Ante pererratis amborum finibus, exul

fooner fball the banished Parthian drink of the Arar, and the

63. Aut Ararim Parthus bibet, aut Germania Tigrim.] Tityrus is here fpeaking of impoffibilities; that beafts fhould feed in the fky, and fishes on the land; that the Parthians should extend themselves to the river Arar, or the Germans to Tigris, which could not be effected any otherwife, than by a conqueft of the whole Roman Empire, which lay between those two rivers. Many Criticks have cenfured Virgil, as being guilty of a notorious geographical error in this place, reprefenting Tigris as a river of Parthia, and Arar as a river of Germany. They tell us, that Parthia is bounded on the weft by Media, on the north by the Cafpian, on the eaft by Bactriana, and on the fouth by the defarts of Carmania; fo that all the large country of Media and part of Affyria lie between the Parthians and the Tigris. The Arar, which is now called the Soane, is well known to be a river of France, feveral miles diftant from the Rhine, the well known boundary of the ancient Germany. It has been a common anfwer to this, that Tityrus fpeaks with a paftoral fimplicity,

exchanging their countries,

and that it is not neceffary to reprefent a fhepherd as an exact Geogra pher. Others fay that Virgil loves to add the greater dignity to his verse, by enlarging the bounds of countries as much as poffible. Catrou folves the difficulty by faying that it was hardly poffible for the Parthian to change country with the German ; but that it was abfolutely impoffible for the German to drink the water of the Tigris in the country of the Parthians, and for the Parthian to drink the water of the Soane in Germany but this is little better than a quibble. For my own part, I fee no great difficulty in understanding this paffage according to the most obvious meaning of the words. The Parthians had at that time extended their empire even beyond the Tigris, and had made fuch conquefts, that they were become formidable to the Romans. Strabo tells us exprefsly, that the border of the Parthians began from the Euphrates; the country on the other fide, as far far as to Babylon, being under the dominion of the Romans, and the Princes of Arabia; the neighbouring people joining either with the Romans or Parthians, according as they were nearer to one or the other; Όριον δ ̓ ἐστὶ τῶν Παρθυαίων ἀρχῆς ὁ Εὐφράτης καὶ ἡ περαία: τα δ' εντός ἔχουσι Ρομαῖοι καὶ τῶν Αράβων οἱ φύλ λαρχοι, μέχρι Βαβυλωνίας, οἱ μὲν μᾶλλον ἐκείνοις,αἱ δὲ τοῖς Ρωμαίοις προ

εέχονίες

εέχοντες οἷσπερ καὶ πλησιόχωροι εἰσίν. It was not far from the banks of the Euphrates, that Surena, the Parthian General defeated Craffus: fo that Tigris must have been within the bounds of the Parthian empire. The extent and fituation of this empire has been with great beauty and juftnefs defcribed by Milton, in the third book of his Paradife Regained :

Here thou behold'st

66 Affyria and her empire's ancient "bounds,

"Araxes and the Cafpian lake, "thence on

"As far as Indus Eaft, Euphrates "Weft,

"And oft beyond; to South the

"Perfian bay,

"And inacceffible th' Arabian "drouth:

"Here Ninevee, of length within "her wall "Sev'ral days journey, built by "Ninus old,

"Of that firft golden monarchy

"the feat,

"And feat of Salmanaffar, whofe

"fuccefs

"Ifrael in long captivity ftill

66 mourns;

"There Babylon the wonder of all

"tongues, "As ancient, but rebuilt by him who.twice

c Judah and all thy father David's

houfe

les! Led captive, and Jerufalem laid

wafte,

"Till Cyrus fet them free; Per" fepolis

"His city there thou feeft, and "Bactra there;

"Ecbatana her structure vaft there " fhews,

"And Hecatompylos her hundred gates,

"There Sufa by Choafpes, amber "ftream,

"The drink of none but kings; of "later fame

"Built by Emathian, or by Par"thian hands,

"The great Seleucia, Nicibis, and 66 there

"Artaxata, Teredon, Tefiphon, Turning with eafy eye thou mayft "behold.

"All these the Parthian, now fome "ages paft,

"By great Arfaces led, who founded firft

"That empire, under his dominion "holds,

"From the luxurious kings of An❝tioch won."

Soane can be faid to belong in any It remains now to fhew, how the controverfy that the Rhine was almanner to Germany. It is paft all tween Germany and Gaul. It was ways accounted the boundary bethe eastern limit of Gaul, according to Strabo ; Τὴν Κηλικὴν ταύτην απὸ μὲν τῆς δύσεως ορίζει τα Πυρην ανα ὅρη τῆς ἑκατέρωθεν θαλάττης, τῆς σε εντός καὶ τῆς εκτὸς προσαπτόμενα ἀπὸ δὲ ἀνατολῶν ὁ Ρῆνος παράλληλος

រ

ὧν τῇ Πυρήνῃ. The Arar, accord ing to the fame author, rifes in the Alps, paffes between the countries of the Sequani, Aedui, and Lincafii, who are inhabitants of Gaul, and receiving the Dubis, or Doux, falls into the Rhone : 'Ρει δὲ καὶ ὁ Ἄραρ ἐκ τῶν ̓Αλπεων, ὁρίζων Σηκουανούς τε καὶ Αἰδουϊοὺς, και Λιγκασιους παραλαβὼν δ ̓ ὕστερον τὸν Δοῦσιν ἐκ τῶν αὐτῶν ὁρῶν φερόμενον πλωτον, ἐπικρατήσας τῷ ὀνόματι, καὶ γενόμενος ἐξ ἀμ. φοῖν Αραρ, συμμίσγει τῷ Ροδανῷ. This confux of the Soane and the Rhone is at Lyons, and without doubt in Gaul. The Sequani, a famous people of Gaul, were bounded, according to Strabo, on the eaft by the Rhine, and on the welt by the Soane : "Αλλος δ ̓ ἐστὶν, ὁμοίως ἐν ταῖς Αλπεσι τὰς πηγὰς ἔχων, Σηκουανὸς ὄνομα ρέων. Ρεῖ δ ̓ εἰς τὸν Ωκεανὸν, παράλληλος τῷ Ρήνῳ διὰ ἔθνους ὁμωνύμους, συνάπίοντας τῷ Ρήνῳ τὰ πρὸς ἕω, τὰ δ ̓ εἰς ταναντία τῷ Αραρι. We learn from Caefar, that the fouth border of these people was the Rhone; " Quum Se66 quaros a provincia noftra Rhoda66 nus divideret.” Therefore the country of the Sequani answers nearly to that province of France, which is now called Franchecomte. Thefe people, as Strabo tells us, were the ancient enemies of the Romans, and affifted the Germans in their incurfions into Italy. They were enemies alfo to the Aedui, who were

οι

the firft allies of the Romans in Gaul, and had frequent contentions with them about the Soane, which divided their borders: Οι δὲ Ἐδούσε και συγγενεῖς Ρομαίων ὠνομάζοντο, καὶ πρῶτοι τῶν ταύτη προσῆλθον πρὸς τὴν φιλίαν καὶ συμμαχίαν. Πέραν δὲ τοῦ Αραρος οἰκοῦσιν οἱ Σηκουανοί, διάφοροι καὶ τοῖς Ρωμαίοις ἐκ πολλοῦ στεγονότες καὶ τοῖς Ἐδούοις· ὅτι πρὸς Γερμανούς προσεχώρουν πολλάκις κατὰ τὰς ἐφό δους αυτῶν, τὰς ἐπὶ τὴν Ἰταλίαν . . . . πρὸς δὲ τοὺς Ἐδούους, καὶ διὰ ταῦτα μέν, ἀλλ ̓ ἐπέτεινε τὴν ἔχθραν ἡ τοῦ ποταμοῦ ἔρις, τοῦ διείργοντος αὐτοὺς, ἑκατέρου ἔθνους ἴδιον ἀξιοῦντος εἶναι τὸν *Αραρα, καὶ ἑαυτῶ προσήκειν τὰ διαγω γικα τελη. Caefar tells us, that the Gauls were divided into two princi pal factions, at the head of which were the Aedui on one fide, and the

Sequani on the other. The latter,

not being able to subdue the former, called the Germans from the other fide of the Rhine to their affiftance, who feated themselves in Gaul, grievoufly oppreffed the Aedui and their friends, and in Caefar's time amounted to the number of a hundred and twenty thoufand, under the command of Arioviftus. Caefar fent an embaffy to this king, requiring only, that he would restore to the Aedui their hoftages, permit the Sequani to do the fame, and not bring over any more Germans into Gaul. But Arioviftus infifted on his right of poffeffion of the country,

and

and claimed the Aedui as his tributaries; efteeming the country on that fide of the Rhone to be as much his province, as that on the other fide belonged to the Romans. Thus we find the Germans had extended their bounds to the weft of the Rhine, as far as to the Arar or Soane, and claimed all the country between the two rivers as their own: for that the Germans drank of the waters of the Arar, as they are reprefented by Virgil to have done: and though Arioviftus was beaten by Caefar, and at that time compelled to retreat to the other fide of the Rhine, yet it is highly probable that many German families remained among the Sequani, who never were cordial friends to the Romans. Befides it appears both from Caefar and Strabo, that other German nations had feated themfelves in Gaul, who had time enough during the civil wars between Caefar and Pompey to fettle themfelves with greater fecurity.

65. At nos hinc alii, &c.] MeJiboeus continues his difcourfe, and having praised the felicity of Tityrus, enlarges upon the miferies of himfelf and his banished companions. Sitientes Afros. He calls the Africans fitientes, because of the great heat of that part of the world. 66. Scythiam.] The Ancients commonly called all the northern parts of the world Scythia. Meliboeus here gives a ftrong defcription of the miferable exile of his countrymen; fome of whom are driven

to the hotteft, and others to the coldest parts of the world.

Rapidum Cretae veniemus Oaxem.] Servius will have Creta in this place not to mean the island of that name, but chalk. He tells us of an Oaxis in Mefopotamia, which rolling with great rapidity, carries down a chalky earth, which makes it's water turbid. He fays there is also a Scythian river called Oaxis; but he denies there being any fuch river in Crete. He then quotes a ftory from Philifthenes, of one Oaxes, the fon of Apollo and Anchiale, who founded a city in Crete, and called it by his own name; which, he fays, is alfo confirmed by Varro, in the following verfes;

Servius has found but very few to follow him, in the fancy of interpreting Creta to fignify chalk.. That there is any fuch river as Oaxis either in Mefopotamia or Scythia, would be perhaps more difficult to prove, than that it is in Crete, I do not find the mention of it in any ancient author; and could almoft fufpect, that Servius means the Araxes, a river of Armenia, which is indeed very rapid. It refts upon the authority of Servius, that this river is either in Mefopotamia or Scythia; and upon that of Virgil,

that

that it is in Crete. I fhould therefore make no doubt of placing it in Crete, were there no other authority than that of Virgil for fo doing. But Servius himself has acknowledged, that there was a city in Crete called Oaxes; whence it is not improbable, that there was a river alfo of the fame name. That there was anciently fuch a city in Crete, as Oaxes or Oaxus, can hardly be doubted. Herodotus fays 'exprefsly, that Oaxus is a city of Crete ; Εσλι της Κρήτης Οάξος πόλις. Apollonius, in the first book of his Argonauticks, calls Crete the Oaxian land;

३

duced from Apollonius. La Cerda fays, that the mention of Oaxes is very rare among the Ancients; but he thinks the authority of Virgil, fufficient to determine that there was a river known by that name in Crete; efpecially confidering many monuments of antiquity, with which Virgil was acquainted, are now loft. He then quotes feveral eminent authors, who have made no fcruple to follow Virgil. Baudrand, in his Lexicon Geographicum, affirms, that Oaxes is a very cold river of Crete, on which the town Oaxus is fituated, according to Herodotus; and adds, that it is called Oaxia by Varro and Vibius Se

Νύμφη Αγχιάλη Δικταῖον ἀνὰ σπέος αμφοτέρησι

Δραξαμένη γαίης Οιαξίδος βλάστησε.

Vibius Sequefter affirms, that Oaxes is a river of Crete, and that it gave name to the city Oaxia, for which he quotes the above verfes of Varro; "Oaxes Cretae, a quo civitas "Oaxia, Varro hoc docet;

"Quos magno Anchiale partus adducta dolore,

"Et geminis capiens tellurem Oax

ida palmis."....

!

frigidiffimus Oaxum oppidum, "tefte Herodoto, alluens, quod opσε pidum Oaxes et Oaxia apud Var "ronem appellatur, ficut apud Vi"bium Sequeftrum. Cujus nulισέ lum exftat in Creta indicium." Moreri fays almost the fame with Baudrand; "Oaxes, fleuve de "Crete, extremement froid, avec

une ville de ce nom. Herodote "en fait mention, dans le 3 livre. "Vibius Sequefter et Varron nom"ment la ville Qaxis et Oaxia." I cannot imagine whence thefe Lexicographers difcovered the coldness of the Oaxes. They both quote Herodotus amifs; for he does not fay a word of it in his third book; and only juft mentions, in his fourth, that a city of that name is faid to be in Crete: "El Tus Kρnτns 'Oαžos

Θηραίος