65

Hal not the Céan mufe extoll'd their name,
Awak'd his founding lyre, and giv'n them death-
lefs fame
[meed,
Verfe crowns the race-horfe with fair honour's
That in the field has fignaliz'd his fpeed.
Who had the Lycian thiefs, and Trojan known,
Or Cycnus, delicate with milk-white crown,
Had not the BARD delighted to rehearse
Their bold atchievements in heroic verfe?
Uffes ne'er had endless glory gain'd,
Though for ten tedious fummers he fuftain'd
Unnumber'd toils, while he obfervant stray'd
From clime to clime, and nien and states furvey'd;
Ev'n though he 'feap'd the Cyclops' gloomy cell,
Asd quick defcended to the realms of hell:
Pletins and Enmæus with the dead
Had lain as nameless as the beafts they fed;
And brave Laertes with his parting breath
Had dy'd, but Homer fnatch'd their names from
death.

70

All human fame is by the mufes fpread, And heirs confume the riches of the dead. Ye 'tis ap eafter task, when tempefts roar, 1 count the waves that ceafeiefs lash the fhore: 'Tis eafter far to bleach the Ethiop foul, Than turn the tenor of the mifer's foul. Corfe on the wretch, that thus augments his store! And much poing, may he with for more! 80 1 ftill prefer fair fame, with better fenfe, And, more than riches, mens benevolence. And yet, ahs! what guardian fhall I choose, What princely chief to patronize my mufe? In perilous paths the race of poets rove, Iutious their fate, without the aid of Jove. Lill the fun rolls glorious in the skies; And fature victors in the race will rife:

100

Where Illus' tomb near Simois' ftreams remains.
The bold Phoenicians, fons of Libya far,
Shrink at the rumour of approaching war:
For lo! their fpears the Syracufians wield,
And bend the pliant fallow to a shield:
Thefe Hiero leads, fuperior to the reft,
And on his helmet nods the horse-hair creft.
O Jupiter, and thou Minerva chafle,
And Proferpine, to our protection haste,
With Cercs thou delighteft to partake
Thofe fair built walls by Lyfimelia's lake:
Oh, may the fates, in pity to our woes,
On the Sardonian main difperfe our foes!
And let the few that reach their country tell
Their wives and children how their fathers fell!
And let the natives dwell in peace and reft
In all the cities which the foes poffeft!.
May fwains, along the paftures, fat and fair,
In flocks of thoufands tend their bleating care! 110
And lowing herds, returning to the stall,
Wind o'er the plain, as flow as foot can fall!
May the crops flourish, and with feeble voice,
On leafy fhrubs the grafhopper rejoice!
While spiders ftretch their webs along the fhore,
And war's dread name be never mention`d more!
May godlike poets, in undying strain,
Bear Hiero's praife beyond the Scythian main,
Beyond the walls, with black bitumen made,
Where proud Semiramis the fceptre fway'd.
I am but one; Jove's daughters fair regard
With fweetcft favour many a living bard;
Thefe fhall Sicilian Arethufa fing,

120

This little piece abounds with fo many beauties and graces, that it is with great propriety ftyled Arts, or, the Graces. Hiero. the fubject of

s prem, was the fon of Hierocles, one of the Deltendants of Gelon the fi:ft king of Syracufe. Hiero fucceeded to the throne of Syracufe 265 years before Chrift. He was remarkable for his Verdant attachment to, and generous friendship or the Romans.

Ver. 2 In like manner Horace fays, Oem virum, aut heroa, lyrâ, vel acri Tibia fumes celebrare, Clio?

Or will the choose to strike the lyre Devoted to the gods in hymns of praife?

Ver 5.

Quis tibi Mæcenas? quis nunc erit aut Proculeius, Aut Fabius? quis Cotta iterum? quis Lentulus alter? Juv. Sat. 7. 94. All thefe great men were celebrated for their generofity and liberality to the Muses.

Ver. 7.

Nemo cibo, nemo hofpitia, te&oque juvabit.
Juv. Sat. 3. 211.
Through the wide world a wretched vagrant roam,
For where can ftarving merit find a home?
In vain your mournful narrative difclofe,
While all neglect, and moft infult your woes.
S. Jebnfon.

Ver. 9. The protection of princes is the greateft incentive to the diligence of poets, and often of more avail than the infpiration of Apollo," Et "fpes & ratio ftudiorum in Cæfare tantum." Juvenal says,

Tædia tunc fubeunt animos, tunc feque, suamque
Terpsichoren odit facunda & nuda fenectus. Sat. 7.
Laft, crush'd by age, in poverty ye pine,
And fighing curfe the unavailing nine.

Bur, Greene. Ver. 17. Illiberal perfons were faid to hold their hands in their bofoms.

Ver. 20. The Greek is awwrsewn yovu uvapa, My leg is further off than my knee. I would not recollect an English proverb more correspondent to the original than what I have fubftituted; the Romans have one fimilar,

Tunica pallio proprior.

My waistcoat is nearer than my cloak.

Ver. 23.

Priores Mæonius tenet

Sedes Homerus.

Ver. 25. Nullus argento color eft, avaris Abditæ terris inimice lamnæ Crifpe Sallufti, nifi temperato Splendeat ufo.

Plaut.

Pope.

Hor. B. 2. Ode 2.

Ver. 34. Here are fome admirable precepts for focial life; fome of them feem to be borrowed from Homer's Odyssey, B. 15. which I shall give in Mr. Pope's verfion.

True friendship's laws are by this rule exprest, Welcome the coming, fpeed the parting guest. Which he has adopted in his imitation of the 2d fatire of the 2d book of Horace.

Ver. 38. The fenfe of the original is, " Like "fome ditcher, who by labouring hard with his "fpade, has rendered his hands callous."

Ver. 59. These were Sarpedon and Glaucus = Cycnus, the fon of Neptune, was flain by Achilles, and turned into a fwan: Hefiod, according to the Scholiaft, defcribes Cycnus with a white head. Ver. 65. Thus Horace,

-Multorum providus urbes,

Et mores hominum infpexit, latumque per æquor,
Dum fibi, dum fociis reditum parat, afpera multa
Pertulit.
B. 1. Ep. 2.

Ver. 69. It is here worth obfervation, that after the enumeration of these great heroes, Theocritus does not forget his paftoral capacity, or omit to mention the fwineherd Eumæus, and the neatherd Philotius. See Homer's Odyssey.

Hor. B. 2. Ode 3.
Ver. 75. Virgil feems to have imitated this paf-
fage :
Quem qui feire velit, &c.
Geor. B. 2. 105.

Or tell the billows, as they beat the shores,
When all th' Ionian sea with raging Boreas roars.
Warton.

Ver. 88. Thus Virgil:

Alter erit Tiphys, et altera quæ vebat Argo
Delectas heroas: erunt etiam altera bella,
Atque iterum ad Trojan magnus mittetur Achilles.

Another Tiphys fhall new feas explore,
Another Argos land the chiefs on fhore;
New wars the bleeding nations fhall destroy,
And great Achilles find a fecond Troy.

Ver. 96. Thus Virgil, -FleAuntque Lalignas Umbonum crates

En. B. 7. 632.

Ver. 115.

In foribus laxos fufpendit aranea caffes.

Ver. 119. Thus Ovid;

Virg. Georg. 4. 247.

-Ubi dicitur altam

High on his head the crefted helm he wore. Pitt.

Ver. 99. As yzg, Znu xudisi warsg x. 7. λ. This verfe is an imitation of that of Homer; Αι γαρ Ζεν το πατες καὶ Αθηναίη καὶ Απολλον. Sa pater ille deum faciat, fic altus Apollo. Virg. En. 10. 875. So may great Jove, and he, the god of light. Pitt.

Ver. 100. Thefe deities were worshipped by the Syracufians.

Ver. 102. A lake not far from Syracufe. Ver. 104. Thefe were the Carthaginians, who ufed frequently to invade Sicily.

Ver. 105. The Greek is agituaras, numerabiles, eafy to be told, which is clegantly used for a few: Horace has the fame expreffion, "Quo * fane populus numerabilis, utpote parvus.

46

Art. Poet. 206.

Ver. 110. Thus the Pfalmift, " That our flocks may bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our fireets;" that is, in their pastures or walks; or, may they increafe fo as not only to fill our pastures, but the streets of our villages.

Ver. 114

Sole fub ardenti resonant arbufta cicadis.

Virg. Ecl. 2.

Met. 4. 57.

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

Ver. 125. By the Graces are meant the Muses: Eteocles was the elder fon of Oedippus by Jocafta: he is faid to have firft facrificed to the Mufes at Orchomenos: whence they are called the Eteoclean Deities, or Graces. Homer mentions the river Minyas. Iliad, B. II.

Soft Minyas rolls his waters to the main.
Ver. 130. Milton feems to allude to this,

Thefe delights if thou caft give, Mirth, with thee I mean to live.

Рорв.

There is a beautiful paffage in my friend Mr. William Whitehead's excellent poem called, "The Danger of Writing Verfe," which I fhall beg leave to transcribe, as the fubject is the fame with this Idyllium, and the laft line refers to our next poem, "The Encomium of Ptolemy:" complaining that the great fhowed no regard to the Mufes, he says, Yet let ev'n these be taught in myftic rhyme, 'Tis verfe alone arrefts the wings of time. Faft to the thread of life annex'd by fame, A fculptur'd medal bears each human name: O'er Lethe's ftreams the fatal threads depend, The glittering medal trembles as they bend; Clofe but the fhears, when chance or nature calls, The birds of rumour catch it as it falls; A while from bill to bill the trifle's toft, The waves receive it, and 'tis ever loft.

But fhould the meaneft fwan that cuts the stream, Confign'd to Phoebus, catch the favour'd name, Safe in her mouth she bears the facred prize, To where bright Fame's cternal altars rife : 'Tis there the Mufe's friends true laurels wear, There Egypt's monarch reigns, and great Auguftus there.

*Ptolemy Philadelphus.

WITH Jove begin, ye nine, and end with Jove, Vhene'er ye praise the greatest god above:

But if of nobleft men the fong ye caft, Let Ptolemy be firft, and midft, and last.

Heroes of old, from demigods that sprurg,
Chofe lofty poets who their actions fung:
Well fkill'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 rops difplay,
Doubtful he ftands, with undetermin'd look, II
Where firft to deal the meditated stroke:

20

And where fhall I commence? new themes arife,
Deeds that exalt his glory to the fkies.
If from his fathers we commence the plan,
Lagus, how great, how excellent a man!
Who to no earthly poteutate 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 realms of heaven;
Near him fits Alexander, wife and great,
The fell deftroyer of the Persian state.
Against them, thron'd in adamant, in view
Alcides, who the Cretan monfter flew,
Reclines, and, as with gods the feaft he shares,
Glories to meet his own defcendant heirs,
From age and pain's impediments repriev'd,
And in the rank of deities receiv'd.

Thence, when the nectar'd bowl his love infpires,
And to the blooming Hebe he retires,
To this his bow and quiver he allots,
To that his iron club, diftin&t with knots;
Thus Jove's great fon is by his effspring led
To filver-footed Hebe's rofy bed.

How Berenice fhone! her parents pride; Virtue her aim, and wisdom was her guide: Sure Venus with light touch her bosom preft, Infufing in her foft ambrofial breast

Pure, conftant love: hence faithful records tell,
No monarch ever lov'd his queen so well;
No queen with fuch undying paflion burn'd,
For more than equal fonduefs the return'd.
Whene'er to love the chief his mind unbends,
To his fon's care the kingdom he commends.
Unfaithful wives, diffati-fied at home,

40

Let their wild thoughts on joys forbidden roam :
Their births are known, yet of a numerous race,
None fhows the features of the father's face. 50
Venus, than all the goddeffes more fair,
The lovely Berenice was thy care;

To thee 'twas owing, gentle, kind and good,
She past not Acheron's woe-working flood.
Thou caught'ft her e'er fhe went where fpcctres
dwell,

Or Charn, the grim ferryman of hell;
And in thy temple plac'd the royal fair,
Thine own high honour's privilege to share.
Thence gentle love in mortals the infpires,
And foft folicitudes, and fweet defires.
The fair Deipyle to Tydcus bare
Stern Diomed, the thunderbolt of war:
And Thetis, goddess of the azure wave,

To Peleus brought Achilies, bold and brave:
But Berenice nobler praife hath won,
Who bore great Ptolemy as great a fon :
And fea-girt Cos receiv'd thee foon as born,
When drit thine eyes beheld the radiant morn.

60

Him power, and wealth, and happiness attends:
He rules belov'd unbounded tracts of land,
And various oceans roll at his command.
Unnumber'd nations view their happy plains,
Fresh fertiliz'd by Jove's prolific rains:
But none, like Egypt, can fuch plenty boast,
When genial Nile o'crilows the humid coat:
No realm for numerous cities thus renown'd,
Where arts and fam'd artificers abound:
Three times ten thoufand towery towns obey
Hurious Ptolemy's pacific fway.
He o'er Phoenicia, Syria, Libya reigns,
Aralian deferts, Ethiopian plains,
Pamphylians, and Cilicians bold in war,
And Carian brave, and Lycians fam'd afar;
The distant Cyclades confefs his reign,
Whofe fleets affert the empire of the main ;
So far his fhips their conquering flags difplay,
Him feas, and lands, and founding foods obey.
Horkmen and Ipearmen guard the monarch round,
Their arms refplendent fend a brazen found;
Such tributes daily aggrandize his ftore,

No king e'er own'd fuch boundlefs wealth before.

His peaceful fubjects ply at eafe their toil,
No foes invade the fertile banks of Nile,
Nor pitch their camps along the peaceful plains
With war to terrify the village fwains:
No pirates baunt the fhore in queft of prey,
Nor bear by stealth the lowing herds away;
For graceful Ptolemy renown'd in arms,
Guards his extended plains from hoftile harms,
Like a wife king, the conquefts of his fire
He knows to keep, and new ones to acquire. 12
And yet he hoards not up his ufciefs store,
Like ants ftill labour'ng, ftill amafiing more;
The holy fhrines and temples are his care,
For they the firth fruits of his favour fhare :
To mighty kings his bounties he extends,
To flates confederate, and illustrious friends.
No bard at Bacchus' feftival appears,
Whofe lyre has power to charm the ravifh'd ears,
But he bright honours and rewards imparts,
Due to his merits, equal to his arts:
And peers hence, for deathlefs long renown'd,
The generous fame of Prolemy retound.

13