Apollonius

, a Greek writer, born in Alexandria, under the reign of Ptolemy Euergetes king of Egypt, was a scholar of Callimachus, whom he is accused of having treated with ingratitude; by which he drew upon himself the indignation of this poet, who gave him the name of Ibis, from a bird of Egypt, which used to purge itself with its bill. Apollonius wrote a poem upon the expedition of the Golden Fleece; the work is styled “Argonautica,” and consists of four books, Quintilian, in his “Institutiones Oratoriic,” says that this performance is written “aequali quadam mediocritate;” that the author | observed an exact medium between the sublime and low style in writing. Longinns says also that Apollonius never sinks in his poem, but has kept it up in an uniform and equal manner: yet that be falls infinitely short of Homer, notwithstanding the faults of the latter; because the sublime, though subject to irregularities, is always preferable to every other kind of writing. Gyraldus, speaking of this poem, commends it as a work of great variety and labour: the passion of Medea is so finely described, that Virgil himself is supposed to have copied it almost entirely, and to have interwoven it with the story of Dido.

Apollonius, not meeting at first with that encouragement which he expected at Alexandria, removed to Rhodes, where he set up a school for rhetoric, and gave lectures for a considerable time; thence acquiring the name of Rhodius. Here it was that he corrected and put the finishing hand to his Argonautics, which being publicly recited, met with universal applause, and the author was complimented with the freedom of the city. He is said to have written a book “Concerning Archilochus,” a treatise “Of the origin of Alexandria,” “Cnidos,” and other works. He published his poem of the Argonautics at Alexandria, upon his return thither, when sent for by Ptolemy Euergetes, to succeed Eratosthenes as keeper of the" public library. It is supposed that he died in this office, and that he was buried in the same tomb with his master Callimachus. The ancient Scholia upon his Argonautics are still extant: they are thought to be written by Tarrhscus, Theon, and others.

Of late years his reputation has rather increased in this country. Mr. Hayley has bestowed great praise on him. “His poems,” says this excellent critic, “abound in animated description, and in passages of the most tender and pathetic beauty. How finely painted is the first setting forth of the Argo! and how beautifully is the wife of Chiron introduced, holding up the little Achilles in her arms, and shewing him to his father Peleus as he sailed along the shore! But the chief excellence in our poet, is the spirit and delicacy with which he has delineated the passion of love in his Medea. That Virgil thought very highly of his merit in this particular, is sufficiently evident from the minute exactness with which he has copied many tender touches of the Grecian poet.” The best editions of Apollonius are those printed at Oxford in 4to, by Dr. John | Shaw, fellow of Magdalen college, 1777, and by the same in. 8vo, 1779, that of Brunck, Argeritora, 1780, 4to and 8vo; that of Flangini; Rome, 4to, 1794, and of Beck, Leipsic, 1797, 2 vols. 8vo. The princeps editio is a quarto, dated Florent. 1496, a copy of which sold at the Pinelli sale for seventeen guineas. Several English poets have contended for the honour of transfusing the heauties of Apollonius into our language. Dr. Broome published many years ago, the Loves of Jason and Medea, and the story of Talus. Mr. West also published some detached pieces. In 1771, Mr. Ekins translated the third Book of the Argonautics, and a part of the fourth, 4to, with very valuable preliminary matter. In 1780, two translations of the Argonautics appeared, the one, a posthumous work of Fawkes, the other by Edward Burnaby Green; and in 1803, another translation was published in 3 vols. 12mo, by Mr. Preston. 1

1 Gen. Dict.Fabr. Bibl. Grace. —Vossius. —Saxii Onomasticon. Dibdin’s Classics, vol. L