IDYLLIUM XV. THE SYRACUSIAN GOSSIPS. THE ARGUMENT. Two Syracufian women, who had travelled to Alexandria, go to see the folemnity of Adonis's festival, which had been prepared by Arfinoe, the queen of Ptolemy Philadelphus: the humours of thefe goffips are naturally defcribed. Theocritus, to gratify the queen, introduces a Grecian finging girl who rehearfes the magnificence of the pomp which Arfinoe had provided. Five fleeces for feven drachms he bought, And Fielemy's gay court delights: Praxince. No wonder---every body knows The feat now calls us hence away, Maid water quickly---fut it down--- Praxince. Three pounds or mere; I'd not have done it, But that I'd fet my heart upon it. Gorgo. 50 60 'Tis wonderous cheap Prax. You think fo?--Maid, Stay within doors and don't you cry: Lord! here's a buftle and a throng--- Gone, like a riddle in the dark; Immenfe, indeed! Your hand, my dear; ICO ΠΙΟ Adonis hes; O charming fhow! Hift your Sicilian prate forbear: Your mouths extend from ear to ear, Like turtles that forever moan; You fun us with your ruftic tone. Gorgo. Sure! we may speak what fellow's this? O fweet Proferpina, fure none She's just beginning, the prepares: She'll Sperchis, and the world excel, The Greek Girl fings. 135 14 150 "O chief of Golgos, and the Idalian grove, O Venus, daughter of Dione fair, Immortal joys in heavenly regions bleft, 160 And with divine ambrofia fill'd her breast. Of animals that creep, and birds that fly. And little Cupids hover all around; And as young nightingales their wings effay, And lo! another for fair Venus fpread! 190 Her bridegroom fearce attains to nineteen years, Adonis, you alone of demigods, Now vifit earth, and now hell's dire abodes: 200 Not brave Patroclus of immortal fame, As now, divine Adonis, you appear Gorge. O, fam'd for knowledge in myfterious things! How fweet, Praxinoë, the damfel fings! Time calls me home to keep my husband kind, He's prone to anger if he has not din'd. Farewell, Adonis, lov'd and honour'd boy; O come propitious, and augment our joy. -Flaventem prima lanugine malas. F. F. Hn. B. 16. 324. Ver. 134. A citizen of Alexandria finds fault with the Syracufian goffips for opening their mouths fo wide when they fpeak; the good women are affronted, and tell him, that as they are Dorians, they will make use of the Doric dialect: hence we may obferve, that the pronunciation of the Dorians was very coarfe and broad, and founded harsh in the ears of the politer Grecians. Martyn's Pref. to Virgil. Ver. 145. Here I entirely follow the ingenious interpretation of Heinfius. Ver. 151. A celebrated finger. Ver. 153. Golgos was a small but very ancient town in Cyprus, where Venus was worshipped. Catullus has tranflated this verfe of Theocritus. Ver. 169, The Greeek is azados zax, soft gardeas: Archbishop Potter obferves, that at the feaft of Adonis, there were carried fhells filled with earth, in which grew feveral forts of herbs, efpecially lettuces, in memory that Adonis was laid cut by Venus on a bed of lettuces: thefe were called eras, gardens; whence Admvidos xnres are proverbially applied to things unfruitful, or fading, because those herbs were only fown fo long before the festival, as to fprout forth, and be green at that time, and afterwards caft in the water. Se Antiquit, vol. I. Ver. 181. Virgil has an image of this fort, Intextufque puer―――quem præpes ab Idâ, &c. En. B. 5. There royal Ganymede, inwrought with art, With out-ftretch'd hands his hoary guardians cry, I transcribed this fine paffage from Mr. Pitt's translation of Virgil, that I might lay before the reader Mr. Warton's note upon it. "The defcription of this beautiful piece of tapestry is extremely picturefque: the circumftances of the boy's panting, the old men lifting up their hands, and above all, the dogs locking up and barking after him, are painted in the livelieft manner imaginable. There is a very fine painting by Michael Angelo on this fubject, who has exactly copied Virgil's defcription, except that he has omitted the circumftance of the dogs, which Spenfer has likewife, in defcribing this ftory, as part of the Nam quotcunque ferunt campi, quos Theffala tapestry with which the houfe of Bufyrane was magois Montibus ora creat. Catull. & de Pel. Thet. Ver. 176. Thus Bion, Appi de μiv x. 8. 2. Epit. Adon. Surrounding Cupids heave their breasts with fighs. And Mofchus, The little loves, lamenting at his doom, F. F. But as Longepierre obferves, images of Cupids were never omitted at this feftival. Ovid feems to have had this in view when he wrote, Ecce puer Veneris fert everfamque pharetram, Pectoraque infeftâ tundit aperta manu, Amor. B. 3 El. 9. And strikes his bared bofom many a blow! Loofe and neglected, scatter'd o'er his neck, His golden locks drink many a falling tear; What piteous fobs, as if his heart would break, Shake his fwol'n cheek? Ah, forrow too fevere ! adorned." When as the Trojan boy fo faire He fnatch'd from Ida hill, and with him bare, Wondrous delight it was, there to behold, How the rude thepherds after him did stare, Trembling through fear left he down fallen fhould, And often to him calling to take furer holde. F. Q. B. 3. c. II. Ver. 185. Thus Virgil, Quamvis Milefia magno Vellera mutentur Tyrios incocta rubores. Geor. B. 3. 306. Ver. 186. See Idyl. v. ver. 58, and the note, Ver. 212. This fuperftitious mystery, of lamenting for Adonis, may be thus explained: Adonis was the fun; the upper hemifphere of the earth, or that which we think fo, was anciently called Venus, the under Proferpine, therefore; when the fun was in the fix inferior figns, they faid, he was with Proferpine; when he was in the fix fuperior, with Venus. By the boar that flew Adonis, they understood Winter; for they made the boar, not unaptly, the emblem of that rigid feafon. Or, by Adonis, they meant the fruits of the earth, which are for one while buried, but at Ver. 178. Thus Bion, fpeaking likewife of Cupid, length appear flourishing to the fight; when, τα και τα τον Ερωτα μεταλμένον, How here and there he skipt, and hopt from tree to tree. therefore, the feed was thrown into the ground, they faid, Adonis was gone to Proferpine; but when it sprouted up, they faid, he had revisited the light and Venus. Hence probably it was that they fowed corn, and made gardens for -Thammuz came next behind, Whofe annual wound in Lebanon allur'd Par. Loft. B. 1. "the river for the death of Adonis, who was "killed by a wild boar in the mountains, out of "which this ftream rifes. Something like this we "faw actually come to pafs; for the water was "ftained to a furprising rednefs; and as we ob"ferved in travelling, had difcoloured the fea a great way into a reddish hue, occafioned, doubt"lefs, by a fort of minium or red earth, washed "into the river by the violence of the rain, and not by any ftain from the blood of Adenis." The prophet Ezekial faw the women at Jerufalem lamenting Tammuz, ch. viii. ver. 14" He "brought me to the door of the gate of the Lord's "houfe which was towards the north, and be"hold there fat women weeping for Tammuz." Ver. 216. Thus Horace, Give me leave here to infert the account given by the late Mr. Maundrel of this ancient piece of worship, and probably the first occafion of fuch a fuperftition. "We had the fortune to fee what "may be fuppofed to be the occafion of that opi"nion which Lucian relates, viz. That this ftream Impranfus non qui oivem dignofceret hofte. "(the river Adonis) at certain feafons of the year, efpecially about the feaft of Adonis, is of a bloody colour; which the Heathens looked upon as proceeding from a kind of fympathy in With hunger keen, B. 1. Ep. 15. On friends and focs he vented his chargrin. Duncombe, IDYLLIUM XVI. THE GRACES, OR HIERO. THE ARGUMENT. Tuis Idyllium is addreffed to Hiero, the laft tyrant of Sicily. Theocritas having before celebratel this prince, without being recompenfed for his trouble, compofed this poem, in which he complains of the ingratitude of princes to pocts, who can alone rerder their actions immortal. He obferves that not only the Lycian and Trojan heroes, but even Uyffes himfelf, would have been buried in oblivion, if their fame had not been celebrated by Homer. It fits the mufe's tongue, the poet's pen, ΙΟ 20 And fcarce will give the canker of their coin. What profit, wretched churls, can gold afford, fhare : To every man their bounty fhines difplay'd, ૩૦ 40 And kindly grecting fpeed the parting friend. |