1805.] Epigrams, Fragments^ l^c from the Greek. 



405 



young and beautiful bride a' Chalcis, in 

 Eu^oea, and then, being at acked unawares 

 ill the midft of hisdiffipat.on, fuffered a to- 

 tal defeat, and wa» driven with his fpoufe 

 into 3 wrefched and ignominious exile. 



Democrifus condemned the paflion of 

 lovc, which he confidered as a difeaCe of 

 the mind, and called it an epilc, fy— 

 Hippocrates is faid o have defined it by 

 the lan)e term. Yet Demccri-us him- 

 feif muft have been ftrangely troubled 

 by that difeafe, if, as is ia I, in order to 

 avoid t.e dangerous impreffions which the 

 fight of female charnns made on his ima- 

 gioation, ami which iiitraftea his houghts 

 and interrupteii his philoiophy, he put out 

 bis own eyes. Tiie reply of Arilt-tle to 

 one who afked him " VVhy msn love that 

 which is beau ifii! ?'* is well known — " It 

 is the qutlUon of a blind man," 



A molt elegant little poem on the in. 

 fluence of be uty, by liie Iiifh bard Caro- 

 lan, is prefcrvcd in Mils Brooke's " Ri- 

 liqnes of Iiifh Poetry." It conduces 

 thus (for the poet was, like Homer, 

 blind) : 



" E'en he whofe haplefs eyes no ray 

 Adniit from Beauty's cheering day, 

 Yet, though hecannotyje the light. 

 He feels ic warm, and knows it bright." 



Ver\u8 was held by the ancien's to be 

 no lefs arbitrary in her proceedings on 

 earth than her f n, Inilancesof her re- 

 venge on thofe who veie indiicreet enough 

 to offend or to r.cglect her occur trequeiit- 

 ly in tlie Hea'h.-n inyrliol&ijy. On ac. 

 count of the wound (he received from the 

 impioua hr^nd of Diomtde, his wife /Egi- 

 alsea 'uiidtnly hecame the iTuft abandoned 

 of her ftx. She punifiied Tyndarus, tor 

 omitting h^r in the facrifices he offered to 

 all the g'lds, by the adulteries and crimes 

 of Helen and ClytsEmntftra. Ev n the 

 Mufes, whofe refiftance of her charms is 

 quite proverbial, were n >t fafe fiom her 

 vengeance. For when the unfiitui.ate 

 Clio remorftrated with the gay g'ddcfs on 

 her iattrc urfe with Adon;s, (he fo in- 

 flamed her mind in return for her pre- 

 • fumption. that (he yielded lo the ad- 

 vances of Picrus the Ion of Magnes, and 

 became ?n unmarried m<ther. The epi- 

 gram which I iiitroduced in -* fonutr pa- 

 per (" When Vtnus bade 'he Mules to 

 obey," &c.), is n- 1 ftricUy julf j and in- 

 deed Montaigne f;ys he ciiuiot im.igine 

 who could let tne Mules at vananr- will; 

 Venus j '< F r I know no deities that tally 

 better, or are more indebted to one an- 

 other." And fuch is the liiain of Bion. 



Tai Moiirai tov jfoiT* T»v ayfiov a <p(iptonai. 

 Love is no terror to the Muf^-^ 



His path with foul-felt joy (he treads ; 



But with abhorrence flies, and dreads. 

 When one, untun'd to love, purfues. 



The fwain who his love-tortur'd heart 

 Soothes with the fweetiy pleafing lyre^ 

 Soon draws the iwift Pierian choir 



To aid his (^rain, and crown his art. 



When gods or heroes I would (ing, 



Myfaultering tongue obeys n-j more ; 

 But wnen to love the fong I pour. 

 Flows without chtcktli' exhauftlefs faring. 



I have mentioncrd an antique gem in 

 which the goddefs of beauty is reprclc-nted 

 h' Iding a wreathe of n-ffts in her hand, 

 and have fufficiendy illultrated it from fe- 

 ver. 1 epigrams. In a Colleifion of 

 Fie'.jied Gems pubiilhed by Mr. Ogle, 

 there are two prefervcd wliich le^refent 

 her bathing and riling from the bath.— 

 This fubje :• was indeed eq'.iallv c im^nnn 

 among iheir artifts and poets. In wirm 

 jcoiintries the bath has been always hell as 

 one ot tie firft 1 .xiiries of life, or raih r it 

 is in itfelf nectffiry to fufififtence ; and 

 luxury, in the mere rf(in-d a^es < f foc;ety, 

 combined with it all the elegancies 's-nl de- 

 licacies ot art. In Hom.'r's Hjmn to Ve- 

 nus the bath make a very principal fea- 

 ture in the beauiKildelcripf.orihe gives of 

 h. r preparations for the metiin? with An- 

 chifrs. The Gracfs attend en her, 

 anoin? her with fiag^rnnt and immortal 

 oil, and at lait enfohl htrr limbs in the 

 lovelieit robe* ornamented with gold. — . 

 The fame ceremony occurs in the OdvlT^y 

 towards the cojirlifion cf the Song of De- 

 modocus. Htnce ttie n-.olt beautiful and 

 colfly baths had frsqurntly nfci i))tion» 

 upon them, alludirg to tiie GoJdefs of 

 Beauty. 



'h TuIov KuSspEiav iJwp tiksv. 

 Or from this fount, a joyous birth, 

 Thr Oiiei n of Beauty rofe to earth, 

 Or hcdv'nly V^enus, bathing, gave 

 Her ov.i) quintdVciice to the wave. 



The following tranflation of an elegant 

 thought of Marianus I have taken from 

 the work above alluded to : 



M>jT2()a KuTrpiv IXus-EV Epaif. 

 As in this b ith LoVi walh'd the Cyprian Dame, 

 H.3 torih tlie Wdtfr tiiig'J with fubtle flame; 

 An.l wliile his bufy hun.i his mother laves, 

 Anibroful dews enrich the filver waves, 

 And all the unduUtinj; b'fon fill ; 

 Such dews as her celelbal liii.bs diftil. 

 Hince how oclicious float thefc tepid ftreamsl 

 ■ What rofy od.mis ! what ncdlareaii ftreams ! 

 So pure the watrr, and fo foft the air. 

 It lecins ai if the Go-dcfs (till were there. 

 {To be continued.) 



T* 



