I that had lov'd Curl'd powder'd locks, a fine and gaudy gown. Mr. CREECH. I remember, says Cynthio, Juvenal rallies Creticus, that was otherwise a brave, rough fellow, very handsomely, on this kind of garment. Rome's pride, who com'st transparent to the bench? Idem.. But pray what is the meaning that this transparent lady holds up her train in her left hand? for I find your women on medals do nothing without a meaning. Besides, I suppose there is a moral precept at least couched under the figure she holds in her other hand. She draws back her garment, says Philander, that it may not encumber her in her march. For she is always drawn in a posture of walking, it being as natural for Hope to press forward to her proper objects, as for Fear to fly from them. Ut canis in vacuo leporem cum Gallicus arvo DE APOL. et DAPH. OV. MET. lib. 1. As when th' impatient greyhound slipt from far, O'erruns her at the sitting turn, and licks Mr. DRYDEN. This beautiful similitude is, I think, the prettiest emblem in the world of Hope and Fear in extremity. A flower or blossom that you see in the right hand is a proper ornament for Hope, since they are these that we term, in poetical language, the hopes of the year. Vere novo, tunc herba nitens, et roboris expers Ridet ager Ov. MET. lib. 15. The green stem grows in stature and in size, Then laughs the childish year with flow'rets crown'd, The same poet in his De Fastis, speaking of the vine in flower, expresses it, In spe vitis erat OV. DE FAST. lib. 5. The next on the list is a lady of a contrary character*, and therefore in a quite different posture. As Security is free from all pursuits, she is represented leaning carelessly on a pillar. Horace has drawn a pretty metaphor from this posture. Nullum me à labore reclinat otium. Mr. CREECH. No ease doth lay me down from pain. She rests herself on a pillar, for the same reason as the poets often compare an obstinate resolution or a great firmness of mind to a rock that is not to be moved by all the assaults of winds or waves. Non civium ardor prava jubentium, Non vultus instantis tyrunni, * Fig. 9. Mente quatit solidá, neque Auster Dux inquieta turbidus Adriæ, &c. The man resolv'd, and steady to his trust, HOR. May the rude rabble's insolence despise, And the stern brow and the harsh voice defies, Not the rough whirlwind that deforms Mr. CREECH. I am apt to think it was on devices of this nature that Horace had his eye in his Ode to Fortune. It is certain he alludes to a pillar that figured out Security, or something very like it; and, till any body finds out another that will stand better in its place, I think we may content ourselves with this before us. Te Dacus asper, te profugi Scythæ Injurioso nè pede proruas Stantem columnam; neu populus frequens Concitet imperiumque frangat. AD FORTUN. HOR. lib. 1. od. 35. To thee their vows rough Germans pay, The barb'rous mothers pray To thee, the greatest guardian of their thrones. They bend, they vow, and still they fear, Lest you should kick their column down, And cloud the glory of their crown; They fear that you would raise The lazy crowd to war, And break their empire, or confine their praise. Mr. CREECH. I must however be so fair as to let you know that Peace and Felicity have their pillars in several medals, as well as Security, so that if you do not like one of them, you may take the other. The next figure is that of Chastity*, who was worshipped as a goddess, and had her temple: — deinde ad superos Astræa recessit Hác comité, dtque duæ pariter fugere sorores. De Pudicitia. Juv. Sat. 6. At length uneasy Justice upwards flew, And both the sisters to the stars withdrew. Mr. DRYDEN, Templa pudicitiæ quid opus statuisse puellis, Si cuivis nuptæ quidlibet esse licet? TIB. lib. 2. Since wives whate'er they please unblam'd can be, How her posture and dress become her, you may see in the following verses. Ergo sedens velat vultus, obnubit ocellos, ALCIAT. She sits, her visage veil'd, her eyes conceal'd, Ite procul vittæ tenues, insigne Pudoris, Quæque tegit medios instita longa pedes. Ov. de Árt. Amand. -frontem límbo velata pudicum. Hence! ye CLAUD. de Theod. Cons. smooth fillets on the forehead bound, Whose bands the brows of Chastity surround, And her coy robe that lengthens to the ground. Mr. CREECH. She is represented in the habit of a Roman matron. Matrona præter faciem nil cernere possis, Cætera, ni Catia est; demissä veste tegentis. HOR. Sat. 2. lib. 1. Besides, a matron's face is seen alone; But Kate's, that female bully of the town, That, ni Catia est, says Cynthio, is a beauty unknown to most of our English satirists. Horace knew how to stab with address, and to give a thrust where he was least expected. Boileau has nicely imitated him in this, as well as his other beauties. But our English libellers are for hewing a man downright, and for letting him see at a distance that he is to look for no mercy. I own to you, says Eugenius, I have often admired this piece of art in the two satirists you mention, and have been surprised to meet with a man in a satire that I never in the least expected to find there. They have a particular way of hiding their ill-nature, and introduce a criminal rather to illustrate a precept or passage, than out of any seeming design to abuse him. Our English poets on the contrary show a kind of malice prepense in their satires, and instead of bringing in the person to give light to any part of the poem, let you see they writ the whole poem on purpose to abuse the person. But we must not leave the ladies thus. Pray what kind of head-dress is that of Piety? As Chastity*, says Philander, appears in the habit of a Roman matron, in whom that virtue was supposed to reign in its perfection, Piety wears the dress of the vestal virgins, who were the greatest and most shining examples of it. Vittata Sacerdos is, you know, an expression among the Latin poets. I do not question but you have seen, in the Duke of Florence's gallery, a beautiful antique figure of a woman standing before an altar, which some of the antiquaries call a Piety, and others a vestal virgin. The woman, altar, and fire burning on it, are seen in marble exactly as in this coin, and bring to my mind a part of a speech that Religion makes in Phædrus's fables. Sed ne ignis noster facinori præluceat, Fab. 10. lib. 4. It is to this goddess that Statius addresses himself in the following lines. *Fig. 11. |