will ne'er reveal. 
 
 Whence, o my Cynthia ! {hall I date thy fcorn ? 
 When was it firft that Cynthia bade me mourn ? 
 I, who late bore a happy lover's name, 
 Now fee my paflion doom'd to fatal fhame ! 
 Why treat me thus ? what fpell fubverts thy love ? 
 Say, does fome rival nymph thy hatred move ? 
 As to my home no Granger fair has borne 10 
 
 Her fteps ; fo rr^/il thou, crecjulqus ! return; 
 And tho' t-o thee their fling my forrows owe ; 
 Not fo refentful fhall my anger flow, 
 
 8. natatti.'j This word here implies fhame, difgracc : Propcrilut 
 thinks it in fomc degree ignominious to love fo wanton a mill rcfs. 
 
 9. earminaj Though Vulpius and Broukliufius wrote crimina, 
 I preferred the more poetical reading of Paffcraiius. Virgil, 
 Tibullus, and Horace, frequently fpeafc. of thofe incantations 
 \>y which love was influenced. 
 
 IZ. formifos pcdti.~\ Vulpius laughingly obferves Uj*on this 
 paflagc; that when the poet addieft Cynthia in this conciliatory 
 jnanner, he might as well have omitted the epithet fonruf's, in 
 peaking of a rival's feet. 
 
 I
 
 H4 PROPERTII ELZGI&. Lib. r. 
 
 Qui modo felices inter numerabar amantes, 
 
 Nunc in amore tuo cogor habere notam. 
 Quid tantum merui ? quae te mihi carmina mutant ? 
 
 An nova triftitiae caufla puella tuae ? 10 
 
 Sic mihi te referas levis, ut non altera noftro 
 
 Lirnine formofos intulit ulla pedes. 
 Quamvis multa tibi doior hie meus afpera debet, 
 
 Non ita laeva lamen venerit ira mea : 
 Ut tibi fim merito femper furor, et tua flendo r 5 
 * Lumina dejeclis turpia fint lacrymis. 
 An quia parva damus. mutato figna calore ? 
 
 Et non ulla meo clamat in ore fides ? 
 Vos eritis teftes, fi quos habet arbor amores, 
 
 Fagus, et Arcadio pinus amata deo. 20 
 
 Ah quoties teneras refonant mea verba fub umbras, 
 
 Scribitur et veftris CYNTHIA corticibus ! 
 
 16. L. dijeS'n f.f. lacrymh.~\ The fame fcholiaft throws a new 
 light upon thefe words; he fays they do not mean, laitb falling 
 tear', ; but rather, your lean being wiped away; leaving your eyes 
 red and inflamed, turpia ; and then he adds, dtjictuntur auttm 
 lacrymce vil digitis, Vel fndario. Broukhulius (who by the way 
 found in fpme MSS. deltt'u, which correfponds with Vulpius's 
 interpretation) introduces upon the fubjeft of weeping, an epi- 
 gram from M. Ant. Flaminius, an Italian poet, too beautiful tc 
 be omitted here: 
 
 Vidtjli nltidm per Candida lllia guttas 
 Ludtre, cum tenui decldit imber aqua f 
 
 Et rorem dt puniceis ft i Hare rofetis, 
 
 Cumffirat nafcens f rigor* tlanda dies ? 
 
 Hits facie!, beec eft Ltgurina Jlenth image. 
 Illlut laeryma mt/ervt ur 
 
 An
 
 Eleg. 18. ELEGIES OF PROPERTIUS. n$ 
 
 That thou fhould'ft e'er grow frantic with defpair, 
 And thy fwoll'n eyes the recent tear declare : 1 $ 
 ay, does neglecl my change of love proclaim? 
 And do no vows breathe forth my am'rous flame ? 
 Witnefs thou beech ! (if trees make love their care) 
 And by Arcadia's god, thou pine ! held dear; 
 How your green fhades my fong has vocal made, 20 
 And CYNTHIA'S name your letter'd rinds difplay'd : 
 
 18. clantat in ore Jtdcs ?~] Pafleratius would interpret thus: 
 " is not the truth of my pafiion fufficiently evinced by my 
 countenance, which is pale and languid :" but Vulpius juftly 
 obferves, that fidci here implies, an alteration to urge belief : 
 fo Ovid, in his Epiftle from Demophoon to Phillis : 
 
 Jura, fidti, ubi nurtc, commijffayue dcxttra dextrac ? 
 <3ui<jne erat inf*l/o flurimul ore dcut ? 
 
 And confidered in this light, the four following lines cme in 
 very well as an anfwer, where the.poet calls the trees to witnefs, 
 that he has made luch fond alterations, by his fongs, and by 
 carving his miftrefs's name upon them. 
 
 20. Fagus, et pinus] Thefe trees are peculiarly fuitecl to 
 lovers, from their gloomy denfe fliadc : Aritlaenetus commemo- 
 rates them, in the words of Acontius, Epijl. 10. Take the f>al- 
 fage from a late modern tranllation : 
 
 O, that each pine, and fpreading beech, 
 
 Were bleft with reafon, and with fpcech ! 
 
 So might they ever more declare 
 
 Cydippe faireft of the fair: 
 
 At leaiV, ye thickets, will I mark 
 
 Her lovely name upon your bark ! 
 
 20. Arcadlo dto.~\ Pan, the Arcadian deity, is generally repre- 
 fented crowned with pine : thus Ovid, FiJ}. j. 
 
 Pan viJel 'lane, finuyue cafut prcecinthu acnta. 
 
 I a Say,
 
 Il6 PROPERTII ELEGI.E. JLjb, u 
 
 Ar) tua quod peperit nobis injuria curas, 
 
 Qua: folum tacitis cognita fui)t foribus ? 
 Omnia confuevi timidus perferre fuperbae 2 
 
 Jufla, neque argxito fai5ta dolore queri. 
 Pro quo, divini fbntes et frigida rupes, 
 
 Et datur inculto tramite dura quies : 
 Et, quodcumque meae polTunt narrare querelas, 
 
 Cogor ad argutas dicere folus ayes. 30 
 
 Sed qualifcumque es, refonent mihi CYNT*HIA filvae, 
 
 Ncc deferta tuo nomin^ faxa vacent. 
 
 314. foritus ?~\ The whole of jLltg. 16. will fervc as a comment 
 on this word. 
 
 27. Pro juo, div'mt fontes] This is certainly the juft reading, 
 as Propenius does addrefs the rocks and ftreams; and we meet 
 with various inftanci-s, in the poets, ef fountains being held di- 
 vine: di-vini fonfts occur in two Gruterian infcriptions, xciv. 6. 
 and ML xx 1 1. 7. Broukhufius however follows Scaliger's textj 
 fro quo, Di, vit'i fontes : but who can refrain from lawghtcr at 
 Palmeiiui's alteration ? Pro yue, D"t t vinunt foittcs. 
 
 ELEGIA
 
 Eleg. 18. ELEGIES OF PROPERTIUS; 117 
 
 Say, do my cares fpring from thy wrongs alone ? 
 Thofe cares, which only to mute doors are known! 
 Fearful I wont thy dictates to obey, 
 Nor loudly murmur'd at thy haughty fway : 25 
 
 For this^ -ye gelid rocks ! ye founts divine! 
 In thefe wild haunts is flceplefs torment mine; 
 Tor this ! I'm doom'd, alone to tuneful choirs 
 To fmg whate'er my tenc'er woe infpires. 
 
 Cut true, or faithlefs, be my Cynthia found ; 30 
 CYNTHIA'S iwe'ei: name let woods, and hills ^elburid! 
 
 jt. Std qua!fatmqtnetj\ In like manner the ^'oet fays of 
 Cynthia, in i/r. ic J~.s yuodcunijue -v i.'ct. 
 
 31. rtjonent mihi Cynthia J>!vt*r,~\ So Vakriui Flaccus, Lib. 3. 
 fjft-aiking of Hyhrs, 
 
 Rwfut Ity.'a, et rn>fot tyla, per l.nga reel nat 
 Avia : refpirjantfti-vj;, ct vaga ct'-ue imago, 
 
 + l. Tiat:r!t.] Various cd'^'was have, tttt-,t % r.Kdt, and : a enfi 
 
 1 3 ELEGY
 
 E L E G I A XIX. 
 
 NO N -ego nunc trifles vcreor, mea Cynthia, 
 manes, 
 
 Nee moror extreme debita fata rogo. 
 Sed ne forte tuo careat mihi funus amore, 
 ; Hie timor eft ipfis durior exfequiis. 
 Non adco leviter noilris pner haeiit ocellis, 5 
 
 ' Ut nieus oblito pxilvis amore vacet. 
 Illk Phylacides jucundae conjugis heros 
 Non ponrit c^cis immemor efie locis. 
 
 He fears the lofs of life, left than the lofs of Cynthia's affec- 
 tion; and ; s pcrfuaded that he lhall luvc her, even after death. 
 The fpur firfl lines of this elegy arc cxquilite. 
 
 i. i*anei,~] This word is varioufly underflood ; it not only 
 means the I'pirits of the departed, which are differently diflin- 
 guiilitd by the le.mures, lar-var, and lares ; but it alfo implies, the 
 b'>nes and alhes of the ticceafed ; nay is often put for funeral 
 rites ; fonuume- it means the irfcrnal dfities, of which Pluto is 
 the chief, and is therefore called Sumtnamis', and very often it it 
 put for the internal regiors, in which laft fenfe I have taken if. 
 
 5. fucr b.r fiticd/r,'] The idea of Cupid's clinging to the 
 eyes, through which love is conveyed to the heart, is not un- 
 common iii the Latin dailies Virgil, ^'n. i. has, Htfc octtlis, 
 b*c piflirt toti k*iet. And Cicero, 1'b Hip. 13. fays, In nui'n 
 
 Sed
 
 I 
 
 t "9 J 
 
 ELEGY XIX. 
 
 Fear not, Cynthia, thro* death's glooms to 
 
 Nor would the fun'ral pile's laft debt delay ; 
 But left thy fondnefs with my life expire, 
 Brings dread far greater than the fatal pyre. 
 
 Caught were thefe eyes by no faint fpark of love, 
 For e'en my duft fhall ne'er oblivious prove ; 
 The brave Protefilaus, in realms of night, 
 Could not forget his bofom's fole delight ; 
 
 7. Pbylacidei'] Protefilaus, fon of Iphiclus, is fo called from 
 his uncle Phybcus, who built the town Phylace in ThefTaly. 
 See Apollodorus, Lib. I. et 3. alfoStrabo, Lib. 9. Protefilaus 
 was the firft prince flain in the Trojan war, according to Homer, 
 //. 2. We are informed by rtyginus, Fat. 103. that his wife 
 JLaodamia begged of the gods, that fhe might pafs three hours 
 with her departed hulband; they granted her requefr, bringing 
 
 . Protefilaus to her; and the three hours being expired, Mercury 
 conduced him back to hell. Some fay that Laodamia died in 
 the embraces of the phantom ; others, that (he vo\ved perpetual 
 chaftity, and pined away with grief. Broukltufius adduces fome 
 monumental infcriptions from Gruterus, wherein the idea of the 
 deceafed revifiting their friends in this world is ftrongly enter- 
 
 ' tained ; he likewife notices the beauty of the expreflion, Tbtf- 
 
 Ja/is umbra. 
 
 I 4 But
 
 120 PROPERTH ELEGISE. Ub. i. 
 
 Seel cupidus falfis attingere gaudia palmis 
 
 Thellalis antiquam venerat umbra dotnum. ro 
 Illic quidquid ero, i'empef tua dicar imago. 
 
 Trajicit et fati litora magnus amor. 
 Illic forniofae veniant chorus heroinx, 
 
 Quas dedit Argivis Darclana prceda viris ; 
 Quarum nulla tua fuerit mihi, Cynthia, forma 15 
 
 Gratior : et Tellus hoc ita jufta finat. 
 Quamvis te longs remorentur fata fene<5he, 
 
 Cara tamen lacrymis ofla fntura meis. 
 
 9, faJJit ftalmis"] Xot with real folid Jiands, bat with fi&itirfns 
 fhadowy hands ; falmit umbraticis, to ufe Plautus's words, who 
 calls a man upon a certain occaiion, umbraticut homo. See his 
 Curcu/io, Ac. 4. Sc. 3. 
 
 it. Jll'ic q.iidquid ero, Y.T The ancients were very iincertairt of 
 their rtate after death ; hut the moft received opinion was, tli.tt 
 the foul migrated into other bodies. Hear Llicretitis, Upon thefe 
 doubts; Lib. i. 
 
 J^n^ralur enim qiuc fit natut-a anima'i: 
 
 Alata lit, an contra nafctntibus Infimutur: 
 
 Et fonul in' feat n',bif;um marie dirempttr: 
 
 sin tinebras Orel vijat, vojloftfuc lacunat : 
 
 *4n pecudti tttias dlvlnitm injinuetfe. 
 
 See alfo a curious note upon this fubjeft in Servitis, aj JF.ntid. 4. 
 1 agree with Broukhufius that the expreflion of fimprr tt/a dicar 
 imago, is tender to a degree; thefe are the words of that able 
 crit-ic : midta e/l temrrmum, rttyue cafi fdtis potcft ab bominibut^- 
 diirit atqut invcnujilt. 
 
 13. /. veniant c. herointe,"] Pafleratius reads vernanf, but for 
 what reafon we are at a lofs to conjeclure; the old MSS. have 
 no fjch reading. The heroines alluded to are Andromache, 
 Cafl'andra, Brifeis, Helen, and others; who fell to the loc of 
 the Grxcian heroes, during the Trojan \var.
 
 Eleg. 19. ELEGIES OF PROPERTIUS. ut 
 
 But the Theflalian ghoft, to prefs the dame 
 
 With airy grafp, to his lov'd manficm came, ro 
 
 Yet, in thofe realms vvhate'er the change I prove, 
 
 Thy faithful (hade fhall never change in lore ! 
 
 Paffions fo vail as mine are wafted o'er 
 
 The lurid wave, and reach the Stygian fiiore : 
 
 Yes ! to thofe realms let all the Dardan fair, 
 
 Heroines a prize to Argivc cfiiefs, repair; 
 
 Still none to me will look like Cynthia bright; 
 
 And lacred Earth fiiall deem my judgment right ! 
 
 16. feUtts toe ita jJ)a jinat.] Thus Vulpius, nfter Broulr- 
 hufius, interprets this pariage : " The Earth would not be ot- 
 fendecl at my preferring you to every other heroine, buc would 
 give me permilliou to judge and chufe for myfelf." The Earth 
 was worihiped ai. facred, becaufe it contained, as it Were in its 
 womb, the marus of the deceafod. Sec Suetonius, in Tiberio, 
 Caj>. 75. ^neas I'acrihces to the. Earili in Virgil, JE n. 6. 
 
 18, 19. Ci'-a lamtn, (&c. t^u* lu viva, G'r,] I v.-jll om'C 
 the various interpretations given by PafTcratius, and Jlrouk^ 
 hufius, to thefe two lines; but will infert at large that of 
 Vnlpius, which I have adopted as the bell: " When thoo o 
 Cynthia ! by the decree of fate, haft arrived to the period of ex- 
 treme old-ge, which (hull have robbed thee of every ch*rm, 
 and left thee a mere Ikeleton ; then I, an inhabitant of the 
 regions below, unable to endure the idea of thy death, will 
 
 greet thy wan form with tears ami kifles ; and I wills, oCyr.- 
 thia! that as you furwA-e me, you would return rry nlTcclion, 
 by paying me due funeral honours, and feeling for me all that t 
 
 -feel for thee.' 1 Joajines Auratus reads vita t by way of apolTro- 
 phe, for viva ; which alteration Broukhufius raiher im'.-d-.- 
 cioafly adopts* 
 
 To.
 
 iiz PROPERTH ELEGISE. Lib. r, 
 
 Quae tu viva mea poffis fentire favilla. 
 
 Turn mihi non \illo mors fit amara loco. io 
 
 Qjiarn vereor, ne te contemto, Cynthia, buffo 
 
 Abftrahat a noftro pulvere fniquus Amor : 
 Cogat et invitam lacrymas ficcare cadentes ! 
 
 Fle&itur affiduis certa puella minis. 
 Quare, dum licet, inter nos Isetemur amantes. i^ 
 
 Non fatis eft ullo tempore longus amor. 
 
 20. ullo loco."! Whether upon lahd, or fea; whether in -my 
 own, or a foreign country. 
 
 44. afffdui: minis.'] We ftiould underhand, Broukhufius ob- 
 ferves, threats blended with tears, promifes, and entreaties j 
 fuch as lovers are wont to ufe : to this purpofe Horacej Od, 8. 
 Lib. 2. 
 
 Pubet tibi crefcit emnii, 
 Servitusfrtfiit ri9va : nee pncra 
 um dotnlnx rfiin^-.iuntf 
 Seffi fitinati. 
 
 L E G I A
 
 Eleg. 19. ELEGIES OF PROPERTIUS. 123 
 
 To wan old-age fiiould fate prolong thy years^ 
 E'en in the {hades thy death I'll mourn with tears : 20 
 O feel ! while living, all I feel for thee ; 
 And then content I'll die, where'er it bet 
 Ah, Cynthia ! much I fear, left Love unjuft 
 Teach thee to fhun my grave, and fpurn my duft; 
 Force thee to flay the torrent of thy tears ; 2$ 
 
 For firmefl hearts will yield to ceafelefs pray'rs. 
 
 Then let's improve fhort pleafures while we may, 
 An age of paffion feems but as a day. 
 
 26. Non ft!s) &c.~\ A long love is inadequate to any time, 
 fays the poet; that is ; we cannot conceive a duration of time 
 that would appear long in love, fo ftiort does the longeft fj>ae 
 of time feem when fpent with one's miftrefs. The fifth Ca r me* 
 of Catullus may ferve as the beft comment on this diilicfc. 
 
 ELEGY
 
 124 
 
 E L E G I A XX. 
 
 HOCJ pro continue te, Galfe, rhonemus amore, 
 Id tibi he vdeuo defiuat ex animo. 
 Sa>pe imprnd'enti fbrtima occurrit amanti, 
 
 Crudelis Alinyis dixcrit Afcanius. 
 Eft tibi non infra fpeciem, non nomine difpar $ 
 Thlodamanteo pnxxiiuus ardor Hylae; 
 
 He cautions his friend Callus, from the fate of Herculcs's 
 Hylas, whofe ftory he introduces, to guard well his own minion 
 6f that name. 
 
 PafFeratius conje&urcs, that the Hylas in quefliorr was the fame 
 Comedian whom. Macfobius mentions, Vaturtial. Cap.-,. Lib. 2. 
 which opinion Vulpius adopts. 
 
 This elegy, Broukhufius fays, is one of i:he moff vex.itious ?Jt 
 the Latin tongue; and he confefTes him'felf much indebted t<V 
 Gronovius, for his fearncd elucidations upon it. Sec his Objer- 
 vat. Cap. 3. Lib. 3. 
 
 3. fort'ina o.-cun-irj Tty fortune, when it is faid to e~cur, is 
 im]>licd ill-foitanc ; when it is faid lo folfai), it implies good 1 
 fortune : quae fcyuftr fwtuna, fcciirdj ffl; qax eccuri'it, oiHirrfa 
 efl tt ir.ftf.d t T t L f i u s . 
 
 Huic
 
 s 3 
 
 ELEGY XX. 
 
 BE warn'd fry friendflrip, which thou long haft 
 tried; 
 
 Nor let my precepts from thy mem'ry flide : 
 Dire fate attends whoe'er has rafhly lov'd j 
 Afcanius baleful to the Minyae prov'd. 
 
 4. Cru&lit Minyls d. 4fcan\ui.'] By the M inyje are to fce ur,- 
 derilood the Argonauts; who were fo called from Minyas, king 
 or Orchomenos bordering upon ThefTaly, which country fur- 
 nilhed many of the heroes who went upon the Argouautic ex- 
 pedition. See Herodotus, in Melpomene; and Apollodorus, 
 Lib. 3. upon the race of the Minyae. Paufanias fays, that all 
 the neighbours of the Orchomenians, and Locrians,' are called 
 JVlinyae : perhaps the Argonauts took the name of Minyae, from 
 their leader Jalbn, who was born at lolchos, a Theflalian town 
 peopled from the Minyse, according to Strabo, Lit. 9. Aicanius, 
 a lake in Bithynia, was laid to be cruel to the Minyx or Ar- 
 gonauts; becaufe it deprived them of Hercules: for the poets 
 feign, that its Naiads ftole away Hylas, as he was drawing 
 WAter at the lake ; and Hercules, who greatly loved this youth, 
 lorfook the Argonauts upon their expedition, to feck after him: 
 the limentation of the Argonauts, upon this misfortune, is 
 dcfcribed fay Valerius Flaccus, Lib. 3. See the Aory of fiylas 
 in Hyginus, Fab. 14. and in Theocritus, JJyl. 13, The vulgar 
 jexts Uavc dax crit, for dixcrit, which is Scaliger's emenda- 
 tion, 
 
 Alike
 
 ja6 PROPERTII ELEGISE. Lib. i 
 
 Huic tu, five leges umbrofe flumina filvar, 
 
 Sive Aniena tuos tinxerit unda pedes : 
 Sive Gigantea fpatiabere litoris ora, 
 
 Sive ubicumque vago fluminis hofpitio : ip 
 
 Nympharum Temper cupidas defende rapinas. 
 
 Non minor Aulbniis efl amor ah Dryafm. 
 Ne tibi fit duros montes, et frigida faxa, 
 
 Galle, neque expertos Temper adire lacus : 
 Qnae mifer ignotis error perpeflus in oris 15 
 
 Herculis indomito fleverat Afcanio. 
 Namqiie ferunt olim Pagafe navalibus Argo 
 
 Egreflam longe Phafidos ifle viam ; 
 
 6. t&tdamatHeo Hyl*.'} Thiodamas, king of the Dryopes, 
 was the father of Hylas, according to Apollonius Rhodius, 
 J/tb. i. though fome call him the fon of Ccyx. Hercules car- 
 ried away Hylas, having flain Thiodamas, in a battle which 
 arol'e from Thiodamas refufing to give Hercules fomething to 
 cat ; upon which Hercules ftule one of his oxen, anci roaitcd it. 
 See Stt-phanus, under the article Thiodamas. 
 
 7. umbrofit liumina_filvce,~\ 5caliger infifts. that the poet al- 
 ludes to CJitumnus by theie words ; but the idea is reprobate'd 
 by all good commentators. 
 
 8. Anhna undo] The fame critic would read Amertna, refer- 
 ring to the Ittcm fadimonit in Tufcany ; but the rapid Anio, as 
 Horace terms it, in the Tiburtine region, is certainly under- 
 tbooi. 
 
 9. Gigantea litoris ora,] The maritime coaft of Cumae is here 
 meant, where the giants are faid to hae fought with the gods, 
 cpon the plain- of Phlegra. See the ftory in Diodorus Siculus, 
 Sirabo, Apollodorus, and others. Silius Italicus, Lib. J2. 
 keuutifully defcribcs both the place, and the acYion. 
 
 iq. <ua?n f. b.~\ The old editions have vagi, applying it to 
 Hnminii\ but giving the epithet to'/j jpitio, Volpius elteems lei's 
 t ite,.and more poetical. 
 
 Et
 
 Eleg4 30. ELEGIES OF PR.OPEB.TIVS. 1^7 
 
 Alike thy Hylas, both in name and face, 5- 
 
 To him who boafts Thiodamantean race : 
 Then, whether coafting on the wood-hung wave, 
 Whether thy footfteps Anio's waters lave, 
 Whether thou roam'ft the Giant-peopled more, 
 Orflieft, a vagrant gueft, where torrents pour; ip 
 Still of the am'rous Nymphs fond thefts beware, 
 Aufonian Dryads too make love their care : 
 Not to cool rocks, or rugged mountains ilray ; 
 Nor to enamour'd lakes e'er bend thy way ; 
 Wand'ring to foreign climes, Alcides tried 15 
 
 All thefe, and wept by cold Afcanius' fide. 
 
 Once from the Pagafean port, 'tis faid, 
 The Argo faiTd, and far as Phafis fled ; 
 
 12. Kan minor ^ufonils, &c.~\ This line is varioufly read, 
 without any alteration however to the fenfe; the meaning of 
 it is, that the Italian nymphs might be as enamoured with 
 Callus's Hylas, as the Bithynian nymphs were with the Hyias 
 f Hercules. I would here remark, that the poet feems unac- 
 countably to have confounded, ih this elegy, the Naiad;, 
 Dryads, and Hamadryads; who were nymphs of diftinft clafTes. 
 
 J 3- f r 'g'd<*~} Muretus's text has turbitta; the Vatican twnbida, 
 of which Lipfius would make tablets; and Broukhufius, after 
 Oronovius, writes tyrrlda, 
 
 14. expertoi f. a. lacus:~] That is ; lakes expert in love, ao 
 ruftomed to love. VULPIUS. 
 
 17. Pagaf* r.avallhns Arg<i\ Hyginus, Fab. z. tells us, that 
 the (hip Argo was built at Pagafa, a town of the Pheraeans, in 
 Theffaly: Ovid calls the Argos, Pagafcca carina. This rtiip firlt 
 failed as far as Phafis, a river of Colchis, which empties itfelf 
 into the Euxine fea ; which fea, and the city of Colchis, the 
 ancients fuppofed to be the extremity of all land and fea eaft- 
 vard ; hence the force of the word long}, in the fentence. See 
 Ifaac Voflius's obfervations upon the fubjecT, in his comment on 
 Catullus's Argonautic poem. BROUKHUSITIS. 
 
 Then
 
 i8 PROPERTII ELEGIVE. Lib. T. 
 
 Etjam prcetcritis labentem Athamantidos undis 
 
 Myforum icopulis adplicuifle ratem. 29 
 
 Hie manus heroum placitis ut conftitit orb, 
 
 Mollia compoilta litora fronde tegir. 
 At conies irrvifti jxivenis proceflerat ultra 
 
 Ranam fepofiti quaerere fontis aquam. 
 Hunc duo feftati fratres Aquilonia prole?. 5 
 
 Hunc fuper et Zethes, hunc fuper et Calais 
 OfcuFa fuipenfis inflabant carpere palmis, 
 
 Ofcula et alterna ferre fupina fug.V. 
 31Ie liib extrema pendens fecluditur ala, 
 
 Et volucres ramo fubmovet infidias. 50 
 
 Jam Pandionice ceflat genus Orithyiiu : - 1 
 
 Ah dolor ibat Hylas, ibat Hamadiyalm. 
 
 19. jftbamaiit'Jos undit] The HeJlcfpont is fo called from 
 Helle, daughter of Athamas, who was drowned in this ftrait, 
 as (he attempted to pafa it on her purple ram. See the flory ifl 
 Apollodorus, l*ib. \. an(J in Qvid, Mttnm. 4. 
 
 20. Myforum fcopallt] Myfia is a region of Afia, borderinc; 
 upon Phrygi* and Bithyniaj as Strabo relates, Lib. 12. and ve 
 ^re informed by Apollonius, Lib. I. that this rock-encircled 
 haven was at the foot of mount Arganthus, or Arganthoneu'Ji 
 near the mouths of the river Cios. 
 
 ai. flacitis] Many editions hive placiJii. 
 
 23. c'.met inviffi JHvenit'] By thcfe words we are to under* 
 fiand Hylas, the companion of the invincible youth Hercules. 
 
 24. Rwm.f. f. /. o.~\ This epithet is very happy ; as there 
 are but few fprings in the dry, thirtty fituation of Myfia, and 
 Bithynia. 
 
 z6. Zitbft ? falo't's] Thefe were the fons of Boreas, by 
 Orithyia dAughtei of Pandion. ee OvU, Metam. 6. and Pa,u- 
 fanias, in Lacon. & El.ac. 
 
 3 HiQ
 
 Eleg. 20. ELEGIES OF PBOPERTHU. i3t) 
 
 Then o'er the Hellefpoht the veflel pafs'd, 
 And Myfia's rocky haven reach'd at laft : 20 
 
 Here ttie brave throng the grateful fhore o'erfpread, 
 And en the turf with leaves they form'd their bed; 
 Mean while th' unconquer'd hero's boy went on, 
 To find the Icarce ftream's fecret fount alone ; 
 Zethes and CalaYs, twins from Boreas fprung, 15 
 Purfu'd him clofe, and preffing round him hung; 
 Pois'd by their hands, they bear each kifs fupinc 
 Aloft, and fnatch by turns the theft divine; 
 Uprais'd in air the youth avoids th' embrace, 
 And in their wings' laft fhelter hides his face ; 30 
 Then with a little bough he foon removes 
 The fwift attacks of their infidious loves. 
 And now Orithyia's fons of Pandion race, 
 Foil'd in th' attempt, gave o'er their anx'rous 
 chafe; 
 
 When 
 
 28. Ofculafupira] Thefe words, and indeed the whole paf- 
 fage, from the z^th to the 3010 line, have greatly diftrefled the 
 fevc-ral commentators who have attempted to explain them. 
 The idea appears (imply to be this : Hylas, having left his 
 friend Hercules with the other Argonautic chiefs, went alone 
 in fcarch of frefh water, which was very valuable in thofe 
 fins : Zcthcs and Calais fee him as he goes along, and fait 
 K wetDtonlj
 
 I^ ?ROMRTIl ELGIA:. Lib. It 
 
 Hie erat Arganthi pege fub verticc mentis 
 
 Grata dpmus Nymphis humida Thyriafin. 
 Quam fupra nulls? pendebant cltbita curie $5 
 
 Rofcida delertis poma fub arboribus, 
 Et circumriguo furgebant lilia prato 
 
 Candida purpureis mixta papaveribus. 
 Quce modo decerpens tenero pueriliter ungui, 
 
 Propofito fiorem prastulit oflicio. 40 
 
 Et modo formofis incumbens nefcius undis 
 
 Errorem blandis tardat imaginibus. 
 
 Tandem 
 
 wantonly in love with him j accordingly they fwim, as it were, 
 in the air ; a.nd endeavour to kifs him, which they eflet by his 
 .looking up at them with aftoniihment ; the attitude he is in'vcry 
 beautifully explains the meaning of the word fup'ma ; but not 
 
 content with thefe amorous indulgencies, they lift him up in 
 the air, endeavouring to bear him away : the manner i;i which 
 he hides his face under the remotcil part of their wings, and 
 the little bough with which he beats them oft", thereby obtain- 
 
 Ing his releafc, would be a very delightful fubjeft for the pencil 
 of fome fine, and claffic painter. 
 
 33- P*& ( ~\ M an y aflTert, that Pege was the name of the foufi- 
 taun into which Hylas fell; and as almoft all editors dJftinguilh 
 the word by a capital P, they feem to afient to this opinion : 
 but I rejeft it ; as the poet has' juft before told us, that the lake 
 into which Hy las fell, was named Afcanius ; if Propertius then 
 did write ffgtf he perhaps merely meant to ufe a grecilm to ex- 
 prels a fountain : however the reader may confult upon this liae 
 Turnebus, Aivtrfar. C#p. i $. Lib. u. Murctus would read, 
 -fad I think not improperly : 
 
 Hit erat Argantlmnti fub virtlci mtntis, 
 
 Apolloniu*
 
 Keg. 20. ELEGIES OF PROPERTIITS. 131 
 
 When Hylas onward haflen'd to his doom, 35 
 
 And fought, ah grief! the Hamadryads home. 
 Beneath Arganthus' lofty height there flood 
 A fount, the Thynian Naiads moift abode; 
 On the wild trees, that deckt its margin, grew, 
 Ettrang'd to culture, apples fed with dew; 40 
 
 And lilies, in the dank furrounding meads, 
 Mid crimfon poppies rear'd their filler heads : 
 To cull thefe flow'rs with artlefs fingers went 
 The boy, unmindful of his firft intent ; 
 
 Apollonius Rhodius does to be Cure make mention of a fountain 
 named P?gt, or Peg* ; and though Vulpius lays much ftrek 
 upon this paffage, yet I do not think ii any thing to our prefent 
 purpofe ; but let the reader fee the Greek author's lines, from 
 L:b. I. and judge for himfeli. 
 
 34. NyMtfhit Tbyaiafm.] Thynian is here put for Bithynian ; 
 although Thynia, and Bithynia, were feparate places, according 
 to Pliny; vvitnefs alfo Catullus, Carm. 31. 
 
 Vix rn\ iffe credent Tbyrlun atjuc Bifiyaos 
 
 37, 38. lil- a p. C. p. m. f>af>av:ri!>us:] Theocritus, in his 
 Hyias, neither mentions the lily, or poppy : though he com- 
 memorates the maiden-hair, wild-parllcy, and various other 
 plants. 
 
 39. ter.s<'o ungui,] This is a very happy expreflior. ; the ufe of 
 the nail, in nipping off a flower from its ftalk, is very evident; 
 and the epithet ten;' is admirably defcriptive of youth ; the na'.ls 
 growing hard with age, as Pafferatius remarks. 
 
 4-ii farms/is j<W'i] I would not underrland, ihc pleafant water, 
 by thefe words ; but rather, the water rendered beautiful by be- 
 !;. i>aiaid with the lovely image of Hylas, 
 
 K z Then
 
 ij2 PKOPERTII ELEGIJE, Lib. i. 
 
 Tandem haurire parat demiffis flumina palmis 
 
 Innixus dextro plena trahens humero. 
 Cujus ut accenfne Dryades candore puellze 45 
 
 Mirata: folitos deftituere chores, 
 Prolapfum leviter facili traxere liquorc. 
 
 Turn fonitum rapto corpore fecit Hylas. 
 Cui procul Alcides iterat refponfa : fed illi 
 
 Nomen ab extremis fontibus aura refert. 
 
 His, 6 Galle, tuos monitis fervabis amores, 
 
 Formofum nymphis credere tutus Hylan. 
 
 44. Innixui dtxtrt p. t. bumtro,^ Vulpius adduces, upon thefc 
 words, the following vcrfes from Apollonius, Lib. i. as a com 
 int-ntj expletive of the motion of drawing water: 
 
 I hsve made no fcruple to mention the vafa in the tranflatlon ; 
 as Theocritus particularly fpeaks of it, and as Vulpius gives the 
 following interpretation to innixui btmero; that is, fays Lc, ad- 
 du.'h bracbio conatus txtrebtre plenum urnam. Nic. Heinfius, and 
 BroukhufiuSj would prefer the reading of, Nixus tt e.\Jertt. 
 
 ELEGIA
 
 Eleg. 20. ELEGIES OF PROPERTIUS. 133 
 
 Then near the painted wave unconfcious lay, 45 
 
 And his reflected charms prolong'd his ftay j 
 
 At length, with hands plung'd in, the wave h 
 
 fought ; 
 
 His right arm lab'ring with the vafe full fraught : 
 The Dryad-maids, whom his fair beauties fir'd, 
 Forfook their choral frolics, and admir'd ; 50 
 
 As Hylas fell, beneath the yielding flood 
 They drew the boy, who wept his rape aloxid ; 
 Far off Alcides anfwer'd as he mourn'd, 
 And echo from deep founts his name return'd. 
 
 Thus warn'd, o Gallus ! watch thy love with care ; 
 Nor trnft with nymphs a youth like Hylas fair. 
 
 47. traxtre] Anollonius calk the nymph, who pi))led Hylas 
 into the water, Ephydatia; Valerius Flaccus calls her Dryopc; 
 and Theocritus fays, that it %s - as the united efforts of three 
 nymphs. 
 
 49. Slh'idtt itfat re fan fa :~] Thus the Sicilian ami Mantuau 
 bards, in Llyll. 13. and Eflg. 6. 
 
 noiu) Is /ureXfe (T^siov fptro nof-ai. 
 Htus, H)'I,i, Hyla otnne finaret. 
 
 50. aura"] By this word is to be underftood an echo ; for 
 Nicandcr, -apud /Jntanimim Liberatem, te!h us ; that the Naiads, 
 fearing left Hercules ihould find out Hylas, whom they had 
 concealed among them, transformed him into an echo. 
 
 BKOU Kiiusius. 
 
 K 3 ELEGY
 
 E L E G I A XXI. 
 
 TU, qui confortem properas evadere cafum, 
 Miles ab Etrufcis faucius aggeribus : 
 Quid noftro gemitu turgentia lumina torques ? 
 
 Pars ego fum veflrx proxima militia?. 
 Sic tc fervato poffint gaudere parentes, <; 
 
 Hasc foror Acca tuis fentiat e lacrymis, 
 Gallum per medios ereptum Casfaris enfes 
 Effugere ignotas non potuifle manus. 
 
 Vulpins calls this elegy a profopopceia ; wherein Gallus, who 
 was (lain during the war of Perxiiia, addreffes the parTenger, or 
 as others will have it Propertius. Some editors entitle it the 
 epitaph of Gallus, thinking perhaps that it ought to be j.rcfactd 
 
 2. ab Etrufcis aggeribits :] Beroaldus would unckrftand the 
 military works and fortifications, with which Auguftus fur- 
 rounded Perufia, a city of Etruria ; when he defended it againft 
 L. Antonius, in whofe army Gallus ferved. See Appias, Lib. 5. 
 and Florus, Lib. 4. Cap. 5. 
 
 6. dcea\ Such is Scaliger's much-approved emendation ; ge- 
 rcrally adopted for the harlher reading of the vulgar texts, orta. 
 Many Accae are Ipoken of; Virgil mentions one; AulusGellius 
 another. Vulpius rather idly conjectures, that this Acca might 
 not he the fiiter of Gallus, but of the foldier to whom Gallps 
 fpeaks. 
 
 it
 
 r 135 j 
 
 ELEGY XXI. 
 
 THOU! who the battle's common fate haft 
 fled, 
 
 Halt by a wound from Tufcan ramparts bled, 
 Why for my lofs roll thy fwol'n eyes in tears ? 
 Becaufe I late partook thy martial cares : 
 O warrior ! let thy pearly forrews tell 5 
 
 To my lov'd Acca, how her brother fell ; 
 So may thy parents greet thy fafe return ! 
 Tell her, how Callus, who, thro' dangers borne 
 Mid Ca:far's armed legions, death defied, 
 At lad bv hands of unknown ruffians died : 10 
 
 7. Galluai] Vulpius doubts, whether this is the fame volup- 
 tuous Gallus, whom our poet mentions, in Eleg. 5. 10. tj. and 
 20: but Pafleratius infiits that it is; and calls him Cornelius 
 Gallus, upon whom Virgil wrote his tenth Eclogue: however, 
 Vulpius accufes this commentator of continually confounding 
 the three Galli, whom Propcrtms mentions ; viz, the prefcnt 
 Gallus, who was perhaps related to our poet, according to the 
 fubfequent c!gy ; a Gallus fcm of Arriz, and brother of Luper- 
 cus ; he was au enfign in the Roman army, and (lain by the 
 enemy ; and Cornelius Gallus, the pra:fc<ft of ./Egypt, who was 
 the famous poet, and the lover of Lycoris ; mention is made of 
 him by Suetonius, sti>guj{. Caf>. 66. but after alf, we are left in 
 ihc dark abovt the Callus of this elegy. 
 
 And
 
 136 PROPERTII ELEGIJE. Lib. i. 
 
 Et quaecumque fupcr difperfa invenerit ofla 
 Montihus Etrufcis, haec fciat cfle mea. i 
 
 ELEGI A 
 
 to. Motit!l>ui Etrufeli,"] The Apennine mountains are to be 
 nderftood, which bound Etruria to the north: here it feems 
 that Callus was flain ; being m by a fct of banditti, perhaps 
 
 nativct
 
 Hcg. 21. ELEGIES OP PROJPERTIUS. ij 
 
 And learn, o ftranger ! when loofe bones you fee 
 On Tyrrhene heights, thofe bones belong to me. 
 
 natives of the country, hired by Auguftus to fcour thefe tnotm* 
 tains : Callus therefore regrets, tht he, who came off lafe ia 
 the midit of war, ihoulJ fall ingloviouily by a few uudUcinlii:cdl p 
 fcoutj. 
 
 ELEGY
 
 C 138 
 
 E L E G I A XXII. 
 
 OU ALI S, et uncle genus, qui fmt mihi, Tulle, 
 penates, 
 
 Qusris pro noftra lemper amicitia. 
 Si Perufina tibi patrue funt nota fepultas 
 
 Italiae dufis funera temporibais, 
 Qnum Romana fnos egit difcordia cives : ij 
 
 (Sis mini pnecipucr pulvi^ Etrufca dolor. 
 Tu proje&a mei perpefla es membra propinqui, 
 
 Tu nullo miferi contegis ofla iblo :) 
 Proxima fuppofito contingens Umbria campo 
 
 Me genuit, terris fertilis nberibus. 10 
 
 He informs Tullus of his origin. As Pfopertius began this 
 book of his elegies by addrcfling Tullus, fo he concludes it ; 
 for which reafon this firli book has been funpofed to be fingular, 
 and as fuch calkd nwnobibhs. Horace begins and concludes the 
 firft book of his epiitlcs in like manner; firfl by addi'e'Ting Mae- 
 cenas, and laftly informing him of his parentage. 
 
 3. Pentjinn] It is evident here, that the foregoing elegy 
 will ferve as an ample comment upon the remainder of this. 
 3. fipult*'] So Scaliger corrected ihe old inelegant reading, 
 
 FINIS.
 
 [ '39 
 
 ELEGY XXII. 
 
 MY race, my nation, fain would Tullus know ; 
 Long friendship lure the queftron will allow : 
 No ftranger thoii to fam'd Perufia's war, 
 In which my ruin'd country bore its fliarc; 
 What time Italia labour'd with her doom, 
 And difcord arm'd the citizens of Rome. 
 (Etruria ! thou, chief caufe of all my wee ; 
 Ah wretched foil ! that bafely could'rt allow 
 My kinfman's corfe unburied to remain, 
 Nor let feme fcanty fod his bones contain.) 10 
 
 Then, bord'ring on this fpot of conqxier'd earth, 
 Umbria's rich mendovrs lie, which gave me birth. 
 
 7. mti prep'nqu'i,~\ Gallus in all probability is here meant. 
 See the preceding elegy. 
 
 9. Umbri*~\ This country is placed in the fixth region of 
 Italy, according to Pliny, Cap 14. Lib. 3. and is fiiuated near 
 the ruins of Perufia. In Umbria ftands Mcvania, the reputed 
 birth-place of our post ; it is reckoned fertile from its frequent 
 inundations ; fee Strabo, Lib. 5. on the geography of Umbria? 
 whofe inhabitants, as well as their neighbours the Etrurians, 
 were a fit well-red people ; witnefs Catulluj, Cam. 39. 
 Art porcut Umter } aut cbffut En ufcui. 
 
 THE E N D.
 
 ERRATA. 
 
 Page xi:. in the Life, for CUnius, read C-lnius. 
 Page 33. 1. 4 . for 
 
 Since o'er Riphaean. heights our conrfe we bent, 
 And far beyond Memnonian regions went : 
 
 read 
 
 With thee Riphrean heights I'd traverfe o'er, 
 And Ethiopia's fartheil lands explore : 
 
 P. 93. 1. 5. for brother's read brothers* 
 
 P. 17. 1. 7. in the Notes, for c ailult read txfaflub. 

 
 
 
 
 
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