me down alive Or oh ye pitying Winds a Wretch relieve On Sands or Shelves the splitting Vessel drive Or set me Shipwrack'd on some desart Shore Where no Rutulian Eyes may see me more Unknown to Friends or Foes or conscious Fame Lest she should follow and my flight proclaim Thus Turnus rav'd and various Fates revolv'd The Choice was doubtful but the Death resolv'd And now the Sword and now the Sea took place That to revenge and this to purge Disgrace Sometimes he thought to swim the stormy Main By stretch of Arms the distant Shore to gain Thrice he the Sword assay'd and thrice the Flood But Juno mov'd with Pity both withstood And thrice repress'd his Rage strong Gales supply'd And push'd the Vessel o're the swelling Tide At length she lands him on his Native Shores And to his Father's longing Arms restores Mean time by Jove's Impulse Mezentius arm'd Succeeding Turnus with his ardour warm'd His fainting Friends reproach'd their shameful flight Repell'd the Victors and renew'd the Fight Against their King the Tuscan Troops conspire Such is their Hate and such their fierce desire Of wish'd Revenge On him and him alone All Hands employ'd and all their Darts are thrown He like a solid Rock by Seas inclos'd To raging Winds and roaring Waves oppos'd From his proud Summit looking down disdains Their empty Menace and unmov'd remains Beneath his Feet fell haughty Hebrus dead Then Latagus and Palmus as he fled At Latagus a weighty Stone he flung His Face was flatted and his Helmet rung But Palmus from behind receives his Wound Hamstring'd he falls and grovels on the Ground His Crest and Armor from his Body torn Thy Shoulders Lausus and thy Head adorn Evas and Mymas both of Troy he slew Mymas his Birth from fair Theano drew Born on that fatal Night when big with Fire The Queen produc'd young Paris to his Sire But Paris in the Phrygian Fields was slain Unthinking Mymas on the Latian Plain And as a salvage Boar on Mountains bred With forest Mast and fatning Marshes fed When once he sees himself in Toils inclos'd By Huntsmen and their eager Hounds oppos'd He whets his Tusks and turns and dares the War Th' Invaders dart their Jav'lins from afar All keep aloof and safely shout around But none presumes to give a nearer Wound He frets and froaths erects his bristled Hide And shakes a Grove of Lances from his Side Not otherwise the Troops with Hate inspir'd And just Revenge against the Tyrant fir'd Their Darts with Clamour at a distance drive And only keep the languish'd War alive From Coritus came Acron to the Fight Who left his Spouse betroath'd and unconsummate Night Mezentius sees him thro' the Squadrons ride Proud of the Purple Favours of his Bride Then as a hungry Lyon who beholds A Gamesom Goat who frisks about the Folds Or beamy stag that grazes on the Plain He runs he roars he shakes his rising Mane He grins and opens wide his greedy Jaws The Prey lyes panting underneath his Paws He fills his famish'd Maw his Mouth runs o're With unchew'd Morsels while he churns the Gore So proud Mezentius rushes on his Foes And first unhappy Acron overthrows Stretch'd at his length he spurns the swarthy Ground The Lance besmear'd with Blood lies broken in the wound Then with Disdain the haughty Victor view'd Orodes flying nor the Wretch pursu'd Nor thought the Dastard's Back deserv'd a Wound But running gain'd th' Advantage of the Ground Then turning short he met him Face to Face To give his Victory the better grace Orodes falls in equal Fight oppress'd Mezentius fix'd his Foot upon his Breast And rested Lance And thus aloud he cries Lo here the Champion of my Rebels lies The Fields around with Io Paean ring And peals of Shouts applaud the conqu'ring King At this the vanquish'd with his dying Breath Thus faintly spoke and prophesy'd in Death Nor thou proud Man unpunish'd shalt remain Like Death attends thee on this fatal Plain Then sourly smiling thus the King reply'd For what belongs to me let Jove provide But dye thou first whatever Chance ensue He said and from the Wound the Weapon drew A hov'ring Mist came swimming o're his sight And seal'd his Eyes in everlasting Night By Caedicus Alcathous was slain Sacrator laid Hydaspes on the Plain Orses the strong to greater Strength must yield He with Parthenius were by Rapo kill'd Then brave Messapus Ericetes slew Who from Lycaon's Blood his Lineage drew But from his headstrong Horse his Fate he found Who threw his Master as he made a bound The Chief alighting stuck him to the Ground Then Clonius hand to hand on Foot assails The Trojan sinks and Neptune's Son prevails Agis the Lycian stepping forth with Pride To single Fight the boldest Foe defy'd Whom Tuscan Valerus by Force o'recame And not bely'd his mighty Father's Fame Salius to Death the great Antronius fent But the same Fate the Victor underwent Slain by Nealces Hand well skill'd to throw The flying Dart and draw the far-deceiving Bow Thus equal Deaths are dealt with equal Chance By turns they quit their Ground by turns advance Victors and vanquish'd in the various Field Nor wholly overcome nor wholly yield The Gods from Heav'n survey the fatal Strife And mourn the Miseries of Human Life Above the rest two Goddesses appear Concern'd for each Here Venus Juno there Amidst the Crowd Infernal Atè shakes Her Scourge aloft and Crest of hissing Snakes Once more the proud Mezentius with Disdain Brandish'd his Spear and rush'd into the Plain Where tow'ring in the midmost Ranks he stood Like tall Orion stalking o're the Flood When with his brawny Breast he cuts the Waves His Shoulders scarce the topmost Billow laves Or like a Mountain Ash whose Roots are spread Deep fix'd in Earth in Clouds he hides his Head The Trojan Prince beheld him from afar And dauntless undertook the doubtful War Collected in his Strength and like a Rock Poiz'd on his Base Mezentius stood the Shock He stood and measuring first with careful Eyes The space his Spear cou'd reach aloud he cries My strong right Hand and Sword assist my Stroke Those only Gods Mezentius will invoke His Armour from the Trojan Pyrate torn By my triumphant Lausus shall be worn To S r Charles Orby Baronet of Burton Pednarden in y e County of Lincolne AE 10. l. 1125. He said and with his utmost force he threw The massy Spear which hissing as it flew Reach'd the Coelestial Shield that stop'd the course But glancing thence the yet unbroken Force Took a new bent obliquely and betwixt The Side and Bowels fam'd Anthores fix'd Anthores had from Argos travell'd far Alcides Friend and Brother of the War 'Till tir'd with Toils fair Italy he chose And in Evander's Palace sought Repose Now falling by another's Wound his Eyes He casts to Heav'n on Argos thinks and dyes The pious Trojan then his Jav'lin sent The Shield gave way Thro' treble Plates it
usurp'd by others Both Envy'd and traduc'd during their Lives We know not so much as the true Names of either of them with any exactness For the Criticks are not yet agreed how the word Virgil should be Written and of Homer's Name there is no certainty at all Whosoever shall consider this Parallel in so many particulars and more might be added would be inclin'd to think that either the same Stars Rul'd strongly at the Nativities of them both or what is a great deal more probable that the Latin Grammarians wanting Materials for the former part of Virgil's Life after the Legendary Fashion supply'd it out of Herodotus and like ill Face-Painters not being able to hit the true Features endeavour'd to make amends by a great deal of impertinent Landscape and Drapery Without troubling the Reader with needless Quotations now or afterwards the most probable Opinion is that Virgil was the Son of a Servant or Assistant to a wandring Astrologer who practis'd Physic For Medicus Magus as Juvenal observes usually went together and this course of Life was follow'd by a great many Greeks and Syrians of one of which Nations it seems not improbable that Virgil's Father was Nor could a Man of that Profession have chosen a fitter place to settle in than that most Superstitious Tract of Italy which by her ridiculous Rites and Ceremonies as much enslav'd the Romans as the Romans did the Hetrurians by their Arms. This Man therefore having got together some Money which Stock he improv'd by his Skill in Planting and Husbandry had the good Fortune at last to Marry his Masters Daughter by whom he had Virgil and this Woman seems by her Mothers side to have been of good Extraction for she was nearly related to Quintilius Varus whom Paterculus assures us to have been an Illustrious tho' not Patrician Family and there is honourable mention made of it in the History of the second Carthaginian War It is certain that they gave him very good Education to which they were inclin'd not so much by the Dreams of his Mother and those presages which Donatus relates as by the early indications which he gave of a sweet Disposition and Excellent Wit He passed the first Seven Years of his Life at Mantua not Seventeen as Scaliger miscorrects his Author for the initia aetatis can hardly be supposed to extend so far From thence he removed to Cremona a Noble Roman Colony and afterwards to Milan In all which places he prosecuted his Studies with great application he read over all the best Latin and Greek Authors for which he had convenience by the no remote distance of Marseils that famous Greek Colony which maintain'd its Politeness and Purity of Language in the midst of all those Barbarous Nations amongst which it was seated And some Tincture of the latter seems to have descended from them down to the Modern French He frequented the most Eminent Professors of the Epicurean Philosophy which was then much in vogue and will be always in declining and sickly States But finding no satisfactory Account from his Master Syron he pass'd over to the Academick School to which he adher'd the rest of his Life and deserv'd from a great Emperour the Title of the Plato of Poets He compos'd at leisure hours a great number of Verses on various Subjects and desirous rather of a great than early Fame he permitted his Kinsman and Fellow-student Varus to derive the Honour of one of his Tragedies to himself Glory neglected in proper time and place returns often with large Increase and so he found it For Varus afterwards prov'd a great Instrument of his Rise In short it was here that he form'd the Plan and collected the Materials of all those excellent Pieces which he afterwards finish'd or was forc'd to leave less perfect by his Death But whether it were the Unwholsomness of his Native Air of which he somewhere complains or his too great abstinence and Night-watchings at his Study to which he was always addicted as Augustus observes or possibly the hopes of improving himself by Travel he resolv'd to Remove to the more Southern Tract of Italy and it was hardly possible for him not to take Rome in his Way as is evident to any one who shall cast an Eye on the Map of Italy And therefore the late French Editor of his Works is mistaken when he asserts that he never saw Rome 'till he came to Petition for his Estate He gain'd the Acquaintance of the Master of the Horse to Octavius and Cur'd a great many Diseases of Horses by methods they had never heard of It fell out at the same time that a very fine Colt which promised great Strength and Speed was presented to Octavius Virgil assur'd them that he came of a faulty Mare and would prove a Jade upon trial it was found as he had said his Judgment prov'd right in several other instances which was the more surprizing be-because the Romans knew least of Natural Causes of any civiliz'd Nation in the World And those Meteors and Prodigies which cost them incredible Sums to expiate might easily have been accounted for by no very profound Naturalist It is no wonder therefore that Virgil was in so great Reputation as to be at last Introduced to Octavius himself That Prince was then at variance with Marc. Antony who vex'd him with a great many Libelling Letters in which he reproaches him with the baseness of his Parentage that he came of a Scrivener a Ropemaker and a Baker as Suetonius tells us Octavius finding that Virgil had passed so exact a judgment upon the Breed of Dogs and Horses thought that he possibly might be able to give him some Light concerning his own He took him into his Closet where they continu'd in private a considerable time Virgil was a great Mathematician which in the Sense of those times took in Astrology And if there be any thing in that Art which I can hardly believe if that be true which the Ingenious De le Chambre asserts confidently that from the Marks on the Body the Configuration of the Planets at a Nativity may be gathered and the Marks might be told by knowing the Nativity never had one of those Artists a fairer Opportunity to shew his skill than Virgil now had for Octavius had Moles upon his Body exactly resembling the Constellation call'd Vrsa Major But Virgil had other helps The Predictions of Cicero and Catulus and that Vote of the Senate had gone abroad that no Child Born at Rome in the Year of his Nativity should be bred up because the Seers assur'd them that an Emperour was Born that Year Besides this Virgil had heard of the Assyrian and Egyptian Prophecies which in truth were no other but the Jewish that about that time a great King was to come into the World Himself takes notice of them Aen. 6. where he uses a very significant Word now in all Liturgies hujus in adventu so in another place
by apprehensions of want he had a good Estate settled upon him and a House in the Pleasantest part of Rome the Principal Furniture of which was a well-chosen Library which stood open to all comers of Learning and Merit and what recommended the situation of it most was the Neighbourhood of his Mecaenas and thus he cou'd either visit Rome or return to his Privacy at Naples thro' a Pleasant Rode adorn'd on each side with pieces of Antiquity of which he was so great a Lover and in the intervals of them seem'd almost one continu'd Street of three days Journey Caesar having now Vanquish'd Sextus Pompeius a Spring-tide of Prosperities breaking in upon him before he was ready to receive them as he ought fell sick of the Imperial Evil the desire of being thought something more than Man Ambition is an infinite Folly When it has attain'd to the utmost pitch of Humane Greatness it soon falls to making pretensions upon Heaven The crafty Livia would needs be drawn in the Habit of a Priestesse by the Shrine of the new God And this became a Fashion not to be dispens'd with amongst the Ladies The Devotion was wondrous great amongst the Romans for it was their Interest and which sometimes avails more it was the Mode Virgil tho' he despis'd the Heathen Superstitions and is so bold as to call Saturn and Janus by no better a Name than that of Old Men and might deserve the Title of Subverter of Superstitions as well as Varro thought fit to follow the Maxim of Plato his Master that every one should serve the Gods after the Usage of his own Country and therefore was not the last to present his Incense which was of too Rich a Composition for such an Altar And by his Address to Caesar on this occasion made an unhappy Precedent to Lucan and other Poets which came after him Geor. 1. and 3. And this Poem being now in great forwardness Caesar who in imitation of his Predecessor Julius never intermitted his Studies in the Camp and much less in other places refreshing himself by a short stay in a pleasant Village of Campania would needs be entertained with the rehearsal of some part of it Virgil recited with a marvellous Grace and sweet Accent of Voice but his Lungs failing him Mecaenas himself supplied his place for what remained Such a piece of condecension wou'd now be very surprizing but it was no more than customary amongst Friends when Learning pass'd for Quality Lelius the second Man of Rome in his time had done as much for that Poet out of whose Dross he would sometimes pick Gold as himself said when one found him reading Ennius the like he did by some Verses of Varro and Pacuvius Lucretius and Cicero which he inserted into his Works But Learned Men then liv'd easy and familiarly with the great Augustus himself would sometimes sit down betwixt Virgil and Horace and say jeastingly that he sate betwixt Sighing and Tears alluding to the Asthma of one and Rheumatick Eyes of the other he would frequently Correspond with them and never leave a Letter of theirs unanswered Nor were they under the constraint of formal Superscriptions in the beginning nor of violent Superlatives at the close of their Letter The invention of these is a Modern Refinement In which this may be remarked in passing that humble Servant is respect but Friend an affront which notwithstanding implies the former and a great deal more Nor does true Greatness lose by such Familiarity and those who have it not as Mecaenas and Pollio had are not to be accounted Proud but rather very Discreet in their Reserves Some Play-house Beauties do wisely to be seen at a distance and to have the Lamps twinckle betwixt them and the Spectators But now Caesar who tho' he were none of the greatest Souldiers was certainly the greatest Traveller of a Prince that had ever been for which Virgil so dexterously Complements him Aeneid 6. takes a Voyage to Aegypt and having happily finish'd that War reduces that mighty Kingdom into the Form of a Province over which he appointed Gallus his Lieutenant This is the same Person to whom Virgil addresses his Tenth Pastoral changing in compliance to his Request his purpose of limiting them to the number of the Muses The Praises of this Gallus took up a considerable part of the Fourth Book of the Georgics according to the general consent of Antiquity But Caesar would have it put out and yet the Seam in the Poem is still to be discern'd and the matter of Aristaeus's recovering his Bees might have been dispatched in less compass without fetching the Causes so far or interessing so many Gods and Goddesses in that Affair Perhaps some Readers may be inclin'd to think this tho' very much labour'd not the most entertaining part of that Work so hard it is for the greatest Masters to Paint against their Inclination But Caesar was content he shou'd be mention'd in the last Pastoral because it might be taken for a Satyrical sort of Commendation and the Character he there stands under might help to excuse his Cruelty in putting an Old Servant to death for no very great Crime And now having ended as he begins his Georgics with solemn mention of Caesar an Argument of his Devotion to him He begins his Aeneis according to the common account being now turn'd of Forty But that Work had been in truth the Subject of much earlier Meditation Whil'st he was working upon the first Book of it this pâ—ssage so very remarkable in History fell out in which Virgil had a great share Caesar about this time either cloy'd with Glory or terrifi'd by the Example of his Predecessor or to gain the Credit of Moderation with the People or possibly to feel the Pulse of his Friends deliberated whether he should retain the Soveraign Power or restore the Commonwealth Agrippa who was a very honest Man but whose View was of no great extent advis'd him to the latter but Mecaenas who had throughly studied his Master's Temper in an Eloquent Oration gave contrary Advice That Emperour was too Politick to commit the over-sight of Cromwell in a deliberation something resembling this Cromwell had never been more desirous of the Power than he was afterwards of the Title of King And there was nothing in which the Heads of the Parties who were all his Creatures would not comply with him But by too vehement Allegation of Arguments against it he who had out-witted every body besides at last out-witted himself by too deep dissimulation For his Council thinking to make their Court by assenting to his judgment voted unanimously for him against his Inclination which surpriz'd and troubled him to such a degree that as soon as he had got into his Coach he fell into a Swoon But Caesar knew his People better and his Council being thus divided he ask'd Virgil's Advice Thus a Poet had the Honour of determining the greatest Point that ever was in Debate betwixt
have chosen for your self a private Greatness and will not be polluted with Ambition It has been observ'd in former times that none have been so greedy of Employments and of managing the Publick as they who have least deserv'd their Stations But such only merit to be call'd Patriots under whom we see their Country Flourish I have laugh'd sometimes for who wou'd always be a Heraclitus when I have reflected on those Men who from time to time have shot themselves into the World I have seen many Successions of them some bolting out upon the Stage with vast applause and others hiss'd off and quitting it with disgrace But while they were in action I have constantly observ'd that they seem'd desirous to retreat from Business Greatness they said was nauseous and a Crowd was troublesome a quiet privacy was their Ambition Some few of them I believe said this in earnest and were making a provision against future want that they might enjoy their Age with ease They saw the happiness of a private Life and promis'd to themselves a Blessing which every day it was in their power to possess But they deferr'd it and linger'd still at Court because they thought they had not yet enough to make them happy They wou'd have more and laid in to make their Solitude Luxurious A wretched Philosophy which Epicurus never taught them in his Garden They lov'd the prospect of this quiet in reversion but were not willing to have it in possession they wou'd first be Old and made as sure of Health and Life as if both of them were at their dispose But put them to the necessity of a present choice and they preferr'd continuance in Power Like the Wretch who call'd Death to his assistance but refus'd it when he came The Great Scipio was not of their Opinion who indeed sought Honours in his Youth and indur'd the Fatigues with which he purchas'd them He serv'd his Country when it was in need of his Courage and his Conduct 'till he thought it was time to serve himself But dismounted from the Saddle when he found the Beast which bore him began to grow restiff and ungovernable But your Lordship has given us a better Example of Moderation You saw betimes that Ingratitude is not confin'd to Commonwealths and therefore though you were form'd alike for the greatest of Civil Employments and Military Commands yet you push'd not your Fortune to rise in either but contented your self with being capable as much as any whosoever of defending your Country with your Sword or assisting it with your Counsel when you were call'd For the rest the respect and love which was paid you not only in the Province where you live but generally by all who had the happiness to know you was a wise Exchange for the Honours of the Court A place of forgetfulness at the best for well deservers 'T is necessary for the polishing of Manners to have breath'd that Air but 't is infectious even to the best Morals to live always in it 'T is a dangerous Commerce where an honest Man is sure at the first of being Cheated and he recovers not his Losses but by learning to Cheat others The undermining Smile becomes at length habitual and the drift of his plausible Conversation is only to flatter one that he may betray another Yet 't is good to have been a looker on without venturing to play that a Man may know false Dice another time though he never means to use them I commend not him who never knew a Court but him who forsakes it because he knows it A young Man deserves no praise who out of melancholy Zeal leaves the World before he has well try'd it and runs headlong into Religion He who carries a Maidenhead into a Cloyster is sometimes apt to lose it there and to repent of his Repentance He only is like to endure Austerities who has already found the inconvenience of Pleasures For almost every Man will be making Experiments in one part or another of his Life And the danger is the less when we are young For having try'd it early we shall not be apt to repeat it afterwards Your Lordship therefore may properly be said to have chosen a Retreat and not to have chosen it 'till you had maturely weigh'd the advantages of rising higher with the hazards of the fall Res non parta labore sed relicta was thought by a Poet to be one of the requisites to a happy Life Why shou'd a reasonable Man put it into the power of Fortune to make him miserable when his Ancestours have taken care to release him from her Let him venture says Horace Qui Zonam perdidit He who has nothing plays securely for he may win and cannot be poorer if he loses But he who is born to a plentiful Estate and is Ambitious of Offices at Court sets a stake to Fortune which she can seldom answer If he gains nothing he loses all or part of what was once his own and if he gets he cannot be certain but he may refund In short however he succeeds 't is Covetousness that induc'd him first to play and Covetousness is the undoubted sign of ill sense at bottom The Odds are against him that he loses and one loss may be of more consequence to him than all his former winnings 'T is like the present War of the Christians against the Turk every year they gain a Victory and by that a Town but if they are once defeated they lose a Province at a blow and endanger the safety of the whole Empire You my Lord enjoy your quiet in a Garden where you have not only the leisure of thinking but the pleasure to think of nothing which can discompose your Mind A good Conscience is a Port which is Land-lock'd on every side and where no Winds can possibly invade no Tempests can arise There a Man may stand upon the Shore and not only see his own Image but that of his Maker clearly reflected from the undisturb'd and silent waters Reason was intended for a Blessing and such it is to Men of Honour and Integrity who desire no more than what they are able to give themselves like the happy Old Coricyan whom my Author describes in his Fourth Georgic whose Fruits and Salads on which he liv'd contented were all of his own growth and his own Plantation Virgil seems to think that the Blessings of a Country Life are not compleat without an improvement of Knowledge by Contemplation and Reading O Fortunatos nimium bona si sua norint Agricolas 'T is but half possession not to understand that happiness which we possess A foundation of good Sense and a cultivation of Learning are requir'd to give a seasoning to Retirement and make us taste the blessing God has bestow'd on your Lordship the first of these and you have bestow'd on your self the second Eden was not made for Beasts though they were suffer'd to live in it but for their
pleas'd the Emperour by giving him the resemblance of his Ancestor and gave him such a resemblance as was not scandalous in that Age. For to leave one Wife and take another was but a matter of Gallantry at that time of day among the Romans Neque haec in faedera veni is the very Excuse which Aeneas makes when he leaves his Lady I made no such Bargain with you at our Marriage to live always drudging on at Carthage my business was Italy and I never made a secret of it If I took my pleasure had not you your share of it I leave you free at my departure to comfort your self with the next Stranger who happens to be Shipwreck'd on your Coast Be as kind an Hostess as you have been to me and you can never fail of another Husband In the mean time I call the Gods to witness that I leave your Shore unwillingly for though Juno made the Marriage yet Jupiter Commands me to forsake you This is the effect of what he says when it is dishonour'd out of Latin Verse into English Prose If the Poet argued not aright we must pardon him for a poor blind Heathen who knew no better Morals I have detain'd your Lordship longer than I intended on this Objection Which wou'd indeed weigh something in a Spiritual Court but I am not to defend our Poet there The next I think is but a Cavil though the Cry is great against him and has continu'd from the time of Macrobius to this present Age. I hinted it before They lay no less than want of Invention to his Charge A capital Crime I must acknowledge For a Poet is a Maker as the word signifies And who cannot make that is invent has his Name for nothing That which makes this Accusation look so strange at the first sight is That he has borrow'd so many things from Homer Appollonius Rhodius and others who preceded him But in the first place if Invention is to be taken in so strict a sense that the Matter of a Poem must be wholly new and that in all its Parts then Scaliger has made out says Segrais that the History of Troy was no more the Invention of Homer than of Virgil. There was not an Old Woman or almost a Child but had it in their Mouths before the Greek Poet or his Friends digested it into this admirable order in which we read it At this rate as Solomon has told us there is nothing new beneath the Sun Who then can pass for an Inventor if Homer as well as Virgil must be depriv'd of that Glory Is Versailles the less a New Building because the Architect of that Palace has imitated others which were built before it Walls Doors and Windows Apartments Offices Rooms of convenience and Magnificence are in all great Houses So Descriptions Figures Fables and the rest must be in all Heroick Poems They are the Common Materials of Poetry furnish'd from the Magazine of Nature Every Poet has as much right to them as every Man has to Air or Water Quid prohibetis Aquas Vsus communis aquarum est But the Argument of the Work that is to say its principal Action the Oeconomy and Disposition of it these are the things which distinguish Copies from Originals The Poet who borrows nothing from others is yet to be Born He and the Jews Messias will come together There are parts of the Aeneis which resemble some parts both of the Ilias and of the Odysses as for Example Aeneas descended into Hell and Vlysses had been there before him Aeneas lov'd Dido and Vlysses lov'd Calypso In few words Virgil has imitated Homer's Odysses in his first six Books and in his six last the Ilias But from hence can we infer that the two Poets write the same History Is there no invention in some other parts of Virgil's Aeneis The disposition of so many various matters is not that his own From what Book of Homer had Virgil his Episode of Nysus and Euryalus of Mezentius and Lausus From whence did he borrow his Design of bringing Aeneas into Italy of Establishing the Roman Empire on the Foundations of a Trojan Colony to say nothing of the honour he did his Patron not only in his descent from Venus but in making him so like him in his best Features that the Goddess might have mistaken Augustus for her Son He had indeed the Story from common Fame as Homer had his from the Egyptian Priestess Aeneadum Genetrix was no more unknown to Lucretius than to him But Lucretius taught him not to form his Heroe to give him Piety or Valour for his Manners and both in so eminent a degree that having done what was possible for Man to save his King and Country his Mother was forc'd to appear to him and restrain his Fury which hurry'd him to death in their Revenge But the Poet made his Piety more successful he brought off his Father and his Son and his Gods witness'd to his Devotion by putting themselves under his Protection to be re-plac'd by him in their promis'd Italy Neither the Invention nor the Conduct of this great Action were owing to Homer or any other Poet. 'T is one thing to Copy and another thing to imitate from Nature The Copyer is that servile Imitator to whom Horace gives no better a Name than that of Animal He will not so much as allow him to be a Man Raphael imitated Nature They who Copy one of Raphael's Pieces imitate but him for his Work is their Original They Translate him as I do Virgil and fall as short of him as I of Virgil. There is a kind of Invention in the imitation of Raphael for though the thing was in Nature yet the Idea of it was his own Vlysses Travell'd so did Aeneas but neither of them were the first Travellers for Cain went into the Land of Nod before they were born And neither of the Poets ever heard of such a Man If Vlysses had been kill'd at Troy yet Aeneas must have gone to Sea or he could never have arriv'd in Italy But the designs of the two Poets were as different as the Courses of their Heroes one went Home and the other sought a Home To return to my first similitude Suppose Apelles and Raphael had each of them Painted a burning Troy might not the Modern Painter have succeeded as well as the Ancient tho' neither of them had seen the Town on Fire For the draughts of both were taken from the Idea's which they had of Nature Cities had been burnt before either of them were in Being But to Close the Simile as I begun it they wou'd not have design'd after the same manner Apelles wou'd have distinguish'd Pyrrhus from the rest of all the Grecians and shew'd him forcing his entrance into Priam's Palace there he had set him in the fairest Light and given him the chief place of all his Figures because he was a Grecian and he wou'd do Honour to his
perfect this Affair Attend my Counsel and the Secret share When next the Sun his rising Light displays And guilds the World below with Purple Rays The Queen Aeneas and the Tyrian Court Shall to the shady Woods for Silvan Game resort There while the Huntsmen pitch their Toils around And chearful Horns from Side to Side resound A Pitchy Cloud shall cover all the Plain With Hail and Thunder and tempestuous Rain The fearful Train shall take their speedy Flight Dispers'd and all involv'd in gloomy Night One Cave a grateful Shelter shall afford To the fair Princess and the Trojan Lord. I will my self the bridal Bed prepare If you to bless the Nuptials will be there So shall their Loves be crown'd with due Delights And Hymen shall be present at the Rites The Queen of Love consents and closely smiles At her vain Project and discover'd Wiles The rosy Morn was risen from the Main And Horns and Hounds awake the Princely Train They issue early through the City Gate Where the more wakeful Huntsmen ready wait With Nets and Toils and Darts beside the force Of Spartan Dogs and swift Massylian Horse The Tyrian Peers and Officers of State For the slow Queen in Anti-Chambers wait Her lofty Courser in the Court below Who his Majestick Rider seems to know Proud of his Purple Trappings paws the Ground And champs the Golden Bitt and spreads the Foam around The Queen at length appears On either Hand The brawny Guards in Martial Order stand A flow'rd Cymarr with Golden Fringe she wore And at her Back a Golden Quiver bore Her flowing Hair a Golden Caul restrains A golden Clasp the Tyrian Robe sustains Then young Ascanius with a sprightly Grace Leads on the Trojan Youth to view the Chace But far above the rest in beauty shines The great Aeneas when the Troop he joins Like fair Apollo when he leaves the frost Of wintry Xanthus and the Lycian Coast When to his Native Delos he resorts Ordains the Dances and renews the Sports Where painted Scythians mix'd with Cretan Bands Before the joyful Altars join their Hands Himself on Cynthus walking sees below The merry Madness of the sacred Show Green Wreaths of Bays his length of Hair inclose A Golden Fillet binds his awful Brows His Quiver sounds Not less the Prince is seen In manly Presence or in lofty Meen Now had they reach'd the Hills and storm'd the Seat Of salvage Beasts in Dens their last Retreat The Cry pursues the Mountain-Goats they bound From Rock to Rock and keep the craggy Ground To The Right Hon ble Hugh L d Clifford Baron of Chudleigh in y e County of Devon AE 4. l. 230. Quite otherwise the Stags a trembling Train In Herds unsingl'd scour the dusty Plain And a long Chace in open view maintain The glad Ascanius as his Courser guides Spurs through the Vale and these and those outrides His Horses flanks and sides are forc'd to feel The clanking lash and goring of the Steel Impatiently he views the feeble Prey Wishing some Nobler Beast to cross his way And rather wou'd the tusky Boar attend Or see the Lyon from the Hills descend Mean time the gath'ring Clouds obscure the Skies From Pole to Pole the forky Lightning flies The ratling Thunders rowl and Juno pours A wintry Deluge down and founding Show'rs The Company dispers'd to Coverts ride And seek the homely Cotts or Mountains hollow side The rapid Rains descending from the Hills To rowling Torrents raise the creeping Rills The Queen and Prince as Love or Fortune guides One common Cavern in her Bosom hides Then first the trembling Earth the signal gave And flashing Fires enlighten all the Cave Hell from below and Juno from above And howling Nymphs were conscious to their Love From this ill Omend Hour in Time arose Debate and Death and all succeeding woes The Queen whom sense of Honour cou'd not move No longer made a Secret of her Love But call'd it Marriage by that specious Name To veil the Crime and sanctifie the Shame The loud Report through Lybian Cities goes Fame the great Ill from fmall beginnings grows Swift from the first and ev'ry Moment brings New Vigour to her flights new Pinions to her wings Soon grows the Pygmee to Gygantic size Her Feet on Earth her Forehead in the Skies Inrag'd against the Gods revengful Earth Produc'd her last of the Titanian birth Swift is her walk more swift her winged hast A monstrous Fantom horrible and vast As many Plumes as raise her lofty flight So many piercing Eyes inlarge her sight Millions of opening Mouths to Fame belong And ev'ry Mouth is furnish'd with a Tongue And round with listning Ears the flying Plague is hung She fills the peaceful Universe with Cries No Slumbers ever close her wakeful Eyes By Day from lofty Tow'rs her Head she shews And spreads through trembling Crowds disastrous News With Court Informers haunts and Royal Spies Things done relates not done she feigns and mingles Truth with Lyes Talk is her business and her chief delight To tell of Prodigies and cause affright She fills the Peoples Ears with Dido's Name Who lost to Honour and the sense of Shame Admits into her Throne and Nuptial Bed A wandring Guest who from his Country fled Whole days with him she passes in delights And wasts in Luxury long Winter Nights Forgetful of her Fame and Royal Trust Dissolv'd in Ease abandon'd to her Lust The Goddess widely spreads the loud Report And flies at length to King Hyarba's Court. When first possess'd with this unwelcome News Whom did he not of Men and Gods accuse This Prince from ravish'd Garamantis born A hundred Temples did with Spoils adorn In Ammon's Honour his Coelestial Sire A hundred Altars fed with wakeful Fire And through his vast Dominions Priests ordain'd Whose watchful Care these holy Rites maintain'd The Gates and Columns were with Garlands crown'd And Blood of Victim Beasts enrich the Ground He when he heard a Fugitive cou'd move The Tyrian Princess who disdain'd his Love His Breast with Fury burn'd his Eyes with Fire Mad with Despair impatient with Desire Then on the Sacred Altars pouring Wine He thus with Pray'rs implor'd his Sire divine Great Jove propitious to the Moorish Race Who feast on painted Beds with Off'rings grace Thy Temples and adore thy Pow'r Divine With offer'd Victims and with sparkling Wine Seest thou not this or do we fear in vain Thy boasted Thunder and thy thoughtless Reign Do thy broad Hands the forky Lightnings lance Thine are the Bolts or the blind work of Chance A wandring Woman builds within our State A little Town bought at an easie Rate She pays me Homage and my Grants allow A narrow space of Lybian Lands to plough Yet scorning me by Passion blindly led Admits a banish'd Trojan to her Bed And now this other Paris with his Train Of conquer'd Cowards must in Affrick reign Whom what they are their Looks and Garb confess Their Locks with Oil perfum'd their Lydian dress He
Deserv'd from them then I had been return'd A breathless Victor and my Son had mourn'd Yet will I not my Trojan Friend upbraid Nor grudge th' Alliance I so gladly made 'T was not his Fault my Pallas fell so young But my own Crime for having liv'd too long Yet since the Gods had destin'd him to dye At least he led the way to Victory First for his Friends he won the fatal Shore And sent whole Herds of slaughter'd Foes before A Death too great too glorious to deplore Nor will I add new Honours to thy Grave Content with those the Trojan Heroe gave That Funeral Pomp thy Phrygian Friends design'd In which the Tuscan Chiefs and Army join'd Great Spoils and Trophees gain'd by thee they bear Then let thy own Atchievments be thy share Even thou O Turnus hadst a Trophy stood Whose mighty Trunk had better grac'd the Wood If Pallas had arriv'd with equal length Of Years to match thy Bulk with equal Strength But why unhappy Man dost thou detain These Troops to view the Tears thou shedst in vain Go Friends this Message to your Lord relate Tell him that if I bear my bitter Fate And after Pallas Death live ling'ring on 'T is to behold his Vengeance for my Son I stay for Turnus whose devoted Head Is owing to the living and the dead My Son and I expect it from his Hand 'T is all that he can give or we demand Joy is no more But I would gladly go To greet my Pallas with such News below The Morn had now dispell'd the Shades of Night Restoring Toils when she restor'd the Light The Trojan King and Tuscan Chief command To raise the Piles along the winding Strand Their Friends convey the dead to Fun'ral Fires Black smould'ring Smoke from the green Wood expires The Light of Heav'n is choak'd and the new Day retires Then thrice around the kindled Piles they go For ancient Custom had ordain'd it so Thrice Horse and Foot about the Fires are led And thrice with loud Laments they hail the dead To y e Hon ble John Noel Esq 2 d Son to y e R t Hon ble Baptist late L d Viscount Campden Baron of Ridlington Ilmington AE 11. l. 290. Tears trickling down their Breasts bedew the Ground And Drums and Trumpets mix their mournful Sound Amid the Blaze their pious Brethren throw The Spoils in Battel taken from the Foe Helms Bitts emboss'd and Swords of shining Steel One casts a Target one a Chariot Wheel Some to their Fellows their own Arms restore The Fauchions which in luckless Fight they bore Their Bucklers pierc'd their Darts bestow'd in vain And shiver'd Lances gather'd from the Plain Whole Herds of offer'd Bulls about the Fire And bristled Boars and wooly Sheep expire Around the Piles a careful Troop attends To watch the wasting Flames and weep their burning Friends Ling'ring along the Shore 'till dewy Night New decks the Face of Heav'n with starry Light The conquer'd Latians with like Pious Care Piles without number for their Dead prepare Part in the Places where they fell are laid And part are to the neighb'ring Fields convey'd The Corps of Kings and Captains of Renown Born off in State are bury'd in the Town The rest unhonour'd and without a Name Are cast a common heap to feed the Flame Trojans and Latians vie with like desires To make the Field of Battel shine with Fires And the promiscuous Blaze to Heav'n aspires Now had the Morning thrice renew'd the Light And thrice dispell'd the Shadows of the Night When those who round the wasted Fires remain Perform the last sad Office to the slain They rake the yet warm Ashes from below These and the Bones unburn'd in Earth bestow These Relicks with their Country Rites they grace And raise a mount of Turf to mark the place But in the Palace of the King appears A Scene more solemn and a Pomp of Tears Maids Matrons Widows mix their common Moans Orphans their Sires and Sires lament their Sons All in that universal Sorrow share And curse the Cause of this unhappy War A broken League a Bride unjustly sought A Crown usurp'd which with their Blood is bought These are the Crimes with which they load the Name Of Turnus and on him alone exclaim Let him who lords it o're th' Ausonian Land Engage the Trojan Heroe hand to hand His is the Gain our Lot is but to serve 'T is just the sway he seeks he shoud deserve This Drances aggravates and adds with spight His Foe expects and dares him to the Fight Nor Turnus wants a Party to support His Cause and Credit in the Latian Court. His former Acts secure his present Fame And the Queen shades him with her mighty Name While thus their factious Minds with Fury burn The Legats from th' Aetolian Prince return Sad News they bring that after all the Cost And Care employ'd their Embassy is lost That Diomede refus'd his Aid in War Unmov'd with Presents and as deaf to Pray'r Some new Alliance must elswhere be sought Or Peace with Troy on hard Conditions bought Latinus sunk in Sorrow finds too late A Foreign Son is pointed out by Fate And till Aeneas shall Lavinia wed The wrath of Heav'n is hov'ring o're his Head Rem nulli obscuram nostrae nec vocis egentem Consulis Ô bone Rex Cuncti se scire fatentur Quid fortuna ferat populi sed dicere mussant Det libertatem fande flatusque remittat Cujus ob auspicum infaustum moresque sinistros Dicam equidem licet arma mihi mortemque minetur Lumina tot cecidisse ducum totamque videmus Consedisse urbem luctu To y e most Hon ble Johns Marquiss of Normanby Earle of Mulgrave Kt. of y e most noble Order of y e Garter AE 11. l. 365 The Gods he saw espous'd the juster side When late their Titles in the Field were try'd Witness the fresh Laments and Fun'ral Tears undry'd Thus full of anxious Thought he summons all The Latian Senate to the Council Hall The Princes come commanded by their Head And crowd the Paths that to the Palace lead Supream in Pow'r and reverenc'd for his Years He takes the Throne and in the midst appears Majestically sad he sits in State And bids his Envoys their Success relate When Venulus began the murmuring Sound Was hush'd and sacred Silence reign'd around We have said he perform'd your high Command And pass'd with Peril a long Tract of Land We reach'd the Place desir'd with Wonder fill'd The Grecian Tents and rising Tow'rs beheld Great Diomede has compass'd round with Walls The City which Argyripa he calls From his own Argos nam'd We touch'd with Joy The Royal Hand that raz'd unhappy Troy When introduc'd our Presents first we bring Then crave an instant Audience from the King His Leave obtain'd our Native Soil we name And tell th' important Cause for which we came Attentively he heard us while we spoke Then with soft Accents and
Ground Mighty the Man and mighty Was the Wound I heard my dearest Friend with dying Breath My Name invoking to revenge his Death Brave Ufens fell with Honour on the Place To shun the shameful sight of my disgrace On Earth supine a Manly Corps he lies His Vest and Armour are the Victor's Prize Then shall I see Laurentum in a flame Which only wanted to compleat my shame How will the Latins hoot their Champion's flight How Drances will be pleas'd and point them to the sight Is Death so hard to bear Ye Gods below Since those above so small Compassion show Receive a Soul unsully'd yet with shame Which not belies my great Forefather's Name He said And while he spoke with flying speed Came Sages urging on his foamy Steed Fix'd on his wounded Face a Shaft he bore And seeking Turnus sent his Voice before Turnus on you on you alone depends Our last Relief compassionate your Friends Like Lightning fierce Aeneas rowling on With Arms invests with Flames invades the Town The Brands are toss'd on high the Winds conspire To drive along the Deluge of the Fire All Eyes are fix'd on you your Foes rejoice Ev'n the King staggers and suspends his Choice Doubts to deliver or defend the Town Whom to reject or whom to call his Son The Queen on whom your utmost hopes were plac'd Her self suborning Death has breath'd her last 'T is true Messapus fearless of his Fate With fierce Atinas Aid defends the Gate On ev'ry side surrounded by the Foe The more they kill the greater Numbers grow An Iron Harvest mounts and still remains to mow You far aloof from your forsaken Bands Your rowling Chariot drive o're empty Sands Stupid he sate his Eyes on Earth declin'd And various Cares revolving in his Mind Rage boiling from the bottom of his Breast And Sorrow mix'd with Shame his Soul oppress'd And conscious Worth lay lab'ring in his Thought And Love by Jealousie to Madness wrought By slow degrees his Reason drove away The Mists of Passion and resum'd her Sway. Then rising on his Car he turn'd his Look And saw the Town involv'd in Fire and Smoke A wooden Tow'r with Flames already blaz'd Which his own Hands on Beams and Rafters rais'd And Bridges laid above to join the Space And Wheels below to rowl from place to place Sister the Fates have vanquish'd Let us go The way which Heav'n and my hard Fortune show The Fight is fix'd Nor shall the branded Name Of a base Coward blot your Brother's Fame Death is my choice but suffer me to try My Force and vent my Rage before I dye He said and leaping down without delay Thro Crowds of scatter'd Foes he free'd his way Striding he pass'd impetuous as the Wind And left the grieving Goddess far behind As when a Fragment from a Mountain torn By raging Tempests or by Torrents born Or sapp'd by time or loosen'd from the Roots Prone thro' the Void the Rocky Ruine shoots Rowling from Crag to Crag from Steep to Steep Down sink at once the Shepherds and their Sheep Involv'd alike they rush to neather Ground Stun'd with the shock they fall and stun'd from Earth rebound So Turnus hasting headlong to the Town Should'ring and shoving bore the Squadrons down Still pressing onward to the Walls he drew Where Shafts and Spears and Darts promiscuous flew And sanguine Streams the slipp'ry Ground embrew First stretching out his Arm in sign of Peace He cries aloud to make the Combat cease Rutulians hold and Latin Troops retire The Fight is mine and me the Gods require T is just that I shou'd vindicate alone The broken Truce or for the Breach atone This Day shall free from Wars th' Ausonian State Or finish my Misfortunes in my Fate Both Armies from their bloody Work desist And bearing backward form a spacious List The Trojan Heroe who receiv'd from Fame The welcome Sound and heard the Champion's Name Soon leaves the taken Works and mounted Walls Greedy of War where greater Glory calls He springs to Fight exulting in his Force His jointed Armour rattles in the Course Like Eryx or like Athos great he shows Or Father Apennine when white with Snows His Head Divine obscure in Clouds he hides And shakes the sounding Forest on his sides The Nations over-aw'd surcease the Fight Immoveable their Bodies fix'd their sight Ev'n Death stands still nor from above they throw Their Darts nor drive their batt'ring Rams below In silent Order either Army stands And drop their Swords unknowing from their Hands Th' Ausonian King beholds with wond'ring sight Two mighty Champions match'd in single Fight Born under Climes remote and brought by Fate With Swords to try their Titles to the State Now in clos'd Field each other from afar They view and rushing on begin the War They launch their Spears then hand to hand they meet The trembling Soil resounds beneath their Feet Their Bucklers clash thick blows descend from high And flakes of Fire from their hard Helmets fly Courage conspires with Chance and both ingage With equal Fortune and with mutual Rage As when two Bulls for their fair Female fight In Sila's Shades or on Taburnus height With Horns adverse they meet the Keeper flies Mute stands the Herd the Heifars rowl their Eyes And wait th' Event which Victor they shall bear And who shall be the Lord to rule the lusty Year With rage of Love the jealous Rivals burn And Push for Push and Wound for Wound return Their Dewlaps gor'd their sides are lav'd in Blood Loud Cries and roaring Sounds rebellow thro' the Wood Such was the Combat in the listed Ground So clash their Swords and so their Shields resound Jove sets the Beam in either Scale he lays The Champions Fate and each exactly weighs On this side Life and lucky Chance ascends Loaded with Death that other Scale descends Rais'd on the Stretch young Turnus aims a blow Full on the Helm of his unguarded Foe Shrill Shouts and Clamours ring on either side As Hopes and Fears their panting Hearts divide But all in pieces flies the Traytor Sword And in the middle Stroke deserts his Lord. Now 't is but Death or Flight disarm'd he flies When in his Hand an unknown Hilt he spies Fame says that Turnus when his Steeds he join'd Hurrying to War disorder'd in his Mind Snatch'd the first Weapon which his haste cou'd find 'T was not the fated Sword his Father bore But that his Charioteer Metiscus wore This while the Trojans fled the Toughness held But vain against the great Vulcanian Shield The mortal-temper'd Steel deceiv'd his Hand The shiver'd fragments shone amid the Sand. Surpris'd with fear he fled along the Field And now forthright and now in Orbits wheel'd For here the Trojan Troops the List surround And there the Pass is clos'd with Pools and marshy Ground Aeneas hastens tho' with heavier Pace His Wound so newly knit retards the Chase And oft his trembling Knees their Aid refuse Yet pressing foot by foot
qui nascentur ab illis Virgil Translated this Verse from Homer Homer had it from Orpheus and Orpheus from an Ancient Oracle of Apollo On this Account it is that Virgil immediately Subjoins these Words Haec Phoebus c. Eustathius takes notice that the Old Poets were wont to take whole Paragraphs from one another which justifies our Poet for what he borrows from Homer Bochartus in his Letter to Segrais mentions an Oracle which he found in the fragments of an Old Greek Historian The Sense whereof is this in English that when the Empire of the Priamidae should be destroy'd the Line of Anchises should succeed Venus therefore says the Historian was desirous to have a Son by Anchises tho' he was then in his decrepid Age Accordingly she had Aeneas After this she sought occasion to ruin the Race of Priam and set on foot the Intrigue of Alexander or Paris with Helena She being ravish'd Venus pretended still to favour the Trojans lest they should restore Helen in case they should be reduc'd to the last Necessity Whence it appears that the Controversie betwixt Juno and Venus was on no trivial account but concern'd the Succession to a great Empire Aeneid the 4th Li. 945. And must I dye she said And unreveng'd 't is doubly to be dead Yet even this Death with pleasure I receive On any Terms 't is better than to live This is certainly the Sense of Virgil on which I have paraphras'd to make it plain His Words are these Moriemur Inultae Sed Moriamur ait sic sic juvat ire sub Vmbras Servius makes an Interrogation at the Word sic thus sic Sic juvat ire sub Vmbras Which Mr. Cowley justly Censures But his own judgment may perhaps be question'd For he wou'd retrench the latter part of the Verse and leave it a Hemystic Sed Moriamur ait That Virgil never intended to have left any Hemystic I have prov'd already in the Preface That this Verse was fill'd up by him with these words sic juvat ire sub Vmbras is very probable if we consider the weight of them For this procedure of Dido does not only contain that dira Execratio quae nullo expiatur Carmine as Horace observes in his Canidia but besides that Virgil who is full of Allusions to History under another Name describes the Decii devoting themselves to Death this way though in a better Cause in order to the Destruction of the Enemy The Reader who will take the pains to Consult Livy in his accurate Description of those Decii thus devoting themselves will find a great resemblance betwixt these two Passages And 't is judiciously observ'd upon that Verse Nulla fides populis nec foedera sunto That Virgil uses in the word sunto a verbum juris a form of speaking on Solemn and Religious Occasions Livy does the like Note also that Dido puts her self into the Habitus Gabinus which was the girding her self round with one Sleeve of her Vest which is also according to the Roman Pontifical in this dreadful Ceremony as Livy has observ'd which is a farther confirmation of this Conjecture So that upon the whole matter Dido only doubts whether she shou'd die before she had taken her Revenge which she rather wish'd But considering that this devoting her self was the most certain and infallible way of compassing her Vengeance she thus exclaims Sic sic juvat ire sub umbras Hauriat hunc oculis ignem crudelis ab alto Dardanus nostrae secum ferat omnia mortis Those Flames from far may the false Trojan view Those boding Omens his base Flight pursue Which Translation I take to be according to the Sense of Virgil. I should have added a Note on that former Verse Infelix Dido nunc te fata impia tangunt Which in the Edition of Heinsius is thus Printed Nunc te facta impia tangunt The word facta instead of fata is reasonably alter'd For Virgil says afterwards she dy'd not by Fate nor by any deserv'd Death Nec Fato meritâ nec morte peribat c. When I Translated that Passage I doubted of the Sense And therefore omitted that Hemystic Nunc te fata impia tangunt But Heinsius is mistaken only in making an Interrogation point instead of a Period The words facta impia I suppose are genuine For she had perjur'd her self in her second Marriage Having firmly resolv'd as she told her Sister in the beginning of this Aeneid never to love again after the Death of her first Husband and had confirm'd this Resolution by a Curse on her self if she shou'd alter it Sed mihi vel tellus optem prius ima dehiscat c. Ante pudor quà m te violem aut tua jura resolvam Ille meos primus qui me sibi junxit amores Abstulit Ille habeat secum servetque sepulcro Aeneid the 5th A great part of this Book is borrow'd from Apollonius Rhodius And the Reader may observe the great Judgment and distinction of our Author in what he borrows from the Ancients by comparing them I conceive the Reason why he omits the Horse-race in the Funeral Games was because he shews Ascanius afterwards on Horseback with his Troops of Boys and would not wear that Subject thread-bare which Statius in the next Age describ'd so happily Virgil seems to me to have excell'd Homer in all those Sports and to have labour'd them the more in Honour of Octavius his Patron who instituted the like Games for perpetuating the Memory of his Uncle Julius Piety as Virgil calls it or dutifulness to Parents being a most popular Vertue among the Romans Aeneid the 6th Line 586. The next in place and Punishment are they Who prodigally throw their Lives away c. Proxima sorte tenent maesti loca qui sibi letum Insontes peperere manu lucemque perosi Projecere animas c. This was taken amongst many other things from the Tenth Book of Plato de Republicâ No Commentator besides Fabrini has taken notice of it Self-Murther was accounted a great Crime by that Divine Philosopher But the Instances which he brings are too many to be inserted in these short Notes Sir Robert Howard in his Translation of this Aeneid which was Printed with his Poems in the Year 1660 has given us the most Learned and the most Judicious Observations on this Book which are extant in our Language Line 734. Lo to the secret Shadows I retire To pay my Penance 'till my Years expire These two Verses in English seem very different from the Latine Discedam explebo numerum reddarque tenebris Yet they are the Sense of Virgil at least according to the common Interpretation of this place I will withdraw from your Company retire to the Shades and perform my Penance of a Thousand Years But I must confess the Interpretation of those two words explebo numerum is somewhat Violent if it be thus understood minuam numerum that is I will lessen your Company by
gave But I said I borrow'd the Word from the Italian Vide Ariosto Cant. 26. Ma si l'Vsbergo d' Ambi era perfetto Che mai poter falsarlo in nessun Canto Falsar cannot otherwise be turn'd than by falsify'd for his shield was falsed is not English I might indeed have contented my self with saying his Shield was pierc'd and board and stuck with Javelins Nec sufficit Vmbo Ictibus They who will not admit a new word may take the old the matter is not worth dispute Aeneid the 10th A Choir of Nereids c. These were transform'd from Ships to Sea-Nymphs This is almost as violent a Machine as the death of Aruns by a Goddess in the Episode of Camilla But the Poet makes use of it with greater Art For here it carries on the main Design These new made Divinities not only tell Aeneas what had pass'd in his Camp during his absence and what was the present Distress of his Besieg'd People and that his Horse-men whom he had sent by Land were ready to join him at his Descent but warn him to provide for Battel the next day and fore-tell him good success So that this Episodical Machine is properly a part of the great Poem For besides what I have said they push on his Navy with Celestial Vigour that it might reach the Port more speedily and take the Enemy more unprovided to resist the Landing Whereas the Machine relating to Camilla is only Ornamental For it has no effect which I can find but to please the Reader who is concern'd that her Death shou'd be reveng'd Lines 241 243. Now Sacred Sisters open all your Spring The Tuscan Leaders and their Army sing The Poet here begins to tell the Names of the Tuscan Captains who follow'd Aeneas to the War And I observe him to be very particular in the description of their Persons and not forgetful of their Manners Exact also in the Relation of the Numbers which each of them Command I doubt not but as in the fifth Book he gave us the Names of the Champions who contended for the several Prizes that he might oblige many of the most Ancient Roman Families their Descendants and as in the 7th Book he Muster'd the Auxiliary Forces of the Latins on the same Account so here he gratifies his Tuscan Friends with the like remembrance of their Ancestors and above the rest Mecaenas his great Patron Who being of a Royal Family in Etruria was probably represented under one of the Names here mention'd then known among the Romans though at so great a distance unknown to us And for his sake chiefly as I guess he makes Aeneas by whom he always means Augustus to seek for Aid in the Country of Mecaenas thereby to indear his Protector to his Emperour as if there had been a former Friendship betwixt their Lines And who knows but Mecaenas might pretend that the Cilnian Family was deriv'd from Tarchon the Chief Commander of the Tuscans Line 662. Nor I his mighty Syre cou'd ward the Blow I have mention'd this Passage in my Preface to the Aeneis to prove that Fate was superiour to the Gods and that Jove cou'd neither defer nor alter its Decrees Sir Robert Howard has since been pleas'd to send me the concurrent Testimony of Ovid 't is in the last Book of his Metamorphoses where Venus complains that her Descendant Julius Caesar was in danger of being Murther'd by Brutus and Cassius at the head of the Commonwealth-Faction and desires them to prevent that Barbarous Assassination They are mov'd to Compassion they are concern'd for Caesar but the Poet plainly tells us that it was not in their power to change Destiny All they cou'd do was to testifie their sorrow for his approaching Death by fore-shewing it with Signs and Prodigies as appears by the following Lines Talia nequicquà m toto Venus aurea Coelo Verba jacit Superosque movet Qui rumpere quanquam Ferrea non possunt veterum decreta Sororum Signa tamen luctus dant haud incerta futuri Then she Addresses to her Father Jupiter hoping Aid from him because he was thought Omnipotent But he it seems cou'd do as little as the rest for he answers thus sola insuperabile Fatum Nata movere paras intres licet ipsa sororum Tecta trium cernes illic molimine vasto Ex aere solido rerum tabularia ferro Quae neque concursum Coeli neque fulminis iram Nec metuunt ullas tuta atque aeterna ruinas Invenies illic incisa Adamante perenni Fata tui Generis legi ipse animoque notavi Et referam ne sis etiamnum ignara futuri Hic sua complevit pro quo Cytherea laboras Tempora perfectis quos Terrae debuit annis c. Jupiter you see is only Library-Keeper or Custos Rotulorum to the Fates For he offers his Daughter a Cast of his Office to give her a Sight of their Decrees which the inferiour Gods were not permitted to read without his leave This agrees with what I have said already in the Preface that they not having seen the Records might believe they were his own Hand-writing and consequently at his disposing either to blott out or alter as he saw convenient And of this Opinion was Juno in those words tua qui potes orsa reflectas Now the abode of those Destinies being in Hell we cannot wonder why the Swearing by Styx was an inviolable Oath amongst the Gods of Heaven and that Jupiter himself should fear to be accus'd of Forgery by the Fates if he alter'd any thing in their Decrees Chaos Night and Erebus being the most Antient of the Deities and instituting those fundamental Laws by which he was afterwards to govern Hesiod gives us the Genealogy of the Gods and I think I may safely infer the rest I will only add that Homer was more a Fatalist than Virgil For it has been observ'd that the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Fortune is not to be found in his two Poems but instead of it always 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Aeneid the 12. lines 888 and 889. Sea-born Messapus with Atinas heads The Latin Squadrons and to Battel leads The Poet had said in the preceding lines that Mnestheus Seresthus and Asylas led on the Trojans the Tuscans and the Arcadians But none of the Printed Copies which I have seen mention any Leader of the Rutulians and Latins but Messapus the Son of Neptune Ruaeus takes notice of this passage and seems to wonder at it but gives no Reason why Messapus is alone without a Coadjutor The four Verses of Virgil run thus Totae adeò conversae acies omnesque Latini Omnes Dardanidae Mnestheus acerque Seresthus Et Messapus equum Domitor fortis Asylas Tuscorumque Phalanx Evandrique Arcadis alae I doubt not but the third Line was Originally thus Et Messapus equum domitor fortis Atinas For the two Names of Asylas and Atinas are so like that one might easily be mistaken for the other