JENEID, the title of a celebrated epic poem, in twelve books, written by Pablius Virgil ins Maro, the most es teemed of all the Roman poets. The subject of this poem is, the establishment of Lneasand his Trojan lullowers in the kingdom of Latium, in Italy ; wind' was, of all subjects, the bust adapted to interest the Romani people, as it narrates the fonndation of the Roni.di em pire. The action of the Lucid is, on the whole ex tremely well managed, and sustains a lively interest in the reader ; but the first six books, whie II relate the travels and love adventures of :En( as, are nun h more interesting than the remaining books, which give an ac count of his warfare with the Italian prnicus. It is plain that the Odyssey of l Iomer afforded the pi ototype of the first part of Virgil's poem, as the Iliad um en the last ; and it is generally acknowledged, that he had as much exceeded the former, as he has fallen slim t of Ltie latter. It is believed, however, that the last six books never received the finishing polish of the author ; anu it is added, that he was so conscious of their imperfec tions, as to leave a dying request, that the whole miglo be committed to the flames, If this be the case, we have reason to rejoice, that the partiality of h•en& pie vented the execution of so severe a sentence.
The great defect of the /Eneid is alleged to be the want of a just discrimination of character ; and, doubt less, in this principal requisite of the epic muse, Virgil is left at a mighty distance by Homer. Yet he seems by no means so deficient as has been sometimes asser ted. Among the Trojans, indeed, there is scarcely a single character that is marked, not even excepting the pious Lucas himself ; and as for the jiiit/rfu/ Achates, the braze Gyas, and the brave Cloanthes, they are mere names and inserted to fill a vacant space. But the character of the lovesick and high-minded Dido, is ex quisitely drawn, and admirably supported ; and the pic tures of Nisus and Euryalus, Pallas and Evander, Lausus and Mezentius, are in the highest degree in teresting, In respect of sentiment and style, Virgil stands, per haps, without a rival. There is nothing gross or low
throughout the whole poem ; we every where discover a rich imagination, a correct taste, and an amiable heart. The versification is melody itself; and the selection of words such as cannot be excelled. It has been said, that it were as easy to rob Hercules of his club, as to deprive Homer of a single line ; but we are doubtful whether this assertion be not more applicable to the Roman than the Grecian bard. Some of the Latin cri tics indeed have accused Virgil of numerous plagiarisms of whole phrases and lines, not only from the old poets Ennius, Pacuvius, Accius, and Servius, but even from his own illustrious contemporaries Lucretius, Catullus, Varius, and Furius ; and Macrobius speaks of it, as a thing well known to the world, that the second book of the /Eneid, containing the so universally admired des cription of the sacking of Troy, is copied, lime ad ver bum, from a Greek poet named Pisander, who had writ ten a collection of mythological histories in verse. We are not disposed to give much credit to these imputa tions, so dishonourable to the genius of Virgil, and which seem advanced on very frivolous grounds in those cases where we have it in our power to judge of their vali dity ; as in the examples of Lucretius and Catullus, whose works are still in our hands. That Virgil bor rowed from some of the older poets, he does not himself deny ; but it was that kind of borrowing which so great ly enhances the value of the orignal, that it confers ra they than receives an obligation. It was in this way, that, as he expresses it himself, " he extracted gold from the dunghill of Ennius." See La Ilarpe's Lycee. Blair's Lectures. Kames's Criticism, &c. (in)