Note 36 — HYLAS AND ÆGON.
Reading edition
Virg. Ecl. viii. 59:
Præceps aërii specula de montis in undas Deferar. From yon high cliff I plunge into the main. Dryden.—Wakefield.
This passage in Pope is a strong instance of the abnegation of feeling in his Pastorals. The shepherd proclaims at the beginning of his chant that it is his dying speech, and at the end that he has resolved upon immediate suicide. Having announced the tragedy, Pope treats it with total indifference, and quietly adds, "Thus sung the shepherds," &c.