Dundee.
Passage in Virgil (Vol. viii., p. 270.).—On this part of Johnson's letter, Mr. Croker observes:
"I confess I do not see the object, nor indeed the meaning, of this allusion."
The allusion is to Eclogue viii. 43.:
"Nunc scio, quid sit Amor: duris in cotibus illum
Aut Tmarus, aut Rhodope, aut extremi Garamantes,
Nec generis nostri puerum nec sanguinis, edunt."
As the shepherd in Virgil had found Love to be not the gentle being he expected, but of a savage race—"a native of the rocks"—so had Johnson found a patron to be "one who looked with unconcern on a man struggling for life," instead of a friend to render assistance.
Supposing Johnson's estimate of Lord Chesterfield's conduct to be correct, I cannot help thinking the allusion to be eminently happy.
J. Kelway.