BOOK III-ELEGY I. INTRODUCTION. 1 words in the elegies of this book are of that fort, which are frequently ufed by the belt writers catachretically, fometimes denoting more lax, fometimes more intimate relations. The difculty of afcertaining the fenfe in which Tibullus has ufed them, has thrown a feeming obfcurity on poet, who will ever have the first place amongst the wits of Greece and Rome, for elegant fimplity; and has caufed fuch illuftrious annotators, as Scaliger, Lipfius, and Muretus, to stumble. The great difficulty is contained in the following lines; and if this can be cleared up, all the reft ill be eafy and intelligible. El. i. lin. 23. Hæc tibi vir quondam, nunc frater, casta Neæra, Teque fuis jurat carum magis effe medullis, Sed potius conjunx hujus fpem nominis illi There it is first inquired, what is meant by " frater," and "foror?" It is readily feen, that they innot be understood in their primitive fenfe, because a marriage betwixt brother and fifter would ver have been tolerated at Rome: the very thoughts of it would have been regarded with abrrence. These words fometimes mean coufin-germans, and in this fenfe Muretus here underands them; but this is too cold and unanimated, to be admitted into poetry, or to flow from the en of Tibullus, when he is exprefling the tender feelings of a fond doating lover. It is much ore probable, that he defigned to represent by them one of those delicate connections, which have eir foundation in the will and the affections; that by "frater" he would have us to understand fond admirer; and by “ foror,” a beloved mistress, who had entertained a reciprocal kindness and feem for her lover. This fenfe of the words is familiar to moft languages. Nothing can be more ill to this purpose than what we meet with in the Canticles of Solomon," Thou hast ravished my eart, my fifter, my fpouse,"-ch. iv. ver. 9. and in feveral other places. 66 vid alfo has ufed the words in this sense: Alloquor Hermione nuper fratremque virumque, Nunc fratrem, nomen conjugis alter habet. nd the Greeks had fo accustomed themselves to this use of them, that we find their Venus has a title ven her by Lycophron, which his Scholiaft explains by “env adsλpowosov, the author of brotherly I ciations." And affigns this pretty whimfical reafon for it: "For a commerce in love matters akes those who were ftrangers, brothers: and thofe who would carry on an amorous commerce cretly, fay of one they favour, he is my brother, he is my relation." ing folved, we hope, this difficulty, we fhall next confider what is the import of "vir" and "connx." They certainly were defigned to exprefs fome nearer connection, fome closer tie, than mere iendship, or whatever elfe is comprehended in “ frater” and "foror." The epithet "cafta" given Næra, will not permit us to understand them of any loofe amour; that title never could beng to a jilt, who had granted favours to one lover, and, upon fome caprice, had thrown herself to the arms of another: but divorces were common enough at Rome, so that even a wife might ifmifs her husband upon fome difpleasure taken, at least before actual matrimony without hurting er reputation by it: so that I think hufband and wife are the true meaning of "vir" and " con s interpretation, however, is not without difficulties; the filence of antiquity, and feveral other ircumftances, make the marriage of Tibullus appear improbable, it has therefore been fuppofed by ipfius, that “quandam” was intended to exprefs future, and not paft time. It cannot be denied, that it is fometimes thus used; but it more commonly fignifies the time paft, or formerly; an understand it otherwise here, would make the construction harsh and ungrammatical. In for confirmation of this, it appears that the following elegies of this book relate to the fame perfo the fame diftrefs: they were probably the new-year's gift which Lygdamus, by the advice of Mufes, proposes to fend to Nexra: now thefe furnish us with paffages which can be underta nothing else but a marriage-contract, and a subsequent feparation : thus, in EL 3. we find, Sed veniat caræ matris comitata dolore, One muft torture thefe paffages extremely, to make them confiftent with any thing elfe but marriage, or at least a very folemn contract. Was Tibullus then married? or did he in to marry Neæra? I am not inclined to think fo, as none of the ancient writers has given hint of it. But the poet is not tied down to actual life : Pictoribus atque poetis Quidlibet audendi semper fuit æqua potestas. The facrifice of Iphigenia at Aulis, is probably a mere fable: and yet what noble, what what interesting Icenes of diftrefs have both the tragedian and painter formed upon it! A not Tibullus, to indulge his plaintive humour, and to difplay the foft feelings of his cul reprefent himself in a fituation that forms one of the moft melting and agonizing ditrea * * found amongst thofe beds of thorns and rofes which love prepares for his capricious vo beloved wife, grown dearer by more intimate acquaintance, charming without the hep and rooted in the foul by a thousand repeated endearments, torn from the arms of an husband, whilst he ftill doats upon her, and ready to be facrificed to another;—what feety but fhudders at the thought especially when the delicate affecting colours are a pencil of Tibullus? The names certainly are fictitious; Neæra was as trite a name for an Rome, as Phyllis or Cloe with our modern fonnetteers, And what confirms me in tra that the distress painted in these elegies is alfo fictitious, fo far as Tibullus is concer that Ovid, in his poem on Tibullus's death, takes notice of no other miftrefs but Delia an to one of whom he affigns the last, to the other the first interest in him, without any i favourite. Sic Nemefis longum, fic Delia nomen habebit. Ovid feems to have carefully fearched out every curious particular of Tibullus's life, and the affe&cd. THY calends, Mars! are come from whence of old, Pect. | To my Neæra, tuneful virgins! fay, Mufes. II Gold wins the venal, verse the lovely maid: air maids of Pindus! I your counsel praise : 20 Then let her tell me, if her flames decline, In terms fubmiffive thus addrefs the maid: "And once could clafp them in his nuptial arms, "But oh! may Hymen blefs his virtuous fire, NOTES ON ELEGY I. OMULUS, who divided the year into ten Ver. 1. Numa Pompilius, in imitation of the ths, dedicated the first to his father Mars; on Greeks, added January and February to Romulus's irft day of this month the veftal virgins light- calendar, and began the year with January. From new the facred fire, fresh laurels were hung the time of Numa to that of Julius Cæfar, the Ron the fenate, and at the doors of the high-man year was lunar, and confifted of three hunts's house, &c. the comitia began, the reve-dred and fifty-five days. But as this fell about were farmed, and fervants not only had their eleven days short of the true folar course, table es paid them (and hence these days were call- of intercalation or infertion were invented, to adMercedonia"), but, for one night this month, just time as nearly as poffible to the motions of e attended upon at fupper by their masters. the fun and moon. The pontifex Maximus and he poet inquires of the mufes, what prefent college of priests had the care of inferting these hould fend to Neara, who, as fhe was till the intercalary days; and they, from negligence, fuobject of his wishes, fo he yet hoped to be perftition, but chiefly from an arbitrary abuse of in poffeffed of her in marriage. their power, by which they could make the year either longer or fhorter, as fuited their own or friends intereft, did not punctually infert them; infomuch that in Julius's time, the winter months became autumnal; and those of antumn had fallen , as Neæra was a very competent judge of back into fummer. This gave rife, A. U. C. 707. try, fo he ought to prefent her with his per- to the Julian correction, or folar year, adjusted to nances in that way. Our author, however the exact measure of the fun's revolution in the denied, was yet too much of the poet not to zodiac, and confifting of three hundred and fixtyh their advice; but as the dignity of thofe who five days and fix hours. This method of computy a prefent, enhances the value thereof, he en-ing time continued in Europe till 1582, when ts the mufes to take the trouble themselves of vering into the hands of Neæra his poems; to affure her, that he shall never forego the fing expectation of being one day again united er in marriage. The mufes answer (for with Muretus the tranfr reads deat, ut digna eft, verfibus illa tuis), caliger, in his poetics, calls the beginning of elegy "Plebeian," on account of its fpondees, = tantus ejufdem vocalis fonus." His own correction, however, is not much bet : mani feftæ Martis, &c. is remarkable that this hypercritic does not fault with one fingle line of the two former Pope Gregory, by finking ten days between the 4th and 15th of October, reduced the vernal equinox to the 21st of October, the day which it had fallen upon, when the feftivals were regulated by the council of Nice, and made the year confift of three hundred and fixty-five days, five hours, and forty-nine minutes. This new ftyle, as it was called, to diftinguish it from the Julian, being the moft correct calculation of the flow of time, is authorized every where by law, and prevails now in almost all the kingdoms of Europe. Ver. 3. It has been obferved by the writers on antiquities, that a feaft called " Matronalia," was celebrated on the calends of March, when folemo Ver. 9. The whole beauty of this elegy is d by Scaliger and Broekhufius's reading gaudeat illa meis. Whatever the wits allege, wherever "mean" "tuum" contend for pre-eminence, it is a ke machia of real importance. As the ancients, therefore, only wrote a fide of their " volumina," the other was gen ftained with yellow or purple, both to pri them, and make the writing more legible. A to this, that they wrapped up the folded fr a proper envelope. That wherein our pec was to fend his " volumina, was to be of as colour, « lutea membrana." facrifices were offered up to Juno by the Roman ladies, to whom alfo prefents were then fent by their friends, in grateful remembrance of the interpofition of the Sabine women betwixt their fathers and husbands. But it is not this cuftom which Tibullus alludes to. The beginning of the year in ancient times on the calends of March would have been an idle circumftance here, if the Ver. II. To understand the original, it mufi prefents Tibullus fpeaks of, were not what we call confidered, that the ancients had very few new year's gifts, the " ftrena" of ancient Rome, quadrati," or fquare books, like ours; as they ge which flew about in every corner, and which em- rally wrote on "membranæ," or fuch large perors themselves did not difdain to accept of. as refembled our parchment: faftening thefe, the Ovid, indeed, and Suetonius, exprefsly affign the fore, one to another, they rolled them up, calends of January for thefe expreffions of benevo- finished, on a long piece of wood, which wa lence: but even two fuch authorities are not fuf-ped at both ends with horn or ivory, and f ficient to convict Tibullus, in the judgment of onetimes decorated with paint. These are what converfant with his writings, of either writing poet means by his "cornua." By "g idly, or falfifying ancient cuffoms. It should feem, frontes" are to be understood the two ends of then, that the Romans continued to diftribute wood next the "cornua," where the auth these presents as earnells of their good wishes for name was infcribed on a label. their friends, on the calends of March, according to the inftitution of Romulus, even after Numa had added two months to the year, and placed them at the head of it; that this remained thus, till the calendar took a more settled form, under Julius Cæfar, by whofe directions the beginning of the year being certainly fixed to the calends of January; and the emperors being jealous of their authority, even in trifles, it became the court fashion to confine this diftribution of new year's gifts to that time only. No wonder then, that Ovid, who was a court-Hatterer, and Suetonius, who wrote when the powers of the emperors had fwallowed up all law and cuftom, fhould mention that obfervance only, which the firft Cæfar had established; nor that Tibullus fhould honour that ufage which prevailed when his darling liberty flourished, and difdained to take notice of a change which was introduced by a tyrant. We know the obstinacy of many of our own countrymen in favour of the old ftyle; but amongst the Romans it had fomewhat of virtue in it; it was a generous indignation against the authority which had robbed their country of every valuable privilege. Suetonius himself feems to confirm this opinion: we find Tiberius, who thought his power under. mined by the flightest deviation from the inftitution of his predeceffors, at the pains of making an edia to confine the new year's gifts to the calends of January:" edicto prohibuit-ftrenarum comBercium, ne ultra calend. Januarias exerceretur." The hiftorian indeed affigns a different reafonthat Tiberius did it for his own eafe, as numbers, who could not get at him the first day, were plaguing him the whole month through: but what occafion for a folemn edict, extended to all the people, for the ease of the emperor, when the bare notice of his pleasure, fupported by a few Prætorian guardfmen, would have fufficiently fecured it? Might not then the edict remain upon record, and the reafon of it be forgot at fuch diftance of time; or be thought improbable by the historian, when the caprices which ufually attend the struggles betwixt prerogative and liberty were buried in oblivion? B. The fheets were smoothed with pum hence "pumex" came metaphorically to an elaborate performance. The " style="m inftrument with one end of which they w and with the other erafed inaccuracies; h "invertere ftylum" fignifies, in claffical writes correct. But when not words only, bet alii fentences were to be changed, they used th and hence, to fponge out, even in our day to to obliterate. The ink the ancients wa was the juice of the loligo. Ver. 25. In the original it was, Sed primum meritam longa, &c, Sed dominam rara primum donate falute, Sed nympham facili primum donate falete. As vopn, in Greek. fignifies "nupta;" and at com fome paffages might be produced to fhow, the "nympha" fometimes meant a wife, among Romans. Ver. 35. The beauty of this paffage has not, is prefumed, been fufficiently attended to literal tranflation is, "Ihe pale water of Fan fhall ravish the hope of this title from him whe he is dead," "extincto" Where it thould frem.! that Tibullus, in this affumed character of a disur d diftarded hufband, in order to convince Neæra | fhows himself to be mafter of all the learning of his fond attachment to her, affures her, that not his times, it is propable, that by "pallida Ditis ly life, but memory itself muft fail him, before aqua," is meant the river Lethe; and that the can quit the pleafing hope of being again defign of the whole paffage is to affure Neæra, ited in marriage to her. Plato's metemply- that he should always, even in death, retain a fond ofis was at that time a fashionable doctrine at remembrance of her charms; that in the feparate me: which Virgil has thus reprefented, book state of his foul, he should still indulge the hope line 748, & feq. of a re-union with her, when they fhould enter again upon the scene of life: and that he would not fuffer this hope to be ravished from him by any thing elfe but the fame waters of oblivion, in which he fhould lofe the memory of every thing he had formerly been acquainted with. as omnes, ubi mille rotam volvere per annos, thæum ad flumen Deus evocat agmine magno licet immemores fupera ut convexa revifant, rfus & incipiant in corpora velle reverti. d as Tibullus, even in the midst of a love tale, B. ELEGY II. RD was the first, who ventur'd to divide torn, 10 and t thou, Neæra for thy husband morn? 20 In black array'd; the flame forgets to foar; NOTES ON ELEGY II. YGDAMUS having by force been deprived Neara, he fays in this elegy, that he can no er fupport life; and dwells, with fuch a seemfatisfaction, on the rites which he defires may nd his funeral, that we may suppose the lofs tly affected him. The beginning of this poem difcovers a kind of nated indifference, befitting his fituation of d; for here wit, or too much care about lange, would have been extremely improper: bee, as Cicero fomewhere obferves, " quædam m negligentia eft diligens." Although the tranflator is afraid, that this elegy afford but fmall entertainment to the mere i reader, the fcholar will not be furprised |