Fatter than fat Hispulla, and as slow With bulk, should fall beneath no common blow; Shrinks at the roaring waves, the howling winds, The surging billows that to heaven aspire, From the same source, another danger view, With pitying eye,-though dire, alas! not new; not appear that Juvenal believed this idle tale, which is also laughed at by Addison, who has collected, from what Sterne calls his "satchel of school-books," a variety of passages on the subject. One, however, which would have given him infinitely more information than all the rest, escaped his notice: it is that exquisite description in Pliny's letter to his friend Románús, (lib. vIII. Epist. 8,) a perfect model, as it seems to me, of simplicity, elegance, and taste. VER. 22. And scarce believes &c.] This idea is not ill expressed by Claudian : "Horret adhuc animus, manifestaque gaudia differt, De Bel. Gil. v. 8. But known too well, as Isis' temples show, VER. 39. Isis, &c.] The hatred which our author bears to this exotick deity, breaks out in contemptuous sneers at his coun trymen, for their mad confidence in her. And, indeed, it does seem a little singular, that an Egyptian goddess, whose genuine worshippers at home held the sea, and every thing connected with it, in abhorrence, should be fixed upon at Rome for the tutelar Power of that element; and have her temples crowded with votive tablets! Anciently, these were hung up to Neptune; and in this there was some propriety: but it was not only on his prerogatives that she trenched, but on those of Apollo, Esculapius, &c. "Nunc, Dea, nunc succurre mihi; nam posse mederi "Picta docet templis multa tabella tuis.” Catul. I. 3. The unbounded attachment of the women to her, seems to have finally seduced the men; and this strange divinity (whose temples were little better than marts of debauchery) was suffered to usurp, by rapid degrees, the attributes of almost every other god. The tablets, which men in danger of shipwreck vowed to Isis, and which they procured to be painted, and hung up in her tem ple, contained a representation of their perils and escape. Had this been the worst, there would have been little reason to regret the universality of her worship; for the temples of the Roman gods contained tablets of a much less innoxious nature. Propertius, even while he confesses that they were abandoned to spiders, appears to derive some satisfaction from reflecting, that the webs of those insects covered the impure paintings which disgraced their walls. He pathetically describes the prevalence, as well as the dreadful effects, of this profanation: Quæ manus obscoenas depinxit prima tabellas, "Et mala desertos occupat herba deos!" The vagabond and profligate priests of Isis were not the least zealous in following this practice; and we may be certain, that This now befell Catullus: for a sea, Upsurging, pour'd tremendous o'er the lee, And fill'd the hold; while, press'd by wave and wind, To right and left, by turns, the ship inclined: And gave his treasure to preserve his life. 66 Away with all that's mine," he cries, "away!" And plunges in the deep, without delay, Purples, which soft Mæcenases might wear, Crimsons, deep-tinctured in the Bætick air, Where herbs and springs of secret virtues, stain The flocks at feed, with Nature's richest grain. the walls of her sanctuary exhibited other designs than shattered ships, and limbs and bodies variously affected. VER. 49. The beaver thus, &c.] This, as every one knows, is an idle story; it makes, however, a very good illustration in our author's hands and I observe that it is used precisely in the same manner, in a letter which Sapor is said to have sent to Constantius. Hocque bestias factitare: quæ cum advertant cur maximopere capiantur, illud propria sponte amittunt, ut vivere deinde possint impavida. Amm. Marcel. lib. xvII. 5. VER. 57. Where herbs and springs &c.] There is not, perhaps, much more foundation for this fact, than for that mentioned in the last note; the belief of it, however, was very general: and this is sufficient for the poet. Martial frequently speaks of this singular property of the air and water of Bætica, (Andalusia,) in staining the fleeces of the sheep kept there, with a bright yellow or golden hue: and Virgil, With these, neat baskets from the Britons bought, long before him, had mentioned this faculty of communicating colours to the "flocks at feed," as one of the blessings of that golden period, which was to commence with the arrival of young Pollio at man's estate: "Ipse sed in pratis aries jam suave rubenti, &c." The truth of this was not ascertained, because the youth, whoever he was, died too soon; but as nature is invariable, methinks the wool of Andalusia should be as rich in native grain now, as heretofore perhaps it is so: The Spanish shepherds however, do not trust to this; they stain the fleeces of their sheep at present with a kind of ochre: probably they always did so, and this, after all, may be the secret. VER. 59. neat baskets from the Britons bought,] These baskets (almost the only manufacture of our simple ancestors) seem to have excited the admiration, indeed I might say the envy, of the Romans, by the beauty of their workmanship. It is curious to observe how greatly the most savage nations excel in this kind of rush-work. Vaillant speaks highly of some baskets which he found among the people of Caffraria; and our navigators have brought from the new-discovered isles, specimens of art in this branch, which our expertest basket-makers would strive in vain to equal. It is some little compliment to our forefathers, that their conquerors adopted the name with the article, which must have born a high price, if we may judge from the value of the precious effects among which it is enumerated. Bascauda is Juvenal's term :-making allowance for the Roman orthography, here is a word which has continued perhaps unchanged in sound, for more than two thousand years. VER. 62. A Pholus, or a Fuscus' wife, &c.] Pholus was an honest, free-hearted Centaur; a little given to drink, it must be confessed, but not more so than his company; since it appears that his guest, Hercules, emptied the goblet, as well as himself: Σκυφιον δε λαβων δηπας εμμετρον ὡς τριλαγυνον Πιειν επισχόμενο, το ρα οι παρέθηκε ΦιλΘ. κεράσας. Adod, as Mungo says, 'twas a tumper ! The wife of Fuscus, indeed, might have "drained" such a Follow'd by numerous dishes, heaps of plate, Plain, and enchased, which served, of ancient date, The wily chapman of the Olynthian state. vessel; for the Roman writers take frequent notice of the immoderate love of the women for wine; see p. 303. Not to multiply instances, I shall content myself with a passage from Plautus. It is very humorous, and withal so ardent, that I doubt whether the most brainsick lover ever poured out such genuine strains of rapture to his goddess, as the bibulous old lady before us lavishes on her darling liquor: "Flos veteris vini meis naribus objectus est. "Ejus amor cupidam me huc prolicit per tenebras : "Ubi, ubi est? prope me est. Evax! habeo. Salve anime mi, "Nam omnium unguentum odor præ tuo, nautea est. "Tu crocinum et casia es, tu bdellium: nam ubi Curcul. A. 1. S. 2. Thornton's version of this passage does it so little justice, that I have ventured to translate it anew : Huh! huh! the flower, the sweet flower of old wine, Hurries me, darkling, hither: where, O where, Is the dear object? sure 'tis near,-Ye gods! Ye gracious gods! I have't. Life of my life! Frankincense, oil of myrrh! where thou art found, VER. 65. The wily chapman &c.] Philip of Macedon, who is said, by Demosthenes, to have persuaded the governour of Olynthus (a strong town at the foot of Mount Athos) to deliver it up to him for a bribe. There is no necessity for understanding Juvenal literally, it is sufficient that the plate thrown overboard by Catullus was extremely valuable: and yet, if we consider how very earnest the Romans were to get into their possession every thing rich, or rare, that Greece afforded, it will not appear very |