Poeta, lector, hic quiescit Hipponax,
Si sis scelestus, praeteri, procul, marmor:
At te bonum si noris, et bonis natum,
Tutum hic sedile, et si placet, sopor tutus.
EUR. MED. 193—203.
Non immerito culpanda venit
Proavum vecors insipientia,
Qui convivia, lautasque dapes,
Hilarare suis jussere modis
Cantum, vitae dulce levamen.
At nemo feras iras hominum
Domibus claris exitiales,
Voce aut fidibus pellere docuit;
Queis tamen aptam ferre medelam
Utile cunctis hoc opus esset;
Namque, ubi mensas onerant epulae,
Quorsum dulcis luxuria soni?
Sat laetitia sine subsidiis,
Pectora molli mulcet dubiae
Copia coenae.
[Greek:]
Tois Araes brotoloighos enhi ptolemoisi memaene,
Kahi toios Paphiaen plaesen eroti thean.
The above is a version of a Latin epigram on the famous John duke of
Marlborough, by the abbé Salvini, which is as follows:
Haud alio vultu fremuit Mars acer in armis:
Haud alio Cypriam percutit ore deam.
The duke was, it seems, remarkably handsome in his person, to which the second line has reference.
SEPTEM AETATES.
Prima parit terras aetas; siccatque secunda;
Evocat Abramum dein tertia; quarta relinquit
Aegyptum; templo Solomonis quinta supersit;
Cyrum sexta timet; laetatur septima Christo.
[a]His Tempelmanni numeris descripseris orbem,
Cum sex ceiituriis Judaeo millia septem.
Myrias[c] AEgypto cessit his septima pingui.
Myrias adsciscit sibi nonagesima septem
Imperium qua Turca[d] ferox exercet iniquum.
Undecies binas decadas et millia septem
Sortitur[e] Pelopis tellus quae nomine gaudet.
Myriadas decies septem numerare jubebit
Pastor Arabs: decies octo sibi Persa requirit.
Myriades sibi pulchra duas, duo millia poscit
Parthenope. [f]Novies vult tellus mille Sicana.
[g]Papa suo regit imperio ter millia quinque.
Cum sex centuriis numerat sex millia Tuscus[h].
Centuria Ligures augent duo millia quarta.
Centuriae octavam decadem addit Lucca[j] secundae.
Ut dicas, spatiis quam latis imperet orbi
[k]Russia, myriadas ter denas adde trecentis.
[l]Sardiniam cum sexcentis sex millia complent.
Cum sexagenis, dum plura recluserit aetas,
Myriadas ter mille homini dat terra[m] colendas.
Vult sibi vicenas millesima myrias addi,
Vicenis quinas, Asiam[n] metata celebrem.
Se quinquagenis octingentesima jungit
Myrias, ut menti pateat tota Africa[o] doctae.
Myriadas septem decies Europa[p] ducentis
Et quadragenis quoque ter tria millia jungit.
Myriadas denas dat, quinque et millia, sexque
Centurias, et tres decades Europa Britannis[q].
Ter tria myriadi conjungit millia quartae,
Centuriae quartae decades quinque[r] Anglia nectit.
Millia myriadi septem foecunda secundae
Et quadragenis decades quinque addit Ierne.
Quingentis quadragenis socialis adauget
Millia Belga[t] novem.
Ter sex centurias Hollandia jactat opima.
Undecimum Camber vult septem millibus addi.
[a] To the above lines, (which are unfinished, and can, therefore, be
only offered as a fragment,) in the doctor's manuscript, are
prefixed the words "Geographia Metrica." As we are referred, in the
first of the verses, to Templeman, for having furnished the
numerical computations that are the subject of them, his work has
been, accordingly, consulted, the title of which is, a new Survey of
the Globe; and which professes to give an accurate mensuration of
all the empires, kingdoms, and other divisions thereof, in the
square miles that they respectively contain. On comparison of the
several numbers in these verses, with those set down by Templeman,
it appears that nearly half of them are precisely the same; the rest
are not quite so exactly done.—For the convenience of the reader,
it has been thought right to subjoin each number, as it stands in
Templeman's works, to that in Dr. Johnson's verses which refers to
it.
In this first article that is versified, there is an accurate
conformity in Dr. Johnson's number to Templeman's; who sets down the
square miles of Palestine at 7,600.
[c] The square miles of Egypt are, in Templeman, 140,700.
[d] The whole Turkish empire, in Templeman, is computed at 960,057
square miles.
[e] In the four following articles, the numbers in Templeman and in
Johnson's verses are alike.—We find, accordingly, the Morea, in
Templeman, to be set down at 7,220 square miles.—Arabia, at
700,000.—Persia, at 800,000.—and Naples, at 22,000.
[f] Sicily, in Templeman, is put down at 9,400.
[g] The pope's dominions, at 14,868.
[h] Tuscany, at 6,640.
Genoa, in Templeman, as in Johnson likewise, is set down at 2,400.
[j] Lucca, at 286.
[k] The Russian empire, in the 29th plate of Templeman, is set down at
3,303,485 square miles.
[l] Sardinia, in Templeman, as likewise in Johnson, 6,600.
[m] The habitable world, in Templeman, is computed, in square miles, at
30,666,806 square miles.
[n] Asia, at 10,257,487.
[o] Africa, at 8,506,208.
[p] Europe, at 2,749,349.
[q] The British dominions, at 105,634.
[r] England, as likewise in Johnson's expression of the number, at
49,450. Ireland, at 27,457.
[t] In the three remaining instances, which make the whole that Dr.
Johnson appears to have rendered into Latin verse, we find the
numbers exactly agreeing with those of Templeman, who makes the
square miles of the United Provinces, 9540—of the province of
Holland, 1800—and of Wales, 7011.