338 
Scimus, & hoc nobis non altius inseret Am- 
mon. 
Heremus cuncti superis, temploque tacente 
Nil agimus nisi sponte dei: non vocibus 
ullis 
Numen eget: dixitq. semel nascentibus auctor, 
Quicquid scire licet: sterileis nec legit are- 
nasy 
Ut caneret paucis, mersitque hoc pulvere ve- 
rum. 
Estne dei sedes, nisi terra, et pontus et aér, 
Et celum, et virtus? Superos quid querimus 
ultra ? 
Juppiter est, quodcunque vides, quocunque 
moveris. 
Sortilegis egeant dubiil, semperque futuris 
Casibus ancipites: me non oracula certum, 
Sed mors certa facit: pavido, fortique caden- 
dum est. 
Hoc satis est dixisse Jovem. 
We have inserted this answer at length, 
from a persuasion that it deserves to be 
remarked, as, equal, for moral sublimity, 
to any thing that can be found in any 
writer of antiquity. ; 
The portrait of Cesar, when contrasted 
with that of Pompey, in the ist book, is 
highly and honourably coloured ; but in 
‘the subsequent books we observe with re- 
gret, that Lucan, takes pleasure in de- 
Yaming the very character which he had 
at first drawn to so much advantage. 
This must be considered an exception to 
the praise which he undoubtedly deserves 
for his excellence in the exhibition of 
characters. ‘That an enthusiastic and rigid 
rep :blican should hate the man who had 
established the tyranny of Nero, may be 
conceived, and even applauded; but he 
should have contented himself with la- 
menting that the extraordinary talents and 
rare endowments of Cesar, after having 
illustrated, and served his country, had 
finally been directed against it. He 
should have considered how many cir- 
cumstances had combined to excuse, if 
not to justify, his conduct. It is evident 
that he would have been lost, had he not 
passed the Rubicon. The hatred of his 
enemies served lin as much as fortune. 
The blind partiality of the senate for 
Pompey, the weak attachment of Cicero 
for the idol be had himseif assisted to 
raise, and the stern but imprudent con- 
tempt of Cato for the voluptuous charac- 
ter of Casar, conspired to stimulate the 
latter beyond his wishes, and beyond his 
hopes. Besides, the clemency of Cesar, 
which is now proverbial, must even then 
_ have been universally known, and often 
felt. The voice of history, and the con- 
curring testimony of mankind, must have 
convinced Lucan, had he not been blind- 
Lyceum of Ancient Literature ——The Pharsalia. (Oct. 1, 
ed by his own opinions, how little Czsat 
in reality deserved his enmity and hatred, 
With what justice, then, does he repre- 
sent him as a ferocious tyrant, and a’san- 
guinary victor; does he paint him as 
delighting in carnage, coolly observing 
how the weapons of his men are more or 
less steeped in blood, as breathing only 
slaughter and destruction? Though po- 
etry may be allowed to embellish andim- 
prove, it has not the privilege of aspersing 
a known character, or of contradicting 
facts universally received. It then be- 
comes falsehood, and is no longer fiction. 
There are in the Pharsalia several 
very poetical and animated descriptions. 
But:the author’s chief strength does not. 
lie either in narration or description. His 
narration is often dry and harsh, his de- 
scriptions are often too highly coloured, 
and sometimes employed on disagreeable 
objects. His principal merit consists im 
his sentiments, which are always noble 
and striking, and expressed in that glow- 
ing and ardent style that peculiarly dis- 
tinguishes him. Lucan is the most phi- 
losophical and the most public-spinited 
of the ancient poets. He was the new 
phew of Seneca, the philosopher; was 
himself a Stoic, and the spivit of that 
philosophy breathes throughout his poem. 
We must observe, too, that he is the only 
ancient epic poet whom the subject of his 
poem really and deeply interested, He 
relates no fiction; he was a Roman, and 
had felt all the cruel consequences of 
the civil wars of Rome, and of that se- 
vere despotism which succeeded the loss 
of liberty. His high and bold spirit made 
him enter deeply into the subject, and 
kindle, on many occasions, the most rae 
tional warmth. He abounds, too, in ex= 
clamations and apostrophes, which are 
always well timed, and supported with, 
vivacity and fire that do him the highest 
honour. That we may not be suspected 
of carrying our panegyric too far, we se- 
lect a few passages in support of our opi- _ 
nion, 
Caesar having taken possession of 
Rome, is desirous of seizing the trea~ 
sures in the temple of Saturn, but is op= 
posed by a citizen. The poet then ex- 
claims, 
Usque adeo solus ferrum, mortemque timere 
Auri nescit amor! Pereant discrimine nullo 
Amissz leges; sed pars vilissima verum 
Certamen moyvistis, opes. 
Lib. 3, 1. 118. 
When the two armies are in sight, the 
soldiers of Pompey and Cesar recognize 
each 
