The Poet, at liberty to rove in the fairy fields of imagination, feels even his Genius fettered in the regular path of Nature: He may create Centaurs and Chimeras, but he cannot counteract the established properties of Animals, expofed to the common eye of Obfervation. This opinion however of the harmony of the Swan is not the vifionary dream of Ancient Poetry; even Pagan Philofophy cooly and deliberately affented to it. Not only Virgil' celebrates his Patron Varus with wafting his fame to heaven by the melodious Swans of Roman Poetry; but Plato' afferts, that the foul of Orpheus migrated into a Swan, which, like other mufical animals, migrates alfo into the human form: And in his Phædo, when the friend of Socrates obferves, that he is afraid of molefting him, fo near the hour of his melancholy catastrophe, the Philofopher replies, "I appear to you then inferior in divination even to Swans, for when they perceive themselves dying, though before often musical, yet are they then in a remarkable manner, exulting at their approaching visit to that God whofe minifters they are: But Men on account of their own apprehenfion of death belie thefe Swans, and affert them to be particularly vocal from their lamentation 3." Not only Horace calls Pindar the Dircæan Swan, and metamorphofes himself into the Bird of Melody; but Aristotle in his Hiftory of Animals informs us, that Swans are mufical and particularly at the approach of death; he adds, that 4 1 Ecl. 9. v. 29. 2 De Rep. ed. Serran, vol. II. p. 620. 3 Vol. I. p. 85. 4 L. IV. Od. 2. v. 25. And thus the Author of the following lines, Θήβης ὠγυγίης Ελικώνιος ἴσαλο κύκνος Πίνδαρος ἱμερόφωνος. s L. II. Od. 20. v. 15. • L. IX. c. 12. many many perfons, failing towards Libya, often met with those Swans in the fea finging with a mournful voice, and then faw them expire. Not only the Poetess Erinna is flattered by an Author in the Anthologia', as poffeffing the voice of a Swan; but the Orator Craffus is complimented in the fame manner by Cicero, Illa tanquam cycnea fuit divini hominis vox; and he obferves in another place, that Swans are justly dedicated to Apollo, because they seem to derive their fpirit of divination from him; and, foreseeing the happiness of death, chearfully expire with a fong: And Philoftratus 10 afferts, that as the Phoenix confumed in the neft fings the fong, which ushers in its death, fo according to the most accurate account of those, who have heard them, the Swans are faid to do the fame. Hence we difcover, that this eftablished notion of Antiquity was not only confecrated by the Poets, but had also the concurrent teftimony of Philofophers. Since in fupport of this idea it would be fuperfluous to accumulate more paffages, I will proceed to confider the ancient evidence, which queftioned or opposed the veracity of the fact. To begin with Elian, this Author in his book on Animals afferts," that he is not able to affirm, how the Swan, whom many Poets, as well as Writers in Profe, make the Minister of Apollo, excells in the power of mufical fong; but the ancients were perfuaded, continues he, that having fung, as it was called the Swan's dirge, he then departed: And in his Various History 12 he remarks, that it is a frequent affertion, that Swans are mufical; but he adds, that for his part he never 1s heard one fing, nor perhaps any one else: It is however believed, that this animal does fing; and they affirm it particularly harmonious and vocal in the period, approaching its diffolution." Hence it appears, that Ælian only wavered in his own opinion on this subject; and this Naturalist in other parts of his works often mentions the general idea entertained of the melody of the Swan. Thus, after citing Ariftotle, he adds 14, "that this bird delights in fountains, Jakes, pools, and other places, abounding with rivulets and water and there the experienced Perfons affirm, that it exercifes its musical faculty:" In another paffage 15 he obferves, that Swans are fubfervient to Apollo, and according to report moft mufical: But he alfo relates the following anecdote: "When the Priefts of the Hyperborean Apollo perform their facred folemnity at the customary period, a prodigious number of Swans from the Ripphæan mountains, after their flight round the temple for the purpose, as it were, of lustration, defcends into the largest and most beautiful court of the temple: And when the fingers in their language celebrate the God, and the Musicians attune their harmonious fymphony, the Swans join the concert, and are so far from fing ing with diffonance and out of tune, that obeying, as it were, the inftruction of the Master of the Band, they cooperate with the expert Performers of thofe confecrated hymns." In 13 This paffage is erroneously quoted by Barnes in his note on the Helena of our Poet, (v. 1115.) with the omiffion of the negative, so that Ælian is there faid to have heard himself the fong of the Swan; but the English Commentator is undoubtedly mistaken in his sense of the Græcian Author. This error is not peculiar to Barnes alone, for Cœlius Rhodiginus has committed the fame mistake. (1. IX. c. 5.) 14 De Nat. Anim. 1. X. c. 36. 15 Id. 1. XIV. c. 13. 16 Id. l. XI. c. I. another another paffage 16 he reasons with all the folemnity of philofophy, and with the appearance of conviction from this received idea: "The Swan furpaffes Man in things of the highest moment; for he knows when life is verging to its end; and in order to bear the approach of death with tranquillity, he has received the most delightful gift from Nature: Thus confident is he, that in death there is no unpleasant or painful fenfation: But Man fhudders at that, of which he is ignorant, and imagines it his greatest misfortune: Indeed fo wonderful is the tranquillity in the Swan, that in the very catastrophe of its life it warbles, as it were, its funeral dirge." The next authority, which I fhall mention on this fubject, is that of Pliny 17, who obferves, "that by fome experiments (which he fuppofes erroneous) the plaintive fong of Swans on their death is reported:" He does not inform us what these experiments were : But we read in Athenæus 18, "that Myndius Alexander, having purfued many Swans, who were dying, never heard them fing :" How this Philofopher discovered that thefe Swans were dying, it may perhaps be difficult to conjecture. The ftrongeft teftimony however of Antiquity against this general notion of the Swan's harmony is that of Lucian 19; who relates, "that he inquired of the failors on the river Eridanus, when the Swans would begin to fing their harmonious tune; to which they replied with laughter, that they, who had conftantly failed and worked on the river from their infancy, had never feen but a few Swans among the marshes, and those croaked very unmufically and weakly, 16 Id. 1. V. c. 34. 17 Olorum morte narratur flebilis cantus (falfo ut arbitror) aliquot experimentis. (Nat. Hift. 1. X. c. 23. 13 L. IX. c. 11. p. 393. ed. Caufab. 19 De Electro feu Cycnis, vol. III. p. 89. ed. Hemfter. fo fo that crows and jack-daws in comparison of them were Sirens: But their fweet melody, as you represent it, add they, we never heard even in a dream; fo that we are amazed how these fables concerning our country were invented among you.". These I believe are all the paffages in ancient Authors, which queftioned or oppofed the general teftimony of this received opinion. I fhall now proceed to collect the evidence of the Moderns, both in fupport of the notion, as against it. The first authority in the order of Chronology is that of our Antiquarian Leland, who in 1545 published his KúжVelov opa, or Swan's.Song: In this compofition the following lines deserve our attention on this subject: Afpice quâ pompâ Thamefinis fertur in undis Ufque ducem placidè fequitur chorus almus ovantem; Nomen et Henrici Regis feliciter amplum (Leland's Itin. vol. IX. p. 6. ed. Hearne.) The next evidence, which I fhall mention, is that of Olaus Magnus, who in his Hiftory of Northern Nations 20 afferts, that the Swan modulates the sweetness of its fong on account of its long and winding neck; which neceffarily occafions the 20 L. XIX. c. 14. De Cygnis, p. 660. ed. 1555. |