Επι

Herodotus IV. 59. Speaking of the Scythians: Θεὲς μήνες εσδε ἱλάσκονται, ἱείην μὲν μάλιςα, ἐπὶ δὲ Δία Τε, καὶ τῆν, νομίζοντες τὴν τῶν 18 Διὸς εἶναι γυναίκα. Deorum bos folos placant, Veftam ante omnes; deinde Jovem ac Tellurem; exiftimantes Tellurem Jovis conjugem effer

Much can they praise the trees foftreight and high, The failing pine, the cedar proud and tall, The vine-prop elme, the poplar never dry, The builder oak, fole king of forrests all, The afpine good for ftaves, the cyprefs funeral,

The laurel, meed of mighty conquerors And poets fage, the firr that weepeth still, The willow, worn of forlorn paramours, The ewe obedient to the benders will, The birch for fhafts, the fallow for the mill, The mirrhe, fweet bleeding in the bitter wound, The warlike beech, the afh for nothing ill, The fruitful olive, and the platane round, The carver holme, the maple feldom inward found.

Ovid. Met. X. 90,

Non Chaonis abfuit arbos,

Non nemus Heliadum, non frontibus esculus altis,
Non tilia molles, nec fagus, et innuba laurus.
Et coryli fragiles, et fraxinus utilis haftis,
Enodifque abies, curvataque glandibus ilex,

Et

Et platanus genialis, acerque coloribus impar,
Amnicolæque fimul falices, et aquatica lotos,
Perpetuoque virens buxus, tenuefque myricæ,
Et bicolor myrtus, et baccis cærula tinus:
Voşquoque flexipedes hedera veniftis, et una
Pampinea vites, et amiƐtæ vitibus ulmi :
Ornique, et picea, pomoque onerata rubenti
Arbutus, et lente, victoris præmia, palma:
Et fuccincta comas, hirfutaque vertice pinus;
Adfuit huic turba, metas imitata, cupreffus
Seneca, Oedip. 532.

Cupreffus altis exferens filvis caput
Virente femper alligat trunco nemus ;
Curvofque tendit quercus et putres fit
Annofa ramos hujus abrupit latus
Edax vetuftas: illa jam feffa cadens
Radice, fulta pendet aliena trabe.
Amara baccas laurus; et tiliæ leves;

Et Paphia myrtus; et per immenfum mare
Motura remos alnus; et Phabo obvia

Enode Zephyris pinus opponens latus,

Lucan. III. 440.

Procumbunt orni, nodofa inpellitur ilex,
Silvaque Dodones, et fluctibus aptior alnus,
Et non plebeios luctus teftata cupreffus &
Tunc primum pofuere comas.

Statius,

Statius, Theb. VI. 98.

cadit ardua fagus,

Chaoniumque nemus, brumaque inlæfa cupreffus,
Procumbunt picea, flammis alimenta fupremis,
Ornique, iliceæque trabes, metuendaque fucco
Taxus, et infandos belli potuṛa cruores
Fraxinus, atque fitu non expugnabile robur.
Hinc audax abies, et odoro vulnere pinus
Scinditur, acclinant intonfa cacumina terræ
Alnus amica fretis, nec inhofpita vitibus ulmus,
Claudian. R. Prof. II. 107.

Apta fretis abies, bellis accommoda cornus,
Quercus amica Jovi, tumulos tectura cupreffus,
Ilex plena favis, venturi præfcia laurus:
Fluctuat hic denfo crifpata cacumine buxus,
Hic edera ferpunt, hic pampinus induit ulmos.

Much can they praise the trees fo ftreight and high.

Spenfer here, and in fome other places, uses the word can in a particular manner*. B. I. Canto I, 50. Wringing her hands in womens piteous wife, Tho can the weep to ftir up gentle ruth,

Both for her noble blood, and for her tender youth.

B. V. Canto VIII. 14.

So can they both themselves full eath perfuade
To fair accordance, and both faults to shade.

See II. 1. 31.

*Upton understands it for 'gan, began:

Then 'gan the weep, &c.

EDIT.

STANZ.

Therewith the fpew'd out of her filthy maw
A flood of poifon horrible and black,
Full of great lumps of flesh and gobbets raw,
Which stunk fo vildly-

Our poet paints very ftrong here, as he does alfa in this book, Canto VIII. 47. 48. where he defcribes Dueffa. Longinus would have blam'd him for it, who thus cenfures the author of the Afpis: Το ανόμοιόν γε τὸ Ἡσιόδειον επι της Αχλύς, είγε Ησιόδε καὶ τω Ασπίδα Τελέον,

Τῆς ἐκ μεν ῥινῶν μύξαι ρέον.

Οὐ γαρ δεινὸν ἐπόιησε τὸ ἔίδωλον, ἀλλὰ μισητόν.

Cui difimile eft illud Hefiodi de Triftitia, fi quidem ftatuendum fit etiam poema illud dictum Scutum effe Hefiodi, Ejus ex naribus humores fluebant.

Neque enim fecit imaginem terribilem, fed odiofam.

As when old father Nilus 'gins to fwell
With timely pride above th' Ægyptian vale,
His fatty waves do fertile flime outwell,
And overflow each plain and lowly dale:

:

But

But when his latter ebb 'gins to avail,

Huge heaps of mud he leaves, wherein there breed
Ten thousand kinds of creatures, partly male
And partly female of his fruitful feed.

Again, B. III. Canto VI. 8.

So after Nilus' inundation

Infinite shapes of creatures men do find,
Informed in the mud, on which the fun hath shin'd.

Ovid. Met. I. 422.

Sic ubi deferuit madidos feptemfltus agros
Nilus, et antiquo fua flumina reddidit alveo,
Etherioque recens exarfit fidere limus ;
Plurima cultores verfis animalia glebis
Inveniunt, et in his quædam modo cœpta fub ipfum
Nafcendi fpatium quædam imperfecta, fuifque
Trunca vident numeris: et eodem in corpore fæpe
Altera pars vivit; rudis eft pars altera tellus.

Theophraftus, p. 474. "Ori.& 'Aiy útly diπoda's Pati μίας γίνεσθαι καὶ μεγάλες. ἔχεσι δὲ ἔτοι καὶ τὰς ἐμπροσθίες πόδας, ἀλλ' ἐ βαδίζεσιν ἐπ' αὐτοῖς. χρῶνται δὲ αὐτοῖς, οἵα χερσὶν. ὅταν δὲ φευγωσι, πηδῶσι.

Ferunt in Egypto magnos illos bipedes mures nafci, habere autem et anteriores pedes, fed illis non incedere: imo uti pro manibus, faltu vero fugere.

Plutarch