61. Hefperidum miratam mala puellam.] Virgil here alludes to the fable of Atalanta, the daughter of Schoeneus, king of Scyros, an island in the Aegean fea. She was warned, by the Oracle of Apollo, not to marry; and therefore fhe ftudiously avoided entering into that ftate. The beauty however of this princefs was fo great, that fhe could not avoid the follicitation of many lovers. Being endued with great fwiftnefs, the made this propofal to them; that whofoever could outrun her fhould be her husband; but if any one was exceeded by her, he fhould forfeit his life. Hippomenes, the fon of Megareus, who was the grandfon of Neptune, not discouraged by the fate of feveral unhappy lovers, was determined to contend for the prize. Atalanta, being pleased with his perfon and character, was loth to be the cause of his death, and used all the arguments -in her power to diffuade him from the attempt; but all in vain. Hippomenes, having invoked Venus, was favoured by her, and furnished with three golden apples from the gardens of the Hefperides. They began the race: and when Atalanta began to gain ground, Hippomenes threw down a golden apple, which fo furprized Atalanta with it's fplendor, that the turned afide to take it up. This being done a second and a third time, gave Hip

pomenes an opportunity of getting before her, and thereby obtaining his beauteous prize. Hippomenes neglected to render due thanks to Venus for his fuccefs, which fo exafperated the goddess against him, that the caufed them to pollute a temple of Cybele, who punished them by turning them into lions, and yoaking them to her chariot. See the tenth book of Ovid's Metamorphofes.

62. Tum Phaetontiadas, &c.] Phaetufa, Lampetie, and Lampetufa were the fifters of Phaeton, who being reproached by Epaphus king of Egypt, as having falfly pretended to be the fon of Sol, begged of his father to permit him to drive his chariot for one day, that he might prove himself to be his fon. This being granted, he guided the horses fo unfkilfully, that the earth began to burn, and would have been confumed, if Jupiter had not killed him inftantly with a thunderbolt; and thrown him into the river Eridanus. His fifters having fought for him a long time, at last found his body on the banks of that river, where they confumed themselves with weeping, and were turned into trees. Virgil calls thefe trees alders here; but in the tenth Aeneid, he seems to make them poplars;

"Namque ferunt luctu Cycnum "Phaetontis amati, Populeas

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Then be fings, bow one of the Mufes led Gallus into the Ao niau mountains,

x66 que fororum

"Dum canit, &c.'

64. Tum canit errantem, &c.] The Poet, having reprefented the `evil effects of unruly paffions, in thefe feveral examples, now reprefents the more happy condition of a wife man, who devotes himself to, the quiet ftudies of literature. Under this character, he takes an opportunity of paying a moft elegant compliment to his friend Gallus, who was a good Poet. He reprefents him to be introduced by one of the Mufes to the prefence of Apollo, where the whole aflembly rifes up to do him honour, and Linus prefents him with the pipe, which formerly belonged to Heliod. The perfon here spoken of is Cornelius Gallus, a native of Frioul, contemporary with Virgil, being about three or four years younger. He obtained the favour of Auguftus, and was raised by him from a low condition to great honours, as we are informed by Suetonius; " Ne"Neque enim temere, ex omni numero, in amicitia ejus afflicti re"perientur, praeter Salvidienum "Rufum, quem ad confulatum ufque, et Cornelium Gallum quem "ad praefecturam Aegypti, ex infima utrumque fortuna, provexerat." At the time of writing this Eclogue, Gallus, in all probability, was wholly engaged in his ftudies. He feems to have been

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tium; for, according to Dio, we find him the very next year, 724, at the head of an army, marching against Mark Anthony, and taking Paraetonium, whilft Auguftus feized on Pelufium. The foldiers, whom Gallus commanded, had formerly ferved under Anthony, who made no doubt of regaining them by fair words; or if that attempt failed, of fubduing them by force, taking a fufficient ftrength with him, both by fea and land. Anthony came up to the very walls, to speak to the foldiers; but Gallus ordered all the trumpets to found, fo that it was not poffible to hear a word; and making a fudden fally killed fome of his men.

Gallus alfo made ufe of a ftratagem against the navy of An thony. He caufed feveral chains to be concealed under water, in the night-time, at the entrance of the haven; at the fame time keeping but a flight guard. Anthony's fhips boldly entered the port, thinking themselves fecure enough, when Gallus, by means of engines prepared on purpofe, ftraitened the chains, confined the fhips, burned fome and funk the reft. Auguftus, at the fame time, having entered Egypt by Pelufium, made the country tributary, and appointed Gallus governour. But Gallus was fo intoxicated with power, that he vented opprobrious fpeeches against Auguftus, behaved himself ill in many. refpects, and grew fo vain, as te erec

to

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erect ftatues for himfelf in moft parts of Egypt, and inscribe his own. actions on the pyramids. He was accused of thefe crimes before the fenate, where feveral of his own. creatures appeared against him: and the facts were proved fo plainly againft him, that the fenate condemned him unanimoufly, to be banished, and to forfeit all his goods to Auguftus. Gallus, not being able to endure this fentence, killed himfelf, in the year of Rome 727, according to Eufebius, 728, according to Dio. Suetonius tells us, that Auguftus lamented his death, and complained, that he alone had not the liberty, to be angry with his friends juft fo far as he had a mind. Ovid, in his fecond book de Triftibus, fays the crime of Gallus was his too great licentioufnefs in his

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provocamus; cujus mihi terfus atque elegans maxime videtur. "autor Tibullus. Sunt qui Pro"pertium malint. Ovidius utro"que lafcivior; ficut durior Gallus." It is eafy to obferve, from what has been faid, that fome writers have been guilty of a very grofs error, in confounding this Cornelius Gallus with Afinius Gallus, the fon of the famous Pollio. Afinius Pollio died in the year of Rome 757, in, the eightieth year of his age; fo that he must have been under twenty, when Cornelius Gallus was born." The Afinii was one of the beft families in Rome; and therefore it could not be Afinius Gallus, that was raised from a low condition, according to Suetonius. Ovid fays the crime of Gallus the Poet was the too great licentioufnefs of his tongue. This agrees with what Dio has faid, concerning the cause of the difgrace of Cornelius Gallus: but it does not agree with the character of Afinius Gallus, who was cruelly put to death by Tiberius, without being convicted of any crime whatfoever. Befides Eufebius exprefsly calls Cornelius Gallus a poet, a character which we do not find afcribed to Afinius Gallus, though his father Pollio is faid to have excelled in that art. art. It is evident therefore, that Cornelius and Afinius Gallus were very different perfons; and that the poet, whom Virgil celebrates in this and in the tenth Eclogue, was no other than that Cornelius Gallus, who killed himself in Egypt.

Permeflus

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and bow the whole choir of

Phoebus rofe up in respect to the man: and bow the shepherd Linus,

from their feats, at the entrance of any perfon, whom they intended to honour. There could not be a greater compliment imagined to be paid to Gallus, as a Poet, than for the Mufes to rife up, on his being introduced into their company. This refpect was paid to Virgil, by the people of Rome, who rofe up, when his verses were recited in the theatre, and fhewed the fame re verence to his perfon, as they did to that of Augufus himfelf, as we read in the dialogue de Oratoribus, afcribed to Tacitus; "Malo fe"curum et fecretum Virgilii fe"ceffum, in quo tamen neque apud

''

divum Auguftum gratia caruit,

neque apud populum Romanum "notitia. Teftes Augufti epifto"lae, teftis ipfe populus, qui auditis "in theatro verfibus Virgilii, fur

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rexit univerfus, et forte praefen"tem fpectantemque Virgilium veneratus eft, fic quafi Auguftum." 67: Linus.] See the note on ver. 56. of the fourth Eclogue..

Paftor.] It does not appear, that Linus was really a fhepherd. Perhaps Virgil reprefents him under that character, as he does himself, and Gallus, in thefe Bucolicks. Thus alfo Hefiod reprefents himself, as feeding his lambs under the mountain Helicon;