410. Lyceum of Ancient Literaiure.—No, XXIX. [June 1; 
transformed into honey.* He was cer- 
tainly a cotemporary of Theocritus,t 
and lived about 300 years B.C. 
Moschus, from whomall our knowledge 
of Bion is derived, has left us no memo- 
rial of himself, excepting what relates to 
his connection with the other. We are 
told that the uncommon sweetness of 
Bion’s numbers attracted several adini- 
rers, among whom Moschus principally 
distinguished himself. He was a native 
of Sicily, and, according to Suidas, was 
for some time a teacher of grammar at 
Syracuse. But he appears to have writ- 
ten his epitaph on Bion during his resi- 
dence in Italy. Suidas also represents 
him as the friend of Aristarchus, the 
celebrated critic, whose death is placed 
in the year 157 B.C. But this account 
would appear to be contradicted by the 
saine elegy on Bion, where Moschus 
describes himself as the cotemporary of 
Thevcritus, who flourished some years 
before the critie of Alexandria; un- 
less indeed we assume, with Heskin, that 
Moschus, when young, may have seen 
Theocritus in his old age, and himself 
lived long enough to witness the rising 
fame of Aristarchus.~ _Weknow nothing 
of the subsequent life or death of Mos- 
chus. 
It isnot a little singular, that for some 
time Theocritus and Moschus were con- 
sidered as one and the same person. 
“The prodigious credit of Theocritus, 
(says Kennet,§)in the pastoral way, ena- 
bled him not only to engross the fame of 
his rivals, but their works too.” Hein- 
sius|| conjectures that in the time of the 
later Grecians, all the ancient idylliums 
were formed together into one collection, 
and the name of Theocritus prefixed to 
the whole volume.g And thus they ap- 
pearea in the Aldine edition, printed at 
CE ER 2G Se ee Ee Ee eS See eM, 
* log rep Tog wyELAEooE Toledpe pre xan 
EyAunayOn 5 
Tis 92 Boclis torerov avaper©-, % nEpday 
To 
“H dBvat nartoy TU paguanov, Exduyey Hoary, 
"+ See Heskin’s short account of Bion and 
Moschus, prefixed to his edition. 
t Sed tamen conciliari possunt et Moschus 
et Suidas, si proconcesso sumamus, Moschum 
juvenem Ionem Theocritum vidisse, ipsum 
autem fonem Aristarchum juvenem vidisse 
Heskin. ; 
§ Part 2, p. 77. 
|| Dan. eins. in Theoc. : 
@| Kennet quotes an epigram from the 
Anthologia as made upon this cccasion. But 
Sobweus, a Greek writer of the fifth century, 
had already rejected some of the smaller 
idylliums as not Lelonging to Theecritus. 
a 
Venice in 1594. But Moschus has suf- 
ficiently established bis own identity im 
the same elegy on the death of Bion, al- 
ready mentioned; where he introduces 
Theocritus bewailing the same misfortune 
in another country, (either Egypt or Si- 
cily) which he himself was lamenting 1n 
Italy. 
Bion and Moschus, however, have 
been always united: and such is the same- 
ness of style, sentiment, and imagery, in 
both, that the same observations will 
apply equally to the bucolics of the one, 
and to the idylliums of the other. ‘Their 
language is pure and correct, always in 
the higher style of pastoral, that is, un- 
mixed with any of the low ideas and 
colloquial terms which occasionally of- 
fend us in Theocritus. The thoughts 
are frequently ingenious and delicate; 
but the general strain is monotonous, and 
absolutely divested of variety. There is 
besides an appearance of affectation and 
art, which makes us doubt if they sur- 
veyed the face of nature with the enrap- 
tured eye of genuine poets. Avoiding 
rusticity and plainness, they are more 
uniformly elegant than their great cotem- 
porary, but with less of nature and sen- 
sibility. . Their subjects indeed not re- 
quiring, like his, the direct talk and con- 
versation of shepherds, they are excusable 
for having bestowed a greater share of 
grace and elegance, so long as the origi- 
nal simplicity is not destroyed. We 
might extend this comparison farther ; 
but stop here, that we may not encroach 
too much upon the subject of Theocritus, 
which we reserve for the next nuimber. 
We cannot conclude, however, with- 
out pointing aut to the reader of sensibi- 
lity, the beautiful elegy by Moschus upon 
the death of Bion, which is highly finished 
throughout. A strain of mournful sweet- 
ness pervades the whole, that renders 
it irresistibly affecting. As specimens of 
peculiar beauty, we refer to the passage’ » 
beginning thus: : 
Athiva joo covayelre varrat mas Adoroy vdoe 
Ka} wrorapsol xraicle Tov ipeepocila Biwva. 
Ye woods with grief your waving summits 
bow, 
Ye Dorian fountains murmur as ye flow ; 
From vwceping urns your copious sorrows 
shed,. 
And bid the rivers mourn for Bion dead. 
And a little lower, the passage beginning: _ 
with these lines : | 
* ~ 
AcXéle Esmehinal ra mevde@u deydle Muicas 
oar ec ; , 
ADEs, at Wunivoiow odugratvas Fab PurrAagy 
N2l4act Ferg Zexerorg, 
Begin, 
