nor fhall they be infected with the noxious difcafes of neighbouring cattle. O fortunate old man, bere amongst well known rivers and facred Springs you fball enjoy the cool fhade. On. 55 one fide the bedge that bounds your farm, where the Hyblean bees are always feeding on the flowers of the willows, ball

put it paft all difpute. Burman obferves, that fome point thefe verfes thus;

"Non infueta graves tentabunt pa"bula; foetas "Nec mala vicini pecoris contagia "laedent:"

but he condemns it. If we adınit this pointing, the tranflation muft run thus; "Your pregnant sheep "shall not be in danger from unac"customed food; nor fhall your "dams be infected with the noxious "diseases of neighbouring cattle." 52. Flumina nota.] The Po and the Mincius.

54. Vicino ab limite fepes.] The hedge which divides your land from your neighbour's.

55. Hyblaeis apibus.] A figurative expreffion to denote the best bees; for Hybla, a town of Sicily was famous for honey.

Florem depafta.] That is depafta fecundum florem, or habens florem depaftum, a Grecifm frequent in Virgil; as Os humerofque deo fimilis n the firft Aeneid. Salicti.] For faliceti: fee the 1ote on ver. 13. of the fecond Georgick.

The flowers of willows are cat-> kins; they abound in chives, the fummits of which are full of a fine yellow duft, of which the bees are faid to make their wax.

57. Alta.] Heinfius, according to Burman, found alte in one manufcript.

Frondator.] A pruner of vines; for the other fruit-trees ftand in no need of pruning, unless any one would fancy Tityrus to have wallfruit, or efpaliers. Olive-trees are the worfe for pruning, as our Poet himself tells us in the fecond Geor gick;

"Contra non ulla eft oleis cultura; 66 neque illae "Procurvam expectant falcem, raftrofque tenaces."

But vines must be well pruned every But vines must be well pruned every year;

"Eft etiam ille labor curandis vitibus alter,

66

"Cui nunquam exhaufti fatis eft: namque omne quotannis "Terque quaterque folum fçinden"dum, glebaque verfis "Aeternum frangenda bidentibus, omne levandum

This rural pleasure of hearing the labouring people fing has not been forgotten by Milton, in his L'Allegro;

"While the plowman near at hand, "Whistles o'er the furrow'd land, "And the milkmaid fingeth blithe, "And the mower whets his fcythe, "And every fhepherd tells his tale Under the hawthorn in the dale."

Servius fays, that frondator is fometimes ufed to fignify a bird that lives among the leaves, and feeds upon them. Hence the Abbé de Marolles has rendered it a nightingale; Sous la pente d'un rocher le Rofeignol chantera. Thus alfo the Earl of Lauderdale has tranflated it a linnet; "Where from fteep cliffs, fhrill

" linnets ftretch their throats, And turtles from high elms, complaining notes.'

tyrus: I believe therefore, that he defigns to exprefs the pleasure of the pruner, in enjoying the cool breezes, and finging to them; for otherwise his work would be very hot, where the fun-beams being ftrongly reflected upon him, would give him no great inclination to fing.

60. Ante leves ergo, &c.] Tityrus, acknowledging the greatness of his happiness, declares, that it is impoffible for him ever to forget the obligations, which he owes to Auguftus.

In aethere.] La Cerda would would fain read in aequore, if he could find the authority of any ma- . nufcript; because the Poet feems here to oppose the sea, rather than Heinfius the fky, to the earth. however, according to Burman, did find in aequore in one of his manufcripts: but this is not a fufficient ground to alter the text, the sense being very good as it is.

61. Freta.] It properly fignifies a frith or ftreight, but is often used by the Poets for the fea.

Nudos.] Burman finds nudo in litore in a Venetian manufcript. Lord Lauderdale has tranflated t according to this reading:

"Firft nimble deer on empty ar "fhall feed, "And feas leave to the naked fhoe "their breed."