cafe; for his interpretation is Alium Alexin, alium puerum formofiffimum, qui te minime fpernat. Pierius found Alexim in the Roman manufcript. He fays the letter after i is erafed in the Lombard manufcript; and in the Oblong one is appears to be written with another hand and ink. Servius fays, fome will have Alexis in this place to ftand for Auguftus; and that we are to understand the Poet to mean, You will find another Emperor, if Auguftus defpifes you for afking for your land. But he juftly thinks the plain meaning is the beft. Catrou interprets invenies alium, A you will find another scholar; "Alexis refuse de t'avoir pour mai"tre, tu trouveras ailleurs un autre "difciple." But in the last of his notes, he seems almost ready to give up his beloved allegorical interpretation, and begins to think there is more paffion in this Eclogue, than is ufual, when we afpire only to have the education of a young perfon; and fufpects that Virgil perhaps gave too much into the depraved taste of his age. However, he is willing to hope, that he only intended to fhew what fentiments a tender friendship is capable of inspiring. ECLOGA TERTI A. PALA EMO N. MEN., Tell me, Damosetas, MENALCAS, DAMOETAS, PALAEMON. boje sheep are theje? do they MEN. DIC mihi, Damoeta, cujum pecus? an belong to Meliboeus? DAM. Non, verum Aegonis: nuper mihi tradidit DAM. No: to Aegon: Ar gon lately intruffed them to my Aegon. NOTES. 66 care. note, or of any particular event. "It is natural for Poets, fometimes "to feign. fubjects to their liking, "fometimes to adopt fuch as chance "throws in their way. We may fictitious name of Damoetas. He." bability, to ground a reasonable tells us, that the Poet having ob- "conjecture. I am therefore per tained the favour of Auguftus, Pol-fuaded, that Virgil had no view lio, Maecenas, Gallus, and other in this Eclogue, of any person of men of quality, was envied by feveral learned men, with one of whom he contends here under the name of Menalcas. This rival therefore is fupposed to begin by asking Virgil by way of contempt, who is the author of this Paftoral? Is it Meliboeus? meaning fome fcribler, Maevius perhaps, or Bavius. Virgil anfwers, it is Aegon, that is fome famous Poet, fuch as Gallus or Cinna, Catrou thinks it would be hard to guess what authors Virgil intended to conceal "under the names of Damoetas, "Menalcas, and Palaemon. Some "interpreters, fays he, have thought "that Virgil here reprefented himand that under the perfon "of an adverfary, he had pointed "out one of the Poets who envied "him. But this is afferted with felf out any proof; and befides it is "not probable that Virgil would "have given himself fuch a forry "character, as either of these two "fhepherds. The reproaches, which they give each other alter"nately, are too fharp for Virgil "to care to draw fo much hatred venture to fay, that Virgil here "intended to imitate and exceed Theocritus, without any other "allufion. It is probable alfo, that "the Poet did not write this Eclogue, till Pollio was advanced to the highest honours. It is "certain, that Virgil had already "written fome rural poems, when "he compofed this. Every thing "elfe is uncertain." I am glad to find, that this learned Commentator has at last rejected the allegorical interpretation, in which I heartily concur with him, and think that the fame arguments might have ferved him with regard to the two firft Eclogues. The Poet plainly imitates the Nousis of Theocritus, which begins with almost the fame words; Β. Ειπέ μοι, ὦ Κορύδων, τίνος αι βόες ; * ρα Φιλώνδα ; αυτὰς ἔδωκεν. « upon himfelf. I fancied at Gr. Κ. Οὐκ ἀλλ ̓ Αίγωνος· βόσκειν δὲ first, "that they might be Cebes and "Alexander, Virgil's two scholars, and that the Poet reprefented "himfelf under the name of Palae"mon. But I found too little pro μου Cujum pecus.] Anold Critick, it feems, ridiculed thefe verfes, thinking cujus, cuja, cujum, not to be Latin; F3 " Dic MEN. Ofheep, always an in- MEN. Infelix O femper oves pecus! ipfe Neacram bappy cattle! whilft be courts Neaera, and is afraid, that Dum fovet, ac, ne me fibi praeferat illa, veretur ; fhe fhould prefer me before bim, Hic alienus oves cuftos bis mulget in hora: this foreign keeper milks the Et fuccus pecori, et lac fubducitur agnis. Sheep twice in an hour: and the 5 cattle are defrauded of their DAM. Parcius ifta viris tamen objicienda memento. nourishment, and the lambs of their milk.`- DAM. Be more fparing bowever in your reproaches on men. This question is eafily anfwered, 2. Non, verum Aegonis.] This anfwer of Damoetas feems intended to fting Menalcas, who had afked him tauntingly, whofe flock it was that he fed. Aegon's, fays he, that is, your wealthy and powerful ri val, as appears by what follows. For Menalcas replies with fome Sharpness, that Aegon had better mind his flock himself, than lofe his time in following Neaera, which gives this hireling an opportunity to defraud him. 3. Infelix O femper oves pecus.] Pierius found oves in the Roman manufcript; but in the Lombard copy it had been altered to avis. Oves is approved by Heinfius, and feveral other good Editors. La Cerda reads avis, and fays ovis pecus Parcius ifta viris, &c.] Da moetas being ftung with this infinu ation of his defrauding his mafter, reproaches Menalcas with fome fecret tranfaction of his. This draws on fome fmart repartees, in which the manner of the common people is well imitated. Neither of them juftifies himself; but proceeds to throw new reproaches on his adversary. J Servius makes a stop after parcius, and interprets thus; Do not make any great reproach of this; but know that brave men are guilty of rapine. Dr Trapp's interpretation feems to be much better; "Think not men (ile. fuch as have the fpirit and honour of their fex, whatever others may do) will bear fuch affronts as thefe." Catrou is of opinion, that the meaning is no more than this; It is not fit for a young fhepherd, thus to re"proach a full grown man." Dryden tranflates it A Good words, young Catamite, at least to inen 8. Novimus And take men thus: I know, who once faw you," e ni a "When all the goats (afcance) did at thee leere: And I could tell thee in what "chappell too, iter ad DA Dryden's tranflation`is, R... "We know who did your business, how, and when, od And in what chappel too you plaid your prize; "And what the goats obferv'd with leering eyes? "The nymphs were kind, and "laught, and there your "fafety lies." . Dr Trapp keeps clofe to the origi nal, and fuppreffes the verbe Ava QaJEK to Lefs liberally tho, at least on (Remember that) fuchtfcandal "fhould be thrown: We know by whom, and in what "facred cave "You too were while the he "goats look'd afkance:* But the mild nymphes (thee scorn "But thank the eafy nymphs; they ing) did repine.” W faw and fmil'd.".-202 By: dy oust £ beast ved 22 you: Catrou renders in Nous fçavons Set le temps, et le lieu" and adds this note : It will be ob "ferved, without doubt, that I "have fuffered myself to be car "ried along by the torrent of In"terpreters. They all affirm, that “ Virgil underftands fomething, "which he is afhamed to express. "However I do not fee any ne"ceffity to think, that the Poet "We know where you profan'd" alludes here to any abominable "crime, which was committed in "Though the nymphs pardon'd" a temple facred to the nymphs. "the facred place, "with a fmiling grace." "One may imagine, that he means F 4 66 only and in ubat chapel too, but Et quo, fed faciles Nymphae rifere, facello. the eafy nymphs only laughed. MEN. Tum, credo, cum me arbuftum videre My MEN. It was then, I believe, when they faw me back Mycon's conis, trees and young vines with a Atque mala vites incidere falce novellas. malicious bill. NOTES: only the malice of Menalcas, in "breaking the bow and arrows of Daphnis. His paffion affrighted the very goats." Tranfverfa tuentibus hircis.] Vives thinks this an admirable expreffion of looking with contempt, with a leering eye, fuch as, according to Pliny, a lion will not endure to look at himet The general opinion of the Commentators is, that this action of Menalcas was fo fhameful, that the very goats, the most libidinous of all animals, turned their heads away, that they might not behold it. 9. Faciles La Cerda underftands faciles to mean tender or compaffionate; because an angry deity would have destroyed Menal cas for: fo fcandalous a profanation. Burman will have it to fignify eafy or good-natured as if they were ready to have granted a favour themfelves. Virgil does not feem ever to have used facilis in this fenfe; but he has fometimes used it to fignify Favourable as in the fourth Geor gick 3d or form Le sâm Svan 10 Videre.] Burman feems to be at a lofs to understand who these are, that faw. He fays Caftelvetrius thinks videre refers to thofe, whom Damoetas faid he knew; Novimus et qui te: he thinks it may refer to the goats, or perhaps be a general expreffion, they faw, that is any body. It feems much more pro bable, that he refers to the nymphs, “Expectet facilemque fugam, ven who are the last mentioned perfons tofque ferentes," 11. Mala fala, Servius, underftands mala to refer to the inten Sacello.] The Sacella, like our tion of the perfon, who made ufe of |