Note 55 — SPRING:
Reading edition
Alludes to the device of the Scots' monarchs, the thistle, worn by Queen Anne; and to the arms of France, the fleur de lys. The two riddles are in imitation of those in Virg. Ecl. iii. 106:
Dic quibus in terris inscripti nomina regum Nascantur flores, et Phyllida solus habeto.—Pope.
Thus translated by Dryden;
Nay, tell me first in what new region springs A flow'r that bears inscribed the names of kings; And thou shalt gain a present as divine As Phœbus' self, for Phyllis shall be thine.
Either the commentators on Virgil have not hit upon the true solution of his riddles, or they are not at all superior to the parody of Pope.