DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.9261#0249
PHOSEON Lib. XIV.
Reddentemque fuo jam regia jura Quiriti
Abfiulit Iliaden, corpus mortale per auras
Dilapfum tenues: ceu lataplumbeafunda 825
JMiffa folet medio glans intabefcere coelo.
Fulchra fubit fades, & puhinaribus altis
Dignior, & qualis trabeati forma Quirini.
Flebat, ut amiffum conjux >• cum regia Juno
Irin ad Herfdiam defendere limit e curvo 8 go
Imperat: & <vacuae fua fic mandata referre.
O & de Latia, 0 £f de gente Sabina
Fraecipuum, matrona, decus digniffima tanti
Antefuijfe<viri> conjux nunc ejfe Quirini;
Sifte tuos fetus: £f, fi tibi cur a mdendi 855
Conjugis efi , duce me lucum pete, colle Quirino
Qui viret, £tf templum Romani regis obum-
brat.
Faret: €f in terr am piBos delapfa per arcus ,
Herfdiam jufjis compellat <vocibus Iris.
Ilia uerecundo vix tollens lumma <vultu, 840
O Dea, ( namque mihi, nec quae fs dicere
promtum efi;
Et liquet effe Deam ) due, 0 due, inquit: €f offer
Conjugis or a mihi. quae fi modo poffe videre
Fata femel dederint; coelum accepiffe fatebor.
JSTec mora, Romuleos cum virgine Thauman-
tea 845"
Jngreditur colles. ibi fidus ab aethere lapfum
Decidit in terras: a cujus lumine fagrans
Herfdiae crinis cum fidere cejfit in auras.
Mane manibus notis Romanae conditor urbis
Excipit: & prifcum pariter cum corpore no-
men 850
Mutat; Oramque cuocat; quae nunc T)ea
juntfa Quirino efi.
33
33
33
33
33
PHOSES. Book XIV. 491
E'er long the Goddels of the Nuptial Bed , }
With Pity mov'd, fends Iris in her Stead \.
To (ad Berfilia— Thus the Meteor Maid: — ^
,, Chaft RelicT:! in bright Truth to Heav'n
ally'd,
„ The Salomes Glory, and the Sex's Pride;
Honour'd on Earth, and worthy of the Love
Of fuch a Spoufe, as now refides above,
,, Some Relpite to thy killing Griefs afford*
And if thou would'ft once more behold thy
Lord,
Retire to yon fteep Mount, with Groves o'er-
lpread,
Which with an awful Gloom his Temple fhade".
With Fear the modeft Matron lifts her Eyes,
And to the bright Embaffadrels replies: —
„ O Goddefs, yet to mortal Eyes unknown,
But fure thy various Charms confefs thee one:
O quick to Romulus thy Votreis bear, ]
„ With Looks of Love he'll fmile away my Care, t
„ In what-e'er Orb he fhines, my Heav'n is j
there "5 j
Then haftes with Iris to the holy Grove,
And up the mount Quirinal as they move,
A lambent Flame glides downward thro' the Air,
And brightens with a Blaze Herflias Hair.
Together on the bounding Ray they rife,
And flioot a Gleam of Light along the Skies.
With op'ning Arms Quirinus met his Bride,
Now Or a nam'd, and prefs'd her to his Side.
EXPLICATION OF THE XIV. XV & XVI. FABLES.
Since the Fable of Iphis's hanging himfelf for his
Miftrefs's Infenfibihty , contains no particular
Event that is worthy of Remark, we rauft have Re-
courfe to the general Rule I delivered above. Some
Poet of thofe Times who writ of that Adventure,
chofe the Metamorphofis of a Rock, to fignify her In-
fenfibihty. This is juft fuch another Piece of Wit as
That of a Modern Poet, who transformed h isPhil-
lis's Eyes into Stars.
Petronius, in fpeaking of Poetry, puts this Diffe-
rence between a Poet & an Hiftonan. Non enim res
gejla verjibus comprehendenda funt, quod longe melius
hiftorici faciunt ,fed per ambages, Tieorumque minifte-
ria,& fabulofum fententiarum tormentum,praecipitan-
dus eji liber fpiritus , ut potius furentis animi vatici-
natio appareat, quam religiofa orationis fub teftibus
jides. The Poet muft give a loofe to his Imagination,
and full of a Divine Fury, hurry himfelf thro' By-
Ways, fubject the very Gods to his Fancy, and af-
pire rather to the Infpiration of a Prophet, than con-
fine himfelf to a faithful Narration & Afcertaining
of Fads already paft, which is the Characf er of an
Hiftorian. This is what Ovid has put in Practice in
the Story we are now explaining. He relates a Fa£t
that was well known in Roman Hiftory ; but not
without mixing the Sublime which is neceffary to raife
Poetry. The Sabines enter Rome; but the Queen of
Heaven muft come down to open the Gates for them.
They ingage the Romans near the Temple of Janus:
The Nymphs of the Place, at Venus's Requeft, pour
forth Rivers of Flame, which oblige them to retire.
Thus their Opinion of Juno's Hatred to ^Eneas, from
whom the Romans made themfelves defcend, being
wreaked on his Pofterity, was a perpetual Source of
the Marvellous & Sublime , in the fimplcft Events.
Homer who was the firft Inventor of the Fadrion among
the Gods about the Greeks & Trojans, has been fol-
lowed by the other Poets. Not to mention fuch Inftances
as That I have juft been fpeaking of, Virgil (i),in re-
counting how Troy had been taken, makes Juno fic
on the Sccean Gate inviting the Enemy to enter j
while
(1) Mneld, Lib. It.
G g 3
Reddentemque fuo jam regia jura Quiriti
Abfiulit Iliaden, corpus mortale per auras
Dilapfum tenues: ceu lataplumbeafunda 825
JMiffa folet medio glans intabefcere coelo.
Fulchra fubit fades, & puhinaribus altis
Dignior, & qualis trabeati forma Quirini.
Flebat, ut amiffum conjux >• cum regia Juno
Irin ad Herfdiam defendere limit e curvo 8 go
Imperat: & <vacuae fua fic mandata referre.
O & de Latia, 0 £f de gente Sabina
Fraecipuum, matrona, decus digniffima tanti
Antefuijfe<viri> conjux nunc ejfe Quirini;
Sifte tuos fetus: £f, fi tibi cur a mdendi 855
Conjugis efi , duce me lucum pete, colle Quirino
Qui viret, £tf templum Romani regis obum-
brat.
Faret: €f in terr am piBos delapfa per arcus ,
Herfdiam jufjis compellat <vocibus Iris.
Ilia uerecundo vix tollens lumma <vultu, 840
O Dea, ( namque mihi, nec quae fs dicere
promtum efi;
Et liquet effe Deam ) due, 0 due, inquit: €f offer
Conjugis or a mihi. quae fi modo poffe videre
Fata femel dederint; coelum accepiffe fatebor.
JSTec mora, Romuleos cum virgine Thauman-
tea 845"
Jngreditur colles. ibi fidus ab aethere lapfum
Decidit in terras: a cujus lumine fagrans
Herfdiae crinis cum fidere cejfit in auras.
Mane manibus notis Romanae conditor urbis
Excipit: & prifcum pariter cum corpore no-
men 850
Mutat; Oramque cuocat; quae nunc T)ea
juntfa Quirino efi.
33
33
33
33
33
PHOSES. Book XIV. 491
E'er long the Goddels of the Nuptial Bed , }
With Pity mov'd, fends Iris in her Stead \.
To (ad Berfilia— Thus the Meteor Maid: — ^
,, Chaft RelicT:! in bright Truth to Heav'n
ally'd,
„ The Salomes Glory, and the Sex's Pride;
Honour'd on Earth, and worthy of the Love
Of fuch a Spoufe, as now refides above,
,, Some Relpite to thy killing Griefs afford*
And if thou would'ft once more behold thy
Lord,
Retire to yon fteep Mount, with Groves o'er-
lpread,
Which with an awful Gloom his Temple fhade".
With Fear the modeft Matron lifts her Eyes,
And to the bright Embaffadrels replies: —
„ O Goddefs, yet to mortal Eyes unknown,
But fure thy various Charms confefs thee one:
O quick to Romulus thy Votreis bear, ]
„ With Looks of Love he'll fmile away my Care, t
„ In what-e'er Orb he fhines, my Heav'n is j
there "5 j
Then haftes with Iris to the holy Grove,
And up the mount Quirinal as they move,
A lambent Flame glides downward thro' the Air,
And brightens with a Blaze Herflias Hair.
Together on the bounding Ray they rife,
And flioot a Gleam of Light along the Skies.
With op'ning Arms Quirinus met his Bride,
Now Or a nam'd, and prefs'd her to his Side.
EXPLICATION OF THE XIV. XV & XVI. FABLES.
Since the Fable of Iphis's hanging himfelf for his
Miftrefs's Infenfibihty , contains no particular
Event that is worthy of Remark, we rauft have Re-
courfe to the general Rule I delivered above. Some
Poet of thofe Times who writ of that Adventure,
chofe the Metamorphofis of a Rock, to fignify her In-
fenfibihty. This is juft fuch another Piece of Wit as
That of a Modern Poet, who transformed h isPhil-
lis's Eyes into Stars.
Petronius, in fpeaking of Poetry, puts this Diffe-
rence between a Poet & an Hiftonan. Non enim res
gejla verjibus comprehendenda funt, quod longe melius
hiftorici faciunt ,fed per ambages, Tieorumque minifte-
ria,& fabulofum fententiarum tormentum,praecipitan-
dus eji liber fpiritus , ut potius furentis animi vatici-
natio appareat, quam religiofa orationis fub teftibus
jides. The Poet muft give a loofe to his Imagination,
and full of a Divine Fury, hurry himfelf thro' By-
Ways, fubject the very Gods to his Fancy, and af-
pire rather to the Infpiration of a Prophet, than con-
fine himfelf to a faithful Narration & Afcertaining
of Fads already paft, which is the Characf er of an
Hiftorian. This is what Ovid has put in Practice in
the Story we are now explaining. He relates a Fa£t
that was well known in Roman Hiftory ; but not
without mixing the Sublime which is neceffary to raife
Poetry. The Sabines enter Rome; but the Queen of
Heaven muft come down to open the Gates for them.
They ingage the Romans near the Temple of Janus:
The Nymphs of the Place, at Venus's Requeft, pour
forth Rivers of Flame, which oblige them to retire.
Thus their Opinion of Juno's Hatred to ^Eneas, from
whom the Romans made themfelves defcend, being
wreaked on his Pofterity, was a perpetual Source of
the Marvellous & Sublime , in the fimplcft Events.
Homer who was the firft Inventor of the Fadrion among
the Gods about the Greeks & Trojans, has been fol-
lowed by the other Poets. Not to mention fuch Inftances
as That I have juft been fpeaking of, Virgil (i),in re-
counting how Troy had been taken, makes Juno fic
on the Sccean Gate inviting the Enemy to enter j
while
(1) Mneld, Lib. It.
G g 3