Ah, far from home and me You wander o're The Alpine snows, the farthest Western shore, And frozen Rhine. When are we like to meet? Ah gently, gently, lest thy tender feet Sharp Ice may wound.

To these he may sometimes joyn some short Interrogations made to inanimate Beings, for those spread a strange life and vigor thro the whole Composure. Thus in Daphnis,

Did not You Streams, and Hazels, hear the Nymphs?

Or give the very Trees, and Fountains sense, as in Tityrus,

Thee (Tityrus) the Pines, and every Vale, The Fountains, Hills, and every shrub did call:

for by this the Concernment is express'd; and of the like nature is that of Thyrsis, in Virgil's Meliboeus,

{63} When Phyllis comes, my wood will all be green.

And this sort of Expressions is frequent in Theocritus, and Virgil, and in these the delicacy of Pastoral is principally contain'd, as one of the old Interpreters of Theocritus hath observ'd on this line, in the eighth Idyllium,

Ye Vales, and Streams, a race Divine:

But let them be so, and so seldom us'd, that nothing appear vehement, and bold, for Boldness and Vehemence destroy the sweetness which peculiarly commends Bucolicks, and in those Composures a constant care to be soft and easie should be chief: For Pastoral bears some resemblance to Terence, of whom Tully, in that Poem which he writes to Libo, gives this Character,

His words are soft, and each expression sweet.

In mixing Passion in Pastorals, that rule of Longinus, in his golden Treatise *peri hypsous*, must be observ'd, Never use it, but when the matter requires it, and then too very sparingly.

Concerning the Numbers, in which Pastoral should be written, this is my opinion; the Heroick Measure, but not so strong and sounding as in Epicks, is to be chosen. Virgil and Theocritus have given us examples; for tho Theocritus hath in one Idyllium mixt other Numbers, yet that can be of no force against all the rest; and Virgil useth no Numbers but Heroick, from whence it may be inferr'd, that those are the fittest.

{64} Pastoral may sometimes admit plain, but not long Narrations such as Socrates in Plato requires in a Poet; for he chiefly approves those who use a plain Narration, and commends that above all other which is short, and fitly expresseth the nature of the Thing. Some are of opinion that Bucolicks cannot endure Narrations, especially if they are very long, and imagine there are none in Virgil: but they have not been nice enough in their observations, for there are some, as that in Silenus.

Young Chromis and Mnasylus chanct to stray, Where (sleeping in a Cave) Silenus lay, Whose constant Cups fly fuming to his brain, And always boyl in each extended vein: His trusty Flaggon, full of potent Juice, Was hanging by, worn out with Age, and Use, &c.

But, because Narrations are so seldom to be found in Theocritus, and Virgil, I think they ought not to be often us'd; yet if the matter will bear it, I believe such as Socrates would have, may very fitly be made use of.

The Composure will be more suitable to the Genius of a Shepherd, if now and then there are some short turns and digressions from the purpose: Such is that concerning Pasiphae in Silenus, although tis almost too long; but we may give Viogil a little leave, who takes so little liberty himself.

{65} Concerning Descriptions I cannot tell what to lay down, for in this matter our Guides, Virgil, and Theocritus, do not very well agree. For he in his first Idyllium makes such a long immoderate description of his Cup, that Criticks find fault with him, but no such description appears in all Virgil; for how sparing is he in his description of Meliboeus's Beechen Pot, the work of Divine Alcimedon? He doth it in five verses, Theocritus runs out into thirty, which certainly is an argument of a wit that is very much at leisure, and unable to moderate his force. That shortness which Virgil hath prudently made choice of, is in my opinion much better; for a Shepherd, who is naturally incurious, and unobserving, cannot think that tis his duty to be exact in particulars, and describe every thing with an accurate niceness: yet Roncardus hath done it, a man of most correct judgment, and, in imitation of Theocritus, hath, considering the then poverty of our language, admirably and largely describ'd his Cup; and Marinus in his Idylliums hath follow'd the same example. He never keeps within compass in his Descriptions, for which he is deservedly blam'd; let those who would be thought accurate, and men of judgment, follow Virgil's prudent moderation. Nor can the Others gain any advantage from Moschus's Europa, in which the description of the Basket is very long, for that Idyllium is not Pastoral; yet I confess, that some {66} descriptions of such trivial things, if not minutely accurate, may, if seldom us'd, be decently allow'd a place in the discourses of Shepherds.

But tho you must be sparing in your Descriptions, yet your Comparisons must be frequent, and the more often you use them, the better and more graceful will be the Composure; especially if taken from such things, as the Shepherds must be familiarly acquainted with: They are frequent in Theocritus but so proper to the Country, that none but a Shepherd dare use them. Thus Menalcas in the eighth Idyllium:

Rough Storms to Trees, to Birds the treacherous Snare, Are frightful Evils; Springes to the Hare, Soft Virgins Love to Man, &c.

And Damoetas in Virgil's Palaemon,

Woolves sheep destroy, Winds Trees when newly blown, Storms Corn, and me my Amaryllis frown.

And that in the eighth Eclogue,

As Clay grows hard, Wax soft in the same fire, So Daphnis does in one extream desire.

And such Comparisons are very frequent in him, and very suitable to the Genius of a Shepherd; as likewise often repetitions, and doublings of some words: which, if they are luckily plac'd have an unexpressible quaintness, and make the Numbers extream sweet, and the turns ravishing and delightful. An instance of this we have in Virgil's Meliboeus,

Phyllis the Hazel loves; whilst Phyllis loves that Tree, {67} Myrtles than Hazels of less fame shall be.

As for the Manners of your Shepherds, they must be such as theirs who liv'd in the Islands of the Happy or Golden Age: They must be candid, simple, and ingenuous; lovers of Goodness, and Justice, affable, and kind; strangers to all fraud, contrivance, and deceit; in their Love modest, and chast, not one suspitious word, no loose expression to be allowed: and in this part Theocritus is faulty, Virgil never; and this difference perhaps is to be ascrib'd to their Ages, the times in which the latter liv'd being more polite, civil, and gentile. And therefore those who make wanton Love-stories the subject of Pastorals, are in my opinion very unadvis'd; for all sort of lewdness or debauchery are directly contrary to the Innocence of the golden Age. There is another thing in which Theocritus is faulty, and that is making his Shepherds too sharp, and abusive to one another; Comatas and Lacon are ready to fight, and the railing between those two is as bitter as Billingsgate: Now certainly such Raillery cannot be suitable to those sedate times of the Happy Age.

As for Sentences, if weighty, and Philosophical, common Sense tells us they are not fit for a Shepherd's mouth. Here Theocritus cannot be altogether excus'd, but Virgil deserves no reprehension. But Proverbs justly challenge admission into Pastorals, nothing being more common in {68} the mouths of Countrymen than old Sayings.

Thus much seem'd necessary to be premis'd out of RAPIN, for the direction and information of the Reader.

* * * * *

ERRATA.

p. 13. l. 15. read the wind. p. 15. l. 16. read fight. p. 60. l. 4. read Shoes. p. 95. l. 17. read whilst all. p. 112. l. 9. read of my Love.

[ Transcriber's Note: The listed errata appear to belong to the translation of Theocritus, not included in this reprint. The following uncorrected words in the Rapin text are probably misprints:

p. 9 dissetation. p. 17 mannes. p. 24 theefore. p. 25 stifes. p. 44 finessess [uncertain reading]. p. 64 Viogil. ]

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Rapin's Discourse of Pastorals was first published in Latin, with his eclogues, under the title: Eclogae, cum dissertatione de carmine pastorali. Parisiis, apud S. Cramoisy, 1659.

The English translation by Thomas Creech, prefixed to his translation of the Idylliums of Theocritus, appeared in 1684. A second edition "to which is prefix'd, The Life of Theocritus. By Basil Kennet", was printed at London for E. Curll, at the Dial and Bible against St. Dunstan's Church in Fleet-street, in 1713, and a third edition, also printed for Curll, appeared in 1721.

Ella M. Hymans

Curator of Rare Books, General Library, University of Michigan

* * * * *

ANNOUNCING

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SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH CENTURIES

Students, scholars, and bibliographers of literature, history, and philology will find the publications valuable. The Johnsonian News Letter has said of them: "Excellent facsimiles, and cheap in price, these represent the triumph of modern scientific reproduction. Be sure to become a subscriber; and take it upon yourself to see that your college library is on the mailing list."

The Augustan Reprint Society is a non-profit, scholarly organization, run without overhead expense. By careful management it is able to offer at least six publications each year at the unusually low membership fee of $2.50 per year in the United States and Canada, and $2.75 in Great Britain and the continent.

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During the first two years the publications are issued in three series: I. Essays on Wit; II. Essays on Poetry and Language; and III. Essays on the Stage.

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PUBLICATIONS FOR THE FIRST YEAR (1946-1947)

MAY, 1946: Series I, No. 1—Richard Blackmore's Essay upon Wit (1716), and Addison's Freeholder No. 45 (1716).

JULY, 1946: Series II, No. 1—Samuel Cobb's Of Poetry and Discourse on Criticism (1707)

SEPT., 1946: Series III, No. 1—Anon., Letter to A.H. Esq.; concerning the Stage (1698), and Richard Willis' Occasional Paper No. IX (1698).

NOV., 1946: Series I, No. 2—Anon., Essay on Wit (1748), together with Characters by Flecknoe, and Joseph Warton's Adventurer Nos. 127 and 133.

JAN., 1947: Series II, No. 2—Samuel Wesley's Epistle to a Friend Concerning Poetry (1700) and Essay on Heroic Poetry (1693).

MARCH, 1947: Series III, No. 2—Anon., Representation of the Impiety and Immorality of the Stage (1704) and anon., Some Thoughts Concerning the Stage (1704).

PUBLICATIONS FOR THE SECOND YEAR (1947-1948)

MAY, 1947: Series I, No. 3—John Gay's The Present State of Wit; and a section on Wit from The English Theophrastus. With an Introduction by Donald Bond.

JULY, 1947: Series II, No. 3—Rapin's De Carmine Pastorali, translated by Creech. With an Introduction by J. E. Congleton.

SEPT., 1947: Series III, No. 3—T. Hanmer's (?) Some Remarks on the Tragedy of Hamlet. With an Introduction by Clarence D. Thorpe.

NOV., 1947: Series I, No. 4—Corbyn Morris' Essay towards Fixing the True Standards of Wit, etc. With an Introduction by James L. Clifford.

JAN., 1948: Series II, No. 4—Thomas Purney's Discourse on the Pastoral. With an Introduction by Earl Wasserman.

MARCH, 1948: Series III, No. 4—Essays on the Stage, selected, with an Introduction by Joseph Wood Krutch.

The list of publications is subject to modification in response to requests by members. From time to time Bibliographical Notes will be included in the issues. Each issue contains an Introduction by a scholar of special competence in the field represented.

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