LUCRETIUS.

Lib. V. 1240.

Quod fupereft, as atque aurum, ferrumque repertum eft,
Et fimul argenti pondus, plumbique poteftas,
Ignis ubi ingentes filvas ardore cremárat

Montibus in magnis.

These verses want emendation: Plumbi poteftas is nonsense. Distinguish thus ;

Et fimul Argenti pondus, plumbique, Poteftas
Ignis ubi, &c.

Argenti pondus plumbique, as in Virgil, Æn. I. 363.
Argenti pondus et Auri.

Poteftas ignis expreffes the power of fire, which confumes and deftroys. We have Potentia folis, and Poteftates Herbarum, in Virgil. See before, Vol. I. Remarks on Milton, Par. Lost. XI. 564.

Ver. 1426.

At nos nil lædet vefte carere

Purpurea, atque Auro, fignifque ingentibus aptas

Rather rigentibus.

So Virgil, Æn. XI. 72.

—geminas veftes auroque oftroque rigentes.

MANÍLÍ U S.*

Lib. IV. 523.

Sed Geminos æquá cùm præfert unda tegitque
Parte, dabit ftudia, et deltas producet ad Artes:
Nec trifte ingenium, fed dulci tinta lepore
Corda creat, vocifque bonis citharæque fonantis
Inftruit, et voces læto cum pectore jungit.

The Edit. Venet. reads ver. 526, 7. thus:

Corda creat; et voce bonos, citharaque fonanti
Inftruit, et dotes alto cum pectore jungit.

• Taken from Mist. Obfervat. Vol. II. p. 145. and Vol. I. p.217.

Perhaps

Perhaps it should be, either

Or,

Corda creat, et voce bonos; citharaque fonanti
Inftruit, et cantus læto cum pectine jungit ;

Corda creat, vocemque bonos; citharaque fonanti
Inftruit, et cantus leni cum pectine jungit.

Thus Ovid, Met. XI. 316.

Nafcitur e Phabo, (namque eft enixa gemellos,)
Carmine vocali clarus, citharâque Philammon.

Quinctilian, V. 10.

"Cantus vocis plurimum juvat fociata Nervorum Concordiâ.”

Valer. Flaccus, III. 158.

-Infignem cithara cantuque fluenti

Dorcea; qui dulci feftis adfiftere menfis
Pectine.-

Statius, Theb. V. 341.

I

Mitior et fenibus cygnis et pectine Phabi

Vox:

grant that Unda, &c. v. 523. and jungit cantus cum pectine, is somewhat harfh: but the meaning of the paffage being clear, the expreffion may pafs.

VOL. II.

T

Or

Or, perhaps,

Corda creat, vocifque bonis cithar æque fonantis
Inftruit, et dotes alias-

Or, varias cum pectine jungit.

I believe this place may ftill want some alteration. Vocis in one line, and voces in the next, as first given, can hardly be right. I would read pectine instead of pectore. Voces jungere cum pectine, is the fame thing as verba chordis fociare.

These are attempts to correct a paffage, of which I am still doubtful,-and therefore leave it to better hands.

MARTIA L.*

If one were to take away from Martial all his obfcene, and all his trivial quibbling epigrams, his books would be confiderably leffened; but what remained would be very good. He is the beft verfifier of his age, and in his choice of words he exceeds all his contemporaries.

Extracted from the Mifcellan. Obfervat. Vol. I. p. 30.

He

He has many good epigrams. I fhall instance

in one,

To DOMITIAN. Lib. VI. Epigr. Iv.

Cenfor maxime, principumque Princeps,
Cùm tot jam tibi debeat triumphos,
Tot nafcentia Templa, tot renata,
Tot fpectacula, tot Deos, tot urbes ;
Plus debet tibi Roma,-quòd pudica eft.

Lib. I. Epigr. xIV.

Pætus having received orders to die, and appearing to be in fome concern, Arria stabbed herfelf, and gave him the dagger; faying, Pate, non dolet!

Cafta fuo gladium cùm traderet Arria Pato,

Quem de vifceribus traxerat ipfa fuis; "Si qua fides, Vulnus quod feci, non dolet, inquit; Sed quod tu facies, hoc mihi, Pate, dolet."

I believe it is impoffible to make a good Epigram upon this story, The words Pate, non dolet, cannot be paraphrased without losing much of their beauty. In the last line is expreffed a tenderness and fondnefs, which does not well fuit with that heroic love, fo ftrongly marked in Arria's words and behaviour.