dry after the equinox; so likewise here he sets down both the beginning and ending of the seed-time for beans, medica, and milet. VER. 219-224. "At si triticeam in messem robustaque farra *1 Columella, in his tenth book of Agriculture, which is a poem on gardening, mentions these two constellations together in imitation of Virgil, and expressly declares, that he means the setting of the Pleiades in the morning, which he intimates to be near the beginning of winter: 66 66 Expectetur hiems, dum Bacchi Gnossius ardor "Solis et adversos metuant Atlantides ortus." Columella in another place, explaining this passage of Virgil, tells us expressly, That this is about the ninth of the Calends of November. "Absconduntur Atlantides altero et trigesimo die post autumnale aequinoctium, quod fere conficitur nono "kalend. Octob. Propter quod intelligi debet tritici satio "dierum sex et quadraginta ab occasu Vergiliarum, qui fit ante "diem nonum kal. Novemb. ad brumae tempora. Lib. II. c. viii. * The brightest star of the Crown is the first of that constellation that sets, and therefore, perhaps, this ought to be rendered, "Ardensque decedat stella Gnosiae coronae."-Or it may be, that the whole constellation is termed ardens, because it appears all the hot months. **Several commentators have mistaken the meaning of this epithet. Virgil does not apply it to the earth as unwilling to receive seed at any time till forced by the plough, but he uses this word to enforce the meaning of Properes-As if he should say, that when the husbandman hastens to sow before the proper season, the earth, at such time, receives the seed unwillingly, for fear she should disappoint the husbandman, and not repay what is committed to her trust. The words Debita, Committere, and Credere, shew that Virgil alludes to a trust. -In the second Georgic, ver. 460, Virgil gives the earth the character of Justissima. VER. 227-230. 2 "Si verò 1 viciamque seres, vilemque faselum, "Nec Pelusiacae curam aspernabere *3 lentis ; "Haud obscura cadens mittet tibi signa Bootes: 66 Incipe, et ad medias sementem ** extende pruinas." *"Viciae duae sationes sunt; prima quam pabuli causâ "circa aequinoctium autumnale serimus, secunda quam mense "Januario, vel etiam seriùs, jacimus semini progenerando.' Col. lib. II. c. xi. **❝ Circa finem Septembris faseolus ad escam seritur. Nam "ad praecipendum semen ultimâ parte Octobris, circa kalendas "Novembris melius obruitur." Lib. XI. c. ii.-Virgil means only the latter sowing, what is intended for seed. 8 * Martial calls the Lens, Niliacam; and "Pelusia munera:" and says of it, that it was "vilior algâ:" and to shew how vile and contemptible the Faba was, he says in the same place," Carior illa fabâ." 66 Accipe Niliacam, Pelusia munera, lentem; "Vilior est algâ, carior illa fabâ." Lib. XIII. Ep. ix. **What I have remarked above, ver. 211, shews this word to be very expressive. VER. 259-263. "Frigidus agricolam si quando continet imber; Multa, forent quae mox caelo properanda sereno, "Maturare datur: durum procudit arator "Vomeris obtusi dentem, cavat arbore lintres; "Aut pecori signum, aut numeros impressit acer vis." *1 Columella directs the doing of these in the month of January, during the time that they were hindered from other work. "Mense Jan. ridicis vel etiam palis conficiendis ido"neum tempus est." Lib. XI. c. ii.—And afterwards, "His "etiam diebus maturi agni, et reliqui foetus pecudum, nec "minus majora quadrupedia charactere signari debent."-Virgil's advice is more general. *As the genuine signification of Maturus is ripe, as fruit which comes leisurely to perfection, so Maturare is opposed to Properare-doing a thing in perfection, to hurrying it over slovenly. The Caesars impressed their whole names, at once, on their grants and letters; and this was so common, that even the shepherds impressed their names on their cattle: 66 ." Vivi quoque pondera melle Argenti coquito, lentumque bitumen aheno, "Impressurus ovi tua nomina; nam tibi lites Calphurnius, Ecl. V. ver. 85. See Georg. III. ver. 158. D This was a sort of Printing; and I wonder much how they came not to find out that art sooner: for it was as easy to impress a whole line, as two words; and a page, as a whole line. Had they gone but these two easy steps farther, it would have been just what the Chinese Printing is now. VER. 264-265. "Exacuunt alii vallos, furcasque bicornes, Atque Amerina parant lentae retinacula viti.” *Tria sunt genera praecipuè Salicis, Graecae, Gallicae, Sabinae,"Quam plurimi vocant Amerinam." Col. lib. IV. C. XXX. 66 VER. 266, 267. "Nunc facilis rubeâ texatur fiscina virgâ: "Nunc torrete igni fruges, nunc frangite saxo." *The Romans used to dry their corn on a kiln, before they ground it and it is probable that they were obliged by an old law to do it; for Pliny tells us, "Numa instituit far torrere, quoniam tostum cibo salubrius esset. Id uno modo consecu"tum statuendo, non esse purum ad rem divinam nisi tostum.' L. XVIII. c. ii. And Ovid, speaking of the Fornacalia, says: "Facta Dea est Fornax; laeti fornace coloni "Orant, ut fruges temperet illa suas." Fast. lib. ii. And Festus." Fornacalia feriae institutae sunt farris tor"rendi gratiâ; quod ad fornacem, quae in pistrinis erat, sacri"ficium fieri solebat." By which it is plain, that the Fornax, and Bakehouse, were differently used. They first dried their corn, then ground it, and then baked it; the poorer sort on the hearth, the richer at the bakehouse. Virgil speaks only of the two former, which, he says, may be done in wet weather, when they are hindered from working without doors. The latter must be done as there is occasion, whether wet or dry; and therefore cannot be supposed to be mentioned here. That it was a custom among the antients, to bake their bread in cakes upon the hearth, is plain from Ovid. Fast. Suppositum cineri panem focus ipse parabat, "Strataque erat tepido tegula quassa solo." This we gather likewise from the widow's cake in the Scriptures.In Wales, and several other places, they still make bread in this manner. Varro expressly directs the drying, and grinding or pounding of Far, in the winter, in order to have it ready for use, as occasion required: "Far quod in spicis "condideris per messem, et ad usus cibatûs expedire velis, pro "mendum hieme, ut in pistrino pisetur ac torreatur." Lib. I. c. lxiii. And again; " Messum far promendum hieme in "pistrino ad torrendum, quod ad cibatum expeditum esse "velis." C. lxix. 66 VER. 268-272. Quippe etiam festis quaedam exercere diebus * Balantum has its beauty in this place, because sheep on washing bleat more than ordinarily and Salubri is added, as Columella observes, because it was not allowed to wash sheep on holidays, unless Medicinae gratiâ." VER. 273-275. "Saepe oleo tardi costas agitator aselli "Vilibus aut onerat pomis: *' lapidemque revertens, * I very much question whether Virgil means here a millstone. Ovid in his account of the Vestalia in his Fasti calls "Mola scabra et pumicea," which is a proper description of the roughness of a mill-stone, but "lapis incusus" gives us but an imperfect idea of it, and, I think, does by no means answer. Quaer. If it may not rather mean a mortar, or such like hollowed stone, in which the poorer people used to break their corn after they had dried it? as appears by what is said before; "Nunc torrete igni fruges, nunc frangite saxo." It is manifest, by the whole passage, that the poet is speaking here of the poorer sort of country people. "Ante inventum molarum usum, frumenta in pilâ commi"nuebantur. Pilae autem erant vasa concava, in quae antiqui "siccata frumenta immissa pinsebant." Rosini Antiq. Rom. lib. I. c. xiv. ** The consumption of pitch formerly was very great, for pitching the inside of their vessels or jars for keeping wine, etc. as appears from several places in Columella; particularly lib. XII. c. xviii. et xx. VER. 281, 282. "Ter sunt conati imponere Pelio Ossam "Scilicet, atque Ossae frondosum involvere Olympum." * This sort of versification is very noble and beautiful, when used in a proper place. And it is manifest from that verse in the third book of the Aeneid, ver. 211. "Insulae Ionio in magno," that Virgil sometimes purposely affected that irregularity, otherwise he would certainly have said, "Insulae in Ionio magno," but the Hiatus makes it sound more grand. VER. 289, 290. "Nocte leves stipulae melius, nocte arida prata *Noctibus roscidis foenum secari melius." XVIII. c. xxviii. VER. 291, 292. "Et quidam seros hiberni ad luminis ignes. Plin. lib. * Quaer. If not torches cut in that manner on purpose to look into furnaces ?-Cato calls them Faculas, c. xxxvii. 1 VER. 293-296. "Interea longum cantu solata laborem Arguto conjux *' percurrit pectine telas: "Aut dulcis ** musti vulcano decoquit * humorem, In great farms formerly they had looms to make the necessary clothes for their labourers, as appears from several passages in Varro; and Columella, lib. XII. c. iii. **Hereby is meant the making Defrutum, or Sapa; and in this short description Virgil hints at the most remarkable circumstances observed in making it; and uses the epithet Dulcis, because they chose commonly the sweetest wine for it." Mus"tum quam dulcissimi saporis decoquatur," says Columella, lib. XII. c. xxi. treating of the Defrutum. 3 *3 Because the watery particles evaporated.—Virgil, in this verse, "Vulcano decoquit humorem," affects the style of Lucretius, which is very proper to the subject. 婆 **Pliny, speaking of this very subject, tells us, that the people strictly observed this nicety of using leaves to take off the scum. "Non nisi foliis despumandum; quia si ligno con"tingatur vas, adustum ac fumosum fieri putant." XVIII. c. xxxi. Lib. ** Because done over a gentle fire, which was not to touch |