IDYLLIUM VII*. THALYSIA, OR, THE VERNAL VOYAGE.

ARGUMENT.

This is a narration of a journey which Theocritus, along with two friends, took to Alexandria; as they are travelling, they happen to meet with the goatherd Lycidas, with whom they join company, and entertain each other with singing. Our poet had contracted a friendship, in the isle of Cos, with Phrasidamus and Antigenes, who invited him into the country to celebrate the feast of Ceres. The Thalysia was a sacrifice offered by husbandmen, after harvest, in gratitude to the gods, by whose blessing they enjoyed the fruits of the earth.

In pastures all the cattle sport,

Soon as returns thy hallow'd day;
To meads the vacant hinds resort,
And, round th' unharness'd oxen, play.

Duncombe. This Idyllium is called AATEIA, EAPINH AOIOPIA, which has always been translated THALYSIA, Or, THE VERNAL JOURNEY, but certainly very absurdly, as it implies a contradiction, the Thalysia being celebrated in autumn. Heinsius has proved, that adomopia signifies o, a navigation or voyage; this poem, therefore, may be styled the Vernal Voyage of Ageanax. It is well known that the ancients undertook no voyages but in the spring or autumn; the vernal navigation was called in, and the other Japan; Lycidas therefore, the preceding spring, had composed a poem on the vernal voyage of his friend, which, as they are travelling on the road, he repeats. It contains the most ardent wishes and vows for his safety, and seems to have given Horace the hint for his third ode of the first book, on Virgil's

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Near it tall elms their amorous arms inwove
With poplars pale, and form'd a shady grove,
Scarce had we measur'd half our destin'd way,
Nor could the tomb of Brasilas survey;
When, travelling on the road, we chanc'd to meet
The tuneful goatherd, Lycidas, of Crete;
His very looks confest his trade; you'd swear
The man a goatherd by his gait and air:
His shoulders broad a goatskin white array'd,
Shaggy and rough, which smelt as newly flay'd;
A thread-bare mantle wrapt his breast around,
Which with a wide-wove surcingle he bound:
In his right hand, of rough wild-olive made,
A rustic crook his steps securely stay'd;
A smile serenely cheer'd his gentle look,
And thus, with pleasure in his eye, he spoke:
"Whither, Simichidas, so fast away,

Now when meridian beams inflame the day?
Now when green lizards in the hedges lie,
And crested larks forsake the fervid sky.
Say, does the proffer'd feast your haste excite,
Or to the wine-press some old friend invite?
For such your speed, the pebbles on the ground,
Dash'd by your clogs, at every step resound!"

13.

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-Hic candida populus antro Imminet, et lentæ texunt umbracula vites. Ecl. 9. 41,

Here, o'er the grotto, the pale poplar weaves With blushing vines, a canopy of leaves. Warton, 15. Scarce had we measur'd half our destin'd way, &c.]

Hinc adeo media est nobis via: namque sepul

chrum

Incipit apparere Bianoris.

Ecl. 9. 59.

Ancient tombs were usually placed by the road side; hence the expression, siste viator, which is absurdly introduced into modern epitaphs not placed in such situations.

29. Quo te, Mori, pedes? an, quo via ducit, in urbem? Ecl. 9. 1.

Simichidas.] The grammarians have puzzled themselves to find out who this Simichidas was; it is strange they did not recollect a passage of Theocritus, in his poem called the Syrinx, where he claims this appellation to himself:

Ω, το δε τυφλοφόρων έρατον
Παρα Παρις θετο Σιμιχίδας

Yuxa. Cui (Pani) hunc peras-portantium amabilem thesaurum Paris posuit Simichidas animo; where, in a mystical manner, he confesses Simichidas and Theocritus to be the same person; Paris and Theocritus are the same: for Paris, when he was made judge of the beauty of the three goddesses, was Theocritus, that is, wy K: Thus Paris metaleptically is taken for Theocritus.

Heinsius,

31. Now when green lizards, &c.] The green lizard is very common in Italy; it is larger than

our

common elt, or swift: this circumstance strongly marks the time of the day.-Virgil imitates the passage,

Nunc virides etiam occultant spineta lacertos. Eel. 2. 8.

26. Dash'd by your clogs, &c.] The Greek is αρβυλίδεσσιν: αρβύλη was a kind of wooden shoe armed with iron nails, peculiar to the Boeotians, with which they used to tread the grapes in the

Our bonour'd friends the sacred rites prepare:
To her they bring the first fruit of their store,
For with abundance she has blest their floor.
But since, my friend, we steer one common way,
And share the common blessings of the day,
Let us, as thus we gently pace along,
Divert the journey with bucolic song.

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Me the fond swains have honour'd from my youth,
And call the Muses' most melodious mouth;
They strive my ears incredulous to catch
With praise, in vain; for I, who ne'er can match
Sicelidas, or sweet Philetas' song,

Croak like a frog the grasshoppers among."

Thus with alluring words I sooth'd the man, And thus the goatherd, with a smile, began:

"Accept this crook, small token of my love, For sure you draw your origin from Jove! I scorn the builder, who, to show his skill, Rears walls to match Oromedon's proud hill; 60

44. For with abundance, &c.] —Neque illum Flava Ceresalto nequicquam spectat Olympo. Georg. b. 1. 95. 47. Cantantes licet usque, minus via lædet, Ecl. 9. 64. -Et me fecere [dicunt

eamus.

49. Me the fond swains, &c.]

poetam Pierides: sunt et mihi carmina: me quoque Vatem pastores, sed non ego credulus illis. Ecl. 9. 32. 52. I, who ne'er can match, &c.] Virgil follows yery close;

Nam neque adhuc Varo videor, nec dicere Cinna Digna, sed argutos inter strepere anser olores. Ecl. 9. 35. 53. Sicelidas.] That is, Asclepiades, the son of Sicelidas; the father's name is put for the son's: he was a Samian poet, a writer of epigrams. Philetas was of Cos. Both these are mentioned in that beautiful idyllium which Moschus wrote on the death of Bion; indeed this mention is in the eix verses which were wanting in the ancient editions of that poet, and which are supposed to have been supplied by Marcus Musurus of Crete; though Scaliger affirms that they were written by Moschus:

Sicelidas, the Samian shepherd sweet,

And Lycidas, the blithest bard of Crete, [elate, Whose sprightly looks erst spoke their hearts Now sorrowing mourn thy sad untimely fate; Mourns too Philetas' elegiac muse.

F. F.

Nor do those poets merit more regard
Who dare to emulate the Chian bard.
Since songs are grateful to the shepherd-swain,
Let each rehearse some sweet bucolic strain;
I'll sing those lays (and may the numbers please)
Which late last spring I labour'd at my ease."
"Oh, may Ageanax, with prosperous gale,
To Mitylene, the pride of Lesbos, sail!
Tho' now the south winds the vext ocean sweep,
And stern Orion walks upon the deep;
So will he sooth those love-consuming pains
That burn my breast and glow within my veins.
May halcyons smooth the waves, and calm the
seas,

And the rough south-east sink into a breeze;

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Oromedon on Phlegra's heights I'll sing, And Cous threatening Heaven's eternal king. 61. Nor do those poets, &c.] The literal sense. of the original is, as Heinsius observes; " And those birds, or cocks of the Muses, (poets) that pretend to riva! the Chian cock, or bard, (Homer) strive to no purpose:" for the word gus and endog means the same thing: Theocritus calls Homer the Chian bard or cock, in the same manner as Horace styles Varius the cock of the Mæonian song, or the prince of epic poetry:

Scriberis Vario fortis, & hostium
Victor Mæonii carminis alite. B. 1. ode 6.
This passage of Theocritus might, perhaps, be
thus translated:

Nor do those muse-cocks merit more regard,
Who crow defiance to the Chian bard.

65. Imo hæc, in viridi uuper quæ cortice fagi Carmina descripsi, et modulans alterna no-. Experiar.

[tavi,

Ecl. 5. 13. 66. Last spring] The Greek is Y CEL, in a mountain; instead of which, Heinsius rightly reads we, in the spring; for sometimes signifies to the spring.

70. And stern Orion, &c.]

Orion,

ωρα

-Quam magnus

Cum pedes incedit medii per maxima Nerei, Stagna, viam scindens, humero supereminet En. 10. 763,

undas.

So thro' mid ocean when Orion strides, His bulk enormous tow'rs above the tides.

Pitt

Mr. Warton observes, that Virgil has not borrowed this thought from Homer. But does he not seem to have taken it from Theocritus?

73. May halcyons] The fable of Ceyx and his. wife Halcyone being turned into birds, is beautifully related in the eleventh book of Ovid's Metamorph. The mutual love of these persons subsisted after their change; in honour of which the gods are said to have ordained, that while they sit on their nest, which floats on the sea, there should be no storm;

Alcyone comprest,

Seven days sits brooding on her floating nest,
A wintery queen: her sire at length is kind,
Calms every storm, and hushes every wind;
Prepares his empire for his daughter's ease,
And for his hatching nephews smooths the seas.
Dryden.

Halcyons, of all the birds that haunt the main,
Most lov'd and honour'd by the Neraid train.
May all things smile propitious while he sails!
To the wish'd port convey him safe, ye gales!
Then shall my brows with violets be crown'd,
Or dill sweet-smelling, or with roses bound:
Before the hearth I'll quaff the Ptelean bowl;
Parch'd beans shall stimulate my thirsty soul:
High as my arms the flowery couch shall swell
Of fleabane, parsley, and sweet asphodell.
Mindful of dear Ageanax, I'll drink,
Till to the lees the rosy bowl I sink.

Two shepherds sweetly on the pipe shall play,
And Tityrus exalt the vocal lay;

Shall sing how Daphnis the coy damsel lov'd,
And, her pursuing, o'er the mountains rov'd;
How the rough oaks bewail'd his fate, that grow
Where Himera's meandring waters flow;
While he still urg'd o'er Rhodope his flight,
Q'er Hæmus, Caucasus, or Atho's height,

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And, like the snow that on their tops appears,
Dissolv'd in love, as that dissolves in tears.
Next he shall sing the much-enduring hind
By his harsh lord in cedar chest confin'd;
And how the honey bees, from roseat bowers,
Sustain'd him with the quintessence of flowers;
For on his lips the Muse her balm distill'd, 100
And his sweet mouth with sweetest nectar fill'd.
O blest Comatas! nobly hast thou sped,
Confin'd all spring, to be with honey fed!
O had'st thou liv'd in these auspicious days!
I'd drive thy goats on breezy hills to graze,
Whilst thou should'st under oaken shades recline,
Or sweetly chant beneath the verdant pine."

He sung-and thus Ianswer'd: "Friendly swain, Far other numbers me the wood-nymph train 110 Taught, when my herds along the hills I drove, Whose fame, perchance, has reach'd the throne

of Jove.

Yet, for thy sake, the choicest will I choose;
Then lend an ear, thou darling of the Muse!

"On me bland Cupids sneez'd, who Myrto love.
Dearly, as kids the spring-embellish'd grove:
Aratus too, whose friendship is my joy,
Aratus fondly loves the beauteous boy:
And well Aristis, to the Muses dear,
Whose lyre Apollo would vouchsafe to hear, 120
Aud well Aristis knows, renown'd for truth,
How fond Aratus loves the blooming youth.
O Pan! whom Omole's fair mountain charms,

Place him, uncall'd, in dear Aratus' arins!

Whether Philinus, or some softer name:
Then may Arcadian youths no longer maim,
With scaly squills, thy shoulders or thy side,
When in the chase no venison supply'd.

105. Atque utinam ex vobis unus, vestrique fuissem

Ecl. 10. 35.

Aut custos gregis, &c. 115. Cupids sneez'd] Some sneezes were reckoned profitable, others prejudicial: Casaubon observes, that sneezing was a disease, or at least a symptom of some infirmity; and therefore, when any one sneezed, it was usual to say, Z9, May See Potyou live; or Zey Gwooy, God bless you. ter's Antiq. ch. 17.

117. Aratus] Supposed to be the author of the Phænomena.

123. Omole] A mountain of Thessaly, near Othrys, the seat of the Centaurs. See Virg. Æn.

b. 7.674.

126. It was usual for the ancient heathens to treat the images of their gods well or ill, just as they fancied they had been used by them: in like

manner the modern Indians chastise their idols with scourges whenever any calamity befals them. There is a passage in Anacreon, ode 10, where a rustic thus addresses a little waxen image of Cupid;

F. F.

This instant, Love, my breast inspire, There kindle all thy gentle fire; But, if thou fail'st to favour me, I swear I'll make a fire of thee. Pan had a festival in Arcadia, the country he chiefly delighted in, at which the Arcadians, if they missed of their prey in hunting, in anger at the god whom they reputed the president of that sport, used to beat his statue with squills, or sea onions. Potter's Ant, ch. 20.