By weight of years, by pregnancy or pangs
Of foon-approaching child-birth, but attend
Far as their feeble knees permit : on fuch
CERES as richly will her bleffings pour,
As if they reach'd her temple! Goddess hail,
In concord and prosperity preserve

This ftate: and from the fertile fields return
Matureft plenty. Feed our flocks and herds;
Bring forth the corn, and happy harvests give;
And
peace, fair
peace support, that the glad hand
Who fow'd may reap his labour's happy fruit.

190

195

Ver. 197. And peace, &c.] Ceres is no Goddefs without peace, war levels all her productions, her gifts then are deftroyed, and the ceafes to blefs mankind. So that no wonder the poet prays to fuch a Goddess for peace: It is obfervable that Bacchus too, or the Sun under this character, is applied to by the heathens for peace: nay, and is faid to love it.

Φιλει δ' ολβιοδοτειραν Ειρηνην, κωφοτροφον Θεαν.

He loves wealth-giving Peace, a Goddess the nourisher of men, fays Euripides: and on fome antient coins we find Peace herfelf reprefented with the infignia of Ceres, with ears of corn round her head, in her breaf, and hand: to which Tibullus doubtlefs alludes, when he fays, At nobis pax alma veni, fpicamque teneto. Lib. 1. El. 10. See Spanheim's note. It hath been well obferved, that the words following in our author, that the glad hand, &c. are agreeable to Scripture, and many profane writers. "They fhall

ON

ON me propitious fmile, queen thrice ador'd,

Great emprefs, of all female pow'rs fupreme!

End of the Hymns of CALLIMACHUS.

SELECT

EPIGRAM S.

I.

OR counsel fage to Pittacus the wise

FOR

With doubts perplext an am'rous youth applies :

"Dread fire, two virgins covet my embrace,

"The first my equal both in wealth and race:

"In each superior shines the second fair :

"Which fhall I wed-where fix, oh tell me, where ?" He spoke; the fage, his footsteps faithful friend Uprearing, cry'd, "Lo thofe thy doubts will end,

Select Epigrams, &c.] I have given the reader a few of our author's Epigrams, as they are excellent in their kind, and as a fpecimen of the fimplicity of the Greek Epigram: which we are to remember in its firft original intent was no more than pappa, an infeription, "De biftoria Epigrammatis & origine tum rei tum vocis, hæc accepimus, confueffe antiquos flatuis Deorum & heroum infcriptiones quafdam breves infculpere, qua envypadal & myfanpaтa nominabatur, &c." Thus Dr. Trap, in his Prælect, Poetice,

"Take

Pral. 12ma; where the reader will find a complate differtation on the fubject. The word Epigram, and the fpecies of poetry going under that name, rendered it neceflary to obferve this, at the entrance of thefe little poems of our author, which moderns would rather call mifcellaneous, than epigrammatical. There is a reinarkable paffage quoted by Madam Dacier from the fcholiaft upon Eschylus, which would almost incline one to believe, that this firft Epigram of our author's was founded on a real ftory. The 2

reader