And Rocks in Seas, that proudly raise their Head, 415 Tho' far disjoin'd, tho' Royal Navies spread Their Sails between, yet, if from Distance fhewn, They feem an Ifland, all combin'd in one. So Bors, that whirl around, then cease to move, Think all the Pillars dance, and Roofs above;! 420 Softrong the Thought, they dread the tott'ring Wall, And fear the Roof will crush them with the Fall.... Thus when kind NATURE fhews her INFANT-DAY, 425 Looks o'er the MOUNTAINS with a blufhing Face; NOTES. When at 414. And Rocks, &c.] Thefe, ges of Things that stand still in 4. v. contain Example III. in the fame manner, as it would rewhich the Poet brings an In-ceive the Image of a Thing in ftance of Mountains, ftanding at Motion, if it felf were fome Distance from one another in the midst of the Sea; which nevertheless, when feen from afar, feem contiguous, and fo like a Continent, that they appear like one huge Mountain only, or like one vaft Ifland: In which the Eyes are not deceiv'd neither, it being not their Office to judge of the Distance of Objects: but the Mind alone deceives, who imagines there is no Space between the Mountains, because there appears none. 418. So Boys, &c.] In thefe 4. v. he propofes Example IV. When Boys, fays he, turn themfelves often around, or are turn'd about by others, a Giddinefs enfues, and the Walls and Cielings of the Houses feem to them to move round, and be whirl'd about, even tho' they themselves ftand still, and have ceas'd to run round. In which the Eyes are not deceiv'd, but the Mind itfelf, which fuppofes, that the Senforium, in which the Agitation continues, receives the Ima reft. The reason of this is, becaufe the Spirits, that belong to the Sight, being fhaken and diturb'd by the whirling Motion of the Body that turns round, fly about in a circular Motion likewife, and ceafe not to move fo foon as the Body ftands ftill; in like manner as a Wheel that has been turn'd about with Violence, ceafes not its Motion fo foon as the moving Hand is retir'd, but whirls several Rounds afterwards. 422. Thus when, &c.] In these 10. v. he brings Example V. of the Sun, that feems to rife very near to Mountains, tho' between the Sun and thofe Mountains there be an immenfe interval of Space. For when the Sun is feen to rife over Mountains, he feems almoft to touch them with his Fires, and yet thofe Mountains are scarce two Thousand Bow-fhot diftant from us; nay, perhaps not five hundred Cafts of à Dart. The reafon is, because the Eyedoes not perceive the Distance of When yet the real Space is vaftly wide; 430 Great Tracts of Land, and many a fwelling Tide, The diftant SUN, and that near HILL divide. 435 Thus little PUDDLES, that in Streets dolie, NOTES. Tho 3. v. he produces Example VI. and alledges, that even in the fhalloweft Waters is feen no lefs of Objects, and therefore we fuppofe there is no Distance at all. Her Infant Day,] Rubrum tremulis Jubar ignibus, fays Lu-a Space, than the Distance becretius. Varro de ling. Latin. lib. 5. fays, that the Star which appears before S eSun-rifing, is call'd Jubar, quia in fummo habet diffufum lumen, ut leo in capite jubar: And Feftus: Jubar ftella, quam Græci qwopógv, id eft, Luciferum appellant,quod fplendor ejus diffunditur in modum jubæ leonis. And Servius on this Verfe of Virgil, fays, Jubare exorto, i. e. orto Lu- 9. 432. Thus little, &c.] In these tween Heaven and Earth. For if any one looks down into Water, not above an Inch deep, he will feem to fee the Sky in it, lying, as much below the Earth as the Sky is diftant from it. The Reason of which is, because the Eye always fees the Object, on the fide, from which the Ray comes laft of all directly to it; and therefore fees the Sky, or the Sun and Stars, in the Place where the Water is: and that by means of the Ray, which, being between the Water and the Sky, or the Sun and Stars, is directly join'd with that, which is between the Eye and the Water. In which Cafe the Mind it felf, perceiving nothing between the directed and the reflected Image, judges that the Sky, or the Sun and Stars are really in that Place, and transfers to beneath, all the Space and Distance that is above. And hence it is not the Errour of the Eye, but of the Mind. 435. Thus when, &c.] In thefe 5. v. is contain'd Example VII. of a Man on Horfeback, ftanding ftill in the midst of a River, and looking down upon the Water: for then fome Force feems to carry the Body of the Horfe, even tho' he ftand ftill, up againft the Stream: And on which fide foever he cafts his Eyes, ail things feem to flow and move in the 440 Tho' he ftood ftill; I thought he did divide NOTES. The thefe Portico's they were fometimes carry'd in their Coaches, for fo we may call them for the Likeness of the Ufe of them, and the fame manner. In which not the Eye, but the Mind is miftaken; for, whereas the Eye obferves the Waves fucceeding one another in time, the Mind ap-fometimes in their Chairs, on prehends befides, that they fucceed one another in Place; and thus judges one and the fame Place, to be as many Places behind, as Waves on that part have beat against the Horse. Mens Shoulders: Befides, that they fometimes walk'd on Foot in them, either for their Health or Pleafure, is certain beyond all Difpute: And for thefe feveral Reasons thefe Places were call'd 440. Thus Courts,&c.] What Geftationes, Viridaria, Deamour Tranflatour here calls bulationes, and Porticus. In Courts, Lucretius calls Porticus. thefe Walks they us'd fometimes Now the most wealthy among to walk, or be carry'd, a certain the antient Romans had ftately Number of Paces, as Plutarch Walks, both for fair and rainy reports of Cicero, in his Life. Weather: The firft were in the And this Cuftom appears from Shade of Trees, and fometimes the following antient Infcription planted with Box or Rofemary, which we find in Pignorius, de as Pliny witneffes in an Epiftle Servis, p. 141. and by which to Gallus. The fecond were un-they knew when they had been der magnificent Roofs, fuppor-carry'd, or had walk'd, a Mile. ted from one End to the other on Pillars of an equal Height, and plac'd at equal Distances The Roof too was of an equal Height, and the Side-Walls exactly alike, nor was the Portico broader in any one Place than in another. We may judge of the Length of them from Juvenal, Sat. 4. v. 5. where, fpeaking of the luxurious Crifpinus, he fays, Quid refert igitur quantis ju- And Sat. 7. v. 178. IN HOC POMARIO PER CIRCUITUM EFFICIT PASSUS MILLE. " These large Places of Recrea tion, thefe cover'd Walks were but fuitable to their other Magnificence: For their Houses were for Largenefs like Cities, as SePor-neca witnesses, Epift. 90. & 114. fo that, according to the feveral Seafons of the Year, they fometimes us'd one Part of their Houfe, fometimes another. In Whence we may gather, that in these were their Cœnationes, Balnea fexcentis, & pluris ticus, in quâ Geftetur Dominus, quoties pluit.. XX Veftibula, The Roof deprefs'd; the Sides feem join'd in one; NOTES. All Eye: The Reafon of which is ; because the farther any Magnitude is from us, the lefs it makes the Angle that falls under the Sight: And on the contrary, the nearer any Magnitude is to us, the bigger it makes that Angle. Hence it comes to pafs that the moft remote and topmoft Part of the Portico may feem to end in a very little Cone, and even to touch the Ground or Surface Veftibula, Atria, Periftylia, Bibliotheca, Pinacothecæ, Bafilicæ, and fuch Structures, according to the State of Publick Works. But to return to Lucretius, who in thefe 4. v. brings Example VIII. of fuch a Porticus, as is above defcrib'd; and fays, that if we look into fuch a Building at one end, especially ftanding at fome Distance from it, it will feem fo to contract it felf by degrees from the Roof, the Pave-of the Earth, and that the farment, and on either Side, that the Profpect will end in a fharp Point or Cone. Of which the Mathematicians give this Rea . theft Parts of the two fide Walls feem to touch one another. to rife up, together, the Profpect must neceffarily end in a fharp Angle or Point. 443. The weary'd Sight loft in fon: becaufe thofe Parts of Pa-Roof feems to defcend, the Floor a darkfome Cone.] For when the rallel Lines, that are fartheft remov'd from the Sight, feem aland the Sides to meet moft to meet at the end which they demonftrate in this manner: In the firft Place, Parallel Lines muft of neceffity take up 444. The Sun, &c.] In thefe the fame Space and Extent of 4. v. he brings Example IX. and Ground. Let us fuppofe two fays, That to Men at Sea the Sun Parallel Lines of a hundred Foot feems to rife out of the Water, long, to be ten Foot diftant from and at his fetting, to be plung'd one another: Let ten traverfe again into the Waves. But this Lines be made from one Parallel is a Deception likewife of the to the other: Thefe ten Lines Mind, which, because the Eyes will be all alike, and each of fee nothing that intervenes bethem ten Foot long: Let the tween the Sun and the Sea, erroEye be plac'd exactly on a Le-neoufly fuppofes that nothing vel with that part of the Ground does intervene between them. or Plain, where the firft tra- Virgil defcribes finely the Sun verfe Line is drawn; the Second rifing out of the Sea; Line [I do not reckon that firft which is next the Eye will feem longer than the third, the third than the fourth, the fourth than the fifth, the fifth than the fixth, the fixth than the feventh, the feventh than the eighth, and the eighth than the ninth: So that the tenth or laft will feem shorter than the others, because if is the moft remote from the Poftera vix fummos fpargebat lumine montes Orta dies, cùm primùm alto fe gurgite tollunt Solis equi, lucemque elatis nari- Thus as finely render'd by our The All which does feem t' oppose, and to commence NOTES. The Morn, enfuing from the Th' etherial Courfers, bounding thro' two tranfparent Rodies; i. e. thro' Air and Water; one of which is more tranfparent than the other; that is to fay, the Air than the Water; but Water is more dense than Air: And this is the Reason that the Rays, projected from the Eyes upon the Oars, that are plung'd in Water, are broken; for when we fee that part of the Oar that is dipt in the Water, we fee it not directly, but obliquely: nor do we indeed fee it in the Water, which is a denfer Body than the Air, but only its Shadow or Image: because the Line from the thing feen is not reflected in a ftrait Line to the Eye, but is broken on the Surface of the Water. Hence it is, that the Eye fees not the Thing in the due Place, but in another: Nay, fees not the Thing it felf, which is ftrait; but the Shadow of it, which is bent and crooked. 448. Thus Ignorants, &c.] Thefe 8. v. contain Example X. of Oars, which in the Sea appear bent and broken: for that Part of the Oar, which in rowing is dipt in the Water feems crooked or broken; but the Part above the Water is ftrait. Now this too is an Errour of the Mind, who does not obferve, that the Part of the Oar, which is beneath the Water, is seen by refracted Rays, and does not appear to the Eyes in the Place and Site, in which it indeed is, but beyond the Surface of the Water, from whence the Rays tend directly into the Eyes. Of which the Mathematicians give us this Reafon: In seeing every thing, either the visual Rays from the Eyes, ftrike upon the Object feen, or are reflected back upon the Eyes, or elfe they are broken: They ftrike or fall upon the Object feen. when we fee, for Example, a Horfe, or any other Body; or when we fee Colour in a Body not denfe, but fmooth: They are reflected, when we fee, for Example, a Mirrour, or any o-fage in Lucretius run thus: ther Body both dense and smooth: But they are broken when we fee any Thing thro' pellucid Bodies; for Example, thro' Air and Water; or thro' Air and Glafs: Now the Oars in a Veffel feem broken, because they are feen in this laft manner, that is to fay, 449. Feeble Ships, &c.] Clauda navigia, fays Lucretius: where the Epithet clauda feems fo properly apply'd, that I wish our Interpreter had retain'd it in its natural Signification. For let us fuppofe the Oars to be the Feet and Legs of the Veffels, by the Help of which they walk thro' the Water; and when thefe Oars are broken, the Veffels may well be faid to be lame and crippled, The two firft Verfes of this Paf At maris ignaris in portu claudą videntur Navigia, apluftris fractis, ob- In which Creech, in his Latine Emen |
