AM 



ESSAY 



ON 



THE LIFE AND WRITINGS 



OF 



O P P I A N. 



BY THE REV, WILLIAM HAMILTON DRUMMOND, 

 D.D. M.R.LA. 



Oppianum Cilicem admirabilem ilium et nunquam satis laudatura poetam. 



Tan. Faber, Epist. LXIVj 



•Read, April 26,1819. 



IN this country and in England, the name of Oppian is seldom 

 mentioned, and but very little Isnown ; yet he has not been destitute 

 of admirers, since first he recited his poems to a Roman audience, 

 and won the approbation of the emperor, to whom they were parti- 

 cularly addressed. He has been quoted by the best writers of natural 

 history, and justly praised for the elegance and truth of many of his 

 descriptions. Among the Halieutic and Cynegetic poets, he 

 deservedly holds the highest rank. His works may be considered 

 as a valuable repository of the knowledge of the ancients on the 

 subjects of hunting and fishing. I have, therefore, proposed to wi;ite 

 an essay on the life and writings of this poet, hoping that such a 



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