In fearful thunders on that barbarous shore, clared, 90 What foods, what gifts the vengeful dame prepared? How fleetly to the desert she is flown: How wing'd she skims o'er domes, ah! once her own? 95 All, all he chants, which erst the god of verse Taught blest Eurotas' laurels to rehearse. The echoing vales, as swell the notes along, Throw to the skies the far-resounding song: Till eve's bright star the folding-hour led on, Bade count their flocks, and claim'd, constrain'd, th' ethereal throne. ECLOGUE VII.-MELIBUS. ARGUMENT. THE Melibaus is the only Eclogue which contains nothing within itself to ascertain its date. Martyn thinks it may be referred to A. U. C. 716, as “that year would otherwise have passed without any apparent mark of the poet's genius." It contains the report of an Amoebaan contention between two shepherds, Corydon and Thyrsis. Daphnis appears to have been appointed their judge. Melibus happening to pass by in quest of a stray goat, is detained to hear the dispute and 95 The bank of the Eurotas, which rises (like the Alpheus) near Megalopolis, and runs by Sparta, abounds with bay-trees; and hence perhaps that river partook so eminently of Apollo's favour. 98 Eve's bright star; i. e. Venus, which when a morning star, preceding the sun, is called Lucifer; when following him, Hes perus, or Vesper. Cic. de Nat. Deor. ii. VIR. VOL. I.--E records its result in favour of Corydon. The commentators Servius, Vives, La Cerda, De la Rue, &c. &c., are, as usual, divided about the persons supposed to be represented under the above names. To Martyn it more correctly appears to be, in imitation of Theocritus (vv. 2, 16, 62, 67, 70, 73, 84, &c.), purely pastoral. DAPHNIS beneath a whispering holm reclined, And near him Corydon and Thyrsis join'd Their flocks; his sheep one pastured on the lawn, And one his goats with udders yet undrawn: Both freshly blooming, both of Arcady, Skill'd or to lead the lay, or to reply. Here, as I seek the father of my fold 5 (Stray'd hither, while my shrubs I shield from cold), Daphnis I see; who, soon as me he spies, "Safe are your goats, your kids," delighted cries: "Here, friend, this morning be the truant play'd Haste, Melibæus, join us in the shade. 10 Hither your steers will cross the meads to drink: Here with slim reeds green Mincius veils his brink; And, cheering so his toils, the tiny bee Hums his low music round Jove's sacred tree." 15 1 Holm. This tree, as well as the "pine," and the "chest nut" (Ray informs us), grows abundantly in most of the provinces of Italy; as does likewise, if we may believe Matthioli, a learned botanist of that country, the "juniper," which is also mentioned below. Castelvetri, it seems (as quoted by Burman), has affirmed that none of them are to be found in the Mantuan territory. 5 Not really" of Arcady," for the scene is laid near Mantua; but so skilful in singing, that they might be taken for Arcadians, who were celebrated for their musical talents. 8 The myrtus communis Italica C. B., which grows plentifully in Italy, especially on the coast of the Tyrrhene Sea, does not even there (we are told by Matthioli) "love cold." The season of this Eclogue appears-from the greenness of the banks, the growing of the reeds, the buzzing of the bees, and the shade of the holm-oak-to be the early spring, perhaps March or April, when the weather is usually cold enough to require a shelter for the more tender trees. 20 What should I do? for no Alcippe mine, No Phyllis, who my lambkins might confine Wean'd from their bleating dams: and, rivals long, The shepherds twain were met to vie in song. To their sweet play my graver cares I yield; In strains alternate they dispute the field: Alternate strains the sacred Muses please; Those Thyrsus sang, and Corydon's were these.. Cor. "Dear to my heart, ye Muses, or bestow 25 Such lays, as from the reed of Codrus flowCodrus, who Phœbus all but mates in verse; Or, if denied such numbers to rehearse (Since not to all is given the power divine), My pipe shall hang upon yon hallow'd pine." Thyr. "Shepherds of Arcady, with ivy crown Your rising bard, though furious Codrus frown, And eating jealousy consume his heart: Or should mock praise betray the envier's art, 30 35 Cor. "Dian, this head, the boar's late bristled pride, These branching antlers by the stag supplied, But wouldst thou grant success like this were mine, shrined, And purple buskins should thy ankles bind." 41 30 i. e. "I will never attempt to make any more verses.' ." This custom of devoting the instrument after it had ceased to be used, and hanging it up in some sacred place, is referred to both by Horace and Propertius. 31 The ivy with yellow berries is said by Pliny to be the sort used in the crowns of poets. 40 i. e. "As I have succeeded in the hunting of the boar and the stag, so may this success be perpetual."-De la Rue. 41 Whole. "It was a frequent practice to make only the head and neck of a statue in marble.”—. -Martyn. Thyr. "This bowl of milk, these annual cakes, we give ; Wealthier, Priapus, hope not to receive: The fruits 'tis thine to guard, alas! are mean- 45 More graceful than the ivy's flexile twine O, if one thought of Corydon be thine, Soon as the herd shall seek its nightly rest, 50 O come, and clasp thy shepherd to thy breast!" Thyr. "Bitterer than crowfoot be I deem'd by thee, Which glows on far Sardinia's yellow lea; 55 If this long lingering day outlast not years! Homeward, for shame! haste homeward, well-fed steers." 60 Cor. "Ye springs, whose margins are with moss inlaid; Thou grassy couch, than slumber softer made; O, screen my flock! "Tis summer's sultry day; 65 Thyr. "Here on this hearth, with resinous billets piled, The pine-branch blazes; and the rafters, soil'd 43 Cakes. Libum was a kind of cake made of flour, honey, and oil; so called because part of it was thrown by the sacrificers (in the way of a libation) into the fire. They were offered, with milk and fruits, instead of victims, to the inferior deities. Priapus was the guardian of vineyards and gardens. 62 Than slumber softer. This, says Martyn, "does not seem a harsher figure than downy sleep." On the arbutus, see id. on Georg. i. 148, iii. 300. With constant smoke, bespeak the warmth within: But if Alexis from these mountains hie, -All nature sickens, and each stream is dry." Thyr. "The fields are parch'd; by sultriness op- The russet meads have lost their summer vest: 80 And Phyllis dotes upon the hazel gray- Nor bay nor myrtle lovelier shall appear," 90 Thyr. "Graceful the ash amid the woodland Poplars by brooks, and pines in garden-bowers; Less fair the woodland ash would seem to me, Thus, I remember, vanquish'd Thyrsis strove ; 95 73-84 Imitated from Theocritus, and copied by Pope, in his first Pastoral: "All nature mourns," &c. 92 Pines: probab, the pinus sativa, or manured pine, which is commonly cultivated in gardens. 98 After a sedulous estimate of the merits of each successive tetrastich, Martyn agrees with Daphnis and Melibus in adjudging the victory to Corydon. De la Rue briefly sums up the |
