towards him, still listened, and imagined him still The angel ended, and in Adam's ear 657. Then on the flaming tongues] It was the custom of the ancients at their solemn festivals, before they went to rest, to sacrifice the tongues of the victims to Mercury, the god of eloquence, pouring on them a libation of wine. This was done, either with a design to make an expiation for any indecent language that had been spoken (as was the case about fifty lines above) or to signify, that what had been there spoken, ought not to be divulged or remembered afterward. 669. Endu'd with voice] The ancient writers, as well historians as poets, are full of these wonders. The speech of Achilles's horse to his master is well known. Among the many prodigies, which are said to have appeared at the death of Julius Cæsar, this, Virgil informs us, was one,-pecudesque locutæ. Appian expressly says, that an ox spoke with a human voice. Livy has given us the speech of one of these animals on a certain occasion: Quod maximè terrebat Consulem Cn. Domitium, bovem locutum, "Roma tibi cave." Lib. xxxv. This ship was indeed built out of some sacred timber from the grove of Dodona, which was sacred to Jupiter Tomarias: and on this account it was said to have been oracular, and to have given verbal responses. 670. Itonian] Minerva was so called from Itonis, a city of Thessaly, where she was worshipped. 698. The parted ocean whitening] The poets are fond of expressing the activity of the rowers, and the velocity of the ship, by the effect which the stroke of their oars and the track of the keel produce on the waters. λεύκαινον ὑδὼρ ξεςῆς ἐλάτησιν. Οd. μ'. 172. Totaque remigio spumis incanuit unda. Catull. Et freta canescunt, sulcam ducente carinâ. Manil. 701. Th' immortal powers] Apollonius, anxious to impress on his readers a just idea of the importance of his subject, has, in the true spirit of Homer, represented all the gods looking down upon Argo, as if interested in the success of her voyage. 717. With Chiron came] Achilles was educated under Chiron. The circumstance of Chariclo's raising up young Achilles in her arms, to show him his father Peleus, is exceedingly beautiful and striking. From this action we may also fairly conjecture, that this famous expedition preceded the siege of Troy, probably, about thirty years, viz. from the infancy of Achilles to his arrival at perfect manhood. 752. Corn-crown'd Thessalia] On the epithet pin, which the poet here applies to Thessaly, and which seems to have perplexed the commentators, Mr. Bryant makes the following ingenious remark: "The Pelasgi settled very early in Thessaly, to which they gave the name Aëria. This was the ancient name of Egypt, from whence this people came. They likewise called the same country Ai Monah, Regio Lunaris; which the poets changed to Hæmonia." 759. And Dolops' tomb] The scholiast tells us, this Dolops was the son of Hermes, and slain at Magnesia; where they erected a monument, near the shore, to his memory. 766. Aphetæ] The place from which they set It is a sail was named from that event Aphetæ. town and port of Magnesia in Thessaly. 778. Tall Athos] Plutarch and Pliny assert, that this mountain is so high, as to project its shade, when the Sun is in the summer solstice, on the market-place of the city Myrina. Univ. Hist ingenti tellurem proximus umbrâ Vestit Athos, nemorumque obscurat imagine Stat. Theb. pontum. 793. For angry Venus] "The description of Venus, enraged against the men of Lemnos for neglecting her temple, represents her," says Mr. Spence in his Polymetis, "rather as the goddess of jealousy, than of love. There is no figure of her under this character, nor any description in any of the Roman poets before the third age." Had the learned author consulted Apollonius, he would have seen to whom Valerius was indebted for this description of Venus, as the goddess of jealousy. The passage is indisputably borrowed from our poet. So true is it, what Mr. Gray has observed of this writer, that had he consulted the Greek authors, they would have afforded him more instruction on the very heads he professes to treat, than all the other writers put together. See Gray's 5th letter to Mr. Walpole. 826. Like the bacchanalian band] The Lem. nian women are here represented as savage as the Thyades, who delighted in bloody banquets. Upon this the scholiast observes, that the Mænades and Bacchæ used to devour the raw limbs of animals which they had cut or torn asunder. In the island of Chios it was a religious custom to tear a man limb from limb by way of sacrifice to Dionusus: the same in Tenedos. Hence we may learn one sad truth, that there is scarce any thing so impious and unnatural, as not at times to have prevailed. Bryant's Myth. vol. ii. p. 13. 852. For Boreas] There is a judicious note on this passage, inserted in an elegant edition of our poet, lately published at Oxford; which 1 shall venture to give the reader: "Licet ventus Boreas Argonautis ad cursum continuandum secundus esset, non tamen solverunt." Mihi perspectum est nihil veri his inesse. Non enim ventus Aquilo secundus est tendentibus in Pontum, sed adversum tenet. Hoc ergo Apollonius indicat. Minyas non solvisse illo mane, ex insulâ Lemno, quod Aquilo, qui ipsis in Pontum porrecturis adversus erat, flaret. Wesseling. Observ. p. 130. This observation appears to be just. Yet is it no unusual thing with the poets to put one wind for another. The most judicious and accurate of the Roman poets is not exempt from errours of this kind. "The description of the departure of Æneas from Carthage is not only inconsistent with truth and probability, in this respect, but contradictory to itself. He sails in the morning with a west wind, which is very improperly called favourable; but before he is out of sight of Carthage, we find him pursuing his course with a north wind, which is still more contrary to his intended course." See an Essay on the original Genius and Writings of Homer. 913.Hypsipyla arose] Dido is the Hypsipyla of Virgil. The latter, as Hoelzlinus speaks, is the archetype of the former. 949. A mantle] This mantle, which Pallas gave to Jason, and the simile of the star, to which he is compared, are beautiful specimens of our poet's talent for description. We shall find him, in the more descriptive parts of his poem, rising greatly above that equal mediocrity which some critics have ascribed to him. 971. Behind, Amphion] The fable of Thebes being built by the power of music is not in Homer, and therefore may be supposed to be of later invention. See Pope's Od. b. xi. 320. 1187. That there initiated] All that were initiated into the Cabiritic mysteries were thought effectually secured from storms at sea, and all other dangers: and the influence of the Cabirian priests was particularly implored by mariners for success in their voyages., Potter. Bryant. 1193. Thence the black main] So named from a bay which lies west of the Thracian Chersonesus; called Melas from a river of that name. 1207. An ancient island] Cyzicus, or Cyzicum according to Strabo, is an island in the Propontis, joined by two bridges to the continent. The strait, over which these bridges were thrown, being in a course of years filled up, an isthmus was formed, and the island became a peninsula: to this isthmus the poet alludes. Strabo. Hoelz. 1235. Here the rope-fasten'd stone] It is obTa-servable that the name of an anchor does no where occur in Homer. The ships of which he speaks had only a rudder and ballast. Neither was there any metal employed in the construction of them; the timbers were fastened together with pegs. 982. The Taphians] The Teleboans, or phians (so called from the island Taphos which they inhabited) coming to Argos, stole the oxen of Electryon, the father of Alcmena: a battle ensued, in which himself and sons were slain. We must not therefore wonder at the rude expedient, to which the Argonauts had recourse, in · these still earlier times. 1299. As near] 958. This Pelops drove] Hippodamia was the daughter of Enomaus, king of Elis and Pisa. She was a princess of great beauty, and had many admirers. Enomaus having been informed by the oracle, that be should be slain by his son-inlaw, endeavoured to deter the suitors from paying their addresses to his daughter, by proposing Silva labat; cuncisque gemit grave robur adactis; Ac veluti magnâ juvenum cum densa securi a chariot-race. The terms were; that he who con-Jamque abies, piceæque suunt: sic dura sub ictu quered him in the race should obtain his daughter, Ossa vinum malæque sonant, sparsusque cerebro butthat he who proved unsuccessful should be put Albet ager. to death. Pelops, whom Hippodamia was most attached to, accepted the dangerous conditions, and contended with Enomaüs. The plan which his daughter had concerted with Myrtilus, the charioteer, of loosening the pin of the wheel, succeeded to her wish. The pin flew out, the chariot was overthrown, and victorious Pelops claimed the lady as his prize. 997. At mighty Tityus aim'd] Elara being preg Lant by Jupiter, he, to avoid the jealousy of Juno, concealed her in a cavern of the Earth, where Tityus was born: who, from his being immersed in worldly cares, and from his centering all his affections on the Earth, as if he had sprung from it, is fabled to be the son of the Earth. 1132. And let him revel] This is an oblique, but very severe sarcasm on Jason. 1161. And if with offspring] That there was offspring appears from Homer's Il. b. vii. And now the fleet, arriv'd from Lemnos' sands, Of fragrant wines the rich Eunæus sent Val. Flac. 1. iii. 163 1380. There stands the tomb] The most ancient tombs were very simple: they were nothing more than hillocks of earth heaped up over the grave. This the Romans called tumulus. Sometimes we find an oar, or pillar erected over it in honour of the deceased. Thus we read in Ho mer; Τύμβον χεύαλες, καὶ ἐπὶ σήλην ἐρύσανίες, See Bp. Lowth's note on Isaiah liii. 9. 1384. round her neck she tied] Some nicer critics may be offended that Clita should die in so vulgar a manner: but this objection is owing to a want of considering the notions and manners of different ages and countries. Amata, the mother of Turnus, in the 12th book of the Æneid, hangs herself. In the 11th book of the Odyssey Jocasta dies in like manner, and likewise in the Edipus of Sophocles. 1399. Sift coarsest meal, and at the public mill] It was customary for families to grind their own corn. For this purpose they made use of handmills. Wind and water-mills were a later invention. They employed their slaves at this work: and sometimes it was inflicted on them as the Molendum in pistrino, vapulandum, habenda These verses, says Mr. Pope, afford us the know-heaviest punishment. Each, in exchange, proportion'd treasures gave, See Bp. Lowth's Isaiah, page 217. Here we find, not a single family, but a whole people, annually, in token of mortification and sorrow, labouring together at one common, mill, and partaking of the bread of affliction, which is of the coarser kind, and unbaked. 1406. A beauteous Halcyon] Ceyx, king of Thrace, married Alcyone, the daughter of Æolus, The On a voyage to consult the Delphic oracle, he was shipwrecked. His corpse was thrown ashore in sight of his wife, who, in the agonies of love and despair, threw herself into the sea. The gods, in pity to her fidelity, changed her and her husband into the birds which bear her name. halcyons very seldom appear, but in the finest weather: whence they are fabled to build their nests on the waves. The female is no less remarkable than the turtle for her conjugal affection. When the halcyons are surprised by a tempest, they fly about as in the utmost terrours, and with the most lamentable cries. 1418. There Cybele] The worship of Cybele was famous in Phrygia. Her priests, sounding their tabrets and striking their bucklers with spears, danced and distorted their whole bodies. To these dances and distortions they add shrieks and howlings; whence they were called Corybantes. Thus it was that they deplored the loss of their goddess's favourite Atys; thus they drowned the cries of Jupiter, concealed among the Curetes in Crete; and thus they stifled the grief of these Dolians for their slaughtered monarch. See Banier's Myth. 1422 by Cybele the vast profound] Orpheus, in his hymn to this goddess, has ascribed to her the same unlimited dominion: Μήτηρ μέντε θεῶν ἐδὲ θνητῶν ἀνθρώπων, Orph. Hymn. 13. 1448. This trunk they hew'd] It sometimes happens, that the roots and branches of aged trees bear a faint likeness to the human fabric. The ancients seem to have taken advantage of this fancied similitude, which they improved by a little art; and their first efforts towards imagery were from these rude and rotten materials. Bryant's Myth. vol. i. Besides; Cybele was taken for the earth; on, which account she was called the mother of the gods; for the earth gives birth to all things. Hence her worship was blended with several circumstances which bore a relation to the earth. Its fertility therefore, at the instant of the cele bration of her festival, is something more than a poetical embellishment. 1509. Ryndacus] A river of Mysia, which empties itself into the Propontis. Near its banks, as some assert, stood the tomb of Egæus or Briareus. Arganthon] A mountain near Cios. Cios is the name of a river, and of a city in Mysia. 1530. Some bring dry wood] Thus Theocritus, speaking of the employments of the Argonauts, when they landed in the country of the Bebrycians, says, Ευνας τ' εσόρνυνλο, κ. τ. λο Id. 22. On the dry beach they rais'd the leafy bed, 1556. Meanwhile, preparing] This story is told with great simplicity and elegance by our poet's rival and contemporary Theocritus; Id. 13. Nor has his faithful imitator, Valerius Flaccus, neglected to embellish his poem with the same story. The learned editor of Theocritus, published in 2 vol. at Oxford, portions out to each poet his share of merit in the following words: Egregiè quidèm Valerius Flaccus Herculis vehementem et repen tinam perturbationem depingit: qui, vesperi reversus, Hylam ad sociorum mensas, in littore constructas, non deprehendit. Nihil nisi dictionem Virgilianam, castam, teretem, simplicem, pro turgidulâ illâ, et duriusculâ, desidero. Conferatur et Hercules Apollonii Rhodii: quem credibile est omnes intendisse nervos, ut in simili materiâ poetam coævum superaret. Pulchrum profectò illud Herculis, a manu abietem abjicientis. At fortas1461. Idean Dactyli] The Dactyli were thesis, ad summum, simpliciora Theocriti et lucupriests of Cybele: they first inhabited mount Ida in Phrygia; hence they were styled Idai. They were originally five in number, as their name, derived from the fingers of the hand, imports. 1463.-Oaxis rolls his wave] There is a river of this name, not only in Mesopotamia, but in Crete. Thus Virg. Ecl. i. Et rapidum Cretæ veniemus Oaxem. 1469.-martial dance] Called also the Pyrrhic dance, from fire, with which it was accompanied. It was esteemed a martial exercise, and was performed by persons in armour, who gave it the name of Berarmus, from the temple of the deity, where it was probably first practised; or from the regularity of their movements in dancing. Schol. Bryant. 1478. Boughs bend with fruit] It was the general opinion of the ancients, that when they had appeased their deities by sacrifice and prayer, the tokens of reconciliation would appear by an uncommon fertility of the soil. The poets have not failed to avail themselves of this popular opinion. It is customary with them to represent fruits and flowers of every kind, as springing up and coming to perfection in a manner that seemed to indicate the immediate agency of some propitious deity. lentiora fatebere, et minus frequentata circumstantiis et elaborata. Not. ad V. iv. Id. 13. 1568. But know, Alcides] Hercules, arriving at Οὐ γὰρ ὅγε Φρυγίη περ ὑπὸ δρυὶ γυῖα θιωθεὶς In Dian. 159. Ac veluti pleno lupus insidiatus ovili, Cum fremit ad caulas, ventos perpessus & imbres, Æn. b. ix. 59. 1626. As when a bull, whom galling gadflies wound] Apollonius, within the compass of a very few lines, makes use of two different words to express the same animal, μú↓ and disfos. The former, he tells us, is the more general appellation: 87 [οῖστον] μύωπα βοῶν κλείεσι νομῆες. Β. iii. 976. The correspondent names in Latin are asilus and tabanus: asilus vulgò tabanus vocatur, says Servius. cui nomen asilo Romanum est, æstron Græci vertere vocantes. Virg. Georg. iii. Homer also speaks of this fly as being very pernicious to cattle: οἱ δ' ἐφίβολο κατὰ μέγαρον, βόες ὡς ἀγελαῖοι, Τὸς μίντ ̓ ἀμύλος οἷς ος ἐφορμηθεὶς ἐδόνησεν. Od. xxii. 299. Confus'd, distracted thro' the rooms they fling, Like oxen madden'd by the breese's sting. This simile is common to the poets: Virgil, Coluthus, and Tryphiodorus have made use of it. 1676. And one still moves] It was usual with the ancients to place one vast stone upon another for a religious memorial. The stones thus placed they poized so equally, that they were affected These with the least external force: a breath of wind 1746. A land projecting] The coast of Bebryeia; the ancient name of Bithynia, a country of Asia Minor, near Troas, bounded on the north by the Euxine sea. bon, far surpasses Apollonius; but Scaliger gives Neither Apollonius nor Theocritus have lost Mr. Warton, in his valuable edition of Theocri tus, delivers his opinion of the description of this combat, by the three poets, Apollonius, Theocritus, and Valerius, in the following words: Apollonio sane, auctore suo, Flaccum inferiorem censeo; quippe quod Flaccus minus simplex sit, et omnia, sublimitatis affectato studio, magnificentius efferat et inflatius. Utroque præstantior Theocritus, quod utroque simplicior. Tantum illi cedit Apollonius, quantum Flaccus Apollonio." 112. Like bulls] This simile is borrowed by With frowning front two mighty bulls engage, Pitt. 163. As swains with smoke] Virgil has also So when the swain invades with stifling smoke It was the custom of the ancients to force bees Quid, cum suppositos fugiunt examina fumos, 178. an iron land] The land of the Chalybes, which bordered upon that of the Mariandyni. 199. 221, Fronting Bithynia's coast] The storm drove them to Salmydessus, a city on the coast of Thrace opposite to Bithynia. their brows with laurel crown'd] Orpheus has given us, at the beginning of his poem, a catalogue of the heroes that accompanied Crowns and garlands were thought so necessary to Jason to Colchis. Apollonius has followed his recommend men to the gods, and were so anciently example. And he has shown himself a judicious used, that some have derived the custom of putimitator of Homer, by diversifying and enlivening ting them on at feasts, from the primitive enterhis narration with an account of the family, che-tainments, at which the gods were thought to be He present. Potter. racter, and birth-place of his Argonauts. constantly inserts some little history or anecdote, which may serve to impress their names on our memory, and to interest us in their future fortunes. He has contrived to throw the utmost variety into the voyage, by describing particularly the situation of the coasts, and the customs and The lanching of manners of the inhabitants. Argo, the episode of Hypsipyla, the night-adventure of the Dolians, the story of Hylas, the sacrifices and similes, are severally possessed of such distinguished merit, as cannot fail to give the reader a favourable idea of our poet's taste and genias. NOTES TO BOOK 11. 16. TILL match'd with me] This encounter between Amycus and Pollux is described likewise by Theocritus, who, in the opinion of Casau The scholiast speaks of more than one Bithynia. There is a country of that name, he tells us, both on the coast of Europe and of Asia. The storm drove the Argonauts to Salmydessus, which is opposite to the Asiatic Bithynia," 224. - sad Phineus] Phineus was a king of Thrace, or, as some say, of Arcadia. He ordered the eyes of his two sons to be torn out, to satisfy their mother-in-law. The gods punished his cruelty: they struck him with blindness, and sent the Harpies to him, who took the meat from his mouth; so that he would have perished with hunger, if Zetes and Calais had not delivered him from them, and pursued them to the Strophades, where they gave over the chace. These Harpies. were called out of Hell, and seem to be of thes number of the furies. A permission was given | Ev'n she had sunk, but Jove's imperial bride them to dwell upon Earth to punish the wicked: Wing'd her fleet sail, and push'd her o'er the tide. by which the poets would represent to us the remorse of a bad conscience. Catrou. 237. For, lo! descending] Apollonius has furnisbed Virgil with many hints on this subject of the harpies. See En, b. iii. 225. At subitæ horrifo lapsu de montibus adsunt When from the mountains, terrible to view, Pope. It is observed in the note on this passage, "that Homer, to render his poetry more marvellous, joins what has been related of the Symplegades to the description of Scylla and Charybdis.--The story of the dove being reported of the Symplegades might give him the hint of applying the crushing of the doves to Scylla and Charybdis." But we must remember that Argo passed, in her return, through Scylla and Charybdis, and that Apollonius, as well as Homer, has mentioned these rocks by the name whayural, erratic, which is supposed to be more strictly applicable to the Sym. plegades. If the Cyanean rocks were called Symplegades from their justling together, and that The harpies were a kind of birds which had the faces of women, and foul, long claws. When the table was furnished for Phineus, they flew in, and either devoured or carried away the greater part of his repast, or polluted what they left. Ra-appearance was occasioned by the different views leigh. 256. Like some pale, lifeless, visionary shade] The person and distresses of this old man are represented to us in a manner the most striking and pathetic. Virgil had this description in view, when speaking of Achemenides, he says, Cum subitò e silvis, macie confecta supremâ, 347, 347. By every woe-And by these eyes] Thus Telemachus swears, not only by Jupiter, but by the sorrows of his father. By great Ulysses, and his woes I swear. with See Pope's Odyss. xx. 406. Hæret hians, jam jamque tenet, similisque tenenti - En. xii. 754. They snap, and grind their gnashing teeth in vain, 393. the dogs of Jove] The ancient name of a priest was cahen, rendered mistakenly xuv, and canis. Hence the harpies, who were priests of Ur, are styled by Apollonius the dogs of Jove. Iris accosting Calais and Zetes, tells them, it would be a profanation to offer any injury to those personages. The Sirens and harpies were of the same vocation. Bryant's Myth. vol. ii. in which they were seen, sometimes in a direct line, and sometimes obliquely, why might not Scylla and Charybdis, for the same reason, be said to justle together, and consequently without impropriety be called whayural or erratic? Minerva, according to Apollonius, guided Argo through the Symplegades; but her course through Scylla and Charybdis was directed by Thetis, at the intercession of Juno, agreeable to what Homer here mentions. 448. a nimble dove let fly] The dove which returned to Noah with a leaf of olive, and brought the first tidings that the waters of the deep were assuaged, was held in many nations as particu larly sacred: it was looked upon as a peculiar messenger of the Deity, an emblem of peace and good fortune. Among mariners it was thought to be particularly auspicious; who as they sailed used to let a dove fly from their ships, to judge of the success of their voyage. The most favourable season for setting sail was at the Heliacal rising of the seven stars, near the head of Taurus; and they are, in consequence of it, called Pleiades. It was at their appearance that the Argonauts sat out upon their expedition. Αμος δ ̓ ἀντέλλοι πε Xeiades-Theoc. Id. xiii. 25. When first the pleas ing Pleiades appear. And this was thought a fortunate time for navigation in general. The Argonauts, in a time of difficulty and danger, made the experiment of letting a dove fly, and formed from it a fortunate presage. Bryant's Myth. vol. ii. 235. that the science of augury, or of predicting future It is indeed the opinion of many learned men, events by the flight of birds, arose from the dismission of the raven and the dove from Noah's divination is undoubtedly very ancient: it is menark at the time of the deluge. This species of made a considerable part of the religion of the tioned in many places of the Old Testament, and 404. The Strophades] The ord Strophades is derived from a Greek verb that signifies to turn. These islands therefore were named Strophades, because near them the sons of Borcas left off pur-heathen world. suing the harpies, and turned back to the house of Phin us. 437. Two rocks] This is very similar to a passage in the Odyssey, b. xii. v. 71. High o'er the main two rocks exalt their brow, 479. Acherusia] Is a cave, through which, below. Hercules is said to have descended through according to the fable, is a passage to the regions it to bring up Cerberus. Tokens of which exploit they show, says Xenophon, even to this day. Near this spot stands the principal city of the Maryandyni, named from Hercules, Heraclea. Here, as our poet informs us, runs the river Acheron, so called from the abovementioned lake. |