ELEGY III. My fair, Cornutus, to the country's flown, Admetus' herds the fair Apollo drove, 30 To fee thee, Phœbus, thus disfigur'd stray! Curft farm! that forc'd my Nemefis from town, Blafts taint thy vines, and rains thy harvests drown. Though hymns implore your aid, great god of wine! Affift the lover, and neglect the vine; To fhades, unpunish'd, ne'er let beauty ftray; NOTES ON ELEGY III. NEMESIS, to whom the remaining elegies in this book are addreffed, had gone from Rome, to her estate in the country, to be prefent, as is fuppofed, at the festival of the god Terminus, which was annually celebrated about the 21st of February. As the poet was deeply enamoured of Nemefis, her departure gave him great uneafinefs; but being informed, that he meant to continue at her feat till the vintage and harvest were past, he determined to follow her in the drefs of a peasant, and by getting himself employed in her fields, thus to enjoy the fatisfaction of beholding her undiscovered. Cornutus probably objected to the difgrace of this metamorphofis; but to this Tibullus gave an appropriated anfwer; the god of poets, Apollo himielf, in circumftances analogous te mine, said he, abandoned heaven, and became the herdfman of Admetus: Nay, fo thoroughly was that deity mastered by love, that he withdrew his attention from the Delphian fhrine, &c. and fubmitted to perform the meanest rural drudgeries. As Tibullu deemed his friend's approbation of confequence, he enumerates these fervilities, and therefore the tranflator cannot help thinking that the line Ipfe Deus, &c. and the three following, being descriptive of these, are genuine. What farther confirms the tranflator in his opinion of their authenticity, is, that Ovid makes ufe of the fame argument in his Art of Love. But probably, the example of Apollo had not all the influence on the uninfpired and laughing Cor nutus, that our poet could have wifhed. Tibullus therefore curfes the occafion of his amorous travefly, exclaims against agriculture, and wishes for a return of the golden age; but fuddenly changing his tone, he offers himself to the meanest and most laborious employments of the country, to enjoy the felicity of obeying his miftrefs. Propertius's ninteenth elegy, Lib. 2. and Ovid's beautiful invitation to Corinna, from his country feat, may be compared with this. Apollo, as to make him undergo, not only the moft fervile drudgeries, but alfo to neglect the fate of nations; furely, I may be excufed, argues our poet, when the fame paffion obliges me to become a ploughman. But should not Tibulla have added, that as his Nemefis every way celled Apollo's flame; fo he himself, in acting the part he did, was more excufable than the deity? This gallant addition, Mr. Prior, had t produced Phabus's conduct as an apology for his own, would not have omitted, though Mr. Han Ver. 5. Hercules Strozza, no mean poet of Ferrara, has happily imitated this paffage of Tibul-mond has. Jus; Rura peto; valeatque forum, valeanque fodales. crem: Vicinafque rudis combibit agna faces. Plus folito petulans aries falit; ictaque tellus Sentit aratori numen ineffe fuo. Lib. i. Am. El. 2. Strozza inherited the poetical talent of his father Titus. Ver. 7. It is not improbable, as Broekhufius remarks, that Tibullus was indebted to Mofchus's Epigram Εις έρωτα αροτριώντα, for this thought. Ver. 9. Hammond's feventh elegy is almost a tranflation of this. Ver. 15. Mythologifts affign different reafons for Apollo's ablence from heaven; but whatever the caufe was, love (according to thefe gentlemen) foon made him lefs folicitous to regain his native fkies, Alceftis, the wife of Admetus was his favourite; but it is probable, that all his endeavours to gain that lady proved ineffectual; for when Admetus, in a dangerous fit of illness, confulted the oracle for a remedy, and was answered, that he must perish unless another would die in his room, the, with a difinterestednefs and love peculiar to conjugal fidelity, became the willing facrifice, and by her death recovered her husband. It happened fortunately, that Hercules arrived at Admetus's palace the very day that Alceftis was facrificed; and having been well entertained by that prince, expreffed his gratitude to him by defcending into hell, foiling death, and bringing back again Alceftis to her beloved hufband. Upon this fable Euripides has founded one of his moft pathetic taagedies. The ladies are not greatly indebted to the mythologifts, who have unanimously reprefented Apollo, though as naños nai aus, always beau. ful, and always young, as unfuccefsful in his amours: but whatever reason they have to com. plain, thofe who are fond of poetry have none; as the repulfe that god met with from Daphne. hath given rife to a piece in Waller, which for cafe of numbers, and happiness of fabulous allusion, is furpaffed by few modern poems. Vid. his ftory of Daphne and Phoebus applied. Ver. 19. If love bad fo much power over Ver. 21. Homer, Il. 5. mentions the juice of the fig, as applied to this purpose. All acids co agulate milk. Nor was Apollo only bountiful to the fwairs in thofe refpects: Callimachus records many other inftances of bleffings, which, in his abfence from heaven, he bestowed on the country. Φοῖβον καὶ Νόμιον κικλήσκομεν ἐξ ἔτι κάνε Εξοσ ̓ ἐπ ̓ ̓Αμφρήσω ζευγήτιδας ἔτρεψεν ἴσπες Ηίθεν ὑπ' ἐρῶτι κεκαύσμενος Αδμήτοιο, δι Vid. his Hymn Es Amokhara, V. 46. & Which Prior has thus tranflated, Thee, Nomian, we adore, for that from herra Defcending, thou on fair Amphryfus' bankı Didst guard Admetus' herds; fithence the of Produc'd an ampler ftore of milk, and the goat Not without pain dragg'd her diftended det And ewes that erft brought forth but finge lambs, Now dropp'd their twofold burdens; ble On which Apollo caft his favouring eye. Ver. 23. Valerius Flaccus has imitatol thought in the first book of his Argonex poem, which, however little read, is by net deftitute of many striking poetical beautics Te quoque dant campi tanto paftore pherzi Felices Admeti. Tuis nam pendet in arvis Delius, irato Steropen quod fuderat arcu. Ah quoties famulo notis foror obvia fylvis Flevit, ubi Offeæ captaret frigora quercus, Peteret et pingui merfos Bæbeide crines! V.444 Ver. 31. As the ancients fuppofed, that Apa fhowed a particular fondnefs for fine long cari hair, they never failed in their addreffes to the god, to praife him, as poffefling that orname Hence, in the hymns afcribed to Orpheus, Apd is ftyled xguronopos, and by other Greek pers axigeixouns and axeganopas, and by the Latins Crinitus. In imitation of their patron-god, the bards of old affected to wear long hair. Thu Virgil reprefents Jopas. Phavorinus, in a quotation which Stobus h preferved of his, ufes Zare in the fame featu Tibullus ufes "quærere" in this paffage. Serm 64. Ver. 34. Delos is an island in the Ageas in the most famous of the Cyclades, the birth-plat of Apollo and his fifter Diana; upon which count it was held in fuch reverence by the cients, that when the Perfians, in one of their | Abbe Banier for the immenfe wealth of this expeditions against Greece, anchored there with temple. a thousand fhips, nought belonging to the island was violated by the army. Ver. 41. Editions in general read, At tibi dura feges, &c. nify Nemefis's eftate; but as there is no authority for this application of that term in any other claffic, Brockhufius adopts Heinfius's correction, At tibi dura Ceres, &c. Etymologifts fay, it obtained the name of De-And the commentators make " feges" here to figlos, Te T8 Anλ8, from its fuddenly emerging from the waves at the command of Neptune. Latona, not daring to remain long during her pregnancy in a known place, the jealous Juno having difpatched the ferpent Python in pursuit of her, was here fafely delivered. Apollo afterwards flew this ferpent. Vid. Ovid's Met. The Athenians, in performance of a vow made by Thefeus, fent every year a sacred veffel to Delos, with offerings to that god. Till this veffel returned to Athens, the punishment of criminals, however guilty they were, was refpited. As foon as Apollo's prieft crowned the poop of the veffel, which was the signal for failing, the city | was purified. Delphi was a city of Phocis, in the neighbourhood of Parnaffus, built by Delphus the fon of Apollo, or Neptune. It was of difficult accefs, being situated among rocks and frightful precipices. Here Apollo had a famous temple, to which other nations, as well as the Greeks, repaired in times of public distress, to learn, how an end might be put to their calamities, as alfo to be informed of the manner in which any enterprise ought to be conducted, or what would be the iffue of any event. The pythonefs, or prieftefs of this temple was famed for the ambiguity of her anfwers. As nothing is more profufe than fuperftitious credulity, the riches brought to this temple were immenfe; infomuch that the retainers to the temple could well afford to maintain spies every where, to inform them of what paffed, or was likely to happen, as well as poets, to verify their refponfes. The name by which Delphi now goes, is Salona. Vid. Steph. Di&t. See alfo the And this the Dutchman thinks warranted by the The wife and good Boethius has drawn no contemptible picture of this primeval fimplicity Lib. ii. Carm. 5. although we cannot agree with him, when he wishes for a return of that state. Ver. 55. Once more ye fimple ufages obtain ! No-lead me, drive me to the cultur' plain! This abrupt refufal of a state from which he expeeled fo much happiness, is fo ftrongly expreflive of love, that it may be put in competition with any of the most boafted paffages in the heroic poets, where a fudden change of impetuous defire is expreffed. Slaves were employed in performing the more fervile offices of husbandry; and their most faithful labours feldom exempted them from the chain. It is indeed fhocking to humanity to think, with what cruelty thefe unfortunate wretches were treated by their Roman matters. See Mr. Hume's entertaining Discourse on the Populousness of Ancient Nations. ELEGY IV. CHAINS, and a haughty fair I fearless view! What though the god of verfe my woes indite, 20 And when ye die, no gentle friend be near, NOTES ON ELEGY IV. TIBULLUS, finding all his endeavours to gain the heart of Nemefis unavailing, determined to conquer his affection for her; he accordingly put his refolution in practice; but finding his every effort ineffectual, he gave over the struggle, yielded to his definy, and fent her the foregoing beautiful elegy, in which he acknowledges the fovereignty which her charms had gained over him, and entreats her to mitigate her cruelty. been huddled together, by many a gentle wit who imagined himself qualified for telling a ous love-tale; and probably they have drawn felf-complacency from this paffage of Tibulla has expreffed, and probably felt all the foh ži treffes of the tender paffion, fuperior to e other writer. But whatever Tibullus fecks, be never lofes his judgment and correctnefs in writ ing. A little attention will convince us, that the The whole poem is a tempeft (if the expreffion metaphor here is fimple, entire, and uniformly may be allowed) of amorous and contrary affec- purfued throughout. The tyranny of the pafisu tions. By thefe our author is particularly diftin- of love over reafon; the waywardness of a love guished from Ovid and Propertius. Thefe poets ftricken mind; and the diftrèffes which it fetis generally begin and end their elegies with the from the caprice and frowns of an haughty mi fame paffion; whereas, the reader will often find trefs, fuggefted to Tibullus, that the most abre in one of Tibullus's, all thofe contrarieties and ftate of flavery aptly reprefented the condition of tranfitions, which peculiarly characterize the pafa drooping lover. Let us not eftimate the feve, fion of love, and are fo beautiful in poetry. This juftifies the elegant encomium, which Joannes Baptifta Pius beftows on our author; " Princeps elcgorum poetarum eft dubio procul Al. Tibullus, quia vere amantem agit. Modo fuperbit, modo fupplicat, annuit, renuit, minatur, intercedit, de-actions, and almoft over their thoughts them dignatur, devovet, orat, inconftans eft, quod vo luit non vult quod optavit, refugit, fecum diffidens, ut in vera Cupidinis rota circumagi credas." Major Pack's verfion of this clegy, would have been more in the fpirit of Tibullus, had he mingled lefs wit with it. Ver. 1. Chains, imprisonment, flames, darts, have rity of this fervitude by our own cuftoms a manners. We must ftep into America to fee cradl inftances of it: or if we look into ancient tim we fhall find, that thofe, who were fervants at terly loft their liberty, loft all power over their felves: that those of them whofe condition wa the worst, were employed in the heaviest labours; were conftantly kept in chains; had fevere tak mafters over them; and upon every flight occa fion, were exposed to fome of thefe fharp tor ments, which a flave in Plautus thus humoroufly defcribes: -Stimulos, laminas, crucefque compedesque, Nervos, catenas, carceres numellas, pedicas, beias, Indoctorefque acerrimos, guarofque noftri tergi. "Laminas" here anfwers to "faces" in Tibulus. They were heated bars of iron used in the unifoment of flaves. Thus Cicero, in his accuTation of Verres, for treating a Roman citizen as flave, charges him, "Quid, cum ignes et ardenes lamina, ceterique cruciatus admovebantur?" so that when Tibullus cries out, io remove, eva puella, faces," he is ftill defcribing the meaphorical flavery he was fallen into. We shall ow know what to do with the following line, It seu quid merui, seu quid peccavimus, uror. OW One of the commentators thinking it hard that man fhould be burnt for his good deferts, has xplained "quid merui" by " quid deliqui;" he ight as well have faid "peccavi;" but " pecwimus" followed, and the critic was refolved to ry the word, if he could not the image; but ibullus well knew how to do both. His defign as to reprefent the hardness of his flavery; and this purpose he declares, that fuch was the caricious cruelty of his mistress, such the feverity love his task-mafter and torturer, that he was t only clofely kept in chains, but had the torre wantonly applied, whether he was faithful the offices love enjoined, or was rebellious, muous, or negligent; that is, that his mistress is cruel, and love a torment to him, as well en he attempted to please her, as when he was patient under her harsh ufage, and endeavoured regain his eafe and liberty. B. Ver. 10. As the ancients had but imperfect afances of a future ftate, many of them regarded re animal life, as the greatest of bleffings, and dicated every hour to fome fenfual gratification. is manner of living, at least, was not unusual Jong the Epicureans; a fect, from which, we ve reafon to think, Tibullus was not averfe. is mifery, therefore, must have been extreme, en it forced him to wish for such a metamor. ofis, as not only would have deprived him of ery fatisfaction of fenfe, but rendered him an ernal curfe and reproach to all feafaring people. Ver. 17. Some critics contend, that Tibullus re afcribes to Apollo the invention of elegy, and reby determines the difpute, which fo warmly gaged the grammarians of the Auguftan age; t others with more reafon fuppofe that the poet, this place, intended only in general to repreit this god as the author and patron of poetry. he tranflator has given the line a fenfe diffe nt from both; with what propriety the reader ill determine Ver. 29. The "facinus" and "cedes," in the iginal, allude to the many maffacres and proiptions, which were the dreadful effects of thofe vil wars, which at last extinguished the liberty of ome. The butcheries by which Octavius acaired the fovereignty of the world, fixed such grace upon himself, and fo deeply ftained his mily with the imputation of cruelty, that even emercies of Cæfar are become fufpected. In deed, neither Auguftus nor Julius are to be accufed of having been the firft, who fubverted the conftitution of their country; for this was done in the days of Marius and Sylla: and if we confider the venality of the people, the luxury of the fenate, the fmall number of good men, who furvived the public calamities; and add to this, the rapacioufnefs of the generals, and governors of provinces; we fhall be induced, perhaps, to allow, that Auguftus had it not in his power to comply with Agrippa's advice, of restoring Rome to its old plan of government, Ver. 30. Our poet feems here unjustly to accufe the god of love; for no paffion is lefs mercenary than that which he infpires. It must be admitted, however, that Tibullus acts a gallant part at least, in endeavouring to remove an afperfion from his miftrefs; though his regard for Cupid may be called in queftion, when he attempts to fix this odium upon him. He seems to be aware of this, and therefore involves alfo in his cenfure those who certainly better deserved it. Ver. 35. Propertius derives female infidelity, and female avarice, from the fame fources. See Lib. iii. El. 11. which is a keen and witty, if not a just invective. Ver. 42. A bawd, in Plautus, thus defcribes the behaviour of a new lover. -Ubi de pleno promitur Neque ills fcit quid det, quid damní faciat, illi rei ftudet. |