I know not what eye bewitches

the tender lambs.

DAM. Tell me in what land, the space of beaven is extended three ells and no more ej

Syene, to fhew, that on the eighth of the kalends of July the fun fhone

λέλειπται

Τωστέα.

I こ

103. Oculus... fafcinat.] It is an opinion, which ftill prevails among the ignorant, that witches, and other evil difpofed perfons, have a power of injuring both perfons and cattle, by looking at them with a malicious eye.

104. Dic quibus in terris, &c.] Damoetas, to put an end to the controverfy, propofes a riddle to his antagonist, who, inftead of folving it, proposes another.

Afconius Pedianus, according to Servius and Philargyrius, affirmed that he had heard Virgil himself declare, that he had left thefe riddles, on purpose to torture the grammarians in folving them, and that the firft alluded to Caelius of Mantua. This Caelius, it seems, was an extravagant fellow, that spent his estate in luxury and left himself no more land, than fufficed for his fepulchre. This folution makes the riddle to be a forry pun upon the name of Caelius, fpatium caeli being supposed to mean, not the space of heaven, but the space of Caelius. But Virgil does not ufe to trifle in this manner. Servius tells us, that others think it alludes to the well,

that others would have it mean the fhield of Ajax, on which the form of the heavens was expreffed; others a cave in Sicily, through which Proferpine was carried off by Pluto: and others the place called mundus in the rites of Ceres: but these he thinks are too high for a countryman. Philargyrius fpeaks of a well, into which they used formerly to defcend in order to celebrate their myfteries, the orb, or circumfeference of which was no more than three ells, that they might thereby difcover the produce of the year when they were at the bottom, they could fee no more of the fky, than what anfwered to the circumference of the well. He mentions also the Sicilian cave, and the shield, not of Ajax, but of Achilles. Plutarch tells us, in his life of Romulus, that when Rome was founded, they dug a trench round the place, where afterwards the Comitia ftood, and threw into it the first-fruits of every thing that was either useful or neceffary; and then that every man took a turf of his own country, and threw it into the trench; that this trench was called Mundus, which they took for their centre, and described the city in a circle round it. This he fays was done according to the rites of the Tufcans. Feftus relates,

from

to me.

from Atteius Capito, that this trench lay open three days, which were accounted moft ftrictly religious. Hence La Cerda obferves, that we ought to confider attentively, that this trench, which was called Mundus or the World, lay open juft three days. He then proves, that mundus and caelum are often used in the fame fenfe, and infers from all this, that the three ells, mentioned by the Poet, allude to the three days, and that the caelum alludes to the trench or Mundus. This criticism he afcribes to Ciaconius, and adds, that he thinks it probable, that Virgil, who was well verfed in what concerned the Romans, would choose to allude to the affairs of that people, of whom he takes frequent opportunities to celebrate the glories. Ruaeus, befides the interpretations already mentioned, favours us with three others; 1. Pomponius refers it to one Caelus whofe ftatue was but three cubits. 2. Alciatus understands it of an oven, the mouth of which was three ells wide. 3. Others of any well, from which any perfon being let down, fees no more of the fky than the breadth of the well. Out of all these various opinions, Ruaeus leaves his reader to choofe which he likes beft. Dr Trapp thinks the story of Caelius and his monument a poor jest, and a very indifferent pun into the bargain; and declares himself either for the well or the oven. Catrou thinks the moft fimple interpretation the beft,

because it is moft within the reach of a fhepherd's understanding, and therefore declares for the well. Burman relates two or three other interpretations, which are not very material, and at laft leaves, the dif ficulty as he found it. For my own part, I do not pretend to any fkill in the folution of riddles; but I fhall hope for the reader's excufe if I offer one interpretation more, which I have not met with among all the various opinions of the Commentators. Might not the fhepherd mean a celeftial globe or sphere? That the Ancients had the ufe of fuch inftruments, is certain. Pliny, Lib. II. cap. 8. afcribes the invention of the fphere to Atlas; " Cir"culorum quoque caeli ratio in 66 terrae mentione aptius dicetur,

quando ad eam tota pertinet, Sig"niferi modo inventionibus non

dilatis. Obliquitatem ejus in"tellexiffe, hoc eft, rerum fores

aperuiffe, Anaximander Milefius "traditur primus olympiade quin"quagefima octava. Signa deinde "in eo Cleoftratus, et prima Ari

etis ac Sagittarii. Sphaeram ip"fam ante multo Atlas." In Lib. VIII. cap. 56. where he fpeaks of the inventors of things, he afcribes the invention of aftronomy' to "Atlas, and that of the sphere to Anaximander; " Aftrologiam Atlas, Li

byae filius; ut alii, Aegyptii; "ut alii, Affyrii. Sphaeram in ea

Mileffus Anaximander." Diogenes Laërtius alfo aferibes the invention of the fphere to the fame

Damoetas

Anaximander; 'Avaiμaropos IIpagάδου, Μιλήσιος anna nai Σφαίραν κατεσκεύασε might poffibly allude to the glafs fphere of Archimedes, which has been spoken of already, in the notes on ver. 40. It will be objected by fome perhaps, that three ells is a much larger dimenfion, than is ever found in any celestial globe. But we do not know, how large thefe inftruments used to be made by the Ancients. Befides the Criticks are not agreed whether the ulna was an ell or a cubit. See the note on ver. 355. of the third Georgick. Now if we fuppofe it to mean a cubit; a circumference of three cubits will agree with the measure of the globes in common ufe among us. perhaps will object, that a globe represents the whole heaven, where

Others

as Virgil fpeaks only of a space,

or

part of the fky. To this I answer, that fpatium fignifies not only a part, but the whole measure of any thing. Thus Juvenal ufes it to exprefs the whole dimenfion of a turbot ;

regum

MEN. Tell me in what d flowers grow...

land

the word patet, which I render to be extended, let him confult Caefar, who, in his feventh book de Bello

a

Gallico, ufes pates to express the extenfion of a plain; "Ante oppi"dum planities circiter millia paf

fuum tria in longitudinem pate"bat" and thefe words are repeated twice in the fame book. Pliny alfo, evidently ufes patet for extends; "Sylvarum longitudo eft "fchoenorum XX: latitudo di

midium ejus. Schoenus patet, "Eratofthenis ratione, ftadia XL." Thus we find, that fpatium caeli patet tres ulnas, may juftly be tranflated the space of heaven extends three ells; or the sky is extended to the dimenfion of three ells, or three cubits, which agrees very well with a likes this interpretation, I am not celeftial globe. If the reader difobftinate in defending it: he may take any of the others; which he likes beft.

"rhombi."

Pliny alfo ufes fpatium for the meafure of a man, from the crown of the head to the fole of the foot; "Quod fit hominum fpatium a vefti"gio ad verticem, id effe paffis "manibus inter longiffimos digitos

obfervatum eft." If any one fhould doubt of the fignification of

mistaken, when he fays the Hyacinth retains only the name of Hyacinthus, and not of Ajax; for the reverse is true. AI, A I, was infcribed on that flower only to ext prefs the notes of lamentation for the death of Hyacinthus; but they conftitute, half the name of Ajax It is indeed the general opinion, that the Hyacinth is the flower in quef