493. - Halys] This river, which rises in Cap-nion of the ancients, that the Hamadryads lived padocia, and empties itself into the Euxine, took its name from the beds of salt through which it runs. Strabo. Tournefort says, this country is so full of fossil-salt, that it is to be found in the high roads and ploughed lands. 498. - Thermodon] This river, says Strabo, after having received many others, runs through Themiscyra, formerly inhabited by the Amazons, and then falls into the Euxine sea. and died together with their trees, and therefore were extremely grateful to those, who at any time preserved them. The scholiast tells a remarkable story to this purpose: A person called Rhocus, observing a beautiful oak ready to fall, ordered it to be set upright and supported. The nymph of the tree appeared to him, and bade him, in return, ask whatever he pleased. She being exceedingly handsome, Rhocus desired he 502. the Chalybes] It is commonly be- might be entertained as her lover : which she hieved, that the ancient Chalybes were the de- promised, and accordingly sent a bee to summon scendants of Tubal; for they are celebrated by him. But the young man, happening to be the ancients for their extraordinary skill in work-playing at dice when the bee came, was so ofing of iron, and making of steel-armour; whence fended with its buzzing, that he drove it from they are said to have had their name, Univ. him. The nymph, provoked at this uncivil treatHist. ment of her embassador, in revenge, deprived Strabo is of opinion, that they are the same Rhocus of the use of his limbs. He also speaks. whom Homer mentions by the name of 65. of another nymph, who was grateful to the man For he joins them with the Paphlegonians, and that preserved her oak. characterizes them thus, ὅθεν ἀργύρω ἐςὶ γενέθλη. Chalybes nudi ferrum 505.the Genetaan hill] A promontory, so named from Genetes, a neighbouring river, which ran through the country of the Chalybes. temple was erected here to Jupiter the hospitable. 530. Phasis] Pliny informs us, that the bird called the pheasant derives its name from this river, whose banks they frequented in great abundance; and that they were first brought over into Greece by the Argonauts. Virg. Georg. Argivâ primum sunt transportata carinâ; Ante mihi notum nil nisi nomen erat. A Mart. 535. A hideous dragon] Tarchon, which, according to the learned and ingenious Mr. Bryant, signifies a hill with a tower, or temple on it, was in later times rendered Trachon; from whence the region Trachonitis received its name. This word, it seems, was still further sophisticated by the Greeks, and expressed Agaxov, dragon: from whence in a great measure arose the notion of treasures being guarded by dragons. The gardens of the Hesperides, and the golden fleece at Colchis, were entrusted to a sleepless serpent. The dragons are represented as sleepless; because in towers there were commonly lamps burning, and a watch maintained. The eyes of the dragon were windows in the uppermost part of the building, through which the fire appeared. Bryant's Myth. 553. Lies Colchos] All the countries which lie on the north and north-east parts of the Euxine, the region of Colchos, and the country at the foot of Caucasus, were of old esteemed Scythia, and these the Greeks looked upon to be the boundaries, northward, of the habitable world. τότε δρύες ἡνίκα νύμφαιο Call. Hymn. in Del. v. 83. 662. The names of Agreus and of Nomius] Thus Callimachus: Φοίβον και Νόμιον κικλήσκομεν, ἐξ ἔτι κείνε Hymn. ad Ap. 47. 7 'Aypes and Néos were undoubtedly the names of Apollo; but they were also bestowed on his son Aristæus, on account of his fondness for a country life, and his many useful discoveries. * Ανδράσι χάρμα φίλοις, Αγχισον οπάονα μήλων, Αγρια καὶ Νόμιον Γοῖς δ' ̓Αρισαῖον καλεῖν. Pynd. Pyth. ix. 115. 671. To him they gave their numerous flocks to feed] Almost all the principal persons, whose names occur in the mythology of Greece and Italy, are represented as shepherds. It is reported of the Muses, that they were of shepherd extraction, and tended flocks, which they entrusted to their favourite Aristaus; the same whom Virgil styles Pastor Aristæus. Bryant. 685. showery Jove] Jupiter is frequently represented under the character of pluvius, or the dispenser of rain, both by poets, painters, and statuaries. For it was his province, as chief ruler of the air, to direct not only the thunders and lightnings, but the rain. Virgil has given us 8 noble description of the Jupiter pluvius in the following description: - ------ cum Jupiter, horridus austris, Torquet aquosam hyemem, et cælo cava nubila rumpit. 556. Ea] The region termed Aia, above Colchis, was a name peculiarly given by the AmoÆn. ix. 670.-Spence's Polym. nians to the places where they resided. Among 693. and by these winds detain'd] For these the Greeks the word grew general; and Ale was Etesian winds, the history of which the poet has made to signify any land. But among the Egyp-just given us, blew north-east, and consequently tians, as well as among those of Colchis Pontica, it was used for a proper name of their country. It was owing to this, that the name given to the chief person of the country was Aiates. Bryant's Myth. 626. - coeval tree] It was the common opi in a direction the most unfavourable for them who were sailing up the Euxine. 735. Old ocean thunder'd] This storm seems to have been copied by Virgil, Æn. i. by Lucan, Ovid, and Valerius Flaccus. 813. With cold indifference] The great outs lines of Jason's character are piety, humanity, and valour. The sentiment before us is replete with philanthropy, and prejudices us highly in favour of the bero of the poem. 861. His golden locks] Milton thus describes Adam's hair: hyacinthine locks Round from his parted forelock manly hung Clust'ring. B. iv. 303. The circumstance of the hair hanging like bunches of grapes has been justly admired. But it is literally translated from the description of Apollo's hair in the Greek poet. · χρύσεοι δὲ παρειάων ἑκάτερθε Πλοχμος ΒΟΤΡΥΟΕΝΤΕΣ ἐπιβξώουλο κιόνιο The word Borguól; could hardly be rendered into English by any other word than by clustering. Warton's Observ. 867. Nor dar'd the herocs] Thus Hesiod in Scuto, speaking of Hercules, ἐδέ τις αυτοῦ Ετλη ἐς άλλα ἰδὼν χεδὸν ἐλθεῖν. There was probably, in the old pictures of Apollo, a certain brightness beaming from his eyes, and perhaps diffused all over his face; in the same manner, as the body of the principal figure is all luminous and resplendent in the famous nativity of Correggio, of the transfiguration by Raphael. What made me then suspect this, was the ancient poets speaking so often of the brightness of Apollo's face, and the beaming splendours of his eyes. Virgil does not only compare his ueas (under whom is generally supposed to be meant Augustus) to Apollo for beauty; but, in another place, he seems to call Augustus himself (who was really very beautiful) by the name of this god. Spence's Polym. 771. Then like an arrow] Virgil has adopted this comparison, where he represents Cloanthus's ship as moved forward by Portunus: Et pater ipse manu Portunus euntem Impulit: illa noto citius voluerique sagittâ Ad terram fugit, et portu se condidit alto. En. v. 241. 900. with curls unclipp'd] Nothing was deemed by the ancients more essential to the beauty of a young person (and Apollo was always represented a youth) than fine, long hair. Hence the epithets crinitus and intonsus are so often given to Apollo. Nube sedens crinitus Apollo, Sed non augurio potuit depellare pestem. The fate of others he had oft foreshown, 1029. Here, in a covert] This description of a boar hid among the rushes, and the terrour of the neighbourhood, reminds us of the following beautiful lines of Ovid, who is describing the Caledonian boar: Concava vallis erat, quo se dimittere rivi Ov. Met. 1. viii. 1167. Parthenius] This river rises in Paphlagonia, and derives its name from the cheerful meadows through which it flows. Strabo. 1176. Thy groves, Cytorus] Thy groves of box, Cytorus, ever green. Pope's II. b. ii. Quales Theïciæ, cum flumina Thermodontis 1229. From Mars and Harmony] The Amazons worshipped the deity from whom they received their name; viz. Azon and Amazon, the same as Ares, the Sun. They worshipped also Harmon, the Moon; which the Grecians changed 'Ausing is meant the children of the Sun and to a feminine, Harmonia. So that by yev "Agios Moon. Bryant's Myth. people, that they are uncommonly addicted to 1251. -Tibarenians] It is remarked of this laughter and buffoonery. Some have accounted for the absurd custom, here alluded to, from this Virg. Æn. ix. 638. cause. But it is difficult to assign a reason for sic tibi sint intonsi, Phoebe, capilli. the many absurd customs which different nations Tibull. have adopted. It has been recorded by grave bis946. The Megarensians Soonautes nam'd] They torians, that the ancient Spaniards and the Ameare called by our poet in this place, and by Theo-ricans follow the practice of the Tibareneans: eritus, Id. xii. 27. Nisaia Mayapñs; from Nisa, which, as the scholiast informs us, was the name of their dock. It was so named from Nisus, son of Pandion, and king of this people. The Megarensians, going out to plant a colony in Heracica, were driven by distress of weather into the river Acheron, which, from the protection it afforded them, they called Söönautes. 1028. But fail'd, unhappy -] 1260. Mossynes call'd,] Xenophon gives us the most authentic account of this people in the fifth book of his Anabasis. He tells us, that they do those things in private, which others do in public; that they talk to themselves, laugh by themselves, and dance alone, as if they were showing. their skill in public. Savage and indecent as the custom, alluded to by our poet, may seem, Strabo ascribes the same barbaritics to the Irish, and Casar makes the same observations on the ancient I was about to sing, as he informs us, reges et temBritons. pora rerum. 1269. But if his judgment err] Thus Pomponius Mela, 1. i. c. 19. Reges suffragio deligunt, vinculisque et arctissimâ custodia tenent; atque ubi culpam pravè quid imperando meruere, inediâ totius diei afficiunt. 1301. But when he rung a cymbal] This cymbal, or crotalun, was made, the scholiast tells us, by Vulcan; Hercules received it from Pallas. The description of this instrument is differently given by different authors. Our poet tells us it was made of brass; others represent it as formed of a rod or reed cut in two; both parts of which, when struck together, emitted a sound after the manner of castanets. This latter description agrees with the opinion of Suidas, and the scholiast of Aristophanes. The fourth book of Virgil, Servius tells us, is borrowed from this of Apollonius Rhodius. Virgil's Æneid, says Hoelzlinus, would not have been enriched with the episode of Dido, had not the amours of Hypsipyla and Medea been worked up ready to his hand by Apollonius. 10. Juno and Pallas] Having conducted his heroes to the banks of the Phasis, our poet shifts the scene, and takes occasion to introduce the two goddesses, Juno and Pallas, consulting for the safety of Jason. There is a necessity for such machinery, in order to preserve the dignity of epic poetry. And the propriety of its introduction in this place will be acknowledged, if we recollect, that on the successful application of these goddesses to Venus the future fortunes of Jason de 1386. The laws of hospitable Jove revere] Thus pend. There needs no greater proof of the beauty Virgil, n. i. 784. Jupiter (hospitibus nam te dare jura loquuntur) Almighty Jove! who pleads the stranger's cause; Great guardian God of hospitable laws. Pitt. And Homer, in the words of Mr. Pope; Od. b. ix. The poor and stranger are Jove's constant care; To Jove their cause and their revenge belongs, He wanders with them, and he feels their wrongs. 1430. Round the altar stood] The tombs, of which frequent mention is made by the ancient writers, were in reality high altars or pillars, and not, as has been supposed, monuments erected in honour of the dead. Such an one the Argonauts are said to have found in the temple of Mars, when they landed upon the coast of Pontus. This was the express object to which the Amazonians paid their adoration; as they lived in an age when statues were not known. Bryant's Myth. of this passage, than that it has been imitated by A floating isle! high-rais'd by toil divine. Pope. whole passage is imitated by Claudian, who, speak50. Sat Cytherea on a polish'd throne] This ing of Venus, says, Cæsariem tunc forte Venus subnixa corusco Fingebat solis: dextrâ lævâque sorores Stabant Idaliæ: largos hæc nectaris imbres Irrigat; hæc morsu numerosi dentis eburno Multifidum discrimen arat; sed tertia retro Dat varios nexus, et justo dividit orbes Ordine, neglectam partem studiosa relinquens. 1472. Typhaonia's cave] Apollonius men74. To free Ixion] He, for making love to tions an ancient Typhonian petra in the hollows Juno, and boasting afterwards that he had dis of the mountain. It was an ophite temple, where honoured Jupiter, was hurled headlong by him the deity was probably worshipped under the fi-into Tartarus, and bound to a wheel, which he gure of a serpent. Hence the poet supposes the serpent, with which Jason engages, to have been produced in those parts. Bryant's Myth. 1497. Where Saturn first fair Philyra] Saturn, to avoid being discovered by his wife Ops, while he was engaged with Philyra his mistress, turned himself into a beautiful horse. Chiron, the famous Centaur, was the son of this nymph Philyra. 1547. Where on an oak] The Greek here, and at v. 1399, is devic; but at v. 534 the word is so, a beech: both which trees bearing mast, tacy may perhaps be indiscriminately used. NOTES TO BOOK III. 2. AND teach thy poet Erato,] Apollonius with Freat propriety invokes Erato, the Muse who presided over love affairs. For this book contains the loves of Medea and Jason, and abounds with the most beautiful sentiments descriptive of the tender passion. Virgil's invocation of Erato, Nunc age, qui reges, Erato, &c. is a transcript of Apollonius, E♪ave vüv, 'Ejarw', &c. Virgil seems to have copied our poet in this instance, at the expence of his judgment: for it is difficult to assign a reason for his invocation of this Muse, when he was doomed to turn without intermission. 79. As o'er the world I stray'd] It was the opinion of the ancients, that the gods frequently assumed the human shape. Thus Homer, Odyss xvii. 485. They (curious oft of mortal actions) deign Just and unjust recording in their mind, summo delabor Olympo, Et Deus humanâ lustro sub imagine terras. Ov. Met. 1. 1. year. Homer has the same expression, Il. xxiii. - At Venus obscuro gradientes aere sepsit. 251. The Pleiads set or rose] The Pleiades are said to be the daughters of Atlas by the nymph Pleione. They were seven in number. Their name is derived, either from their mother, or their number, or, more probably, from the Greek word, which signifies to sail. They are called in Latin Vergiliæ, from the vernal season when they rise. They rise about the vernal equinox, and set in autumn. See a further account of them in the note on v. 448. b. ii. 260. Phlegræan war] The battle between the gods and giants is supposed to have been fought at Phlegra, near Pallene, in Thessaly. 299. Athamas's fancied wealth to gain] These sons of Phrixus and Chalciope had sailed from Colchis to Orchomenos, a city of Bocotia, to receive the inheritance of their grandfather Athamas. 327. As some good housewife] Virgil seems to have copied this simile from Apollonius. Æn. viii. v. 408. What time the poor, laborious frugal dame, 356. On Mars's isle] One of those islands called the Strophades, in the lonian sea. 387. The fierce Sarmatians] The Sarmatians, or Sauromatæ, were Scythians, who dwelt in the country that lies between the river Tanais and the Borysthenes. 413. Had ye not first my feast partook] The table was looked upon by the ancients as a sacred thing; and a violation of the laws of hospitality was esteemed the highest profanation imaginable. 562. A maiden dwells] Virgil's description of the Massylian priestess is taken from this passage: Hæc se carminibus promittit Sistere aquam fluviis, et vertere sidera retro; Nocturnosque ciet manes: mugire videbis Sub pedibus terram, et descendere montibus Æn. 1. iv. 487. 705. Whom her friends had join'd ornos. In marriage] The chief power of disposing of their daughters in marriage, even among the heathens, was in their parents, without whose consent it was not held lawful. Thus Hermione in Euripides: Νυμφευμάτων δὲ ἐτῶν μῶν πατὴρ ἐμὸς 797. Now rising shades] Here Dr. Broome's translation begins, and continues to v. 1087; but not without considerable omissions which are supplied. Virgil has copied this exquisite description from our author. Both the poets describe minutely the profound calm and stillness of the night, in order to render the agonies of the restless heroines more affecting by such a contrast. It is impossible to give us a more lively idea of their restless situation, than by representing it in opposition to that general tranquillity which prevails through the whole creation. The silence of the night, which disposes others to rest, serves but to increase their anguish, and to swell the tumult of their passion. 'Twas night; and weary with the toils of day, Pitt. That sudden and beautiful transition at the close of the description, At non infelix animi Phænissa, is copied with the utmost exactness from the correspondent line in our poet, ̓Αλλὰ μάλ' & Μήδειαν ἐπὶ γλυκερὸς λάβεν υύτνος. S13. As from the stream-stor'd vase] Virgil has imitated this simile. Æn. viii. 22. Sicut aquæ tremulum, &c. So from a brazen vase the trembling stream 911. This plant which rough Caucasean mountains bore] Caucasus is called by Propertius, b. i. el. 12. the Promethean mountain; because the magic herbs, for which it was famous, were said to have sprung out of the blood of Prometheus. An quæ Lecta Prometheis dividet herba jugis. Potter. 935. As when her limbs divine] We meet with this simile in the sixth book of Homer's Odyssey, who applies it to Nausicaa sporting with her fair attendants in the meads. Virgil applies the same simile to Dido, walking in the midst of the city, their country was plentifully supplied with these commodities. with the Tyrian princes. See Pope's note on v. 117. Od. vi. Some of the critics have thought that no passage has been more unhappily copied by Virgil from Homer, than this comparison. But it should seem from some circumstances in his simile, that the Roman poet rather imitated this passage of Apollonius, than that of Homer. 936. The Amnesian waves] or, rather, Amni-logical accounts all genealogy must be entirely sion, according to Callimachus: - Αμνίσίδας εἴκοσι νύμφας. They were so named from Amnisus, a city and river of Crete. 988. And croaking, thus Saturnia's mind express'd] Some birds were of use in divination by the manner and direction of their flight; others by the sounds they uttered; these were called oscines, of which kind were crows. Oscinem corvum prece suscitabo Solis ab ortu. Hor. od. xxvii. 1. 3. 1005. Meanwhile the maid] No poet has succeeded better in any description than Apollonius has in the following. The anxiety with which Medea expects the arrival of Jason, expressed by her inattention and aversion to every other object, by her directing her eyes every way in search of him, and by her trembling at every breeze, are admirable strokes of nature. The appearance of Jason, flushed with all the bloom of youth, advancing hastily towards her, like the star, to which he is compared, rising from the ocean; the embarrassment which his presence occasions, the silent admiration in which they stand gazing at each other, like two tall trees in a calm, are particulars which none but the imagination of a real poet could have put together, and can never be sufficiently admired. 1099. The following night in equal shares divide] We have here a curious account of the ceremonies made use of in their sacrifices to the infernal deities. Hecate, the same with the Moon or Diana, was so called, either from her being appeased by hecatombs, or from the power she possessed of obliging those who were unburied to wander a hundred years. Virgil applies to her the epithet of ter geminam, and Horace that of triformis. She was called in Heaven Luna, or the Moon, on Earth Diana, and in Hell Proserpina, Hecate, and Brimo from her terrifying appear ance. It seems extraordinary that Diana, who is the goddess of chastity, should be represented as dispensing her favourable influence in illicit amours. But the mythologists inform us, that Diana and Venus are but one and the same divinity. The scholiast on Theocritus, Id. ii. says, that it was customary, among the ancients, for the men to implore the Sun, and women the Moon in their amours. Cicero, speaking of three Dianas, observes, that the first was thought to be the mother of winged Cupid. De Nat. Deor. 1. 3. 1095. With honey, sweetest labour of the bees] Honey was a favourite ingredient with the ancients in their oblations to the gods, whether of Heaven or Hell. Homer, in his hymn to Mercury calls it Θεῶν ̓ηδείων ἐδωδήν. Bees and honey are subjects which the Greek poets are particularly fond of introducing; and 1155. Where from Prometheus good Deucalion came] Apollonius Rhodius, according to the common opinion, supposes Deucalion to have been a native of Greece, the son of Prometheus, the son of Japetus: but in these ancient mytho disregarded. He represents him as the first of men, through whom religious rites were renewed, cities built, and civil polity established in the world; none of which circumstances are applicable to any king of Greece. We are assured by Philo, that Deucalion was Noah. Bryant. 1245. This baneful monster was by Cadmus slain] Upon the report of the rape of Europa, her father, Agenor, sent every where in search of her, and ordered his son Cadmus not to return home till he had found her. Cadmus having traversed a part of Greece without gaining any information of her, settled in Boeotia, where he built the city of Thebes. Having sent his associates into a grove, consecrated to Mars, to fetch water, a serpent, which guarded the place, devoured them. Cadmus, to revenge their death, slew the monster; from whose teeth, which he had sown, a body of armed men sprung up. This is the fabulous account to which Apollonius alludes. No colony, says Mr. Bryant, could settle any where, and build an orphite or serpent temple, but there was supposed to have been a contention betwixt a hero and a dragon. Cadmus was described in conflict with such an one at Thebes. 1247. An heifer to his seat] was relates properly to divine influence, and won is an oracle. An ox or cow was by the Amonians esteemed very sacred and oracular. Cadinus was accordingly said to be directed πομπή βοός. Bryant. 1285. Amaranthine Phasis] This river is supposed to have derived its source from a nation of that name. The poet, in describing the effects of this infernal evocation, has heaped together with great judgment, and in the true spirit of poetry, every circumstance that is capable of exciting terrour and astonishment. troduces his heroes on the plains of Mars with 1288. And now on Caucasus] Apollonius inthe utmost pomp and magnificence, thus artfully preparing us for the solemnities of the ensuing combat, on which the fate of Jason depends. NOTES TO BOOK IV. 1. O GODDESS] The first and second books contain, as we have seen, the voyage of the Argonauts to Colchis. In the book we are now entering upon, the poet has given us an account of the route they took on their return. And in order to throw the utmost variety into his poem, he has conducted them to Greece by a way altogether new and unknown. He makes them sail up the Ister, and by an arm of that river, to the Fridanus, and from thence to the Rhone. Apollonius's geography is in many instances, very exceptionable. The licence which poets are allowed, quidlibet audendi, is his best excuse for inaccu |