when not able to prevail on Galatea, with music and poetry. In the fourteenth, the vexation and jealousy of a fond husband, whose wife proved false, is well described. In the eighteenth, we have a very beautiful epithalamium on the nuptials of the celebrated beauty Helen. I think every one must admire the pathos of the sixth epigram of Theocritus, though it is on a very simple subject; the grief of a shepherd for a kid destroyed by the wolf.

Α δείλαιο τὺ, Θύρσι, τί τὸ πλέον εἰ καταταξεῖς

Δάκρυσι διγλήνους ὦπας ὀδυρόμενος ;

Οἴχεται ὁ χίμαρος, τὸ καλὸν τέκος, οἴχετ ̓ ἐς ᾅδαν
Τραχὺς γὰρ χαλαῖς ἀμφεπίαξε λύκος

Αἱ δὲ κύνες κλαγγεῦντι τί τὸ πλέον, ἡνίκα τήνας
Οστέων οὐδὲ τέφρα λείπεται οίχομένας ;

Ah! wretched Thyrsis! what avails it, tho' mourning

You should make the two pupils of your eyes melt in tears? The kid, the beautiful young creature, is gone, is gone to Hades ; For the rough wolf has compressed him with his paws: But the dogs bark: what avails it, since even the ashes

Of the bones of him gone are not left?

The delicate Doric simplicity of this epigram is surely inimitable. There are some passages in Theocritus which are sublime, and several which border on the sublime; nor are such thoughts wholly excluded from those of his poems which are confessedly pastoral. Of this kind we may perhaps esteem the Address to the Nymphs in the ́ first Idyllium, which has been well imitated by Virgil, and still better by Milton in his Lycidas.

Πᾶ πόκ ̓ ἄρ ̓ ἦσθ ̓ ὅκα Δάφνις ἐτάκετο; πᾶ πόκα Νύμφαι ;
Η κατὰ Πηνειῶ καλὰ Τέμπεα; ἢ κατὰ Πίνδω ;

Οὐ γὰρ δὴ ποταμοῖο μέγαν ρόον εἴχετ' Ανάπω,
Οὐδ ̓ Αίτνας σκοπιάν, οὐδ ̓ Ακιδος ἱερὸν ὕδωρ.

"Where were ye when Daphnis pined? where were ye, Nymphs?
Was it in the beautiful Tempe by Peneus? or on Pindus ?
For you were not then by the great stream of the river Anapus,
Or on the top of Ætna, or by the sacred water of Acis."

The dying farewell of Daphnis, which has been already mentioned, is also sublime :

— ὁ βωκόλος ὕμμιν ἐγὼ Δάφνις οὐκέτ ̓ ἀν' ὕλαν,
Οὐκέτ' ἀνὰ δρυμώς, οὐκ ἄλσεα· χαῖρ' Αρέθοισα,

Καὶ ποταμοὶ τοὶ χεῖτε καλὸν κατὰ Θύμβριδος ὕδωρ.

We have similar addresses in the Ajax and Philoctetes of Sophocles. How terrible and grand is the image he gives us of the terrestrial Hecate in the second Idyllium!

τὰν καὶ σκύλακες τρομέοντι

Ερχομέναν νεκύων ἀνά τ' ἠρία, καὶ μέλαν αἷμα.

Χαῖρ ̓, Εκάτα δασπλῆτι. --

VOL. XVIII.

Cl. Jl.

NO. XXXVI.

T

at whom the dogs tremble

When she comes over the sepulchres of the dead and the black blood; Hail, terrific Hecate!

The address with which Simætha concludes her incantations is conceived in no humble style:

̓Αλλὰ τὸ μὲν χαίροισα, ποτ' Ὠκεανὸν τρέπε πώλους

etc., etc. Idyl. ii. v. 163.

The goat-herd in the third Idyllium records the amours of Atalanta and Hippomenes, of Pero and Bias, of Venus and Adonis, of Endymion and the Moon, and of Jasiones and Ceres, in lofty language. The amours of the goddesses with herdsmen are mentioned in the like elevated diction by the slighted neat-herd, in the twentieth Idyllium. Let us observe what language the goat-herd Lycidas employs in the seventh, when he wishes that Ageanax may have a safe voyage at a tempestuous season of the year:

Εσσεται Αγεάνακτι καλὸς πλόος ἐς Μιτυλάναν,
Χῶταν ἐφ' ἑσπερίοις ἐρίφοις νότος ὑγρὰ διώκῃ
Κύματα, κ' Ωρίων ὅτ ἐπ' Ὠκεανῷ πόδας ἴσχῃ,

*

Χαλκυόνες στορεσεῦντι τὰ κύματα τάν τε θάλασσαν,
Τόν τε Νότον, τόν τ' Εὗρον, ὃς ἔσχατα φυκία κινεῖ·
Αλκυόνες, γλαυκαῖς Νηρηΐσι ταί τε μάλιστα
Ὀρνίχων ἐφίλαθεν, ὅσαις τέ περ ἐξ ἁλὸς ἄγρα

"Ageanax shall have a fair voyage to Mitylene,

Even when (the Hadi being in the west) the southwind drives
The tempestuous waves, and Orion plants his feet in the ocean:
The Halcyons shall smooth the waves and the sea,

The south wind, and the east wind which moves the remotest
sea weeds;

The Halcyons, which are the most beloved by the azure Nereids,
Of all the birds which have their prey from the sea."

From these and many other passages we may learn, that in the judgment of Theocritus, Bucolic poetry may sometimes raise its voice to a higher tone. The whole of the Cyclops, or eleventh Idyllium, is written in a style that may be called sublime:

That strain I heard was of a higher mood.-Milton.

The first hundred and fifty verses which are extant of the twentyfifth Idyllium, or Hercules the Lion-Killer, may, as I have before observed, be considered as a sublime pastoral.

In other poems of Theocritus, the subjects of which are confessedly of a higher kind, we meet many very animated and grand passages. Observe how he describes the quick passage of the ship Argo between the Symplegades;

«Ατις Κυανεάν οὐκ ἥψατο συνδρομάδων ναῦς,

̓Αλλὰ διεξάϊξε (βαθὺν δ' εἰσέδραμε Φασιν)

Αἰετὸς ὣς, μέγα λαῖτμα.

Idyll. xiii. v. 22.

His comparing the rapid course of the ship to the momentary flight of an eagle, is very striking, and the word Siegaite is very expressive. Here we see the fact take place, before we have time to consider how it happened. In the same Idyllium, when he mentions how Hylas fell into the water when caught by the nymphs, we are struck with a very unexpected kind of comparison.

κατήριπε δ' ἐς μέλαν ὕδωρ,

̓Αθρόος, ὡς ὅτε πυῤῥὸς ἀπ ̓ οὐρανοῦ ἤριπεν ἀστὴρ
Αθρόος ἐς πόντον ναύταις δέ τις εἶπεν ἑταῖρος,

Κουφότερ ̓, ὦ παῖδες, ποιεῖσθ ̓ ὅπλα πλευστικὸς οὗρος.

Idyll. xiii. v. 50 €

"He fell, he sunk, as from th' ethereal plain
A flaming star falls headlong on the main :
The boatswain cries aloud, "Unfurl your sails,

And spread the canvass to the rising gales."-Fawkes.

I could mention several great thoughts from the Charites, the Ptolemy, the Hymn to the Dioscouroi, the young Hercules, and Hercules the Lion-Killer, but I mean not here to descend into such particular criticism. I shall, however, transcribe one passage from the Dioscouroi, in which he describes a storm, and a subsequent calm occasioned by the influence of Castor and Pollux;

Ναῶν θ' αἳ δύνοντα καὶ οὐρανοῦ ἐξανιόντα

Αστρα βιαζόμεναι, χαλεποῖς ἐνέκυρσαν ἀήταις
Οἱ δὲ σφέων κατὰ πρύμναν ἀείραντες μέγα κύμα,
Μὲ καὶ ἐκ πρώραθεν, ἢ ὅππα θυμὸς ἑκάστου,
Εἰς κοίλαν ἔῤῥιψαν, ἀνέῤῥηξαν δ' ἄρα τοίχους
Αμφοτέρους κρέμαται δὲ σὺν ἱστίῳ ἄρμενα πάντα,
Εἰκῇ ἀποκλασθέντα· πολὺς δ ̓ ἐξ οὐρανοῦ ὄμβρος
Νυκτὸς ἐφερπύσας· παταγεῖ δ' εὐρεῖα θάλασσα,
Κοπτομένη πνοιαῖς τε καὶ ἀῤῥήκτοισι χαλάζαις,
̓Αλλ' ἔμπης ὑμεῖς τε καὶ ἐκ βυθοῦ ἕλκετε νᾷας
Αὐτοῖσιν ναύταισιν διομένοις θανέεσθαι.
Αἶψα δ' ἀπολήγον τ' ἄνεμοι λιπαρὰ δὲ γαλάνα
Αμπέλαγος νεφέλαι δὲ διέδραμον ἄλλυδις ἄλλαι.
Ἐκ δ' Αρκτοι τ' ἐφάνησαν.

Idyl. xxii. v. 8 to 21.

I Vide Charites, Idyl. xvi. from v. 40. to 57., and from v. 71. to 87.Vide Ptolemæus, Idyl. xvii. v. 64. to v. 82.-Vide Heracliscus, Idyl. xxiv.

ν. 84.

Εσται δὴ τοῦτ ̓ ἅμαρ ὁπηνίκα νεβρὸν ἐν εὐνᾷ,

Καρχαρόδων σίνεσθαι ἰδὼν λύκος οὐκ ἐθελήσει.

"The day will come when the wolf with snaggy teeth shall not wish to injure the fawns in his lair."

Vide Idyl, xxv. v, 232, to 254.

Safeguards of sailors, who the Twins implore,
When on the deep the thundering tempests roar.
These on the hollow vessel from the side,
Or head, or helm, pour the high-swelling tide:
Burst are the planks, the tackling torn, the mast
Snapt, the sails rent before the furious blast;
Suspended showers obscure the cheerful light;
Fades the pale day before approaching night.
Rise the rough winds, resounding storms prevail,
And the vext ocean roars beneath the scourging hail :
Still you the wreck can save, the storm dispel,
And snatch the sailors from the jaws of hell:
The clouds disperse, the roaring waves subside,
And smooth to stillness sleeps the lenient tide.
When shine the Bears-

Fawkes.

SECT. XII.-Objections against Theocritus.

Having now discussed the general character of Theocritus with respect to his sentiments, and the distinguishing peculiarities of his genius, I shall next consider some objections which are made to him. It is objected to him that his shepherds talk on too high subjects. To this I shall only answer, that we may safely oppose the judgment of this excellent original poet, as to propriety, to the judgment of his critics. It is next objected to him, that some of his thoughts are fantastical and far-fetched, or, in other words, not natural. There may be a few thoughts of this kind, but they are very few. Such for instance we may consider the following:

Νῦν ἔγνων τὸν Ἔρωτα βαρὺς θεός ἢ τὰ λεαίνας
Μάσδον ἐθήλαξε, δρυμῷ τέ μιν ἔτρεφε ματήρ.

Now I know Love; he is a cruel god; surely he has suck'd
The breast of a lioness, and his mother brought him up in a wild.

I confess this sentiment appears to me unnatural, though it has been imitated by that judicious poet Virgil.-See Virgil, Eelog. viii. v. 43. A third objection to him is, that he violates the rules of modesty and decorum in describing the intercourse of the sexes, as in the twenty-seventh Idyllium, and in several other places. This objection must be allowed to be just. The Greeks, however, seem at no period to have been delicate in this respect. It is amazing what ribaldry occurs in Aristophanes. We need not, however, go to Greece to hear coarse pastoral. We may hear enough of this sort among our own rustics and reapers, to whom, however, it is not confined among us. We find indelicacy among our gentlemen sometimes, and read it in our poets: yet all this is no justification of it, or sufficient apology.

The last objection to Theocritus is of a still more serious nature.

It is his frequent mention of a nefarious vice, which ought not to be named, or even hinted at by oblique allusions. Yet in Theocritus it frequently occurs as if it were venial. Surely the morality of the Greeks was of a different kind from that of Moses, who has left it on record that two cities were destroyed by God, chiefly on account of this vice. St. Paul informs us, that God permitted the heathens to fall into this amazing corruption of the moral principle on account of their vain idolatry, and their ingratitude to God, who may be recognised by all men in his glorious works. That even men of deep understanding should fall into a corruption of the moral principle, is an awful truth. Who, for instance, could suppose that so great a philosopher as Aristotle could in any case justify means to procure abortion? Yet it is true.

SECT. XIII. Of the Harmony of his Numbers.

The last peculiar excellence of Theocritus which I shall mention is his style, and the harmony of his numbers. Michael Drayton, in the Preface to his Pastorals says, "The subject of pastorals, as the language of it, ought to be poor, silly, and of the coarsest woof in appearance." Several other critics seem to have entertained the same opinion concerning the language of pastorals. But the language of Theocritus is not, I apprehend, of this kind. It is often highly finished and exquisite, and the harmony of his numbers is one of his principal charms. Much has been said of the broad rusticity of the Doric dialect. The Doric pronunciation was, no doubt, broader than the Attic; so also was the Ionic, as may be collected from its resolution of syllables. But we must not for this consider the Doric as rustic, as we find that it was used by the greatest poets in their lyric compositions. In it were written,

the various measur'd verse,

Æolian charms, and Dorian lyric odes.- Milton.

This is surely a presumption that it was soft and musical. There seems to be some truth in the observation, that, in the judgment of Theocritus, the nature of Bucolic metre required that the fourth foot of the verse be a dactyl, and that the last syllable of this dactyl be the end of a word, which must not run into the next foot. But, from this rule he often deviates. One part of his art consists in varying his pauses, a circumstance which has been so justly admired in Milton's blank verse. I am almost induced to think that Milton imitated Theocritus and Homer in this respect. Theocritus sometimes uses that cæsural pause at the end of the first syllable of the third foot, which Dr. Bentley has pronounced to be the most agreeable, and which is so frequently met in the Latin versification: as,

Τῆν ἀπὸ τᾶς πέτρας καταλείβεται υψόθεν ὕδωρ.

But we meet frequently a pause after the first syllable of the second