Thus the young Lion in the Cafpian Shade,

(No Length of Mane terrific yet difplay'd)
Yet innocent of flaughter'd Bull or Ram,
If chance he lights upon a ftraggling Lamb
Without the Fold, in Abfence of the Swain,
Riots in Blood, and glories in the flain.
On Tydeus then unknown he cafts his Eyes,
And measuring his Valour by his Size,
Proudly prefumes to make an eafy Prey
Of the flain Chief, and bear his Arms away.
He now had levell'd many a diftant Blow,
Ere the brave Prince perceiv'd his puny Foe:
At length contemptuously he view'd the Man,
And formidably fmiling thus began.

I fee, vain Fop, too prodigal of Breath,
Thou seekest Honour from a glorious Death.
He paus'd: nor deigning to discharge a Blow
With Sword or Spear on fuch a worthless Foe,
His Arm fcarce rais'd, a flender Javelin threw,
With fatal Certainty the Weapon flew ;

And, as if driven with his utmost Force,

830

835

840

845

Deep in his Groin infix'd, there ftopt its Course. 850

mer, and his Imitators, which would otherwise seem very abfurd. -Atys would have made a good Hero in a Romance. He was one of thofe Gentlemen who go to War only to please the Ladies, and mix the Beau with the Hero, two Characters the moft inconfiftent in Nature, though often united in Practice. Whilft however we are pitying the rash and ill-timed Gallantry of this young Man, we cannot but applaud the rough Soldier-like Behaviour of Tydeus, and the blunt Wit he fhews on this Occafion. I fhall only obferve farther, that this Character is admirably well fupported, and is a fufficient Proof of our Author's Vein for Satire.- -The former Part of this Note belongs to Barthius.

The

The Chief of Life thus feemingly bereft,

The genr❜ous Victor paffes on, and left
His Arms untouch'd, and thus jocofely faid.
These fuit not Mars, nor thee, O fav'ring Maid:
What Man of Courage would not blush to wear
Such gaudy Trifles ?-nay, I fcarce would dare
Present them, by my Confort to be borne,
Left fhe reject them with indignant Scorn.
Thus fpake Oenides, fir'd with Luft of Fame,
And fallies forth in queft of nobler Game.

855

860

Thus, when the Lion roams, where Heifers feed,
And lowing Beeves expatiate o'er the Mead,
The royal Savage traversing the Plain
In fullen Majefty, and four Disdain,

Spares the weak Herd, and culling out their Head,
Some lordly Bull, arrefts and lays him dead.
Menaceus, lift'ning to the dying Cries

Of Atys, fwiftly to his Rescue flies;

And left his Steeds should flag, deserts his Car,

866

And bounds impetuous thro' the Ranks of War. 870

v. 861. Thus when the Lion] In Order to obviate any Objection that may arise to the frequent Repetition of Similies drawn from the fame Object, I fhall transcribe Mr, Pope's Defence of Homer on that Point.- Is it not more reasonable to compare the fame Man always to the fame Animal, than to see him fometimes a Sun, fometimes a Tree, and fometimes a River? though Homer speaks of the fame Creature, he fo diverfifies the Circumstances and Accidents of the Comparisons, that they always appear quite different. And to fay Truth, it is not so much the Animal or the Thing, as the Action or Pofture of them that employs our Imagination: two different Animals in the fame Action are more like each other than one and the fame Animal is to himself in two different Actions. And those who in reading Homer are fhocked that 'tis always a Lion, may as well be angry that it is always a Man.' See Effay on Homer's Battles

Th'

Th' Arcadian Youths advanc'd to strip the Slain;
Nor did the Thebans labour to restrain,

875

Till brave Menaceus thus:-O foul Disgrace
To boasted Cadmus ! O degen'rate Race!
Shall foreign Atys gain deferv'd Applause
By nobly bleeding in another's Cause,
While we decline the Danger of the Day,
And Children, Wives, and all that's dear betray?
Each tender Care reviv'd, the Troops arise,
Shame in their Breafts, and Anger in their Eyes. 880
Mean while the Theban Princeffes, a Pair

Alike in Manners, and fupremely fair,
Retiring to their Chambers, give a Vent
To mutual Grief, and mutual Difcontent:
Nor do they weep the present Ills of Fate,
But from the earliest Era of their State
Seek Matter of Complaint: one mourns her Sire,
And one the Mother Queen's incestuous Fire;
This weeps her abfent Brother's baneful Stars,
The Monarch that, but both detest the Wars.
Their Vows fufpended by an equal Love,
They fondly pity whom they can't approve,

885

890

v. 873. O foul Difgrace] This little Exhortation of Menaceus to his Soldiers is at once concife and pithy. A longer Speech at this Juncture would have been very abfurd. He has faid all that was wanted, and nothing but what he ought. It is fomething like that comprehenfive Harangue of the great Gustavus. Look ye at thofe Fellows; either fell them, or they'll fell you.' -It is remarked of Homer, that his longest Orations are fuch as were delivered in the Heat of Battle, a Fault which none can accuse our Author of without manifest Injustice.

v. 891. Their Vows fufpended] This recalls to my Remembrance four beautiful Lines from Seneca the Tragedian, who, in his Thebais, introduces Jocafta fpeaking as follows.

Utramque quamvis diligam affectu pari,

Que

And doubt, whom they had rather have prevail :
At length the favour'd Exile finks the Scale.
Thus Pandionian Birds, when they regain
Their native Clime in Winter's dreary Reign,
Perch'd on their Nefts, in plaintive Accents tell,
And hear what various Accidents befell

Each other absent, and by Turns rejoice
In Notes, that emulate the human Voice.
Tears making Way, the chafte Ifmene broke
Her Silence firft, and thus, exclaiming, spoke.
O Sister! what deluding Errors blind,
And mock the eafy Faith of Human-kind!
When Images, in Dreams returning, play
Before our Eyes, diftinct as in the Day;
And Sleep is mark'd by Care: for Yester-night
My Fancy labour'd with the fudden Sight

895

goo

905

Of Nuptials, which in Peace were never fought,
Nor enter'd in my most unguarded Thought.
The Bridegroom too among the rest was shown,
Scarce known in Perfon: once indeed I own

910

Quo caufa melior forfque deterior tradit
Inclinat animus, femper infirmo favens
Miferos magis fortuna conciliat fuis.

Though by the bye the Poet feems to contradict what he faid before, viz. that Antigone preferred Polynices in her Efteem.

v. 895. Thus Pandionian Birds, when] Statius is not the first Poet who has likened the Chattering of Women to the Chirping of Birds. Virgil in his Æneid compares the loquacious Futurna to one of them.

Nigra velut magnas Domini cum divitis ædes
Pervolat, & pennis alta atria luftrat hirundo,
Pabula parva legens, nidifque loquacibus efcas:
Et nunc porticibus vacuis, nunc humida circum
Stagna fonat.

Lib. 12. Verfe 47%.

I saw him, when my Marriage was propos'd,

At Court. But foon the glitt'ring Scene was clos'd, The Fires extinguish'd fuddenly I view'd,

And Omens and Prognoftics dire enfu'd.

915

My Mother follow'd then, with Fury fir'd,

And Atys at my Hands with Shouts requir❜d.

What mean thefe dark Portents of Death obfcure?
I fear not, while our House is thus fecure,
While the Foe stands aloof, and Hope remains,
Fraternal Concord may reward our Pains.
While thus each other's Sorrows they report,
A fudden Tumult fills the fpacious Court;
And Atys enters (moving Scene of Woe)
By Toil and Sweat recover'd from the Foe.
Life's ebbing Stream ran trickling on the Ground,
One feeble Hand reclin'd upon the Wound,

920

925

And his loose Hairs his bloodlefs Face conceald,

His languid Neck dependent on the Shield.

930

Jocasta first the killing Object ey'd,

And trembling call'd his fair intended Bride.
This he requests, that with his dying Voice,
And last Farewell he may confirm his Choice.
Her Name alone, a pleasing Sound, long hung
On his pale Lips, and trembled on his Tongue.

935

v. 923. While thus] This Defcription of the Distress of the two Lovers is beyond all the Encomiums that can be given it; though the Grief of Ifmene on this Occafion is not fo outrageous, as if the had not been prepared for it by a previous Dream. The dying Warrior is very artfully introduced, his Condition and Appearances are very picturefque, and the Effects of his violent Paffion finely imagined, though at the fame Time very natural.

The