THE Campaign being over, and Councils not yet begun, the World is very much at quiet; nor can I find News enough to fill a Letter: But to keep up our uſual Correſpondence, I ſend you an Account of an old Latin Poet, very little known, tho' as worthy your Acquaintance, as many of thoſe who are in Credit. He lay buried in the German Libraries, not heard of in the World, till Poggius Publiſh'd him from ſome old Manuſcripts found there; and tho'Vid. Not. ad Lucianum. Burde Cotzus, thinks Lucian conſulted this Poet when he wrote his little Treatiſe of Aſtrologie; tho' Julius Firmizus is By Scaliger and Huetius. accus'd as an ungrateful Plagiary, for not acknowledging from whom he Tranſcrib'd the chiefeſt parts of his Books; yet there is no good Evidence, that any one Writer mention'd this Author before Poggius. Pliny is ſuppos'd to ſpeak of him as aNat. Hiſt. lib. 36. cap. 10. Mathematician, and Gerbertus, as anGerbertus Rhemenſis Biſhop of Ravenna, and afterward Pope of Rome, Epiſt. 130. Age verò, Te ſolo conſcio, ex tuis ſumptibus fac mihi ſcribantur Marcus Manilius de Aſtrologia, Victorinus de Rhetorica, &c. Aſtrologer; but concerning the Poet, there is as dead a ſilence as if he had never been; nor can his greateſt Admirers find any Character of him in old Writers.

Yet it muſt be own'd, that he is an Author of ſome conſiderable Age; for the Manuſcripts which Poggius, Bonincontrius, Scaliger, and Franciſcus Junius us'd, were ancient: Tanaquil Faber, Spanhemius, and the ſevereſt Criticks allow him to be as old as Theodoſius the Great, and pretend to find ſome particular Phraſes in him, which are certain Characters of that Time.

Others, who believe they have very good Reaſons to place him higher, find it very difficult to account for this univerſal ſilence: What they offer, is either bare May-be and Shift, and ſcarce ever amounts to a tolerable Reaſon: 'Tis true, they ſay, he is not mention'd by Ovid in hisDe Ponto, lib. 4. Ep. 16. Catalogue of Poets, and no wonder, ſince he did not begin to write before theThis Huetius affirms, but is undoubtedly miſtaken. Baniſhment of Ovid, and Publiſhed nothing before his Death; Perhaps he was one of thoſe Young Men, —Ovid. ibid. Quorum quod inedita cura eſt Appellandorum nil mihi juris adeſt. or his Fame did not reach ſo far as Pontus: Otherwiſe they are confident there are too many Graces in his Poem to be neglected; at leaſt, the ſingularity of his Subject would have deſerved to be taken notice of, as well as that ofAptaque venanti Gratius arma dedit. Ovid. ibid. Gratius. But why Quintilian doth not propoſe him to his Orator, tho' he encourages him toInſtit. lib. 10. Cap. 1. read Macer and Lucretius, and Inſtit. lib. 1. cap. 10. affirms, that a competent skill in Aſtronomy is neceſſary to make him perfect in his Profeſſion? Why the following Philologers never uſe his Authority, tho' it might very often have been pertinently cited by Gellius and Macrobius? Why the Grammarians and Mythologiſts, ſeem to be altogether unacquainted with his Writings? They confeſs theſe are Queſtions not eaſie to be anſwer'd.

Of this Poet, who is acknowledged by all Parties to have lain very long unknown, and about whom, ſince he firſt appear'd in the World, ſo many Controverſies have riſen, I am now to give you an account.

His Name is commonly ſaid to be Marcus Manilius, which in ſome Copies of his Poem is ſhortned into Manlius, in others ſoftned into Mallius: This variation is inconſiderable, and the common fault of unaccurate Tranſcribers; butPraef. Bonincontrius affirms, that the Title of his very Ancient Copies was, C. Manilii Poetae illuſtris Aſtronomicon; and that he had ſeen a Medal, in which was the Figure of a Man, but in a Foreign Habit, with a Sphere plac'd near his Head, and this Inſcription, C. MANILI. Lib. de Poet. Hiſt. dial. 4. Lilius Gyraldus mentions another of the ſame ſtamp; But that theſe Medals belong'd to this Poet, may be as eaſily deny'd, as 'tis affirm'd, or rather, as 'tis conjectured: However all Parties agree, that the moſt Ancient Copies conſtantly bear the Title of Manilius; but whether the Books of Poggius and Bonincontrius, which call him Caius, or thoſe of Scaliger and others, in which we find Marcus written, are to be follow'd, is ſubmitted to every Man's Diſcretion; the Matter is not of any Conſequence, nor a fit Subject for Diſpute, becauſe impoſſible to be determin'd: Tho' if Conjecture may be admitted, I ſhould fancy that it is more probable a Tranſcriber may err, when he puts M. before Manilius, than when he writes a C. becauſe in the former caſe, the Sound of the following Word, which is the moſt conſiderable in the Title, and conſequently the chiefeſt in his Thoughts, may pervert him; but in the latter, He hath no temptation to miſtake. This M. or C. Manilius, was born a Roman, and liv'd in Rome when Rome was in her Glory; commanding the biggeſt part of the known World, and full of the greateſt Men that ever any time produc'd: For the ſame Age that ſaw Manilius enjoy'd Varro, Lucretius, Cicero, Caeſar, Virgil, Varius, Horace, and (to cloſe the Catalogue) Auguſtus. In the beginning of this Aſtronomical Poem that Emperour isLib. 1. v. 7. invok'd, that very Emperour who was theLib. 1. v. 10. adopted Son of Julius Caeſar, whoLib. 1. v. 906. beat Brutus and Caſſius at Philippi, Lib. 1. v. 918. overthrew Pompey the Great's Son,Lib. 4. v. 763. who ſent Tiberius to Rhodes, Lib. 1. v. 896. who loſt three Legions in Germany under the Command of Varus; whoLib. 1. v. 912. routed Anthony and Cleopatra at Actium, and ſav'd the Roman Empire by turning that overgrown diſſolute Republick into a well regulated Monarchy. Here are ſo many Characters, that the Perſon cannot be miſtaken, not one of them agreeing to any but the firſt Great Auguſtus. So that this Author liv'd in that Age to which He pretends by ſo many very particular Circumſtances, or elſe He is a moſt notorious Cheat, and one of the greateſt Impoſtors in the World.

It ſeemsNot. in Lib. 6. Lucretij. Tanaquil Faber thought him to be ſo, ſince without giving any Reaſon He brings him down as low as the time of Theodoſius: De Arte Gram. lib. 2. cap. 26. Voſſius was once of the ſame Opinion, having obſerved, as He then thought, ſome Meaſures, Words and Phraſes peculiar to that Age, and therefore He concludes againſt Scaliger, that Julius Firmicus did not follow Manilius, but Manilius wrote in Verſe what Firmicus had publiſhed in Proſe under the Reign of Conſtantine the Great: But upon ſecond Reading thisLib. de Poet. Lat. Critick alter'd his firſt Sentiments, and allows him to be as ancient as the Poet himſelf deſires to be thought. Phyſ. Sect. 2. lib. 6. cap. 2. Ptolomaeus, Firmicus, Manilius primarij hujus Artis Script • res. vid. etiam p. 717. & pag. 740. Gaſſendus often quotes him, and always ſets him after Firmicus, as may be ſeen in many places of his Writings; but gives no reaſon why he conſtantly obſerves that order: But Gevartius, who had ſtudy'd and deſign'd to publiſh Notes upon this Author, ſays in a Letter to Mr. Cambden, vid. Cambd. Epiſt. p. 260. I have been long acquainted with this Writer, and know him well, but cannot, with Scaliger and other learned Criticks, allow him to be as ancient as Auguſtus, for in my Notes I will demonſtrate that he liv'd in the Age of Theodoſius and his Sons Arcadius and Honorius, and that he was the ſame with Manlius Theodorus, upon whoſe Conſulſhip Claudian writes a Panegyrick, in which he mentions his Aſtronomicon. The ſame thing he aſſerts in his Comments uponVid. Not. in Statij. lib. 3. Syl. Carm. 3. Statius, and promiſes to do Wonders in hisHis Electa were almoſt finiſht A. D. 1618. vid. Cambd. Epiſt. p. 259. Electa upon this Subject; what his performance was I do not find taken notice of by any of the Criticks, nor am I concern'd for it, being certain that he fail'd in his Attempt, becauſe it was ridiculous and raſh: Yet the learn'd Ezechiel Spanhemius endeavours to ſupport this Conjecture of Gevartius, De praeſtantia & Vſu Numiſmatum. pag. 643. and tells us, that ſub Armis, a Phraſe familiar to Manilius, as lib. 1. v. 795.

Lib. 4. v. 656.

And in another place, —Quumque ipſa ſub Armis Pax agitur— was us'd in the time of Theodoſius, as appears by the following paſſage in that Emperour's Code, Cod. Theod. l. 38. t. 1. de Decur. Quicunque ſub Armis Militiae munus Comitatenſe ſubierunt. Scaliger himſelf unwarily gave a very great advantage to this Opinion, when heNot. ad Manil. affirm'd, that the word Decanus, which Manilius uſes, was brought from the Camp, and that a Sign which govern'd ten Degrees was call'd Decanus, becauſe an Officer who commanded ten Men in the Army had the ſame Title: ButSal. de An. Climact. p. 560. Salmatius, who diſcover'd the Miſtake, (for Decanus was not heard of in the Roman Camp before the time of Conſtantine the Great) hath ſo well corrected it, or rather Not. ad lib. 4. v. 298. Huetius hath given ſo good an Account of that Word, that tho' an Argument drawn from it may be ſtrong againſt the Critick, it will never be of any force againſt the Author. It is almoſt needleſs to mention the Exceptions of thoſe Criticks who think his Stile impure, or, as they pleaſe to ſpeak, too barbarous for the Age he pretends to; IndeedLib. de Poet. 3. Dial. 4. Gyraldus endeavours by this very Argument to prove he was no Roman born: But Scal. Proleg. in Manilium. p. 3. Scaliger laughs at him for his Attempt, tells him that he does not diſtinguiſh between Idiotiſms and Barbariſms, and that Vitruvius (to whom he ſhould have added Lucretius) might be call'd barbarous as well as he:Praef. ad Not. Franciſcus Junius commends the propriety of his Language, Not. ad Aug. ſcript. Salmatius andVid. Not. in Manil. Huetius have approved many paſſages which leſſer Criticks thought to be impure; And the accurate Voſſius, De Poet. Lat. after he had ſtudied and conſidered him well, found nothing in him inconſiſtent with the Age of Auguſtus, and the Politeneſs of his Court. Indeed moſt of the Inſtances that are produc'd upon this head, do not faſten on the Author himſelf, but on the Tranſcribers and Publiſhers of his Writings. There ought to be a new Edition of his Aſtronomicon, and I do not deſpair of ſeeing one which will have a pure genuine Text, and free that Text from many of his Interpreters Comments, eſpecially from the Notes of the miſerable wretchedThe Editor of Manilius in uſum Delphini. Fayus.

You ſee, Sir, I have brought this diffus'd Controverſie within a very narrow Compaſs; Tanaquil Faber and Gaſſendus keep their (if they had any) Reaſons to themſelves. Their Authority I confeſs had been perſwaſive, had they conſidered, and after a fair hearing determin'd the Controverſie; but an incident declaration, and an unweigh'd Sentence concerning the Age of any Writer ought not to be ſubmitted to, but appeal'd from: And therefore if I can ſhew the Obſervation of Spanhemius to be unconcluding, and refute the bold Conjectures of Gevartius, I ſhall leave Manilius in poſſeſſion of that Age, which he ſo often, and with ſo much aſſurance claims. And here I am ſure we ſhould not have been troubled with Spanhemius's Obſervation, had he been pleas'd to conſider, that ſub Armis, and ſub Armis Militiae, being very different from one another, might be us'd in very different Ages of the Empire; and that he argues very ill, who ſays, the one was known in the Time of Theodoſius, and therefore the other was not common in the Court of Auguſtus: 'Tis certain that it was, for Virgil (whom Manilius often imitates) hath —Sedet circum caſtella ſub Armis, —Equitem docuere ſub Armis Inſultare ſolo— And in another place, —Ludunt Belli ſimulachra ſub Armis. And this Virgil himſelf borrow'd from Ennius, who ſays, Ter me ſub Armis malim vitam cernere. I could produce more Authorities, were not theſe ſufficient to ſecure Manilius from Spanhemius's Obſervation.

But Gevartius, as he is bolder, ſo he is much more unhappy in his Conjectures; he fixes upon the Man, and ſays this Manilius is Mallius Theodorus, celebrated by the Poet Claudian; for the Author of this Aſtronomicon, is in many of the old Copies call'd Mallius, and this Mallius Theodorus, was a good Aſtronomer, and a Writer of great Induſtry and Reputation: But did Gevartius ever meet with the Aſtronomicon, under the Title of Fl. Mallius Theodorus? Or of Fl. Mallius and not alwaies of C. or M. Manlius, Mallius or Manilius? Doth Claudian commend the Poetry of his Conſul, or mention his Acquaintance with the Muſes? or could a Poet forget, or not celebrate that Talent which he himſelf muſt look upon as a very great Perfection, and the Age would have highly valued, had he been the Author of this Poem? Doth he ſay he wrote Books of Aſtronomy, knew the Depths of Aſtrology, and was admitted into the Councils of the Stars? Here was a large Field for that luxuriant Wit to have wanton'd in, and it cannot be thought he would have conceal'd the deſerts of his Patron when he ſtudy'd to commend him: But inſtead of this he praiſes his Juſtice, Integrity, Clemency and Honor; he extols his Eloquence, and prefers the ſweetneſs of it before all the delicate Charms of Poetry and Muſick.

And tho' all the Muſes are concern'd for him, and buſie in his Service, yet he is devoted to none of them but Ura • ie, who aſſiſted him in his Aſtronomical Diverſions.

Gevartius very well obſerves that this Conſul Mallius was an Aſtronomer.

That he publiſh'd ſome admir'd Books ibid. v. 332. Conſul per populos, idemque graviſſimus Author Eloquij, duplici vita ſubnixus in aevu • Procedat, libris pariter, faſtiſque legendus. But how doth it appear that Aſtronomy was his Subject, when Claudian himſelf tells us it was the Origine and Conſtitution of the World? He repreſents him as well vers'd in all the ſeveral Hypotheſes of the Natural and Moral Philoſophers, acquainted both with the Phyſicks and Ethicks of the Greeks, and able to diſcourſe of their Opinions very properly, and very elegantly in Latin.

But when he ſpeaks of his Writings he ſays he deſcrib'd the Origine and Diſpoſition of the World,Ibid. v. 65. and gave very convincing proofs of his own Wit, Capacity, and Judgment, by his exact account of the beautiful Order, and regular Contrivance of that wonderful Machine.

From theſe Verſes and other paſſages in Claudian, as —ibid. v. 101. Quae vis animaverit Aſtra, Impuleritque Choros, quo vivat Machina motu; it may be inferr'd that this Conſul Mallius, was as to Natural Philoſophy a Stoick, and built his World according to the Hypotheſis of that Sect, and therefore wrote ſomething very like what we find at large in the firſt Book, and hinted at in ſeveral paſſages of the other Books of Manilius. But this being the leaſt part of our Author, and ſubſervient to his greater and general deſign, it muſt not be ſuppos'd that Claudian ſhould enlarge only upon this, and leave his whole Aſtrology untoucht; unleſs we think Claudian as ridiculous as that Painter would be, who being to fill his Canvas with a noble Family ſhould draw a ſingle Servant, or paint only a Finger or a Nail when he had a large beautiful Body to repreſent.

I have been the more particular in this matter, becauſe Gevartius pretends to demonſtration, tho' to confute his conjecture it had been ſufficient only to obſerve, that it is the moſt ridiculous thing in the World to imagine that Mallius a Man well known both for his perſonal Endowments and publick Employments, who had been Governour of ſeveral Provinces, and at laſt Conſul ſhould publiſh a Treatiſe under his own Name, and yet in almoſt every Page of the Book endeavour to perſwade his Readers it was written four hundred years before. For it muſt be granted that the Prince whom heLib. 1. v. 7. invokes in the beginning of his Poem, who is ſtiled Patriae Princepsque Paterque, who is deify'd whilſtlib. 1. v. 9. et 924. alive, and (not to repeat the other particulars I have already reckon'd up) whoſelib. 2. v. 509. Horoſcope was Capricorn, was the firſt Great Auguſtus, and therefore there is no need of calling in the Authorities ofCar. lib. 1. Od. 2. Hic ames dici Pater atque Princeps. Horace, Virg. Ec. 1. et Georg. 1. and 〈…〉 Aug. cap. 94. Suetonius to prove it.

This laſt Character puts me in mind of another Objection that may be drawn from F. Harduin'sde Num. Herod. p. 9. Obſervation, for he ſays that Suetonius was himſelf deceiv'd, and hath deceiv'd all thoſe who have thought Capricorn was concern'd in the Nativity of Auguſtus: For if this be true all the Pretences of Manilius are ruin'd; but ſince that Writer doth not back his Aſſertion with any Reaſons, I ſhall not ſubmit to his bare Authority, nor waſt my time in gueſſing what Arguments he may rely on, being not bold enough to conjecture what the daring Author may produce. Having thus fixt the Age of this Author, and prov'd him to have liv'd in the time of Auguſtus Caeſar, I ſhall venture farther to affirm that he was born under the Reign of that Emperour, not only a Roman, but of illuſtrious Extraction, being a branch of that noble Family the Manilij, who ſo often fill'd the Conſul's Chair, and ſupply'd the beſt and greateſt Offices in the Roman Commonwealth. And here I muſt oppoſe many of the Criticks, and be unaſſiſted by the reſt: ForProleg. in Manil. p. 2. Scaliger confeſſes, that from his own Writings, it cannot be known what Countryman he was, and no other Authors give us any Information. Bonincontrius and Gyraldus endeavour to prove from the Medal already mention'd, that he was no Roman; the LearnedVid. Sir Edward Shirburn's Preface to the Sphere of Manilius. Iſaac Voſſius thinks he was a Syrian, and all who look upon him to be the ſame with that Manilius mention'd by Pliny, Nat. Hiſt. lib. 35. cap. 17. ſay he was a Slave: Only Petrus Crinitus De Poet. Lat. affirms, he was Nobly Born, and Mr. Triſtan willHiſt. Com. Tom. 1. have him to be that Manilius, of whom Pliny gives a very Honourable Character, in the Tenth Book and Second Chapter of his Natural Hiſtory; where he ſays, He was of Senatorian Dignity, an excellent Scholar, and (If we believe Mr. Triſtan) a very good Aſtronomer. But ſince Crinitus doth not prove what he ſays, and Mr. Triſtan but conjectures at beſt, and upon Examination, will be found to be very much miſtaken in his Conjectures, therefore I cannot expect any aſſiſtance from either of theſe Authors. Now it is not certain that the Gentleman whom Pliny ſpeaks of in the Second Chapter of his Tenth Book was Nam'd Manilius. Copies differ, and in the M. SS. of Salmaſius Vid Salmatium ad Solinum, p. he is call'd Mamilius: Pliny doth not ſay one word of his skill in Aſtronomy; he onlyVid Plin. Nat. Hiſt. lib. 10. cap. 2. affirms, That he was the firſt of all the Romans who wrote concerning the Phoenix, that never any Man ſaw it feed, that in Arabia it is Sacred to the Sun, that it lives 660 Years, and that with the Life of this Bird is conſummated the Converſion of the Great Year, in which the Stars return again to their firſt points, and give ſignifications of the ſame Seaſons as at the beginning: And all this any one may write who is in an entire Ignorance of the Courſes and Influence of the Stars: But when Mr. Triſtan farther obſerves that Pliny inſinuates, beſides a particular reſpect, a kind of Intimacy and Acquaintance between this Manilius and himſelf, he gives us a very convincing Argument againſt his own conjecture: for there is good reaſon to believe this Manilius the Poet dy'd before Auguſtus, and therefore could not be intimate with Pliny.

To ſet this whole matter in its due light, I ſhall, as the learned and ingenious Sr. Edward Shirburn hath already done in his Preface to the Sphere of Manilius take a view of thoſe, who have been by the name of Manilius deliver'd down to Poſterity as Men of Letters, and then conſider which of all thoſe, or whether any one of them was this Manilius the Poet.

Of that Manilius whom Pliny mentions in the ſecond Chapter of his tenth Book I have already ſaid enough; and about that Manilius, whom Varro De Ling. Lat. lib. 4. et 6. cites, I ſhall not be concern'd, there being no ground to think he was the Author of this Poem.Sir Edward Shirburn's pref. Pliny lib. 35. cap. 17. tells us of one Manilius ſurnam'd Antiochus, who with Publius Syrus, and Staberius Eros were brought to Rome, all three of Servile Condition, but perſons of good Literature. His words are theſe, Pedes Venalium trans mare advectorum [Creta] denotare inſtituerunt Majores; Talemque Publium [Syrum] mimicae Scenae conditorem, et Aſtrologiae conſobrinum ejus Manilium Antiochum, item Grammaticae Staberium Erotem, eadem navi advectos videre Proavi. Our Anceſtors us'd to mark with Chalk the Feet of thoſe Slaves who were brought over from beyond Sea to be ſold; And ſuch an one was Publius [Syrus] the Founder of the Mimick Scene, and his Couſin German Manilius Antiochus of Aſtrology, and Staberius Eros of Grammar; whom our great Grandfathers ſaw in that manner brought over in one and the ſame Ship: This Manilius Laurentius Bonincontrius (who near two ages agoe commented on our Author) conceives the ſame with Manilius who wrote this Aſtronomical Poem, to confirm which opinion he produces the evidence of a Silver Medal in his poſſeſſion whereon was the figure of a Man, in an Exotick Habit with a Sphere plac'd near his Head, and this Inſcription MANILI: The ſame is affirm'd ſays Lilius Gyraldus by Stephanus Dulcinus, and the ſaid Gyraldus farther aſſures us that a familiar Friend of his, one Nicolaus Trapolinus, had another Medal of the like Stamp and Inſcription.

But againſt this opinion of Bonincontrius and Gyraldus, Scaliger oppoſes a double Argument, one drawn from the ſeeming inveracity of that ſuppos'd Evidence; no ſuch Medal being at this day to be found in the Cabinets of any, no not the moſt curious Antiquaries; the other from the reaſon of Time, for Manilius Antiochus being brought to Rome in the beginning of Sylla's days (for he was brought in the ſame Ship with Staberius Eros, who open'd his Grammar School in Rome whilſt Sylla was alive) muſt needs, if he were the Author of this Poem have been 120 Years old when he began to write, this piece being written in the latter years of Auguſtus. Beſides, the Author in the Proem of this work wiſhes for long life to compleat his intended Poem, and therefore certainly he was not of that Age, it being ridiculous for a Man to wiſh for long life, when he is at the Extream already.

The ſame Pliny, lib. 36. cap. 10. ſpeaks of one Manilius a Mathematician, who when the Obelisk which Auguſtus erected in the Campus Martius for finding out the Hours of the day by the Shadow of the Sun, with the Increaſe or Decreaſe of the Days and Nights, plac'd a guilded Ball, Cujus Vertice Umbra colligeretur in ſemetipſam, alia atque alia incrementa jaculantem Apice, ratione (ut ferunt) à capite hominis intellecta, ſays Pliny, who commends the deſign.

To this Perſon Scaliger conceives this work may with fairer probability be aſcrib'd than to the former; which Opinion is by divers other judicious Men embrac'd.

The excellently learn'd Iſaac Voſſius conceives yet, that the Manilius Antiochus, and the Manilius Mathematicus before mention'd are not two diſtinct Perſons, but one and the ſame under different Titles and Appellations, and the very Author of the Poem we now publiſh, whoſe particular Sentiments upon this Subject, and Arguments confirming the ſame, he was pleas'd not long ſince to impart to me, by his moſt obliging Letter, in anſwer to ſome Queries by me propounded in one of mine to him upon occaſion of my intended publication of this piece, which for the Readers ſatisfaction, I ſhall here make publick, tho' not in his own words, yet as near as may be in his own Senſe.

And firſt in anſwer to Scaliger's Argument drawn from Reaſon to Time, againſt Manilius Antiochus, upon the ſuppoſition of Staberius Eros (one of the Three before mention'd) ſet open his Grammar School in the time of Sylla ninety five years before the death of Auguſtus; and that therefore Manilius could not probably be (according to Scaliger's Computation) leſs than 120 Years old at the time when this Poem was written; he urges by way of reply, that Suetonius (from whom Scaliger takes the ground of his Argument) doth not ſay that Staberius Eros open'd his School in Sylla's time, but that he taught gratis the Children of thoſe who in Sylla's time were proſcrib'd. The Words of Suetonius are theſe, Sunt qui tradunt tanta eum (Staberium) honeſtate praeditum, ut temporibus Syllanis Proſcriptorum liberos gratis, et ſine mercede ulla in Diſciplina receperit. How long that was after the times of Proſcription will be needleſs here to declare; and that Manilius was not ſo old as Scaliger conceives, when this piece was written, may be made out from this, that he was the Couſin German of Publius Syrus, who that he was brought a young Boy to his Patron, Macrobius affirms, from whom likewiſe, and from the Verſes of Laberius it may be collected, that he was but a Youth when he came upon the Stage againſt Laberius, which was but a little before the death of Julius Caeſar and Laberius alſo; to whom he ſucceeded on the Mimick Stage in the ſecond year of 184 Olympiad, that is in the Year of Rome 711, as Euſebius teſtifies. And therefore ſeeing it is, manifeſt that Manilius publiſh'd this Poem ſoon after the Varian Defeat, which happened in the Year 762 of Rome, it is as evident likewiſe that between the Youth or Adoleſcence of Manilius, and the time wherein he wrote this piece, there could not paſs above one and fifty Years, and conſequently there is no reaſon to aſſign ſo great an Age to Manilius, as Scaliger here doth, ſince perhaps he was not ſeventy years old when he had finiſh'd this his Aſtronomical Poem.

As to what Scaliger ſubjoyns touching Manilius his wiſh for long life together with a cheerful old Age, and the Inference he thence makes that he could not reaſonably be thought to be old then, who wiſh'd he might live to be ſo. The Argument is but weak, for Senium is one thing, and Senium Annoſum is another; Nor doth he ſimply wiſh for Vitam Annoſam, but Vitam Annoſam quae conjuncta ſit cum molli Senecta, which may be wiſh'd for even by thoſe who are very old.

As for the name of Antiochus, he ſeems to have taken it from the famous Philoſopher Antiochus Aſcalonita, often mention'd by Cicero, Plutarch, Sextus Empiricus, and others, whoſe School not only Cicero, but Varro, Brutus, and divers others are ſaid to have frequented, and in all probability this our Manilius alſo, as being not only of the ſame Nation, but happily born in the ſame Town (Aſcalon.) So that it may ſeem no wonder if after the manner of thoſe times, he took upon him the Name of his worthy Tutor and Inſtructor. For that he was a Syrian is not only manifeſt from his Conſanguinity with Publius Mimus, but may likewiſe be collected from the Title or Inſcription of this work, which is an ancient and excellent Manuſcript in the Poſſeſſion of Voſſius is this M. MALLII POENI ASTRONOMICON DIVO OCTAVIO QUIRINO AUG. That the Phaenicians were by the Romans called POENI is manifeſt out of Horace, Cicero apud Nonium, and our Author in this very Poem; he concludes therefore than this our Manilius, or (as he is rather pleaſed to call him) Manlius was a Phaenician, and in all probability Native of the ſame Town as Antiochus his Tutor, whoſe name he aſſum'd.

From this Dedication of his Work to Auguſtus, by the Name of Quirinus, as the Inſcription ſhews, will appear the Error of thoſe, who who imagine the ſame to be Dedicated to Tiberius, or ſome later Roman Emperour: And the Reaſon of attributing the Name of Quirinus to Auguſtus, may be made clear from the Words of Suetonius, Cenſentibus quibusdam Romulum appellari oportere quaſi et ipſum conditorem Urbis, &c. Dion likewiſe tells us 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , That Auguſtus Caeſar extremely deſir'd to be call'd Romulus: and Joannes Philadelphenſis (Scripto de Menſibus in Aug.) 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Octavianus Son of Octavius was after his great Victories honoured with divers Names, for by ſome he was called Quirinus, as another Romulus, &c.

As to that Manilius ſtiled by Pliny Mathematicus, he conceives that titular diſtinction to make no difference in the Perſon, but that he is the ſame with the former, further adding, Omnino exiſtimo et illum quoque de noſtro Manilio accipi debere. And whereas Salmaſius affirms that the name Manlius or Manilius is not to be found in that place of Pliny in any ancient Manuſcripts, he makes it appear that Salmaſius is extreamly miſtaken by the teſtimony of ſeveral antient Manuſcript Copies of Pliny in his Poſſeſſion, one of which was written above 8 or 900 Years agoe, in all which the Word Manlius is found, though with ſome ſmall difference in writing of the name. Nor doth he think the name of Marcus prefixd to Manilius ought to be ſcrupled at, upon the Account that none of the Manlian Family after the 360th Year from the building of Rome could or did uſe that Praenomen, ſeeing the prohibition as Cicero intimates is only to be underſtood of the Patrician Race, Now that this Manilius, or (as he calls him) Manlius was before his Manumiſſion a Slave, not only the place of Pliny already cited, but the very Agnomen of Antiochus ſufficiently demonſtrates, for as much as a Greek Agnomen joyn'd to a Roman Name is always a moſt certain Token of a Servile Condition.

Thus far Sir Edward Shirburn, who is very much inclin'd to reſt ſatisfied with this rational diſcourſe of the incomparable Voſſius, and thinks others ſhould be ſo too; but upon examination it will appear that Scaliger's Objections are ſtill in force, and that Voſſius's his reaſonings are all to little purpoſe. It muſt be granted that the Agnomen Antiochus proves that Manilius to be of Servile Condition, tho' there is no need of this Argument, ſince Pliny in very expreſs Terms aſſerts that he is ſo: Tis likewiſe true that that Manilius was a Syrian, being a near Kinſman to Publius Syrus, and brought to Italy in the ſame Ship with him: But that that Manilius the Syrian was the ſame with Manilius the Poet, is a Queſtion that ſtill returns, and will not, I fear, be determin'd by the Title of that ancient and excellent Manuſcript of Voſſius: For if inſtead of M. MALLII POENI, we read M. MALLII POETAE, which is found in other Manuſcripts, (and every body knows there is ſo little difference in the traits of the Letters of thoſe two words in ancient Copies, that they may very eaſily by Ignorant Tranſcribers be miſtaken for one another) then the Evidence drawn from this Inſcription is loſt: Beſides that Title is not to be regarded, it not being written by the Author but affixt by ſome heedleſs Copyer of the Poem: For it is Divo Octavio, whereas Auguſtus was never ſtil'd Divus though often Deus before his Death, and the Writer of the Aſtronomicon, as will by and by appear, dy'd before Auguſtus.

To ſpeak out what I think will not be deny'd, Manilius the Author of this Poem was young when he wrote it, and dy'd young; and therefore cannot be that Manilius Antiochus whom Scaliger reckons to be 120, and Voſſius is forced to confeſs was 70 years of Age about the time Varus was defeated by the Germans. The firſt part of this Aſſertion may be demonſtrated from almoſt all the Pages of his Book, in which we meet with many things that are not to be accounted for on the Hypotheſis of Sixty: He is too fierce and fiery for that Age, and bounds every Step he takes: In a Man of years when we find a Warmth we feel it to be regular, he never ſtarts, his Pace is equal, and ſeldom varies but when his Subject forces him to a more than ordinary quickneſs.

Judgment appears all thro', and a ſtrength well govern'd: When he riſes he doth not affect to climb but to walk, like a ſober Traveller, who knowing his own force ſeeks the eaſieſt aſcent, when his Ground is uneven, or he is oblig'd to take the advantage of a Proſpect. But 'tis not ſo in Youth whoſe Fancies as well as Paſſions are impetuous; that pleaſes them moſt which is moſt daring, finding they have ſtrength they uſe it to the utmoſt, and when at laſt they ſink they ſeem rather worn out, than tired. I cannot compare the Spirit of Poetry poſſeſſing a Youth, of a ſtrong generous Imagination and vigorous Conſtitution, to any thing better than to a Flame ſeizing on the Body of a Meteor, the whole Maſs blazes, and mounts upon a ſudden; but its motion is all the way uneven, and it quickly falls in a deſpicable Gelly: He that looks on the Latin of Manilius will ſee that I do him no Injury when I compare him to this Meteor, for even when he is oblig'd to give rules, and is ty'd almoſt to a certain form of words, he ſtruggles againſt thoſe neceſſary Fetters, he reaches after the ſtrongeſt Metaphors, uſes the boldeſt Catachreſis, and againſt all the rules of Decency labours after an obſcure Sublime, when he ſhould endeavour to be plain, intelligible and eaſy: But as ſoon as he hath room to get looſe, how wildly doth he rove? he is not free but licentious, and ſtrives to err greatly. 'Tis needleſs to produce particulars, ſince they are ſo viſible in the Prefaces, Fables, and Deſcriptions thro' his Books: And upon the whole it may be affirm'd, there are ſo many boldneſſes ſcatter'd thro' his Poem, and ſo much of Toyſomneſs juſt by them, that a Man may read his Youth in his writings, as well as his Contemporaries could do it in his Face.

I would mention and enlarge upon his conſpicuous Vanity, and from thence endeavour to ſupport the Judgment I have already paſs'd; but that I conſider that fault when it hath once poſſeſs'd a Man is not to be cool'd by all the Froſt and Snow of Age: Yet from the Vanity of Manilius I think a particular Argument may be drawn to prove him to be young, for he had a deſign to rival or perfect the inimitable Virgil. This is evident from the Preface to his third Book: —Lib. 3. v. 22. Romanae Gentis Origo, Totque Duces Orbis, tot bella, tot otia, et omnis In Populi unius leges ut ceſſerit Orbis Differtur— For here it is plain he had this mighty project in his head, and after he had prepar'd himſelf by this Aſtronomical Poem, rais'd his Fancy and got a good turn of Verſe, was reſolv'd to proſecute it with his utmoſt vigour; he ſaw the vaſtneſs of the deſign —Lib. 3. v. 21. Spatio majore canenda Quam ſi tacta loquor— Yet he hop'd to live to finiſh it, though in the beginning of this Poem he wiſhes for old Age that he might compleat the Work he then had in hand; yet having gone through the moſt difficult part of it ſooner, and with more eaſe than at firſt he thought he ſhould have done; he ſets up for new Schemes and thinks he ſhall have years enough before him prudently to begin, and Strength ſucceſfully to carry on ſo great an Undertaking. In this very Preface he reckons up a great many other Subjects fit to employ a Poet, but in expreſs terms lays them all aſide. Colchida nec referam, &c. Non annoſa canam, &c. But the Roman Hiſtory is in his Thoughts tho' he will not begin to write, till his greater leiſure gives him opportunity to do it.

Theſe two Obſervations perſwade me, that Manilius was Young when he began this Poem, and that he dy'd Young, and did not live to finiſh his deſign, or accurately Reviſe what he had written, will I think be very evident from what follows: It cannot be deny'd, that this Poet had advanc'd very far in his Work, whilſt Tiberius was at Rhodes, for in his fourth Book, he gives this Character of that Iſland: Lib. 4. v. 761. Virgine ſub caſta felix Terraque Marique, Et Rhodos, Hoſpitium recturi Principis Orbem, Tuque domus verè ſolis, cui tota ſacrata es, Cum caperes lumen magni ſub Caeſare Mundi.

NowDion Caſſius, p. 634. Tiberius retired to Rhodes, when C. Antiſtius and L. Balbus, were Conſuls; he continu'd there Seven Vell. Paterculus, lib. 2. cap. 99. Years, and return'd in the Conſulſhip of P. Vinicius and P. Alfinius Varus; and yet in the firſt Book we meet with thelib. 1. v. 894. Deſcription of the Prodigies that appeared before the defeat of Varus in Germany which hapned when Poppaeus Sabinus and Q. Sulpicius Camerinus were Conſuls, about eight years after the Return of Tiberius from Rhodes: What ſhall we ſay then? was the fourth Book written and publiſh'd before the firſt? or would the Poet have ſtrain'd for that Complement to Rhodes after the Varian Defeat? with what Propriety could that Iſland be call'd Hoſpitium recturi Principis Orbem, or with what Truth could it be ſaid to contain the moſt glorious Luminary next to Caeſar, when that imagin'd Star had not for many years been in that Horizon, and now ſhone in other quarters of the World? No, this had been Banter and inexplicable Riddle: But if we ſuppoſe Manilius to have had this Work under his hand ſeveral years, to have revis'd it, and added what he thought would adorn his Poem, then we can eaſily give an account why his fourth Book ſhould appear to be eight years younger than his firſt: A little before Tiberius's return from Rhodes he wrote his fourth Book, after that he compoſs'd his fifth, and ſixth which is now loſt; then at ſeveral times reviſing his Work, and about the time of the Varian Defeat being upon the end of his firſt Book, he added to his diſcourſe of Comets a ſhort Account of thoſe prodigious Meteors that then appeared, and which HiſtoriansDion Caſſius, lib. 56. tell us were the moſt amazing that were ever ſeen: Soon after this he dy'd before he had corrected the fourth Book, as appears from the Character which in that Book he gives the Iſland Rhodes, and which his laſt and finiſhing hand could not have left there.

Theſe Obſervations will help us to give ſome tolerable account of the other difficulties relating to this Author, for to any one who enquires why the firſt Book is more correct than the reſt? why the Impurities of Stile the Criticks charge upon him are for the moſt part pickt out of the four laſt Books? I would anſwer, we have only the firſt and rude Draughts of them; and that as Poets and Painters are ſaid to be very near ally'd, ſo they agree in nothing more than they do in this, that though in their Scetches we ſee the Maſter, yet we may find ſomething that the Finiſher would correct: To him who asks why there is no mention of this Poet in any of the Antients, I would reply, That Manilius having left an unfiniſht Piece, his Family was ſtudious both of his Credit and their own, they carefully preſerv'd the Orphan, but would not expoſe it: In that Age when Poetry was rais'd to its greateſt highth, it had argued the utmoſt Fondneſs or the extreameſt Folly in a Noble Family to have publiſh'd a crude uncorrect Poem, and thereby engage their Honors to defend it.

Beſides, Auguſtus who was infinitely jealous of his reputation (—Si palpere recalcitrat undique tutus, ſays Horace who knew his Temper very well) would not have born the too officious Complement of being invok'd, unleſs the Poem had been as correct as Virgil's Georgicks, and fit for his Genius to inſpire. Lucan afterward ſuffer'd for the like Complement, though indeed upon a far different account: He loſt his Life for pretending to be inſpir'd by Nero, when he made better Verſes than the Emperour himſelf; his Flattery to Nero was too great, as this of Manilius to Auguſtus had been too little, and a Defect in ſuch Addreſſes was as dangerous under the wiſe, as an Exceſs in them was under the vain Emperors of Rome.

You are ſufficiently tired, I fear, with this long Diſcourſe about Manilius full of gueſſes and conjectures, yet I cannot diſmiſs this Subject without adding ſomething concerning his Quality, and place of Birth. His Quality he carries in his name, the Manilij being one of the beſt Families in Rome, which ſo often fill'd the Conſul's Chair, and was employ'd in the greateſt Offices of that Commonwealth. Indeed ſome have affirm'd that he was of Servile Condition, and being made free, according to Cuſtom, took the name of his Patron: But ſince I have already prov'd, that he was not the Manilius Antiochus in Pliny, there is no reaſon left for any one to ſay he was a Slave; he himſelf very expreſly, I think, declares himſelf to be a Roman born, for in his fourth Book he ſhews a Concern for the Intereſts of the Roman Commonwealth down as low as the Age of Hannibal. Lib. 4. v. 40. Speratum Hannibalem noſtris cecidiſſe catenis: which he could not with any Propriety have done, had his relation to that State commenc'd ſo lately, or had his Anceſtors had no Intereſt in the then Loſſes or Victories of Rome. And ſeeing he was born a Roman, and of the Family of the Manilij, we may farther from ſome other Evidences conclude that he ſprung from a very conſiderable, if not one of the nobleſt Branches of it; for if we reflect that tho' he dy'd young, yet he had been well inſtructed in the ſeveral Hypotheſes of the Antient Philoſophers, accurately taught the Doctrine of the Stoicks, led thro' all the intricate mazes and Subtilties of Aſtrology, that he was acquainted with the Mathematicks, knew all the Mythology of the Antients, and had run thro' the Greek Poets, we ſhall find in him all the ſigns of a very liberal and coſtly Education, and conſequently of a conſiderable Quality, or at leaſt a great Fortune. But if we reflect farther that he was converſant at Court, and acquainted with the modiſh, and niceſt Flattery of the Palace, that he made his Complements in the ſame Phraſe that the moſt intimate and finiſht Courtier ever us'd, we may raiſe another probable Argument that his Quality was great: Now this reflection may be ſupported by one obſervation made on the Complement he pays Tiberius when at Rhodes: He ſtiles himLib. 4. v. 764. Magni Mundi Lumen, uſing the very ſame Word, which we meet with in Velleius Paterculus, who wrote all Court Language, upon the very ſame occaſion.Lib. 2. cap. 99. Alterum Reipublicae Lumen is Tiberius, and he retir'd to Rhodes, ne Fulgor ſuus orientium Juvenum, C. et L. Caes. obſtaret initiis, ſays that Hiſtorian.

As to his place of Birth, ſince we find him at Rome when he wrote this Poem, Lib. 4. v. 7 • 5. Qua genitus cum fratre Remus hanc condidit Urbem: and no Author ſettles him any where elſe, it may with ſome ſhew of Probability be concluded, that he was born in that City, in which we are certain he both ſtudeid, and led his life: But if we conſider farther that he takes all occaſions to ſhew his reſpect for Rome, that with Zeal he mentions thoſe extravagant Honours which the FlatteryItalia ſummà, quam rerum maxima Roma Impoſuit terris, Coeloque adjungitur Ipſa. Lib. 4. v. 692. of Aſia, and the Vanity of her own Citizens had put upon her, we ſhall find ſo much Veneration in his Writings, that it could not well riſe from any other Spring than that Piety which Men of generous Senſe and Spirit always retain for the Places of their Birth.

To cloſe this Diſcourſe, I have prov'd this Author was not the Manilius Antiochus mention'd by Pliny, Nat. Hiſt. lib. 35. cap. 17. Nor that Manilius lib. 10. cap. 2. and that both Voſſius and Mr. Triſtan are very much miſtaken in their Conjectures. There remains another Manilius whom the ſameLib. 36. cap. 10. Pliny, commends for his Skill in Mathematicks; this Mathematician Scaliger thinks to be the ſame with the Poet, becauſe he liv'd in the time of Auguſtus, and was converſant in the ſame Studies with our Author; Theſe I muſt own are not convincing proofs; but as there are no good Arguments for, ſo there are no Objections againſt his pretences, and therefore he ſtill ſtands faireſt for the Perſon.

This Manilius of a Noble Family, born in Rome, and living in the Age of Auguſtus, had a liberal Education ſuitable to his Quality and the time in which he liv'd: his Writings ſhew him to be well acquainted with the Principles of the ſeveral Sects of Philoſophers, but addicted to the Stoicks, whoſe Hypotheſis in all its out-lines bears a very near reſemblance to ſome of the Theories that are now in Faſhion. The Modern Philoſophers build Worlds according to the Models of the Antient Heathens, and Zeno is the Architect.

The Stoicks Principles were in ſhort theſe: They ſay there is one Infinite, Eternal, Almighty Mind, which being diffus'd thro' the whole Univerſe of well order'd and regularly diſpos'd Matter, actuates every part of it, and is as it were, the Soul of this vaſt Body: The Parts of this Body they ſay are of two Sorts, the Celeſtial, viz. the Planets and the fixt Stars, and the Terreſtrial, viz. the Earth, and all the other Elements about it: The Celeſtial continue ſtill the ſame without any Change or Variation; but the whole Sublunary World is not only liable to Diſſolution, but often hath been, and ſhall again be diſſolv'd by Fire: From this Chaos which, becauſe it is made by Fire, they call Fire, they ſay another Syſtem would ariſe, the ſeveral particles of it ſettling according to their reſpective Weights: Thus the Earth would ſink loweſt, the Water would be above that, the Air next, and the Fire encompaſs the other Three: But becauſe all the Earthy parts are not equally rigid, nor equally diſpers'd thro' the Chaos, therefore there would be Cavities and Hollows in ſome places fit to receive the Water, and to be Channels for Rivers: In other places Hills and Mountains would riſe, and the whole Syſtem appear in that very form and figure which it now bears. They farther add, that this Infinite Mind hath made one general decree concerning the Government of the lower World, and executes it by giveing ſuch and ſuch Powers to the Celeſtial Bodies, as are ſufficient and proper to produce the deſign'd Effects: This Decree thus executed they call Fate, and upon this Principle their whole Syſtem of Aſtrology depends: That ſome things happen'd in the World which were very unaccountable every days Experience taught them; they learn'd alſo or pretended to have learn'd from very many accurate, and often repeated Obſervations, that there was a conſtant Agreement between thoſe odd unaccountable Accidents and ſuch and ſuch Poſitions of the Heavenly Bodies, and therefore concluded that thoſe Bodies were concern'd in thoſe Effects: Hence they began to ſettle Rules, and to draw their ſcatter'd Obſervations into an Art; And this was the State of the Hypotheſis and Aſtrology of the Stoicks, (I muſt call it ſo for diſtinction ſake, tho', neither the Hypotheſis it ſelf, nor the Aſtrology built upon it was invented by Zeno, but deliver'd down to him and his Scholars by the Chaldeans and other Philoſophers of the Eaſt) 'till the Greeks ambitious of making it appear their own, endeavour'd to eſtabliſh ſupport and adorn it with their Fables, and by that means made that which before ſeem'd only precarious, (as all Arts which are drawn from bare Obſervation and not from any ſettled Principles in Nature muſt appear to be) ridiculous Fancies, and wild Imaginations: But I do not deſign an Account, nor a defence of the Aſtrology of the Antients: You know, Sir, it hath been ſpoken againſt and derided on the one Hand, and ſupported and applauded on the other by Men of great Wit, Judgment, Piety, and Worth: and he who ſhall take a View of it, will always find enough in it to divert his leiſure, if not to ſatisfie his Curioſity, and raiſe his Admiration.

This is the Hypotheſis which Manilius endeavour'd to explain in Latin Verſe: Had he liv'd to reviſe it, we had now had a more beautiful and correct piece; he had a Genius equal to his Undertaking, his Fancy was bold and daring, his Skill in the Mathematicks great enough for his Deſign, his Knowledge of the Hiſtory, and Acquaintance with the Mythology of the Antients general: As he is now, ſome of the Criticks place him amongſt the Judicious and Elegant, and all allow him to be one of the uſeful, inſtructive, profitable Poets: He hints at ſome Opinions which later Ages have thought fit to glory in as their own Diſcoveries. Thus he defends the Fluidity of the Heavens againſt the Hypotheſis of Ariſtotle.

He aſſerts that the fixed Stars are not all in the ſame concave Superficies of the Heavens, and equally diſtant from the Center of the World: He maintains that they are all of the ſame Nature and Subſtance with the Sun, and that each of them hath a particular Vortex of his own; and laſtly he affirms that the Milkie Way is only the undiſtinguiſh'd Luſtre of a great many ſmall Stars, which the Moderns now ſee to be ſuch, thro' the Glaſs of Galilaeo: In ſhort, we do not give him too great a Character, when we ſay he is one of the moſt diſcerning Philoſophers that Antiquity can ſhew.

In my Verſion I have endeavoured to render this Author in •• lligible and eaſie, and therefore have been ſometimes forc'd to take a larger Compaſs than a ſtrict Tra • ſlation would allow; and have • dded ſome Notes to make him • eſs obſcure: Amongſt thoſe Notes y • u will find one relating to the Th • ory of the Earth, which I muſt deſire you to lay aſide, it being written and printed ſeveral years ago, and before I had well conſidered the weak unphiloſophical Principles, and pernicious Conſequences of that vain Hypotheſis.

And now, Sir, you are near the End of this long Letter, give me • eave to tell you, that I have not tired • ou half ſo much, as at firſt I deſign'd to do; having left unſaid a great many things relating both to the Author and his Writings: Thoſe perhaps will appear at the Head of a Latin Edition of his Works, which I ſhall think my ſelf oblig'd to undertake, unleſs a very learned Gentleman, from whom I have long expected it, frees me from that trouble, and obliges the World with his own Obſervations.