GEORGIC III. ARGUMENT. VIRGIL begins this Georgic, on the breeding of cattle, by announcing his intention of singing Pales, the goddess of shepherds, and Apollo, who fed the herds of Admetus on the banks of the Amphry sus-He observes that fabulous tales, the familiar themes of every poet, pall by repetition; and that he shall endeavor to soar beyond the track of imitators, and bring new palms to his native Mantua, by celebrating actions founded on truth, the victories of the Romans, and the triumphal honors of Augustus-This intention he conveys under a sublime allegory of the apotheosis of Augustus, and of the games which he himself proposes to institute in honor of his divinity-In the mean while he obeys the command of Mæcenas, and continues his rural theme-In an animated description of a chariotrace, he dwells on the ardor and spirit of the contending animals-This leads him to the mention of the inventor of chariots, and of those who first tamed the horse for the purposes of riding-The subject of bulls and horses being concluded, he enters on that of sheep and goats; dwells on the peculiar care which they require in winter; on their excellence and utility; how they are to be managed in warm weather-This easily leads to a digression on the Libyan shepherds wandering with their flocks over boundless plains; and to this description he contrasts that of the cattle and climate of Scythia-He now gives directions concerning wool and the choice of sheep, and chiefly of the rams; of the nourishment proper for sheep kept for milk-The care of sheep leads him to that of dogs, the defenders of the fold-Thence he proceeds to mention the injuries to which cattle are subject, snakes and serpents; and particularly dwells on one that haunts the Calabrian woods-He then notices the diseases of sheep and their remedies; and describes at large a plague which laid waste the regions about the Alps; its effects on calves, swine, horses, bulls; traces its progress through earth, sea, and air; and concludes this highly-wrought detail with the miserable death of those who dared to handle the infected fleece or hide. THOU too, great Pales! and th' Amphrysian swain, 5 1 Pales, the goddess of shepherds. Amphrysus, a river of Thessaly, where Apollo fed the herds of King Admetus. Lycæus, a mountain of Arcadia, famous for sheep, and sacred to Pan. 5 Eurystheus, son of Sthenelus, king of Mycena, at the instigation of Juno imposed on Hercules his twelve labors. Busiris, a king of Egypt, son of Neptune. He sacrificed all foreigners to Jupiter. When Hercules visited Egypt, Busiris took him to the altar, bound hand and foot. The hero soon liberated himself, and sacrificed the tyrant and his son on the altar.-Stawell. 7 Hylas was beloved by Hercules, and accompanied him in the Argonautic expedition. In attempting to draw water from a fountain he fell in, and was drowned; and thence gave rise to the fable of his having been carried away by the nymphs. See Theocritus, Idyll. 13, and Apollonius Rhodius, book i. 1206. Delos, one of the Cyclades islands, in the Ægean sea. It is fabled that this island floated till Latona brought forth in it Apollo and Diana, after which time it became fixed. 8 Hippodame was the daughter of Enomaus, king of Elis and Pisa. Either enamored of the beautiful princess, or afraid, as foretold by an oracle, of being slain by his son-inlaw, or by one of his daughter's children, he refused to marry her, unless the suitor could surpass, in a chariot-race, his horses begotten by the wind. Thirteen suitors thus perished; I too will strive o'er earth my flight to raise, 10 Near the pure stream, amid the green champaign, 15 Where with slow bend broad Mincio's waters stray, 20 25 but Pelops succeeded, by bribing the charioteer of Enomaus to leave one of the wheels unpinned. Pelops was gifted with an ivory shoulder, to supply the loss of the one devoured by Ceres, when his father Tantalus, in order to try the divinity of the gods, slew him, and served up his flesh at a celestial banquet. 14 Idumæa, or the land of Edom, was famous for palms: Virgil therefore uses Idumæan palms for palms in general, as is common in poetry. Palms were used for crowns in all the games, as we find in the fourth question of the eighth book of Plutarch's Symposiacs; where he inquires why the sacred games had each their peculiar crown, but the palm was common to all.-Martyn. Dr. Hurd considers the following splendid passage of the dedication of a temple to Cæsar, and of the sacred games and festivities in honor of his divinity, as an allegory of the poet's intention to complete the Æneid, and in the person of Eneas to shadow forth and consecrate the character of Augustus. Now view the turning scenes, and now behold Here the vast Nile shall wave with war, and there 30 35 29 The ancient scenes were painted on a triangular machine, which was so formed as to turn on an axle or pin: each of its three sides represented a different subject: viz. 1. a city; 2. a palace, or magnificent portico; 3. a wild forest, cave, or meadow. When a comedy was played the first of these three frontispieces was turned towards the spectators; when a tragedy, the second; when a satirical piece, such as the Cyclops of Euripides, the third was exposed to view. These triangular machines were placed under the arches of the theatre. See Vitruv. 1. v. and L'Antiquité expliquée par Montfaucon, tom. iii. p. 235.-Warton. Stawell. The tapestry of the purple curtain of the theatre seemed to be supported by the inwoven figures of the newly conquered Britons. In the year of Rome 727, the Britons had sent ainbassadors to Cæsar, to supplicate for peace.-Voss. 33 This alludes to the victory obtained over the Egyptians and their allies, commanded by Antony and Cleopatra, in the year of Rome 724. Servius tells us that Augustus having conquered all Egypt, made of the beaks of ships four columns, which were afterward placed by Domitian in the capitol, and were to be seen in his time.-Martyn. Niphates, the name of a mountain and river of Armenia. Milton has excellently described the flying fight of the Parthians. How quick they wheel'd, and, flying, behind them shot Of their pursuers, and overcame by flight. 37 Catrou relates from Dion Cassius that Augustus made war twice on the Cantabrians, and on the Asturians, and twice in Asia. He went in person against the Spaniards the first time they revolted; and they were subdued the second There breathing forms in Parian marble trace, Who for th' Olympian palm the courser rears, 40 46 50 55 time by his lieutenant Carisius. He twice subdued the Parthians, and both times commanded his armies in person.Martyn. 39 Paros, an island in the Ægean sea, famous for its marble quarries. 41 Virgil here compliments Augustus with adorning his temple with the statues of his Trojan ancestors. Homer has traced the descent from Jove to Eneas. Apollo was born in Delos, in which is the mountain Cynthus: he is said to have built Troy in the reign of Laomedon.-Martyn. 43 Ixion attempted to violate Juno, for which crime he was cast into hell, and bound with twisted snakes to a wheel continually turning. Sisyphus infested Attica with robberies, for which he was slain by Theseus, and condemned in hell to roll to the top of a hill a stone which always revolves before it reaches the summit.- Martyn. 49 Citharon, a mountain of Boeotia, famous for cattle. 51 Epidaurus, a town of Peloponnesus, noted by Strabo for excellent borses. |