fhadows. The country is in it's full beauty, in the Palaemon; the grafs is foft, the fruit-trees are in bloffom, and the woods are green. The carving of the two cups is excellent, and far exceeds that in the first Idyllium of Theocritus. In the Pollio, we have a view of the Golden Age descending a second time from heaven; the earth pouring forth flowers and fruits of it's own accord; grapes hanging upon thorns; honey dropping from oaks: and sheep naturally cloathed with fcarlet wool. In the Daphnis, two fhepherds meet under the fhade of elms intermixed with hazles, and retire for better fhade, into a cave covered by a wild vine; where they fing alternately the death, and deification of Daphnis. Silenus, in the fixth, is found by two young fhepherds afleep in a cave, intoxicated with wine, his garland fallen from his head, and his battered pitcher hanging down. A nymph assists them, in binding him with his own garland, ftains his face with mulberries, and compels him to fing: upon which the Fauns and wild beafts immediately dance to his meafure, and the oaks bend their ftubborn heads. In the Meliboeus, two herdmen have driven their flocks together, one of fheep and the other of goats, on the reedy banks of the Menzo, where a fwarm of bees is buzzing in a hollow

J

hollow oak. In the Pharmaceutria, the heifers leave their food, to attend to the fongs of Damon and Alphefiboeus; the ounces ftand astonished, and the very rivers flacken their courfe. In the ninth, Moeris is carrying two kids on the road to Mantua, when he meets with his friend Lycidas, and falls into difcourfe with him. Virgil's farm is described; reaching from the declivity of the hills down to the river, with an old broken beechtree for the land-mark. They go on finging, till the middle of their journey is diftinguifhed, by the profpect of the fepulchre of Bianor, and the lake of Mantua. In the laft Eclogue, the Poet paints his friend Gallus, in the character of a fhepherd, furrounded by his fheep. The several forts of Herdmen come to vifit him; nor is he unattended by Apollo, the god of verse, or by Sylvanus and Pan, the deities of the country. The scene is laid in Arcadia, the fountain of paftoral poetry, where the Poet gives us a prospect of the pines of Maenalus, the rocks of Lycaeus, and the lawns of Parthenius. In the conclufion of the work, Virgil represents himself under the character of a goatherd, weaving flight twigs into baskets, under the shade of a Juniper. This variety of images has been feldom confidered by those, who have attempted to write Pastorals;

and

and having now seen this excellence of Virgil, we may venture to affirm, that there is fomething more required in a good Paftoral, than the affectation of ufing coarse, rude, or obfolete expreffions; or a mere nothingnefs, without either thought or design, under a falfe notion of rural fimplicity.

It is not a little furprizing, that many of our modern Poets and Criticks fhould be of opinion, that the rufticity of Theocritus is to be imitated, rather than the rural delicacy of Virgil. If the Originals of things are always the most valuable, we ought to perform our Tragedies in a cart; and the actors faces ought to be ftained with lees of wine* we should reject the use of corn, and feed upon acorns, like the ancient Arcadians.

I would not be thought, by what has been here faid, to endeavour to depreciate the merit of Theocritus. On the contrary, I believe there are few, if any, that more admire the beauties of that ancient Writer. I confider him as the father of Pastoral Poetry, to whom we are originally obliged for every thing that has been well written in this kind, and to whom we owe even the Bucolicks of Virgil. Theocritus is like a rich mine, in which there is a plenty of ore: but a skilful hand

*See the note on ver. 383. of the first Georgick.

is required to feparate the drofs from the Those who would imitate pure metal. his Doric rufticity; ought to write in Greek: for it is not to be imitated in any other language. We have no dialect peculiar to the country people: for though many words are used, which are not known in cities; yet they are various in different counties; fome being peculiar to the Eaft, others to the Weft, others to the North, and others to the South. A Pafto ral therefore, written in any of our ruftick dialects, would be almost unintelligible, except in two or three counties: and the phrases of the most rude and stupid of our people, inftead of giving an air of innocence and fimplicity to a Poem, difguft the reader by their groffness and abfurdity.

To conclude; whofoever would excel in Paftoral poetry, may find plenty of ore in the rich mine of Theocritus: but the art of refining and purifying it must be learned from Virgil.

THE

Year of

Rome

684.

T

E

IL.

HE Hiftory of the Lives of most of the famous perfons of Antiquity has been so obfcured by fiction, that the very existence of many of them has been rendered doubtful. This is not entirely the cafe of Virgil; for we know, that there was fuch a perfon; and are at no lofs to dif cover his age and country. But fo many improbable and fabulous ftories, have been told concerning him, by the old Grammarians; that it is very hard, at this distance of time, to diftinguish between truth and falfhood. We fhall therefore content ourselves with relating only what is certain, or probable; and return the idle and improbable fictions to the inventors of them.

PUBLIUS VIRGILIUS MARO was born at a village called Andes (a), now Petula (b), faid. to be about three miles from Mantua, on the Ides (c) or fifteenth day of October, in the year of Rome

&c.

(a) Eufeb. Chron. Donat.

684,

(C) Οὐιργίλιος Μάρων ὁ ποιητὴς ἐγεννήθη τούτου τοῦ ἔτους

(b) Ray's Obfervations, &c. Eidos 'Oxтolgiais. Phlegon apud

p. 221,

Photium.

Majae