and not moved by ftorms and tempefts. fore, V. 245, fpeaking of a haven, Interior medias finus invitatus in Edes Tibullus, II. vI. 27. So be Claudit et indomitum moles mare, lentus ut intra Calm and ftagnating waters are a thousand times. called by the poets, pigræ, inertes, defides. Martial, Epigr. IX. 101. Multum, crede mihi, refert, à fonte bibatur, Ver. 453. In Volaterranum verò vada nomine traum For Incertus Caftalio reads Incertas; Barthius Infertus. "The fea being here, in most parts of it, not deep enough, that part which is navigable is marked out by pofts fixed in the water, between which ships may pafs: and this way being often covered with fea-weed, they have faftened great laurel branches to the top of the pofts, to ferve as a guide." This is what the poet means. I fancy, therefore, that he wrote, Incertas gemina difcriminat arbore fauces, "Incertas;" that is, incertas futuras, fine hoc indice. By femita clara, in the mapQavns, ealy to be feen. laft line, he means Vero, in the first line, fhould not be taken for an adverb: it must be joined with nomine. Ver. 515. Affurgit Ponti medio circumfluo Gorgon, A young gentleman,-probably a friend of Rutilius, was turned Monk, and had retired into the little little ifland Gorgon, which the Monks had chosen for a place to live in. This gave Rutilius a great deal of uneafinefs, for he hated the Christians heartily, as appears from many places in this poem. Adverfus fcopulos does not feem very intelligible. I conjecture Avertor fcopulos, damni, &c. Or, averfor :-That is, "I turn away with deteftation from the Rocks of Gorgon; which put me in mind of the lofs of a friend, who was fool enough to bury himself alive there." May I fancy that our Poet had thefe lines of Virgil in his mind; En. III. 272. Effugimus fcopulos Ithaca, Laertia regna, Ver. 571. Ante diu quam Trojugenas Fortuna penates Perhaps, fedibus. Y 2 REMARKS REMARKS ΟΝ LUCIUS ANNEUS SENECA. TH PART I.* HE judgment which learned men have paffed upon Seneca has been various. This Author has beauties, which have extorted commendations from his adverfaries, and he has faults which his patrons cannot excufe or difown. Let us take a view of what has been faid againf him, and for him. The Emperor Caius profeffed his contempt of Seneca's manner of compofing: "Lenius comptiufque fcribendi genus adeo contempfit, ut Senecam tum maximè placentem, commiffiones meras componere ; et Arenam effe fine calce, diceret." Suetonius, Calig. 53. But it fignifies little what that madman faid or thought. See "The prefent State of the Republic of Letters," for Auguft, 1734. Article IX. in which thefe Remarks were first given. Quinctilian, who was certainly a good judge of compofition, has thus given us his opinion concerning Seneca: "Ex induftriâ Senecam in omni genere eloquentiæ verfatum diftuli, propter vulgatam falfo de me opinionem, qua damnare eum, et invifum quoque habere fum creditus. Quod accidit mihi, dum corruptum, et omnibus vitiis fractum dicendi genus, revocare ad feveriora judicia contendo : tum autem folus fere hic in manibus adolefcentium fuit, quem non equidem omnino conabar excutere, fed potioribus præferri non finebam, quos ille non deftiterat inceffere: cum diverfi fibi confcius generis, placere fe in dicendo poffe iis, quibus illi placerent, diffideret. Amabant autem eum magis quam imitabantur, tantumque ab illo defluebant, quantum ille ab antiquis defcenderat. Foret enim optandum, pares, aut faltem proximos illi viro fieri: fed placebat propter fola vitia, et ad ea fe quifque dirigebat effingenda, quæ poterat. Deinde cum fe jactaret eodem modo dicere, Senecam infamabat: cujus et multæ alioquin, et magnæ virtutes fuerunt, ingenium facile et copiofum, plurimum ftudii, et multa rerum cognitio, in qua tamen aliquando ab iis quibus inquirenda quædam mandabat, deceptus eft. Tractavit etiam omnem ferme ftudiorum materiam. Nam et orationes ejus, et poëmata, et epiftolæ, et dialogi feruntur. In philofophia parum diligens, egregius tamen |
