"i. e. leniter crepitans, vocat in altum." An adjective is often more elegant than an adverb. "Altior insurgens, et cursu concitus heros." Besides the letter s repeated in lenis, crepitans seems better to express what Virgil elsewhere calls, "Venientis sibilus Austri," than "lene crepitans" does. Observe also that Virgil expresses himself in another place in the same manner on a like occasion. Aen. V. 764. "Creber et aspirans rursus vocat Auster in altum." So Homer, speaking of a brother of Auster, 66 • Ως δ ̓ ὅτε κινήσει ζέφυρος βαθὺ λήιον ἐλθὼν « ΛΑΒΡΟΣ ΕΠΑΪΓΙΖΩΝ.” Ι. Β. 147. The adjective, as I said, is often elegantly put in the place of the adverb. Take these passages of Horace for examples; "Ut pura nocturno renidet "Luna mari." Carm. II. v. 19. "Nec vespertinus circumgemit ursus ovile." So Milton, Paradise Lost, Book VII. 305. Epod. XVI. 51. "All but within those banks, where rivers now AEN. IV. 500. "Non tamen Anna novis praetexere funera sacris If "concipit furores mente," be the same thing as "furit," (and I do not see what else it can mean,) then this place cannot be right. It must be, In this book, ver. 474, the poet says of Dido, "Tum breviter Barcen nutricem affata Sichaei, 66 This second line does not appear to be Virgil's; "cinis ater habebat suam patria antiqua," is an unusual expression. AEN. V. 495. "Tertius Eurytion, tuus, O clarissime, frater, Minerva persuaded Pandarus to do this base action. 66 Τῷ δὲ φρένας ἄφρονι πεῖθεν.” Hom. Il. Δ. 104. Which made me fancy that it might be, "Suasus confundere foedus." But jussus" is better. It became Virgil to favour as much as he possibly could the Trojans and their friends. And therefore he says "jussus" to excuse the conduct of this hero. AEN. VII. 443. "Cura tibi divum effigies et templa tueri : Pierius says that all the old MSS. have " should we not read so then? gerent." Why Virgil here copies Homer, who says, πόλεμος δ ̓ ἄνδρεσσι μελήσει. AEN. VII. 674. Il. Z. "Ceu duo nubigenae cum vertice montis ab alto Servius's note is "cum utique cedit silva, cedunt et virgulta— "A minore autem ad majus venire debuerat." The observation is just. This beautiful description is unhappily closed. Nothing can be greater than, "dat euntibus ingens "Silva locum." It should not have been followed by, 66 magno cedunt virgulta fragore.” AEN. VIII. 131. Aeneas addressing himself to Evander, says, "Sed mea me virtus, et sancta oracula Divum, Poetical heroes are commonly great braggers. Aeneas says, in another place; "Disce puer virtutem ex me But I cannot see why he should talk so here. If I had the authority of any books, I should choose to transpose two half lines, and correct the place thus ; "Sed tua me virtus, tua terris didita fama, "Cognatique patres, et sancta oracula Divum, Conjunxere tibi.". 66 AEN. VIII. 630. "Fecerat et viridi foetum Mavortis in autro “Mulcere alternos, et corpora fingere lingua.” Is not " Mulcere alternos" too bold an expression, since motion cannot be represented in a picture? I dare not condemn it. Virgil here has borrowed half a verse from Cicero, De Nat. Deor. ii. 42. "Obstipum caput et tereti cervice reflexum." That was robbing the hospital. AEN. XI. 705. "Quid tam egregium si foemina forti 66 66 Servius says that the true reading is "fraudem." He says, "Haec est vera et antiqua lectio, ut fraudem, non laudem legas; ut, si fraudem legeris, sit sensus: Pedes congredere ; jam cognosces cui inanis jactantia afferat poenam: nam frau"dem, veteres poenam vocabant.Si autem laudem lege"rimus, erit census: agnosces cui inanis gloria afferat laudem. "Ventosa autem gloria est, quam Graeci nɛvodožíav vocant." Servius, you see, at first roundly asserts that "fraudem" is the true reading; and then he endeavours to explain the other reading,-"ventosa ferat cui gloria laudem," but he makes strange work of it. Pierius says; "Romanus codex fraudem "habet; quum tamen plerique alii veteres laudem legant. "Servius a Romano codice stat, qui fraudem veram esse lec"tionem putat; cuique ita si legendum, quasdam affert ra"tiones. Contra Ti. Donatus laudem agnoscit, hac periphrasi: "Experiundo cognosces quis debeat jure meritoque laudari. "Utra potior sit sententia, quum non veteres tantum codices, "verum et opinatissimi Grammatici diversa tradant, aliorum "arbitrio judicandum reliqui. Est etiam in Mediceo feret." I shall follow Pierius, in not determining which of these two readings should be preferred. If the true reading be 66 laudem," "I think "ventosa" must be a vocative case. "Quit your horse," says Aunus to Camilla, "and fight with me on "foot ;" 66 "Jam nosces, ventosa, ferat cui gloria laudem," or, "feret." "You that are so vain and proud, and think that no body is equal to you, you shall then see whose the victory shall be." 66 AEN. XI. 405. "Amnis et Hadriacas retro fugit Aufidus undas." Tanaquil Faber, in his Epistles, puts Appulus in the room of Aufidus. He did not give himself time to consider, that nothing is more common, both in verse and prose, than "amnis "Tiberinus, Nilus amnis, Indus flumen," &c. VIRGIL. I have received a letter from "Lincolniensis," relating to my observations on Virgil. I am glad to find that many of those observations have his approbation: I wish I better deserved the favourable opinion he is pleased to have of me, and I return him many thanks for his kind wishes, and for the obliging liberty he has taken to dissent from me in some things, and to tell me wherein he thinks me mistaken. He cannot agree with what I say, p. 277, of Virgil's being as little corrupted as any of the Latin poets. He is of opinion that the Aeneis is greatly corrupted, and wants a new edition as much as any Latin poem. What does he think then of Manilius and Statius, to mention no more, who are beyond all comparison more corrupted than Virgil? I agree with him, that a better edition of this poet might be published than has yet appeared, and I hope he has a design of obliging the world in that way. He reads, Pag. 278. GEORG. IV. 516. "Nulla Venus, nulli illi animum flexere Hymenaei.” I desire he would consider whether this correction does not make the verse too harsh, and destroy its harmony. In a melancholy subject verses should flów easy, as "Illum etiam lauri, etiam flevere myricae : "Pinifer illum etiam sola sub rupe jacentem "Maenalus, et gelidi fleverunt saxa Lycaei." Pag. 279. AEN. I. 271. Ecl. x. 13. He thinks the words which I have put in a parenthesis, are not the words of Jupiter to Venus, but of the poet to his reader. I cannot agree with him. But, if they are the poet's words, so much the worse. What occasion had he to break into Jupiter's speech, to tell us that Ascanius was once called Ilus, and afterwards Iulus? It was, indeed, necessary for Virgil to take notice that Ascanius was also called Iulus, and to mention it, before he paid his compliment to the Julian Family, ver. 292. "Julius a magno demissum nomen Iülo.” But I think he might have brought it in better. He says, 6 Pag. 278. GEORG. III. 432. "You translate exterritus aestu,' frightened at the heat,' "and read exercitus,' from the Colotian MS. whose various "lections I have observed to be generally glosses. 'Exterritus' "seems to me to be the true reading, exλaysis, stung or en"raged: as a little before |