88. And future victors, &c.] Thus Virgil;
Alter erit Tiphys, et altera quæ vehat Argo
Delectos heroas: erunt etiam altera bella,
Atque iterum ad Trojam magnus mittetur
Achilles.
Ecl. 4.

Another Tiphys shall new seas explore,
Another Argos land the chiefs on shore;

New wars the bleeding nations shall destroy,
And great Achilles find a second Troy,
Dryd. and War.

92. Where Ilus' tomb] Homer has,

Jus яaça onpar. 18. Iliad, b. 11. 415. From ancient Ilus' ruin'd monument. Pope. 96. And bend, &c.] Thus Virgil,

Flectuntque salignas

Umbonum crates.

En. b. 7. 632. And for the shield, the pliant sallow bend.

Pitt.

Pindar seems to make an allusion to this cireumstance, in his first Pythian Ode, which I shall give in the excellent translation of the late Gilbert West, esq.

And do thou aid Sicilia's hoary lord,

To form and rule his son's obedient mind; And still in golden days of sweet accord,

And mutual peace the friendly people bind, Then grant, O son of Saturn, grant my pray'r! The bold Phoenician on his shore detain, &c. 98. And on his helmet, &c.]-Cristâ hirsutus equinâ. Æn. 10.869. High on his head the crested helm he wore.

Oh, may the fates, in pity to our woes,
On the Sardonian main disperse our foes!
And let the few that reach then country tell
Their wives and children how their fathers fell!
And let the natives dwell in peace and rest
In all the cities which the foes possest!
May swains, along the pastures, fat and fair,
In flocks of thousands tend their bicating care! 110
And lowing herds, returning to the stall,
Wind o'er the plain, as slow as foot can fall!
May the crops flourish, and with feeble voice,
Oa leafy shrubs the grasshopper rejoice!
While spiders stretch their webs along the shore,
And war's dread name be never mention'd more!
May godlike poets, in undying strain,
Bear Hiero's praise beyond the Scythian main,
Beyond the walls, with black bitumen made,
Where proud Semiramis the sceptre sway'd! 120
I am but one; Jove's daughters fair regard
With sweetest favour many a living bard;
These shall Sicilian Arethusa sing,
The happy people, and the valiant king.
Ye Graces Eteoclean, who reside
Where Minyas, curst by Thebans, rolls his tide,
Unask'd I'll rest; yet not, if call'd, refuse
With you to bring my sweet associate Muse:
Without you, what to men can pleasures give?
Oh! may I ever with the Graces live!

130

110. Flocks of thousands, &c.] Thus the Psalmist, That our flocks may bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our streets; that is, in their pastures or walks; or, may they increase so as not only to fill our pastures, but the streets of our villaxes.

114. Sole sub ardenti resonant arbusta cicadis. Virg. Ec. 2. 115. In foribus laxos suspendit aranea casses. Virg. Geor. 4. 247.

119. Beyond the walls, &c.] Thus Ovid;

-Ubi ducitur altam
Coctilibus muris cinxisse Semiramis urbem.
Met. 4. 57.

-Where proud Semiramis, for state,
Rais'd walls of brick magnificently great.

Eusden.

125. Ye Graces Eteoclean] By the Graces are meant the Muses: Eteocles was the elder son of Elipus by Jocasta: he is said to have first sacriticed to the Muses at Orchomenos; whence they are called the Eteoclean deities, or Graces. Homer mentions the river Minyas. Iliad. b. 11.

Soft Minyas rolls his waters to the main.

Pope. 130. O may I ever with the Graces live] Milton seems to allude to this,

These delights if thou canst give,
Mirth, with thee I mean to live.

There is a beautiful passage in my friend Mr. William Whitehead's excellent poem called The

IDYLLIUM XVII.

PTOLEMY.

ARGUMENT.

Theocritus rises above his pastoral style when he celebrates the praises of Ptolemy Philadelphus, the son of Ptolemy Lagus and Berenice: he derives his race from Hercules; enumerates his many cities; describes his immense treasures; and though he extols him for his military preparations, he commends his love of peace: but above all he commemorates his royal munificence to the sons of the Muses.

WITH Jove begin, ye Nine, and end with Jove,
Whene'er ye praise the greatest god above:
But if of noblest men the song ye cast,
Let Ptolemy be first, and midst, and last.

Danger of writing Verse, which I shall beg leave to
transcribe, as the subject is the same with this
Idyllium, and the last line refers to our next poem,
The Encomium of Ptolemy: complaining that the
great showed no regard to the Muses, he says,
Yet let ev'n these be taught in mystic rhyme,
'Tis verse alone arrests the wings of Time.
Fast to the thread of life, annex'd by fame,
A sculptur'd medal bears each human name:
O'er Lethe's streams the fatal threads depend,
The glittering medal trembles as they bend;
Close but the shears, when chance ornature calls,
The birds of rumour catch it as it falls;
A while from bill to bill the trifle's tost,
The waves receive it, and 'tis ever lost.
But should the meanest swan that cuts the
stream,

Consign'd to Phoebus, catch the favour'd name,
Safe in her mouth she bears the sacred prize
To where bright Fame's eternal altars rise:
'Tis there the Muse's friends true laurel wear,

There Egypt's monarch† reigns, and great Au

gustus there.

+Ptolemy Philadelphus.

The common title of this Idyllium is The Encomium of Ptolemy. Heinsius makes no doubt but that the inscription should be simply Ptolemy: for Theocritus had written two poems, one was called Ptolemy, the other Berenice; the first celebrated the virtues of that illustrious monarch, the second those of his royal mother, who at that time was enrolled among the gods. For Ptolemy's character, see Idyllium XIV. and the note on verse 82.

1. With Jove begin, &c.] The Greek is Ex Aoog αρχώμεσθα, which are the very words with which Aratus begins his poem called Phænomina: as Theocritus and Aratus were intimate friends, and flourished nearly at the same time, though the Sicilian bard was older, it is hard to say which borrowed from the other: Virgil has,

A Jove principium, Muse.
Ecl. S.
A te principium, tibi desinet.
Ecl. 8.
With thee began my sons, with thee shall end.
Warton.

4. Let Ptolemy be first, and midst, and last] Milton has,

Heroes of old, from demigods that sprung,
Chose lofty poets who their actions sung:
Well skill'd, I tune to Ptolemy my reed;
Hymns are of gods above the honour'd meed.
To Ida, when the woodman winds his way,
Where verdant pines their towering tops display, 10
Doubtful he stands, with undetermin❜d look,
Where first to deal the meditated stroke:
And where shall I commence? new themes arise,
Deeds that exalt his glory to the skies.
If from his fathers we commence the plan,
Lagus, how great, how excellent a man!
Why to no earthly potentate would yield
For wisdom at the board, or valour in the field:
Him with the gods Jove equals, and has given
A golden palace in the realm of Heaven:
Near him sits Alexander, wise and great,
The fell destroyer of the Persian state.
Against them, thron'd in adamant, in view
Alcides, who the Cretan monster slew,
Reclines, and, as with Gods the feast he shares,
Glories to meet his own descendant heirs,
From age and pain's impediments repriev'd,
And in the rank of deities receiv'd.
For in his line are both these heroes class'd,
And both deriv'd from Hercules the last.

20

30

On Earth join all ye creatures to extol
Him first, him last, him midst, and without

end.

Milton has greatly improved this by adding, "and without end;" as he is celebrating God, and Theocritus only a man.

8. Hymns, &c.] Carmine Dî superi placantur, carmine manes. Hor. b. 2. Ep. 1.

Verse can the gods of Heaven and Hell appease. 16. Lagus] Ptolemy Lagus was one of Alexander's captains, who upon that monarch's death, and the division of his empire, had Egypt, Libya, and that part of Arabia which borders upon Egypt, allotted to his share: but at the time of his death, he held several other countries, which are enumerated below, see ver. 97, &c.

21. Near him, &c.] Quos inter Augustus recumbens. Hor, b. 3. O.S. wise, &c.] I would choose to read, alohojuntas, varium consilium habens, and not αιολόμετρας with Casaubon.

24. Who slew, &c.] Tu Cressia mactas Prodigia. Æn. 8. 294. You slew the bull, whose rage dispeopled Crete.

Pitt.

26. His own descendant heirs] The Greek is, Αθανατοι δε καλεύνται θεσι νεποδες γεγαώτες, which is rendered, immortales vero vocantur Dii, sine pedum usu facti; and being formed without feet they are called immortal gods. It is amazing how a clear and elegant passage should be corrupted into such nonsense: Heinsius undoubtedly reads right; οι νίποδες γεγαώτες, that is, αυτή υιανοι οντες, those that were his nephews; he rejoices that his ne phews are called (or are become) immortal.

30. Julius, a magno demissum nomen Julo.

Eu. 1. 288.

Thence, when the nectar'd bowl his love inspires,
And to the blooming Hebe he retires,
To this his bow and quiver he allots,
To that his iron club, distinct with knots;
Thus Jove's great son is by his offspring led
To silver-footed Hebe's rosy bed.

How Berenice shone! her parents pride;
Virtue her aim, and wisdom was her guide:
Sure Venus with light touch her bosom prest,
Infusing in her soft ambrosial breast

Pare, constant love: hence faithful records tell,
No monarch ever lov'd his queen so well;
No queen with such undying passion burn'd,
For more than equal fondness she return'd.
Whene'er to love the chief his mind unbends,
To his son's care the kingdom he commends.
Unfaithful wives, dissatisfied at home,

40

Let their wild thoughts on joys forbidden roam: Their births are known, yet, of a numerous

45. To his son's care, &c.] Ptolemy made his Son Philadelphus partner with him in the empire.

49. Their births are known] The Greek is, Padia, de yovas, which is wrong translated, faciles quidem partus sunt, their births are casy; whereas itshould be rendered, as Casaubon rightly observes, their births are easily to be judged of, viz. that they are adulterous; the latter part of the verse explains the former, Ραΐδιαι δε γυναι, τεκνα δ' εποτ' TTT, their births are easy to be judged, for the children do not resemble their father. The ancients imagined those children not to be legitimate who were unlike their parents; and therefore Hesiod reckons it among the felicities which attend good men, that

The wives bear sons resembling their own sires.
Τίκτασιν δε γυναικες εοικότα τέκνα γονευσι.

Ver. 233. 56. Portitor has horrendus aquas et flumina

servat

But Berenice nobler praise hath won,

Who bore great Ptolemy as great a son:
And sea-girt Cos receiv'd thee soon as born,
When first thine eyes beheld the radiant morn.
For there thy mother to Lucina pray'd,

Who sends, to those that suffer child-bed, aid. 70
She came, and friendly to the genial bed,
A placid, sweet tranquillity she shed
O'er all her limbs; and thus serene and mild,
Like his lov'd sire, was born the lovely child.
Cos saw, and fondling in her arms the boy,
Thus spoke, transported, with the voice of joy;
"Quick rise to light, auspicious babe be born!
And me with equal dignity adorn

As Phoebus Delos:-on fam'd Triops' brow,
And on the neighbouring Dorian race bestow
Just honours, and as favourably smile,

80

79. Triops] The scholiast says Triops was a king of Cos, from whom the Promontory near Cnidus took its denomination.

82. Rhenæa] An island separated from Delos by a narrow strait about three times as big as Delos.

86. Jove loves, &c.] Thus Callimachus, Ex di An; Bacianes, kings are from Jupiter; which Virgil has translated, Ab Jove sunt reges: but they all seem to have copied after Hesiod. Theog. ver. 96. Εκ δε Διος βασιληες. Ο δ' οβλιας οντινα Μεσαι Φιμεύνται..

Kings are deriv'd from Jove; And blest the mortal whom the Muses love.

1

120

Loke a wise king, the conquests of his sire
He knows to keep, and new ones to acquire.
And yet he hoards not up his useless store
Like ants, still labouring, still amassing more;
The holy shrines and temples are his care,
For they the first-fruits of his favour share:
To mighty kings his bounties he extends,
To states confederate, and illustrious friends.
No bard at Bacchus' festival appears,
Whose lyre has power to charm the ravish'd ears,
But he bright honours and rewards imparts,
Due to his merits, equal to his arts:
And poets hence, for deathless song renown'd,
The generous fame of Ptolemy resound.
At what more glorious can the wealthy aim,
Than thus to purchase fair and lasting fame?
The great Atridæ this alone enjoy,

130

140

While all the wealth and spoil of plunder'd Troy,
That scap'd the raging flame, or whelming wave,
Les buried in oblivion's greedy grave.
Close trode great Ptolemy, at virtue's call,
His father's footsteps, but surpast them all.
He rear'd the fragrant temple, and the shrine,
And to his parents offer'd rites divine;
Whose forms in gold and ivory are design'd,
And worshipp'd as the guardians of mankind.
There oft as circling moons divide the year,
On the red altar bleeds the fatten'd steer;

To thy great name due honours has he paid, And rich oblations on thy altars laid.

Pitt. 151. And poets, &c.] The fame of Ptolemy's munificence drew several celebrated poets to his court. See the note to verse 82 of Idyl. xiv. a little 159. Close trode, &c.] The original is perplexed, but I follow Heinsius, and take the

sense to be this; Ptolemy alone treading close in the footsteps of his forefathers, yet warm in the dust, defaced and rose over them. Theocritus alludes to a contest usual among the ancients, wherein the antagonist used to place his right foot in the left footstep of his competitor, who went before him, and his left foot in the right footstep, which if he could exceed, he would cry aloud, Επιβέβηκεν σοι, Υπεράνω ειμί, I have stept over you, I am beyond you. Homer, speaking of Ulysses contending with Ajax in the race, has something very similar. Iliad, b. 23. 763. Αυταρ οπισθεν,

Ίχνια τυπτε πόδεσσι, παρός κόνιν αμφιχυθήναι,

Graceful in motion thus, his foe he plies,
And treads each footstep ere the dust can rise.
Pope.

His hands the thighs for holy flames divide,
Fair blooms the lov'd Arsinoë at his side;
Than whom no nobler queen of mortal race
A greater prince detains in fond embrace;
And, as kind nature the soft tye approves,
Dearly the brother and the husband loves.
Such are the nuptials in the blest abodes,
And such the union of immortal gods:
Iris, who still retains her virgin bloom,
Whose radiant fingers breathe divine perfume,
For Jove prepares the bed, where at his side
Fair Juno sleeps, his sister and his bride.
Hail, noble Ptolemy! illustrious king!
Thee peer to mighty demigods I'll sing;
And future ages shall the verse approve:
Hail! and fair virtue only ask of Jove.

IDYLLIUM XVIII.

THE EPITHALAMIUM OF HELEN*.

ARGUMENT.

150

160

Twelve Spartan virgins of the first rank are here introduced singing this song at the nuptials of Helen, before the bride-chamber: first they are jocular; then they congratulate Menelaus on his being preferred to so many rival princes, and made the son-in-law of Jupiter: they celebrate the beauty of Helen, and conclude with wishing the married couple prosperity.

WHEN Sparta's monarch, Menelaus, led The beauteous Helen to his bridal bed,

150. Virgil thus speaks of Venus embracing Vulcan ;

-Niveis hince atque hinc, &c.

En. b. S. 387.

Her arms, that match the winter snows, Around her unresolving lord she throws.

Pitt.

158. His sister and his bride] Juno, speaking of herself, says,

Ast ego, quæ divûm incedo regina, Jovisque
Et soror & conjux.
Æn. 1. 47.

But I, who move supreme in Heav'n's abodes,
Jove's sister-wife, and empress of the gods.

Pitt.

162. Fair virtue only ask of Jove] Theocritus having already celebrated Ptolemy's riches and power, which were so great, that he could not even wish an increase of them, nobly concludes his poem with this fine precept AgeTay yε MEY EX Dios CITEU, Ask virtue of Jupiter: as if he could not have too large a share of irtue, though eminently renowned for it: by this the poet proves himself an excellent moralist, and plaiuly hints at that maxim of the Stoics, who maintained that virtue was entirely sufficient for a happy life.

*There were two sorts of epithalamiums, or nuptial songs, among the ancients; the first was sung in the evening, after the bride was introduced into the bride-chamber, it was named KolpenzixOV, and intended to dispose the married couple to sleep; the second wassung in the morning, termed Eyeprixov, and designed to awaken them: see the