141 



employed his fublirae, but verfatile genius, ftooped, at times, to unbend 

 hirafelf, with the erotic mufe. It is to be obferved, that he lived full 

 two generations later than Alcman, and that the ifland of which he 

 was a native, flouri{hed, in commerce and wealth. It had a number 

 of famous and opulent cities,* and was the abode of pleafure, or rather 

 of unreftrained licentioufnefs. Lejbos produced a fucceffion of men of 

 genius, who tranfmitted to each other the honour, of excelling the other na- 

 lives of Greece, in the art of mufic. Sappho was alfo a native of the ifland, 

 and cotemporary with Akaus, who is faid, to have been infpired 

 with a paffion for her. It is not wonderful, that poetical genius, 

 infpiring the tender bofom of a female, foft and empaihoned, like 

 that of Sappho, and follered, and cheriflied, by the voluptuous air 

 of a bland and delicious climate, and the foft fafcination of that abode 

 of pleafure, and licenfe, where every thing around breathed the indul- 

 gence of fenfe, and amorous delight, fhould have produced the mofl 

 lively and affefting defcriptions of the emotions of love. Nor was this 

 charming talent confined, among females, to Sappho: the fair fex in 

 Greece, feems about this time, to have been very generally infpired. 

 The learned Oleariiis has written a differtation, on the poetefles of an- 

 tiquity ; and their number, according to him, is very confiderable ! 

 Nine of them, in particular, equal in number to the Mufes, and wor- 

 thy of being compared to them, emulated the reputation of the beft 

 poets of the other fex ; their names were Sappho, Myrtis, Prexilla, 

 Erinna, Corinna, No/fis, Myro, Telefilla and Anyta. They are all re- 

 corded, in the following verfes of Antipater, 



npij^iAAai', (/X^b.'f Aiivini rcp-«, ■&y,ALv Oy.rjfov 



H^ivt'^K, Ti\i.(ji>XGcs ccyctKXiay nut c-;"j Kocmxf 



Noacrtda SvihvyXucra-oy, i^i yXt-xVCC-^ECc (AiSiiV 

 Ua.c'cia- ^ccevvciuy i^-ycui^a; ri?.i^uv,' 

 E>«a ^Ec fAttrjcff- f^iyac-' a^cc-^^, nvta.^* avlcta* 

 Tata Ity.i •&t'«1o»; cc(p^iloy ivip^ao-vyviv. 



"As Mitylenej Pyrrha, Methymnay Are/hat Erejfus^ and Aniiffa. 



Thefe 



