fourth Georgick. Pliny fays this herb is poisonous in Sardinia; " A"piaftrum Hyginus quidem melif"fophyllon appellat. Sed in con❝feffa damnatione eft venenatum "in Sardinia.". If the Poet did mean any particular herb, I fhould understand him of the aconite, which feems to be confirmed by the verse, that Servius has quoted. Ruacus is of opinion, that he means all venemous herbs in general.

25. Affyrium vulgo nafcetur Amo"In the Lombard manumum.] "fcript, it is Affyrium et vulgo. "But the fentence is neat and ele"gant, without the copulative "particle." PIERIUS.

Servius fays the Amomum is a fweet fmelling plant, which grows only in Affyria. But fo far is it from growing only in Affyria, that it is not faid by any of the ancient writers of Natural Hiftory, to grow in Affyria at all. See the note on ver. 89 of the third Eclogue. It is well known to be cuftomary with Poets, and particularly Virgil, to extend the names of countries as far as poffible. We have feen, in the notes on the first Eclogue, that the empire of the Parthians is ex tended to the utmost bound, that it ever reached. In the fame manner we must understand Affyria in this place, the greatest extent of which empire, it may not be amifs to describe on this occafion. We read, in the fecond book of Kings, that Sennacherib, king of Affyria, fent this meffage to Hezekiah; "Let

not thy God, in whom thou trufteft, deceive thee; faying, "Jerufalem fhall not be delivered "into the hand of the king of Af"fyria. Behold thou haft heard "what the kings. of Affyria have "done to all lands, by destroying "them utterly; and fhalt thou be "delivered? Have the gods of the "nations delivered them which my

fathers have deftroyed, as Go"zan, and Haran, and Rezeph; " and the children of Eden which 66 were in Thelafar? Where is the "king of Hamath, and the king "of Arpad, and the king of the

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city of Sepharvaim, of Henah "and Ivah?" Gozan is fituated on the Cafpian fea, Haran was one of the royal feats of the kings of Mefo potamia, Rezeph was a city of Syria, Thelafar was a city of Babylonia, Hamath and Arpad were cities of Syria, Sepharvaim was a city on the river Euphrates, between Babylon and Nineveh. Ifaiah alfo puts thefe words into the mouth of the king of Affyria; "Is not Cal66 no as Carchemifh? is not Ha "math as Arpad? is not Samaria 66 as Damafcus?" Calno was city, where Bagdad now ftands, and gave name to a large region called Chalonitis. In the fecond book of Kings, ch. xvi. we find that Tiglath-pilefer took Damafcus, and carried the people to Kir, which was a city and large region of Media, and must therefore have been conquered before that time by the Affyrians. In ch. xvii, we find that

Shalmanefer

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Shalmanefer "took Samaria, and "carried Ifrael away into Affyria, "and placed them in Halah and in "Habor, by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes ;" and that "the king of Affyria "brought men from Babylon, and "from Cuthah, and from Ava, "and from Hamath, and from "Sepharvaim, and placed them in "the cities of Samaria, instead of "the children of Ifrael." Halah and Habor are by fome thought to be Colchis and Iberia, and by others to be a region between Affyria and Media. Čuthah is Sufiana. Ezra mentions the Dinaites, Apharfathchites, Tarpelites, Apharfites, Archevites, Babylonians, Sufanchites, Dehavites, and Elamites, as the nations that had been tranfplanted to the cities of Samaria. The Apharfathchites were a people, that inhabited the bottom of the mountains next to Affyria; the Archevites were on the eaft of Pafitigris, between Apamia and the Perfian gulph: the Sufanchites were the people of Cuthah, or Sufiana; and the Elamites were the Perfians. We read alfo in the twentieth chapter of Ifaiah, that the king of Affyria conquered Egypt and Ethiopia. Thus the Affyrian empire contained not only Affyria properly fo called; but alfo Armenia, Media, Sufiana, part of Perfia, Chaldea, Mefopotamia, Cilicia, Syria, Paleftine, Egypt and Ethiopia. Therefore the Amomum being confeffedly a plant of Arme

which shall caufe men to go down to the fea in fhips, to encompas towns with walls,

nia and Media, which were for merly fubject to the Affyrian empire, is faid by the Poet to be an Affyrian plant. It was in high efteem, as a rich perfume; and therefore it is one of the glories of this age, that so rare a plant would be made common.

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26. At fimul heroum, &c.] The Poet having declared the bleffings that shall attend the birth of this expected child, defcribes thofe, which fhall accompany his youth. Other figns of the Golden Age fhall appear; but it shall not yet be perfectly reftored. Navigation," Agriculture, and War fhall not yet entirely cease.

Heroum laudes, &c.] Servius interprets the praises of heroes to mean Poetry, the actions of his father Hiftory, and the knowledge of virtue Philofophy; and obferves, that these fciences are placed in the proper order, in which a youth ought to ftudy them.

Facta parentis. If Marcellus was the fubject of this Eclogue, aš feems most probable; by his father must be meant Augustus, who seems to have adopted him, even before his birth: unless any one will fuppofe, that the Poet means Anthony, whe was an intimate friend of Pollio, and had really performed many great actions. But I believe the Poet rather means Auguftus.

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