good news
to the philosophers, who are walking in the Poecile.

NOTES.

{17} One of Alexander's generals, to whose share, on the division of
the empire, after that monarch's death, fell the kingdom of Thrace,
in which was situated the city of Abdera.

{18a} A small fragment of this tragedy, which has in it the very
line here quoted by Lucian, is yet extant in Barnes's edition of
Euripides.

{18b} This story may afford no useless admonition to the managers of
the Haymarket and other summer theatres, who, it is to be hoped,
will not run the hazard of inflaming their audiences with too much
tragedy in the dog days.

{19a} This alludes to the Parthian War, in the time of Severian; the
particulars of which, except the few here occasionally glanced at,
we are strangers to. Lucian, most probably, by this tract totally
knocked up some of the historians who had given an account of it,
and prevented many others, who were intimidated by the severity of
his strictures, attempting to transmit the history of it to
posterity.

{19b} This saying is attributed to Empedocles.

{20a} The most famous of the Pontic cities, and well known as the
residence of the renowned Cynic philosopher. It is still called by
the same name, and is a port town of Asiatic Turkey, on the Euxine.

{20b} A kind of school or gymnasium where the young men performed
their exercises. The choice of such a place by a philosopher to
roll a tub in heightens the ridicule.

{21} See Homer's "Odyssey," M 1. 219.

{23} Alluding to the story he set out with.

{24a} [Greek]. Gr. The Latin translation renders it "octava
duplici." See Burney's "Dissertation on Music," Sect. 1.

{24b} Gr. [Greek], aspera arteria, or the wind-pipe. The comparison
is strictly just and remarkably true, as we may all recollect how
dreadful the sensation is when any part of our food slips down what
is generally called "the wrong way."

{25a} See Homer's "Iliad," [Greek] 1. 227, and Virgil's "Camilla,"
in the 7th book of the "AEneid."

{25b} See Homer's "Iliad," [Greek] 1. 18. One of the blind bard's
speciosa miracula, which Lucian is perpetually laughing at.

{26} [Greek], or cerussa. Painting, we see, both amongst men and
women, was practised long ago, and has at least the plea of
antiquity in its favour. According to Lucian, the men laid on
white; for the [Greek] was probably ceruse, or white lead; the
ladies, we may suppose, as at present, preferred the roug