}
Above the rest, as chief of all the band
Was Picus plac'd, a buckler in his hand;
His other wav'd a long divining wand.
Above the rest, as chief of all the band
Was Picus plac'd, a buckler in his hand;
His other wav'd a long divining wand.
Camoes - Lusiades
' The catual and his attendants prostrated
themselves an the ground, while the Lusians on their bended knees adored
the blessed virgin. " Thus Osorius. Another writer says, that a
Portuguese, having some doubt, exclaimed, "If this be the devil's image,
I however worship God. "
[480] _Here India's fate. _--The description of the palace of the
zamorim, situated among aromatic groves, is according to history; the
embellishment of the walls is in imitation of Virgil's description of
the palace of King Latinus:--
_Tectum augustum, ingens, centum sublime columnis,
Urbe fuit summa, etc. _
"The palace built by Picus, vast and proud, }
Supported by a hundred pillars stood, }
And round encompass'd with a rising wood. }
The pile o'erlook'd the town, and drew the sight,
Surprised, at once, with reverence and delight. . . .
Above the portal, carv'd in cedar wood,
Placed in their ranks their godlike grandsires stood.
Old Saturn, with his crooked scythe on high;
And Italus, that led the colony:
And ancient Janus with his double face,
And bunch of keys, the porter of the place.
There stood Sabinus, planter of the vines, }
On a short pruning-hook his head reclines; }
And studiously surveys his gen'rous wines. }
Then warlike kings who for their country fought,
And honourable wounds from battle brought.
Around the posts hung helmets, darts, and spears; }
And captive chariots, axes, shields, and bars; }
And broken beaks of ships, the trophies of their wars.
}
Above the rest, as chief of all the band
Was Picus plac'd, a buckler in his hand;
His other wav'd a long divining wand.
Girt in his Gabin gown the hero sate----"
DRYDEN, AEn. vii.
[481]
_Behind her founder Nysa's walls were rear'd----
----at distance far
The Ganges lav'd the wide-extended war. --_
This is in the perspective manner of the beautiful descriptions of the
figures on the shield of Achilles. --IL. xviii.
[482] _Had Semele beheld the smiling boy. _--The Theban Bacchus, to whom
the Greek fabulists ascribed the Indian expedition of Sesostris, king of
Egypt.
[483] Semiramis.
[484] _Call'd Jove his father. _--The bon-mot of Olympias on this
pretension of her son Alexander, was admired by the ancients. "This
hot-headed youth, forsooth, cannot be at rest unless he embroil me in a
quarrel with Juno. "--QUINT. CURT.
[485]
_The tap'stried walls with gold were pictur'd o'er,
And flow'ry velvet spread the marble floor.
themselves an the ground, while the Lusians on their bended knees adored
the blessed virgin. " Thus Osorius. Another writer says, that a
Portuguese, having some doubt, exclaimed, "If this be the devil's image,
I however worship God. "
[480] _Here India's fate. _--The description of the palace of the
zamorim, situated among aromatic groves, is according to history; the
embellishment of the walls is in imitation of Virgil's description of
the palace of King Latinus:--
_Tectum augustum, ingens, centum sublime columnis,
Urbe fuit summa, etc. _
"The palace built by Picus, vast and proud, }
Supported by a hundred pillars stood, }
And round encompass'd with a rising wood. }
The pile o'erlook'd the town, and drew the sight,
Surprised, at once, with reverence and delight. . . .
Above the portal, carv'd in cedar wood,
Placed in their ranks their godlike grandsires stood.
Old Saturn, with his crooked scythe on high;
And Italus, that led the colony:
And ancient Janus with his double face,
And bunch of keys, the porter of the place.
There stood Sabinus, planter of the vines, }
On a short pruning-hook his head reclines; }
And studiously surveys his gen'rous wines. }
Then warlike kings who for their country fought,
And honourable wounds from battle brought.
Around the posts hung helmets, darts, and spears; }
And captive chariots, axes, shields, and bars; }
And broken beaks of ships, the trophies of their wars.
}
Above the rest, as chief of all the band
Was Picus plac'd, a buckler in his hand;
His other wav'd a long divining wand.
Girt in his Gabin gown the hero sate----"
DRYDEN, AEn. vii.
[481]
_Behind her founder Nysa's walls were rear'd----
----at distance far
The Ganges lav'd the wide-extended war. --_
This is in the perspective manner of the beautiful descriptions of the
figures on the shield of Achilles. --IL. xviii.
[482] _Had Semele beheld the smiling boy. _--The Theban Bacchus, to whom
the Greek fabulists ascribed the Indian expedition of Sesostris, king of
Egypt.
[483] Semiramis.
[484] _Call'd Jove his father. _--The bon-mot of Olympias on this
pretension of her son Alexander, was admired by the ancients. "This
hot-headed youth, forsooth, cannot be at rest unless he embroil me in a
quarrel with Juno. "--QUINT. CURT.
[485]
_The tap'stried walls with gold were pictur'd o'er,
And flow'ry velvet spread the marble floor.
