invention or improvement in the arts and in mechanics. This fable has been explained somewhat frigidly, by attributing to him the adaptation of sails to navigation. The fable is alluded to by Virgil, En. vi. 14. ; Ovid, Metam. viii. 183.; Diodorus, v. 13.] 36. Perrupit. The syllable is lengthened by the arsis, or stress, in the scansion. Herculeus labor. Like the Greek Bin 'Нpaкλein. The twelfth labour which Eurystheus imposed on Hercules was to bring Cerberus from the nether world. Buttmann thinks Hercules a personification of the union of strength and virtue, and this exploit its final triumph over death. The three rivers of Erebus were Acheron, Pyriphlegethon, and Cocytus.] 38. Cœlum ipsum. An allusion to the wars of the Giants. That which to the heathen seemed presumptuous foolishness is the allowed hope of the Christian. At the utmost they looked for nothing higher than the Elysian fields, and a continuation of earthly pleasures: we are privileged to esteem ourselves as already enrolled in the citizenship of Heaven : Ἡμῶν γὰρ τὸ πολίτευμα ἐν οὐράνοις ὑπάρχει.—Philip. iii. 20.] ODE IV. In this ode, as in Iv. Carm. vii. the return of spring and its "fostering breezes "suggests thoughts no brighter than the short-lived nature of human enjoyments, and the Epicurean maxim, Dum vivimus, vivamus. But compare the language of the Christian poet. "These as they change, Almighty Father, these THOMSON'S Hymn. On the person to whom it is addresed, see note, line 14. 1. Favonî. (See note, I. Carm. i. 15.) Compare Thomson:"Forth fly the tepid airs, and unconfined, Unbinding earth, the moving softness strays."— Spring.] 2. Machinæ. The rollers on which boats that had been hauled up for the winter were drawn down to the sea.] 3. Stabulis: 66 Joyous, th' impatient husbandman perceives Drives from their stalls, to where the well-used plough The ancients hung up their ploughs in winter in the chimneycorner.] 5. Cytherea. So called from Cythera ? now Cerigo. (See note, I. Carm. iii. 1.) Döring quotes Lucretius to show that the Zephyr was considered the forerunner of Venus: — "It ver, et Venus, et Veneris prænuntius ante -v. 736. The subsequent month of April was sacred to the goddess. (See Iv. Carm. xi. 15, and compare Ovid, Fasti, 6. Nymphis. See note, I. Carm. i. 31. v. line 61. with line 87.)] Gratiæ. When every thing excellent or extraordinary was assigned not to celestial causes only, but to beings more or less material, Splendour, Joy, and Pleasure were deified under the names of Aglaïa, Euphrosyne, and Thalia. They were considered as daughters of Jupiter and Eurynome, and the principal seat of their worship was Orchomenus. See Hesiod. Theog. 907. Decentes. Comely. Our nearest word, inadmissible here, is graceful. Compare Milton "While universal Pan, Knit with the Graces and the Hours in dance, Led on the eternal Spring."— Par. Lost. b. iv.] 7. Cyclopum. Titans, children of Terra and Cœlus (Hesiod. Theog. 139.), or one-eyed giants resident in Sicily, according to the Odyssey. From this locality, they were represented as the workmen of Vulcan, whose forges were placed in Sicily, Hiera, and Lemnos.] 8. Vulcanus. 'Hoaîotos or Mulciber, the fire god, son of Jupiter and Juno, or of Juno only. Spring is made the season of activity in Vulcan's forges, since at that time storms are most frequent in Italy.] 9. Nitidum. Perfumed.] 11. Fauno. The Faunalia were celebrated on the 13th of February and the 5th of December. Ovid speaks of the spring festival — "Idibus agrestis fumant altaria Phœbi."— Fast. ii. 193. The winter festival is celebrated III. Carm. xviii. The Fauns were rude beings, only more sportive and gentle than the Satyrs and Sylvans. (See note, 1. Carm. i. 31.)] 13. Pallida mors. How forcibly does this sudden transition remind us, that "in the midst of life we are in death." Dunlop accounts for the abruptness by the short space which intervened between the festival of Faunus and the Feralia.] 14. Beate Sexti. Perhaps L. Sextius, who had been faithful to the cause of Brutus, and was not only forgiven by Augustus, but allowed to supply his place as consul, B. c. 23. Dio Cassius, liii. 32.] 16. Fabulæque manes. Visionary. Compare Persius: "Cinis et manes et fabula fies.". · Sat. v. 152. It was supposed in the Roman or Tuscan mythology, that the soul, after death, became a lemur: that is, either a good spirit (lar), or an evil one (larva), haunting its former dwelling. Both were called manes, an old term for good. Compare the Irish euphemism for the fairies, "the good people," and see Keightley, Mythology, p. 544.] 17. Domus Plutonia. Erebus, the narrow house of Pluto and place of departed spirits. The epithet exilis implies the small space which their shadowy forms would occupy. simul meâris. It is painful to find so bad a practical application in a poet who can describe, with so much feeling, the transitory nature of human life. But the future was to them almost a blank.] 18. Regna vini. The Symposiarch, or master of the revels, was chosen by the dice or by lot. See note on 66 Quem Venus arbitrum Dicet bibendi."- II. Carm. vii. 25. Quo Some suppose Thaliarchus, Carm. ix., to be another name for the same personage; daλeías apxwv. On the general sentiment compare Theognis, 973. with Ecclesiasticus: "Give and take, and sanctify thy soul, for there is no seeking of dainties in the grave." xiv. 16.] ODE V. The poet bewails the fate of some new victim of his inconstant mistress, and compares his own escape to that of a shipwrecked sailor. Crowned with many a rose. 1. Multa in rosa. Thus Euripides, 'Ael d' év σtepávoli etnv.- Hercul. Furens, 677. And Cicero, " An tu me in viola putabas aut in rosa dicere." — Tusc. Quæst. v. 26. Compared with potantem in rosa Thorium. - De Fin. ii. 20.] 2. Urget. Courts.] 3. Antro. A Grotto.] 5. Simplex munditiis. Milton translates this passage, plain in thy neatness. Fidem. Supply mutatam.] 6. Mutatosque Deos. Venus and Cupid, who seem now to grant, but will presently refuse, his prayer. How inconsistent is this with any genuine reverence for those whom he calls gods! how incompatible is variableness with the character of a divinity!] 7. Nigris. This epithet, when applied to the winds, is equivalent to vepeλnyeρetǹs, "cloud-compelling," and is thus opposed to albus, I. Carm. vii. 15, and candidi, III. Carm. vii. 1. Hence Virgil "In Boream, Caurumque, aut unde nigerrimus Auster Nascitur, et pluvio contristat frigore cœlum."- Georg. iii. 278.] 9. Aurea. Milton: All golden. Perhaps sincere, referring to the genuineness of the metal. Shakspeare gives a different meaning to the word in Cymbeline : "Golden lads and girls all must, Like chimney-sweepers, come to dust."] 13. Tabula. It was the custom for shipwrecked mariners to suspend their garments in the temple of the preserving deity, with a tablet or picture, representing the circumstances of their escape. We may trace this custom from the tradition of the old Latins, with whom a wild olive tree served as a temple: "Nautis olim venerabile lignum; Servati ex undis ubi figere vota solebant Laurenti Divo, et votas suspendere vestes.”— Æn. xii. 767.] Neptune, in the age of Horace, received these votive offerings; Isis, in that of Juvenal:. "Votiva testantur sacra tabella Plurima pictores quis nescit ab Iside pasci?-Sat. xii. 27. : The poorer classes, like our sailors, carried these tablets with them to excite compassion. See Ars Poet. 20. Persius, Sat. i. 89. vi. 32. Juvenal, Sat. xiv. 301.] ODE VI. Horace excuses his silence as to the exploits of Agrippa, by proféssing his inability to write on so lofty a theme. M. Vipsanius Agrippa had distinguished himself by a victory over Sextus Pompeius, and by his skill and courage in the battles of Philippi and 2nd of a Actium. Augustus made him and Mæcenas his chief counsellors. He commanded in Gaul and Germany, and conquered the Cantabrians; but declining the honours of a triumph, he devoted his attention to the improvement of the city, and built the Pantheon and other edifices. He retired to Mitylene in consequence of the preference given to Marcellus, but was recalled by Augustus, who gave him the widowed Julia in marriage, and left to him the care of the empire during his absence in Greece and Asia. 1. Vario. An epic and tragic poet, and friend of Virgil, in conjunction with whom he is frequently mentioned. See Life, B. C. 41. Ars Poet. 55, and the beautiful compliment, I. Sat. v. 40. also: "Forte epos acer, Ut nemo, Varius ducit; molle atque facetum Add Virgilio annuerunt gaudentes rure Camœnæ.' -I. Sat. x. 43. Virgil at this time had only written the Eclogues and Georgics, but in the former he mentions Varius with distinction: "Nam neque adhuc Vario videor, nec dicere Cinna Digna."-Ecl. ix. 35. Quintilian praises his drama on the subject of Thyestes (X. i. 98.). He was employed with Plotius Tucca, the fourth of this quartett of friends, to revise the Æneid, after the death of its author.] 2. Mæonii carminis alite. A bird of Mæonian song. An epic poet. The Mæonian, that is, Lydian, city Smyrna was one of the seven which claimed to be the birthplace of Homer. Some make Mæon the father of the bard. Horace calls Pindar "the swan of Dirce," -IV. Carm. ii. 25; and Theocritus speaks of poets in their lofty flights as opvixes Motowv,-Idyll. vii. 47.] 6. Pelidæ stomachum. The subject of the Iliad : Μῆνιν ἄειδε, Θεὰ, Πηληϊάδεω ̓Αχιλῆος.— Iliad, i. 1.] 7. Cursus duplicis Ulixei. The subject of the Odyssey: ̓́Ανδρά μοι ἔννεπε, Μοῦσα, πολύτροπον. — Odyss. i. 1. Ulixeus was an old form for Ulysses.] 8. Sævam Pelopis domum. A fruitful subject-matter for ancient tragedies, including the strife and cruelties of Atreus and Thyestes, the murder of Agamemnon, and the vengeance of Orestes on Clytemnestra and Ægisthus. (See note 1. Carm. xvi. 17.)] 12. Deterere. The metaphor is taken from the friction and wear of metals.] 13. Tunica adamantina. Χαλκεοθώρηξ οι χαλκοχίτων.] 15. Merionen. See the exploits of this friend and charioteer of Idomeneus the Cretan, in the 5th and 13th Iliad.] 16. Tydiden. Diomed, the Ætolian king, who wounded both Venus and Mars in the Trojan war. Iliad v. 335. 858. So Virgil: "Ferro cœlestia corpora demens Appetii, et Veneris violavi vulnere dextram."-Æn. xi. 276. Some discern an allegory that valour, directed by prudence, can overcome either passion or violence. But no such interpretation can prevent us from feeling that such language as "Superis parem" indicates but little reverence for the deities alluded to] 19. Vacui. Free from love. Compare I. Carm. v. 10.] 20. Leves. No more inconstant than is our wont. The abrupt transition in the last stanza is intended to convey to Agrippa the truth of the poet's plea, that his forte lies in lighter subjects.] ODE VII. L. Munatius Plancus had been consul with Lepidus, B. C. 42, and deserted Brutus to pass over to Antony. He disgraced himself by servile compliances with the caprices of the court at Alexandria, and on a slight affront joined Octavianus. Paterculus relates that he endeavoured to have his brother's name included in the proscription. His correspondence with Cicero is extant in the tenth book of the Epist. ad Div. It would appear that he had now incurred the displeasure of Augustus; and since retirement was advisable, Horace recommends the banks of the Anio in preference to the isles or cities of Greece, and exhorts him to patience and contentment, by the example of Teucer. We must not, however, fail to observe how low was his standard of fortitude, how unlike to patient endurance of evil, are the wisdom recommended in lines 17, 18, and the example upheld in line 31. The places enumerated throw some light on the poet's own travels. Compare Life, B. C. 47-44. 1. Claram Rhodon. Pliny will tell us why Rhodes is here called bright: "Rhodi et Syracusis nunquam tanta nubila obduci ut non aliqua hora Sol cernatur."-H. N. ii. 62. Mitylenen. This capital of the ancient Lesbos gives its modern name Mitelin to the island; and independent of the beauty of its buildings (Cicero, De Leg. Agr. ii. 16.), was illustrious as the birthplace of Pittacus, Alcæus, and Sappho.] 2. Ephesum. The Ionian city, famous for its temple: Μεγάλη ἡ ̓́Αρτεμις Ἐφεσίων. — Acts, xix. 28. It is now a mass of ruins, under the name of Aiosolok, and no traces remain of its heathen splendour, or of the church planted by St. Paul and watered by St. John. Bimarisve Corinthi. Corinthus (now Corito) being built on the isthmus, had two ports: Lechæum in the Sinus Corinthiacus, or Gulf of Lepanto; and Cenchreæ on the Sinus Saronicus, or Gulf of Engia. Its luxury and its vices are chronicled as well in Scripture as in classical history.] 3. Baccho Thebas. In the worship of Bacchus we may readily trace the natural debasement of idolatry. As Dionysus he was the god of wine, one who gladdens men's hearts; even, as we see in the Indian expedition, a herald of a milder civilisation. He then became Bákxos, a god of frantic revelry, over whose later festivals and debaucheries it is happy that time has drawn an almost impenetrable veil. The son of Jupiter, and of Semele, who, deceived by Juno, asked to see the god in his full effulgence, and perished in the blaze, he was born at Thebes, in Boeotia, and established his worship there by the death of Pentheus. Apolline Delphos. See Notes and Introduction, I. Carm. xxi. Delphi in Phocis (now Castri) seems to have been the seat of some older worship, and the destruction of this in the serpent Pytho gave a name to the oracle and priestess of the god of poetry.] 4. Thessala Tempe. The river Peneus flows through a rocky gorge, in length about two miles, |