[47] A consecrated ground in ancient Rome, on which it was unlawful to build.
[48] An allusion to the change from the purple-bordered toga of the youth, to the toga virilis, or manly robe.
[49] Hadrian was for the most part a patron of literary men, and himself spoke and wrote with eloquence. Pope’s paraphrase has made familiar his verse addressed to his soul:—
“Ah! fleeting spirit! wandering fire,
That long hast warmed my tender breast,
Must thou no more this frame inspire,
No more a pleasing, cheerful guest?
Whither, ah! whither art thou flying?
To what dark undiscovered shore?
Thou seem’st all trembling, shivering, dying,