CHAP. XXXII. [P. 189.]
Full many a gem of purest ray serene,
The dark unfathomed caves of ocean bear,
Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,
And waste its sweetness in the desert air.
CHAP. XXXIII. [P. 194.]
Miles Romane, Ægyptum cave, say the Sybilline books. There are who apply the phrase to Pompey alone, who lost his life by trusting himself in Egypt. Its better interpretation seems to be, that the effeminacy and luxury of this enervating country was likely to prove pernicious to the Roman veterans, accustomed to hard fare, and rigid discipline; and in this sense, may be applied to the arrival for the first time of any inexperienced young man in the English metropolis.
CHAP. XXXIV. [P. 199.]
A new Dramatis Persona introduced upon the stage, who in his time subsequently proved the Roscius of his day. No preternatural appearances marked the infancy of Porson, though it is told of Roscius, that when in his cradle, his nurse discovered a serpent twined round his bosom, which of course induced the Haruspices to foretell, nihil illo puero clarius, nihil nobilius fere.