Ultima Cumai venit jam carminis ætas : Magnus ab integro sæclorum nascitur ordo. toral verse above the common style, and though he still brings his images from the country, yet to make it worthy the perusal of a Roman consul. Ultima Cumai venit, &c.] He now begins the subject of the eclogue, which is the Sibylline prophecy of new and happy days, the return of Astræa, and of the golden age. Cumai carminis.] The general opinion is, that there were ten heathen prophetesses, or Sibyls, the Delphian, Erythræan, Cumæan, Samian, Cuman, Hellespontic, Lybian, Phrygian, Persian, and Tiburtine. One of these, whether the Cumæan or Erythræan is not certain, and some say it was the Cuman, came to Tarquin, king of Rome, and offered him nine volumes of prophecies, for which she demanded a great price. When this proposal was rejected by the king, she withdrew, and burned three volumes; and coming again before the king, asked the same sum for the six. Being rejected again, she did as before, and returned with the remaining three volumes, insisting still upon the same price which she had demanded for the whole. The king, imagining there was something extraordinary in them, from this unusual conduct of the Sibyl, bought them of her, and caused them to be laid up among the sacred archives of Rome. Two men were appointed to have the care of this treasure: their number was afterwards increased to ten, 5 and at last to fifteen. When the Capitol was burnt, a little before the dictatorship of Sylla, these sacred volumes perished in the flames. The senate, to remedy this loss, sent messengers all over Italy and Greece, to collect as many verses of the Sibyls as could be procured. They found about a thousand, which were brought to Rome, and kept with the greatest care, till at last they were burnt by Stilico, in the time of the emperor Honorius. What these verses were is not now certainly known; for those which are now extant, under the name of the Sibylline Oracles, are not without reason generally thought to be spurious. This, however, we may conclude, from the eclogue before us, that they foretold the birth of a child, to happen about that time; under whom the world should enjoy peace and happiness. This must certainly allude to our blessed Saviour, of whose birth the prophecies in Isaiah are so like many verses in this eclogue, that we may reasonably conclude, that those truly inspired writings had been seen by the Sibyls themselves, or at least by Virgil. Magnus ab integro, &c.] Hesiod mentions five ages of the world: 1. The golden age, in the days of Saturn, when men lived like the gods, in security, without labour, without trouble, and not subject to the miseries of old age. Their death was like going to sleep; they enjoyed all the conveniencies of life in tran Jam redit et Virgo, redeunt Saturnia regna: Tu modo nascenti puero, quo ferrea primum quillity; the earth produced plenty of all fruits without tillage. 2. The silver age, in which men were less happy, being injurious to each other, and neglecting the due worship of the gods. 3. The copper, or, as we commonly call it, the brazen age, in which men discovered copper, made themselves armour with it, and were given to violence and war. 4. The age of demi-gods and heroes, who warred at Thebes and Troy. 5. The iron age, in which Hesiod lived, which was to end when the men of that time grew old and grey. Thus, by the great order of the ages beginning anew, Virgil means that the golden age was then returning. Jam redit et virgo.] The emperor Constantine, and many other pious christians, will have this to allude to the blessed Virgin. But Virgil certainly meant Astræa, or Justice, who is said by the poets to have been driven from earth to heaven by the wickedness of mankind; and therefore her returning is one sign of the restoration of the golden age. Redeunt Saturnia regna.] Hesiod says the golden age was under the reign of Saturn in heaven. Jam nova progenies, &c.] The emperor Constantine is of opinion that this verse plainly alludes to our blessed Saviour. 10 Tu modo nascenti, &c.] The poet now invokes Lucina, and entreats her to favour the birth of the infant, of whom there were such great expectations at this time; and declares, that it was to be in the consulship of Pollio. Nascenti puero.] The child, that was to be born in that age, when the world should be at peace, as was foretold by the oracles, was without doubt our blessed Saviour. But the poet, ignorant of the true sense of the prophecies, understands them to mean the peace which was settled when he wrote this eclogue, and applies all the blessings which were promised to the reign of Christ, to a child that was then expected to come into the world. The commentators have not determined with any certainty what child it was to whom these promised blessings are ascribed by the poet. Casta fave Lucina.] Lucina is the goddess presiding over childbirth. Some will have her to be the same with Juno, because the women in labour used to call upon Juno Lucina for help. Virgil uses the epithet casta, because Diana was a virgin. We may observe, by the invocation of Lucina here, that the child was not yet born. Tuus jam regnat Apollo.] Apollo was the brother of Diana, which seems to be the Teque adeo decus hoc ævi, te consule, inibit, Te duce, si qua manent sceleris vestigia nostri Ille deum vitam accipiet, divisque videbit cause why tuus is here used, thy own Apollo, that is, thy brother Apollo. Te consule.] Here the poet plainly points out the time when this eclogue was written. It was in the consulship of C. Asinius Pollio; that is, in the year of Rome 714. Pollio.] See the note on ver. 84. of the third eclogue. Magni menses.] Great here signifies illustrious; such months, such a time, as has not yet been known. Te duce, &c.] The poet having mentioned the consulship of Pollio, immediately tells him, that under his conduct all the remains of the civil war shall be extinguished. 15 the infant, and predicts his future glories. Divisque videbit.] What the poet here says concerning gods and heroes, seems to relate rather to the general description of the golden age, than to any circumstances which can be supposed to have really happened at that time. Patriis virtutibus.] By his father's virtues, I believe we must understand those of Augustus, who must already have adopted him, as was said before. We cannot well understand him to mean those of Anthony, his mother's husband; for his licentious life was too well known at that time, and gave great offence to Pollio himself. Nor can it well be supposed, that the poet would thus express himself of a son of Pollio, if that was the infant intended for a prediction of his son becoming the ruler of the world, published under his patronage, would have exposed both poet and patron to danger, at a time when the triumvirs were in full power. At tibi prima, puer, &c.] He foretels the blessings which shall attend the birth of this infant. Errantes hederas passim cum baccare tellus, Nullo cultu.] The earth producing its fruits without culture is a mark of the golden age. Errantes hederas.] The epithet errantes expresses the creeping quality of ivy, which shooting roots from every joint, spreads itself over every thing that it can lay hold on. Ivy was a plant used in the chaplets of poets, whence some think that Virgil prophesies, that this infant will become a great poet. Baccare.] According to Dioscorides, this is a sweet-smelling herb, that is used in garlands; the leaves of it are rough, and of a middle size between those of violet and mullen: the stalk is angular, about a cubit in height, with some appendages: the flower is white, inclining to purple, and of a sweet smell: the roots resemble those of black hellebore, and smell very like cinnamon. Colocasia.] The colocasia is, without doubt, an Egyptian plant. Dioscorides affirms, that it is the root of the Egyptian bean, which some call pontic. It grows chiefly in Egypt, and is found in the lakes of Asia and Cilicia. It has leaves as large as an umbrella, a stalk a cubit long, and of the thickness of a finger, a rosaceous flower, twice as big as a poppy. When the flower goes off, it bears husks like little bags, in which a small 20 bean appears beyond the lid, in form of a bottle, which is called ciborion or cibotion, a little ark, because the bean is sown on the moist earth, and so sinks into the water. The root is thicker than a reed; it is eaten both raw and boiled, and is called colocasia. The bean is eaten green, and when it is dried it turns black, and is bigger than the Greek bean. When this eclogue was written the colocasia was a rarity, newly brought from Egypt; and therefore the poet speaks of its growing com. monly in Italy, as one of the glories of the golden age, which was now expected to return. Acantho.] The acanthus here meant is the acacia, an Egyptian tree, from which we obtain the gum arabic. Distenta.] This epithet expresses the fulness of the dug, which makes it strut. Nec magnos metuent armenta leones.] This is plainly taken from Isaiah, as are also some verses of the Sibyl to the same purpose, quoted by Lactantius. Chap. 11, ver. 6, 7. "The Occidet et serpens.] Sibyl had used this expression, in an evident prophecy of the coming of Christ. Virgil has transferred it to the birth of Saloninus." Occidet: Assyrium vulgo nascetur amomum. Assyrium vulgo nascetur amomum.] The amomum being confessedly a plant of Armenia and Media, which were formerly subject to the Assyrian empire, is said by the poet to be an Assyrian plant. It was in high -esteem, as a rich perfume; and therefore it is one of the glories of this age, that so rare a plant would be made common. At simul heroum, &c.] The poet having declared the blessings that shall attend the birth of this expected child, describes those which shall accompany his youth. Other signs of the golden age shall appear; but it shall not yet be perfectly restored. Navigation, agriculture, and war shall not yet entirely cease. Heroum laudes, &c.] Servius interprets the praises of heroes to mean Poetry; the actions of his father History; and the knowledge of virtue Philosophy; and observes, that these sciences are placed in the proper order in which a youth ought to study them. Facta parentis.] If Marcellus was the subject of this eclogue, as seems most probable, by his father must be meant Augustus, who seems to have adopted him, even before his birth: un 25 30 less any one will suppose that the poet means Anthony, who was an intimate friend of Pollio, and had really performed many great actions. But I believe the poet rather means Augustus. Rubens.] This epithet is used to express the ripening of the grapes, as flavescens was for that of the corn. Pendebit.] La Cerda observes, that this word properly describes the vineyards in Italy, where the vines run up on high trees, and so the clusters hang down. Sentibus.] I take sentes not to mean any particular species of plant; but to be a general word for all wild thorny plants. Thus Isaiah, chap. lv. 13. "Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir-tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle-tree." Uva.] It has been observed, in the note on ver. 60 of the second Georgick, that uva does not signify a single grape, but the whole cluster. Et dure quercus, &c.] Honey is said to have dropped from trees in the golden age. See the note on ver. 131. of the first Georgick. Pauca tamen suberunt, &c.] The restoration of the golden |