Oft fruitless: when a soft parental smile His brows o'erspreading, thus he answer'd bland: Ver. 41. When, &c.] The whole heathen mythology abounds with tales of Juno's jealoufy; and indeed, the feems to have had good caufe, from the multitude of amours and gallantries of her hufband. The God here exults over her, and triumphs in his debaucheries, the produce of which was fo amiable a daughter as the chafte Diana. To make their fupreme thus prone to luft, however mythologists may attempt to account for it, is doubtlefs highly blameable in the antients, but to fhew him exulting in the fin, admits of no excufe. I am perfuaded, or at leaft, fo I would perfuade myfelf, that Callimachus meant the paffage as a fatyrical sarcasm; taken in that fenfe, it is really admirable; and 40 45 50 " Mark the words, well confidered, feem to convey fome thing of that fort: though Frischlinus imagines it expreffive of the greatest affection and tendernels. Plena affectus paterni ac fummæ benevolentiæ refponfio, &c. 66 Ver. 46. Of Ports, &c.] I have made bold to tranfpofe the order of the lines here, for reafons which will eafily ftrike an English reader, and I doubt not will be fatisfactory. Jupiter too, as the learned Spanheim obferves, was called Λιμενοσκοπος, as well as Venus φιλορμισειρα ; fo that this was no mean appellation. He thinks Diana's title may be referred to the moon, who is faid to rife from, and fet in the fea, by the poets; fo Valerius Flaccus-Diva foporiferas que nunc trahis æquore bigas-or to that power attributed to her over all fublunary things, as well earth as fea." But it seems rather, that she was faid to prefide over ports on account of her influence over the tides, of which it is too well known to fay any thing here that the moon is the principal caufe. I "Mark of distinguish'd favour-nor alone "In common with heaven's fynod, holy rites, "And reverence due of altars, fanes, and groves." Speaking his awful head the thunderer bow'd, And ratified his promife with the nod. SWIFT to Dictynna's mount the Goddess flies, 55 To Ocean thence, her lovely choir to choufe, Young and unfpotted all, a virgin train, Who yet had feen but thrice three fummers bloom. In murmuring joy Caratus' ftream roll'd on, Ver. 55. Altars and groves.] The poet places Bapas, altars, before Angiz, groves, the confecration of which is generally thought to have been antecedent to that of temples and altars: thefe dark and venerable retreats caft a folemn awe over the minds of the worshippers, and their gloomy filence added much to the folemnity of the Pagan ceremonies. It was an univerfal cuftom to have thefe groves round the temples, and fo diftinguishing a part of the heathen idolatry, that the worshippers of the the true God were particularly forbidden the use of them. See Deut. xvi. 21. Exod. xxxiv. 13. Deut. xii. 2 Kings xxiii. 6. See alfo the ingenious Abbè Banier's curious chapter of the facred Groves, b. 3. c. 7. vol. 1. I fhall have occafion to speak more of the facred groves hereafter in the hymn to Cres, where we have an account of her facred grove cut down, and polluted by Eryfichthon. See the hymn, ver. 33, &c. 60 When Ver. 58. Dictynna.] It may be afked, why went fhe to this mountain first? Why not to the ocean immediately? Probably it might be to take poffeffion (if we may fo fay) of her new dominions, and particularly of this favorite mountain: but more probably, as this mountain was near the fea, to the weft of Crete, the poet only tells us, the part of the leafe went to. Ver. 62. Caratus.] Was not only the name of a river in Crete, but alfo the noble city Gnoffus, near which it flowed, was thence called Ca. ratus. Callimachus very artfully mentions fuch places as particularly worshipped Diana; such was Cnoffus; otherwife, why fhould he not have mentioned any other city, river or mountain than that he has done? Arte valet, was Ovid's character of him, and there is undoubtedly peculiar elegance and nicety in this method. Whenas they view'd their favor'd race advance, Now Lipara) crowding round a trough immense 65 Ver. 68 A trough.] Morisey, aquarium, a trough for water, as woringov is tranflated from the LXX in our Bible, Gen. xxiv. 20, 30, 38. Virgil has a fine fimile in his 4th Georgic, which he has in a great measure repeated in the 8th Eneid, concerning the Cyclops, and which, as illustrating Callimachus, I fhall produce: Infula ficanium juxta latus æoliamque Amid th' Hefperian and Sicilian flood God. Here the grim Cyclops ply, in vaults profound, Fierce burnt the flame, and the full furnace To this dark region from the bright abode The brethren first a glorious fhield prepare, Enormous work! which Neptune thy commands SIGHT fo deform, dread monsters huge in bulk Aftonied views; but breathing discord harsh When the loud bellows, as the north-winds roar Tempestuous, ecchoed to the deep-fetch'd groan .70 75 80 Then Plunge the sharp weapon in his monftrous eye: PITT. Monftrum, horrendum, informe, ingens! Ver. 84. Etna, &c.] It is worth obferving, how beautifully the author rifes upon us: Etna firft receives the fhock, which extends itfelf through all Sicily, then reaches the fhores of The Italy from thence it paffes to Corfica, and shakes the whole island to its centre. Claudian, fpeaking of Pluto's ftriking the rocks of Trinacria with his fceptre, has fomething like our author, Saxa ferit fceptro: ficulæ tonuere cavernæ Turbatur Lipare, flupuit fornace relicto Mulciber, & trepidus dejecit fulmina Cyclops. But in this paffage Claudian is greatly inferior to Callimachus: as he defcends from the greater to inferior circumftances, and limits the imagi nation for though there is particular beauty in his ftupuit fornace relicto Mulciber, & trepidus dejecit The noise refponfive rung, loud thunder'd back No wonder then, feiz'd with uncommon dread The monsters unappal'd: but when her child 85 90 95 Its dejecit fulmina Cyclops; yet here we are at a Ver. 90. For not, &c.] Spanheim obferves, that this is the only example he ever met with of the custom of mothers frightening their children with the name of the Cyclops: Our author tells us, that the daughters of the Gods, when refractorious, were filenced by calling the Cyclops to them; and becaufe (fays Mad. Dacier) the Cyclops had no habitation in heaven, Mer cury appears from a fecret place duaros Ex puxaTOO, with his face all befmeared and befcoted (omodin xxnμrosa) to terrify them. The name of king Richard, our historians tell us, was equally terrible, and ferved to the fame purpofe. It may be fufpected that this paffage is rather low, and bordering upon the infantine: and in truth, confidered merely in its plain sense, I cannot well relish it; what can be the origin, or foundation of it, I know not; nor can pretend to offer the leaft diftant conjecture: all the commentators here leave Callimachus at the mercy of the reader; I muft neceffarily do fo too, reminding him, that poffibly under this veil fome thing inftructing is hid, more is meant than meets the ear; and in judging of such paffages candor fhould efpecially guide us. See Mr. Locke, book 3. c. 9. Kexpaueros is for xxpares, papuжwusvos, obfitus & fordidatus fuligine, as Hefychius explains it: fo that it is very well adapted to the fenfe of the author, and in very proper words, which ought to filence all the emendations of critics, when in reality there wants none of them. The Manducus and Lupus, as is well known, were words used to frightchildren with by the antients. See Donatus upon Terence's Lupus in Fabulâ, and Theocritus Idyll. 15. ver. 40. where the mother, to keep her child at home fays, |