120

Part of the Yoke on his bent Neck he wears,
And Part the Swain, the Tears faft-ftreaming bears.
But fee! the Flow'r of all the Theban Band,
Fir'd with their Chief's Example and Command,
Appears, whofe Prowefs Mars might not despise,
Nor Pallas view their Skill but with Surprize.
Unmov'd Hippomedon the Shock withstands,
A Shield and Spear protended in his Hands;
As fome high Cliff, whose bleak and rugged Brow 125
O'erhangs the Deeps, nor fears the Surge below,
Nor storms above, but stands by both unmov'd,
Their Threats defy'd, their utmost Fury prov❜d.

̓Αλλ' ὡς τ ̓ ἐν νειῶ βόε οἴνοπε πηκτὸν ἄροτρον
Ἶσον θυμὸν ἔχοντε τιτάινετον, ἀμφὶ δ' άρα σφιν
Πρυμνοῖσιν κεράτωσι πολὺς ἀνακηκίει ίδρώς,
Τὼ μὲν τε ζυγὸν οἷον εύξοον ἄμφις ἐέργει

Ἰεμένω κατὰ ὧλκα, τέμνει δέ τε τέλσον ἀφέρης. V. 706.

V. 121. Whofe Prowess Mars might not defpife] This Distinction of Skill and Prowels cannot appear fuperfluous to any one who confiders, that Valour tempered with Prudence was the characteristical Property of Pallas, and that meer brutal Courage only was attributed to Mars.

v. 125. As fome high Cliff] Virgil and Taffo have two Comparisons upon this Subject.

Ille, velut pelagi rupes immota, refiftit:
Ut pelagi rupes, magno veniente fragore,
Quæ fefe multis circum latrantibus undis,

Mole tenet: fcopuli nequicquam et fpumea circum
Saxa fremunt, laterique illifa refunditur alga.

Ma come alle procelle efpofto monte,
Che percoffo dai flutti al mar sovrafte,
Softien firme in fe fteffo i tuoni, e l'onte
Del ciel irato, e i venti, e l'onde vafte :

Æn. 7. v. 586.

The Repetition of Pelagi rupes adds greatly to the Merit of Virgil's; Taffo's is too confin'd to admit of any heightening Circumftances, and our Author's is fpoil'd by that unlucky Bathos at the Clofe.

E'en

E'en worsted Neptune fhuns th'unequal War,

And shatter'd Ships decline it from afar.

130

Eteocles firit ey'd the godlike Man,

And, ere he whirl'd his Javelin, thus began,

Say, are ye not afham'd to war in Sight

Of Heav'n, for one whofe Deeds difgrace the Fight.

Is it fuch Merit, fuch Renown to fave

135

A favage Monster's Relicks for the Grave?

Left unlamented, uninterr'd he lie,

And his Corfe rot beneath a foreign Sky?
Difmifs your Cares: nor Beafts nor Birds of Prey
Will drink his Gore, and bear his Flesh away;
Nay, should his Corfe to Vulcan's Rage be doom'd,
The pious Flames would leave it unconfum'd.
He ceas'd, and flung a Javelin, which the Brafs
Forbade beyond the iecond Orb to pass.
Then Pheres, and the vig'rous Lycus threw.
Short of its Aim the Dart of Pberes flew;

140

145

While that of vig'rous Lycus lightly graz'd
The nodding Helm with sculptur'd Forms imblaz’d.
Cleft by the Point, the Crefts afunder fled,

And thro' the Cafque appear'd his naked Head.

150

Astounded with the Stroke, he dares not fly,

Nor on his own Defence alone rely;

But wherefoe'er he turns the Corfe he views,

And standing or advancing; ftill pursues
That for his Object, nor to aim a Blow,
Defifts to watch the Motions of the Foe.

Not thus, with all a Mother's Fury ftung,

155

The lowing Heifer guards her first-born Young.

v. 159. Not thus with all a Mother's] This Defcription of the Conceft for the Body of Tydeus is imitated from that over the Body

of

160

When the gaunt Wolf her ftraw-built Fortress storms;
A Circle, wheeling, with her Horns fhe forms,
And dauntless foams, nor mindful of her Sex,
With more than female Rage the War expects.
At length the Cloud of flying Javelins o'er,
The Weapons to their Owners they restore.

Firft Sicyonian Alcon lent his Aid,

165

And with him brought from Pifan Ida's Shade

A Troop of Youths.-On these the Chief relies,

And hurls a Beam against his Enemies.

Swift as a Shaft the Ruin wings its Way

Across the Field, nor knowing of Delay,

170

A Paffage thro' the Shield of Mopfus broke,

And fell'd Polites with a fudden Stroke.

At Cydon and Phalanthus then he threw,

And Eryx, wounded through his Helmet, flew,
Whilft in the Search of Weapons back he turn'd, 175
Nor fearing Death, with Hopes of Conqueft burn'd:~
As quiv'ring in his Jaws the Lance he views,

In Death's last Anguish the tough Wood he chews,
While mix'd with Murmurs, gufh'd the purple Spring,
And on the Point his Teeth all loosen'd ring.
Leonteus, hid behind his focial Band,

Forth from the Rank advanc'd his trembling Hand,

180

of Patroclus in the 17th Book of the Iliad, though diverfified with many additional Circumftances: and this elegant Comparison is paraphrased from one in the Beginning of the above-mentioned Book. Οὐδ ̓ ἔλαθ ̓ Ατρέα τον αρηίφιλον Μενέλαον

Πάτροκλο. Τρώει δαμεις εν δηϊοτήτι·

Βῆ δὲ αλα προμάχων κεκορυθμένα αίθοπι χαλκω
̓Αμφὶ δ ̓ ἂρ αύτω βαῖν, ὡς τις περὶ πόρτακι μήτηρ
Πρωτοτόκω κινωτή, κ πρὶν εἰδια τόκοιο

Ως περὶ Πατρόκλω βαῖνε ξανθά Μενέλα.

And

And feizing by the Hair, in Queft of Prey,
Effay'd to draw the Warriors Corse away.
Hippomedon the Daftard's Aim defcries,

And though from ev'ry Quarter Dangers rife,
Sheer from his Arm the guilty Hand divides
With his keen Blade, and thus infulting chides..
Be this thy Punishment, vile Wretch, and know,
'Tis Tydeus, Tydeus gives the wrathful Blow:
Henceforth the Relics of the dead revere,
And the Revenge of breathlefs Heroes fear
Thrice did the Thebans bear away the flain,
And thrice the Grecian Phalanx did regain.
As in a Storm on the Sicilian Main

185

190

An anxious Veffel wanders (whilst in vain
The Pilot struggles with the driving Wind)
And measures back the Space fhe left behind.
Nor then, repuls'd by countless Enemies,
Hippomedon had quitted his Emprize,
Tho' their loud-thund'ring Engines interpos'd,
The total Force of Thebes had with him clos'd,
And cover'd with join'd Shields their banded Pow'rs,
(A Mode of Fight the Bane of lofty Tow'rs)
But the fell Fury, mindful of her Lord,
And Tydeus' Rage detefted and abhorr'd,

v. 190. Tis Tydeus, Tydeus gives the wrathful]
-Pallas te hoc vulnere, Pallas

Immolat, & pænam fcelerato ex fanguine fumit.

195

200

205

v. 193. Thrice did the Thebans] Statius in this Paffage had an Eye to the following Lines in the Iliad.

Τρὶς μὲν μιν μετόπισθε ποδῶν λάβε φαίδιμος Εκτωρ,

Ελκέμεναι μεμαώς, μέγα δὲ τρώεισιν ὁμόκλα.

Τρὶς δὲ δύο Αἴαντες θᾶριν ἐπιεσμένοι αλκὴν,

Νεκρό απετυφέλιξαν·

v. 205. But the fell Fury] This Piece of Machinery is very well conducted, and the Defcription of Tifiphone full of that fublime

Invades by Stealth the Centre of the Field,
Transform'd her Person, and her Garb conceal'd.
Both Hofts perceiv'd her, and thro' Horfe and Man
The dewy Sweat of fudden Horror ran:
Though her stern Face relax'd into a Smile,
Halys fhe fhews, to carry on the Guile.

The Snakes defift to hifs at her Command

;

210

Nor Scourge, nor Torch obfcene was in her Hand.
Array'd in Arms, and bland in Voice and Look, 215
Befide Hippomedon her Stand fhe took;

Yet, while her artful Tale the Warrior heard,
He fear'd her Looks, and wonder'd why he fear'd.
To whom, diffolv'd in Tears, the Fury said:
Illuftrious Hero, vain is all thine Aid
To guard the Bodies scatter'd on the Plain,
(But, are we anxious for th' unburied Slain ?)
Behold, incompass'd by a barb'rous Throng,
The great, the good Adraftus drag'd along!
In Preference to all the Grecian Band.

On thee he calls, and beckons with his Hand.
I faw him fall (a Scene scarce to be borne)
The Crown from off his hoary Temples torn.
Not far from hence he toils.-Direct thine Eyes,
Where thick in Air the Clouds of Duft arife.
Pond'ring at this a while the Warrior stands,
And weighs his Fears, the Fury reprimands.
Why doft thou hefitate? fay, do we go,
Or yield the Dead and Living to the Foe?

220

225

230

Imagery, which conftitutes the chief Beauty of heroic Poefy: the Gods, Goddeffes, and other fupernatural Deities very often are introduced in this Manner, and in particular there is one Inftance of it in the 13th Book of the Iliad, where Neptune in the Form of Calchas, infpirits the two Ajaxes to continue the Battle; from whence, I prefume, this was taken.

He