Another poem of Ennius, entitled _Epicharmus_, was so called because it was translated from the Greek work of Epicharmus, the Pythagorean, on the Nature of Things, in the same manner as Plato gave the name of _Timæus_ to the book which he translated from Timæus the Locrian. This was the same Epicharmus who invented Greek comedy, and resided in the court of Hiero of Syracuse. The fragments of this work of Ennius are so broken and corrupted, that it is impossible to follow the plan of his poem, or to discover the system of philosophy which it inculcated. It appears, however, to have contained many speculations concerning the elements of which the world was primarily composed, and which, according to him, were water, earth, air, and fire(209); as also with regard to the preservative powers of nature. Jupiter seems merely to have been considered by him as the air, the clouds, and the storm: “Isteic is est Jupiter, quem dico, Græci vocant Aera; quique ventus est, et nubes, imber postea, Atque ex imbre frigus; ventus post fit, aer denuo: Istæc propter Jupiter sunt ista, quæ dico tibei, Qui mortales urbeis, atque belluas omneis juvat(210).” This system, which had been previously adopted by the Etruscans, and had been promulgated in some of the Orphic hymns, nearly corresponds with that announced by Cato, in Lucan’s _Pharsalia_— “Jupiter est quodcunque vides, quocunque moveris;” and is not far different from the Spinozism, in Pope’s Essay on Man— “Warms in the sun, refreshes in the breeze, Glows in the stars, and blossoms in the trees; Lives through all life, extends through all extent, Spreads undivided, operates unspent.” Ennius, however, whose compositions thus appear to have been formed entirely on Greek originals, has not more availed himself of these writings than Virgil has profited by the works of Ennius. The prince of Latin Poets has often imitated long passages, and sometimes copied whole lines, from the Father of Roman Song. This has been shown, in a close comparison, by Macrobius, in his _Saturnalia_(211).