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THE ILIAD OF HOMER:

Tranſlated by Mr. POPE.

VOL. II.

Quis Martem tunica tectum adamantina
Digne ſcripſerit? aut pulvere Troïco
Nigrum Merionen? aut ope Palladis
Tydiden Superis parem?
HORAT.

LONDON: Printed by W. BOWYER, for BERNARD LINTOT between the Temple-Gates. 1716.

AN ESSAY ON HOMER's Battels.

[1]

PERHAPS it may be neceſſary in this Place at the Opening of Homer's Battels, to premiſe ſome Obſervations upon them in general. I ſhall firſt endeavour to ſhew the Conduct of the Poet herein, and next collect ſome Antiquities, that tend to a more diſtinct underſtanding of thoſe Deſcriptions which make ſo large a Part of the Poem.

One may very well apply to Homer himſelf what he ſays of his Heroes at the end of the fourth Book, that whoſoever ſhould be guided thro' their Battels by Minerva, and pointed to every Scene of them, would ſee nothing through the whole but Subjects of Surprize and Applauſe. When the Reader reflects that no leſs than the Compaſs of twelve Books is taken up in theſe, he will have Reaſon to wonder by what Methods our Author could prevent Deſcriptions of ſuch a length from being tedious. It is not enough to ſay, that tho' the Subject itſelf be the ſame, the Actions are always different; That we have now diſtinct Combates, now promiſcuous Fights, now ſingle Duels, now general Engagements: Or that the Scenes are perpetually vary'd; we are now in the Fields, now at the Fortification of the Greeks, now at the Ships, now at the Gates [2] of Troy, now at the River Scamander: But we muſt look farther into the Art of the Poet to find the Reaſons of this aſtoniſhing Variety.

We may firſt obſerve that Diverſity in the Deaths of his Warriors, which he has ſupply'd by the vaſteſt Fertility of Invention that ever was. Theſe he diſtinguiſhes ſeveral ways: Sometimes by the Characters of the Men, their Age, Office, Profeſſion, Nation, Family, &c. One is a blooming Youth, whoſe Father diſſuaded him from the War; one is a Prieſt whoſe Piety could not ſave him; one is a Sportſman whom Diana taught in vain; one is the Native of a far-diſtant Country who is never to return; one is deſcended from a Noble Line which ends in his Death; one is made remarkable by his Boaſting; another by his Beſeeching; and another who is diſtinguiſh'd no way elſe is mark'd by his Habit and the Singularity of his Armor.

Sometimes he varies theſe Deaths by the ſeveral Poſtures in which his Heroes are repreſented either fighting or falling. Some of theſe are ſo exceedingly exact, that one may gueſs from the very Poſition of the Combatant, whereabouts the Wound will light: Others ſo very peculiar and uncommon, that they could only be the Effect of an Imagination which had ſearch'd thro' all the Ideas of Nature. Such is that Picture of Mydon in the fifth Book, whoſe Arm being numb'd by a blow on the Elbow, drops the Reins that trail on the Ground; and then being ſuddenly ſtruck on the Temples falls headlong from the Chariot in a ſoft and deep Place; where he ſinks up to the Shoulders in the Sands, and continues a while fix'd by the Weight of his Armor, with his Legs quivering in the Air, 'till he is trampled down by his Horſes.

Another Cauſe of this Variety is the Difference of the Wounds that are given in the Ilaid: They are by no means like the Wounds deſcribed by moſt other Poets, which are commonly made in the ſelf-ſame obvious Places: The Heart and Head ſerve for all thoſe in general who underſtand no Anatomy, and ſometimes for Variety they kill Men by Wounds that are no where mortal but in their Poems. As the whole human Body is the Subject of theſe, ſo nothing is more neceſſary to him who would deſcribe them [3] well, than a thorough Knowledge of its Structure; even tho' the Poet is not profeſſedly to write of them as an Anatomiſt; in the ſame manner as an exact Skill in Anatomy is neceſſary to thoſe Painters that would excel in drawing the Naked, tho' they are not to make every Muſcle as viſible as in a Book of Chirurgery. It appears from ſo many Paſſages in Homer that he was perfectly Maſter of this Science, that it would be needleſs to cite any in particular. One may only obſerve, that if we thoroughly examine all the Wounds he has deſcribed, tho' ſo infinite in Number, and ſo many ways diverſify'd, we ſhall hardly find one which will contradict this Obſervation.

I muſt juſt add a Remark, that the various Periphraſes and Circumlocutions by which Homer expreſſes the ſingle Act of Dying, have ſupply'd Virgil and the ſucceeding Poets with all their manners of phraſing it. Indeed he repeats the ſame Verſe on that Occaſion more often than they— [...], &c. But tho' it muſt be owned he had more frequent Occaſions for a Line of this Kind than any Poet, as no other has deſcrib'd half ſo many Deaths, yet one cannot aſcribe this to any Sterility of Expreſſion, but to the Genius of his Times, that delighted in thoſe reiterated Verſes. We find Repetitions of the ſame ſort affected by the ſacred Writers, ſuch as He was gathered to his People; He ſlept with his Fathers, and the like. And upon the whole they have a certain antiquated Harmony not unlike the Burthen of a Song, which the Ear is willing to ſuffer, and as it were reſts upon.

As the perpetual Horror of Combates, and a Succeſſion of Images of Death, could not but keep the Imagination very much on the ſtretch; Homer has been careful to contrive ſuch Reliefs and Pauſes as might divert the Mind to ſome other Scene, without loſing Sight of his principal Object. His Compariſons are the more frequent on this Account; for a Compariſon ſerves this End the moſt effectually of any thing, as it is at once correſpondent to, and differing from the Subject. Thoſe Criticks who fancy that the Uſe of Compariſons diſtracts the Attention, and draws it from the firſt Image which ſhould moſt employ it (as that we loſe the Idea of the Battel itſelf, while we are led by a Simile [4] to that of a Deluge or a Storm:) Thoſe, I ſay, may as well imagine we loſe the Thought of the Sun, when we ſee his Reflection in the Water; where he appears more diſtinctly, and is contemplated more at eaſe than if we gaz'd directly at his Beams. For 'tis with the Eye of the Imagination as with our corporeal Eye, it muſt ſometimes be taken off from the Object in order to ſee in the better. The ſame Criticks that are diſpleaſed to have their Fancy diſtracted (as they call it) are yet ſo inconſiſtent with themſelves as to object to Homer that his Similes are too much alike, and are too often derived from the ſame Animal. But is it not more reaſonable (according to their own Notion) to compare the ſame Man always to the ſame Animal, than to ſee him ſometimes a Sun, ſometimes a Tree, and ſometimes a River? Tho' Homer ſpeaks of the ſame Creature, he ſo diverſifies the Circumſtances and Accidents of the Compariſons, that they always appear quite different. And to ſay Truth, it is not ſo much the Animal or the Thing, as the Action or Poſture of them, that employs our Imagination: Two different Animals in the ſame Action are more like to each other, than one and the ſame Animal is to himſelf, in two different Actions. And thoſe who in reading Homer are ſhock'd that 'tis always a Lion, may as well be angry that 'tis always a Man.

What may ſeem more exceptionable is his inſerting the ſame Compariſons in the ſame Words at length upon different Occaſions, by which Management he makes one ſingle Image afford many Ornaments to ſeveral Parts of the Poem. But may not one ſay Homer is in this like a skilful Improver, who places a beautiful Statue in a well-diſpoſed Garden ſo as to anſwer ſeveral Viſtas, and by that Artifice one ſingle Figure ſeems multiply'd into as many Objects as there are Openings from whence it may be viewed?

What farther relieves and ſoftens theſe Deſcriptions of Battels, is the Poet's wonderful Art of introducing many pathetick Circumſtances about the Deaths of the Heroes, which raiſe a different Movement in the Mind from what thoſe Images naturally inſpire, I mean Compaſſion and Pity; when he cauſes us to look back upon the loſt Riches, Poſſeſſions, and Hopes of thoſe who die: When he tranſports us to their Native [5] Countries and Paternal Seats, to ſee the Griefs of their aged Fathers, the Deſpair and Tears of their Widows, or the abandon'd Condition of their Orphans. Thus when Proteſilaus falls, we are made to reflect on the lofty Palaces he left half finiſh'd; when the Sons of Phenops are killed, we behold the mortifying Diſtreſs of their wealthy Father, who ſaw his Eſtate divided before his Eyes, and taken in Truſt for Strangers. When Axylus dies, we are taught to compaſſionate the hard Fate of that generous and hoſpitable Man, whoſe Houſe was the Houſe of all Men, and who deſerv'd that glorious Elogy of, The Friend of Human-kind.

It is worth taking Notice too, what Uſe Homer every where makes of each little Accident or Circumſtance that can naturally happen in a Battel, thereby to caſt a Variety over his Action; as well as of every Turn of Mind or Emotion a Hero can poſſibly feel, ſuch as Reſentment, Revenge, Concern, Confuſion, &c. The former of theſe makes his Work reſemble a large Hiſtory-Piece, where even the leſs important Figures and Actions have yet ſome convenient Place or Corner to be ſhewn in; and the latter gives it all the Advantages of Tragedy in thoſe various Turns of Paſſion that animate the Speeches of his Heroes, and render his whole Poem the moſt Dramatick of any Epick whatſoever.

It muſt alſo be obſerv'd that the conſtant Machines of the Gods conduce very greatly to vary theſe long Battels, by a continual Change of the Scene from Earth to Heaven. Homer perceiv'd them too neceſſary for this Purpoſe to abſtain from the Uſe of them, even after Jupiter had enjoin'd the Deities not to Act on either ſide. It is remarkable how many Methods he has found to draw them into every Book; where if they dare not aſſiſt the Warriors, at leaſt they are very helpful to the Poet.

But there is nothing that more contributes to the Variety, Surprize, and Eclat of Homer's Battels, or is more perfectly admirable in itſelf, than that artful Manner of taking Meaſure, or (as one may ſay) Gaging his Heroes by each other, and thereby elevating the Character of one Perſon by the Oppoſition of it to that of ſome other whom he is made to excell. So that he many times deſcribes one only to image [6] another, and raiſes one only to raiſe another. I cannot better exemplify this Remark, than by giving an Inſtance in the Character of Diomed that lies before me. Let us obſerve by what a Scale of Oppoſitions he elevates this Hero, in the fifth Book, firſt to excell all human Valour, and after to rival the Gods themſelves. He diſtinguiſhes him firſt from the Grecian Captains in general, each of whom he repreſents conquering a ſingle Trojan, while Diomed conſtantly encounters two at once; and while they are engag'd each in his diſtinct Poſt, he only is drawn fighting in every quarter, and ſlaughtering on every ſide. Next he oppoſes him to Pandarus, next to Aeneas, and then to Hector. So of the Gods he ſhews him firſt againſt Venus, then Apollo, then Mars, and laſtly in the eighth Book againſt Jupiter himſelf in the midſt of his Thunders. The ſame Conduct is obſervable more or leſs in regard to every Perſonage of his Work.

This Subordination of the Heroes is one of the Cauſes that make each of his Battels riſe above the other in Greatneſs, Terror, and Importance, to the end of the Poem. If Diomed has perform'd all theſe Wonders in the firſt Combates, it is but to raiſe Hector, at whoſe Appearance he begins to fear. If in the next Battels Hector triumphs not only over Diomed, but over Ajax and Patroclus, ſets fire to the Fleet, wins the Armor of Achilles, and ſingly eclipſes all the Heroes; in the midſt of all this Glory, Achilles appears, Hector flies, and is ſlain.

The Manner in which his Gods are made to act, no leſs advances the Gradation we are ſpeaking of. In the firſt Battels they are ſeen only in ſhort and ſeparate Excurſions: Venus aſſiſts Paris, Minerva Diomed, or Mars Hector. In the next a clear Stage is left for Jupiter, to diſplay his Omnipotence and turn the Fate of Armies alone. In the laſt, all the Powers of Heaven are let down and banded into regular Parties, Gods encountring Gods, Jove encouraging them with his Thunders, Neptune raiſing his Tempeſts, Heaven flaming, Earth trembling, and Pluto himſelf ſtarting from the Throne of Hell.

[7] I AM now to take Notice of ſome Cuſtoms of Antiquity, relating to the Arms and Art Military of thoſe Times, which are proper to be known in order to form a right Notion of our Author's Deſcriptions of War.

That Homer copied the Manners and Cuſtoms of the Age he writ of, rather than of that he lived in, has been obſerved in ſome Inſtances. As that he no where repreſents Cavalry or Trumpets to have been uſed in the Trojan Wars, tho' they apparently were in his own Time. It is not therefore impoſſible but there may be found in his Works ſome Deficiencies in the Art of War, which are not to be imputed to his Ignorance, but to his Judgment.

Horſes had not been brought into Greece long before the Siege of Troy. They were originally Eaſtern Animals, and if we find at that very Period ſo great a Number of them reckon'd up in the Wars of the Iſraelites, it is the leſs a wonder conſidering they came from Aſia. The Practice of riding them was ſo little known in Greece a few Years before, that they look'd upon the Centaurs who firſt uſed it, as Monſters compounded of Men and Horſes. Neſtor in the firſt Iliad ſays he had ſeen theſe Centaurs in his Youth, and Polypaetes in the ſecond is ſaid to have been born on the Day that his Father expelled them from Pelion to the Deſarts of Aethica. They had no other Uſe of Horſes than to draw their Chariots in Battel, ſo that whenever Homer ſpeaks of fighting from an Horſe, taming an Horſe, or the like, it is conſtantly to be underſtood of fighting from a Chariot, or taming Horſes to that Service. This (as we have ſaid) was a piece of Decorum in the Poet; for in his own Time they were arrived to ſuch a Perfection in Horſemanſhip, that in the fifteenth Iliad ℣. 680. we have a Simile taken from an extraordinary Feat of Activity, where one Man manages four Horſes at once, and leaps from the Back of one to another at full Speed.

If we conſider in what high Eſteem among Warriors theſe noble Animals muſt have been at their firſt coming into Greece, we ſhall the leſs wonder at the frequent Occaſions Homer has taken to deſcribe and celebrate them. It is not ſo ſtrange to find them ſet almoſt upon a level with Men, at [8] the time when a Horſe in the Prizes was of equal Value with a Captive.

The Chariots were in all Probability very low. For we frequently find in the Iliad, that a Perſon who ſtands erect on a Chariot is killed (and ſometimes by a Stroke on the Head) by a Foot-Soldier with a Sword. This may farther appear from the Eaſe and Readineſs with which they alight or mount on every Occaſion, to facilitate which, the Chariots were made open behind. That the Wheels were but ſmall, may be gueſt from a Cuſtom they had of taking them off and ſetting them on, as they were laid by, or made uſe of. Hebe in the fifth Book puts on the Wheels of Juno's Chariot when ſhe calls for it in haſte. And it ſeems to be with Alluſion to the ſame Practice that it is ſaid in Exodus Ch. 14. The Lord took off their Chariot Wheels, ſo that they drove them heavily. The Sides were alſo low; for whoever is killed in his Chariot throughout the Poem, conſtantly falls to the Ground as having nothing to ſupport him. That the whole Machine was very ſmall and light, is evident from a Paſſage in the tenth Iliad, where Diomed having taken a Chariot, debates whether he ſhall draw it out of the way, or carry it on his Shoulders to a Place of Safety. All theſe Particulars agree with the Repreſentations of the Chariots on the moſt ancient Greek Coins; where the Tops of them reach not ſo high as the Backs of the Horſes, the Wheels are yet lower, and the Heroes who ſtand in them are ſeen from the Knee upwards. *This may ſerve to ſhew thoſe Criticks are under a Miſtake, who blame Homer for making his Warriors ſometimes retire behind their Chariots, as if it were a Piece of Cowardice: which was as little diſgraceful then, as it is now to alight from one's Horſe in a Battel on any neceſſary Emergency.

There were generally two Perſons in each Chariot, one of whom was wholly employ'd in guiding the Horſes. They uſed indifferently two, three, or four Horſes: From hence it happens, that ſometimes when a Horſe is killed, the Hero continues the Fight with the two or more that remain; and [9] at other times a Warrior retreats upon the Loſs of one; not that he has leſs Courage than the other, but that he has fewer Horſes.

Their Swords were all broad cutting Swords, for we find they never ſtab but with their Spears. The Spears were uſed two ways, either to puſh with, or to caſt from them, like the miſſive Javelins. It ſeems ſurprizing that a Man ſhould throw a Dart or Spear with ſuch Force as to pierce thro' both ſides of the Armor and the Body (as is often deſcribed in Homer.) For if the Strength of the Men was Gigantick, the Armor muſt have been ſtrong in Proportion. Some Solution might be given for this, if we imagin'd the Armor was generally Braſs, and the Weapons pointed with Iron; and if we could fancy that Homer call'd the Spears and Swords Brazen in the ſame manner that he calls the Reins of a Bridle Ivory, only from the Ornaments about them. But there are Paſſages where the Point of the Spear is expreſſly ſaid to be of Braſs, as in the Deſcription of that of Hector in Iliad 6. ℣. 320. Pauſanias in Laconicis takes it for granted, that the Arms, as well offenſive as defenſive, were Braſs. He ſays the Spear of Achilles was kept in his Time in the Temple of Minerva, the Top and Point of which were of Braſs; and the Sword of Meriones, in that of Aeſculapius among the Nicomedians, was entirely of the ſame Metal. But be it as it will, there are Examples even at this Day of ſuch a prodigious Force in caſting Darts, as almoſt exceeds Credibility. The Turks and Arabs will pierce thro' thick Planks with Darts of harden'd Wood; which can only be attributed to their being bred (as the Ancients were) to that Exerciſe, and to the Strength and Agility acquir'd by a conſtant Practice of it.

We may aſcribe to the ſame Cauſe their Power of caſting Stones of a vaſt Weight, which appears a common Practice in theſe Battels. Thoſe are in a great Error, who imagine this to be only a fictitious Embelliſhment of the Poet, which was one of the Exerciſes of War among the ancient Greeks and Orientals. *St. Jerome tells us, it was an old Cuſtom in [10] Paleſtine, and in Uſe in his own Time, to have round Stones of a great Weight kept in the Caſtles and Villages for the Youth to try their Strength with. And the Cuſtom is yet extant in ſome Parts of Scotland, where Stones for the ſame Purpoſe are laid at the Gates of great Houſes, which they call Putting-Stones.

Another Conſideration which will account for many things that may ſeem uncouth in Homer, is the Reflection that before the Uſe of Fire-Arms there was infinitely more Scope for perſonal Valor than in the modern Battels. Now whenſoever the perſonal Strength of the Combatants happen'd to be unequal, the declining a ſingle Combate could not be ſo diſhonourable as it is in this Age, when the Arms we make uſe of put all Men on a level. For a Soldier of far inferior Strength may manage a Rapier or Fire-Arms ſo expertly as to be an Overmatch to his Adverſary. This may appear a ſufficient Excuſe for what in the modern Conſtruction might ſeem Cowardice in Homer's Heroes, when they avoid engaging with others whoſe bodily Strength exceeds their own. The Maxims of Valor in all Times were founded upon Reaſon, and the Cowardice ought rather in this Caſe to be imputed to him who braves his Inferior. There was alſo more Leiſure in their Battels before the Knowledge of Fire-Arms; and this in a good Degree accounts for thoſe Harangues his Heroes make to each other in the Time of Combate.

There was another Practice frequently uſed by theſe ancient Warriors, which was to ſpoil an Enemy of his Arms after they had ſlain him; and this Cuſtom we ſee them frequently purſuing with ſuch Eagerneſs as if they look'd on their Victory not complete 'till this Point was gain'd. Some modern Criticks have accuſed them of Avarice on account of this Practice, which might probably ariſe from the great Value and Scarceneſs of Armor in that early Time and Infancy of War. It afterwards became a Point of Honour like gaining a Standard from the Enemy. Moſes and David ſpeak of the Pleaſure of obtaining many Spoils. They preſerv'd them as Monuments of Victory, and even Religion at laſt became intereſted herein, when thoſe Spoils were conſecrated in the Temples of the Tutelar Deities of the Conqueror.

[11] The Reader may eaſily ſee I ſet down theſe Heads juſt as they occur to my Memory, and only as Hints to farther Obſervations; which any one who is converſant in Homer can not fail to make, if he will but think a little in the ſame Track.

It is no Part of my Deſign to enquire what Progreſs had been made in the Art of War at this early Period: The bare Peruſal of the Iliad will beſt inform us of it. But what I think tends more immediately to the better Comprehenſion of theſe Deſcriptions, is to give a ſhort View of the Scene of War, the Situation of Troy, and thoſe Places which Homer mentions, with the proper Field of each Battel: Putting together for this Purpoſe thoſe Paſſages in my Author that give any Light to this Matter.

The ancient City of Troy ſtood at a greater Diſtance from the Sea than thoſe Ruins which have ſince been ſhewn for it. This may be gather'd from Iliad 5. ℣. (of the Original) 791. where it is ſaid that the Trojans never durſt ſally out of the Walls of their Town 'till the Retirement of Achilles, but afterwards combated the Grecians at their very Ships, far from the City. For had Troy ſtood (as Strabo obſerves) ſo nigh the Sea-ſhore, it had been Madneſs in the Greeks not to have built any Fortification before their Fleet till the tenth Year of the Siege, when the Enemy was ſo near them: And on the other hand, it had been Cowardice in the Trojans not to have attempted any thing all that time, againſt an Army that lay unfortify'd and unintrench'd. Beſides the intermediate Space had been too ſmall to afford a Field for ſo many various Adventures and Actions of War. The Places about Troy particularly mentioned by Homer lie in this Order.

  • 1. The Scaean Gate: This open'd to the Field of Battel, and was that thro' which the Trojans made their Excurſions. Cloſe to this ſtood the Beech-Tree ſacred to Jupiter, which Homer generally mentions with it.
  • 2. The Hill of wild Fig-trees. It join'd to the Walls of Troy on one ſide, and extended to the High-way on the other. The firſt appears from what Andromache ſays in Iliad 6. ℣. 432. that the Walls were in danger of being ſcaled from this Hill; and the laſt from Il. 22. ℣. 145. &c.
  • [12] 3. The two Springs of Scamander. Theſe were a little higher on the ſame High-way. (Ibid.)
  • 4. Callicolone, the Name of a pleaſant Hill, that lay near the River Simois, on the other ſide of the Town. Il. 20. ℣. 53.
  • 5. Bateia, or the Sepulchre of Myrinne, ſtood a little before the City in the Plain. Il. 2. ℣. 318. of the Catal.
  • 6. The Monument of Ilus: Near the middle of the Plain. Il. 11. ℣. 166.
  • 7. The Tomb of Aeſyetes, commanded the Proſpect of the Fleet, and that Part of the Sea-coaſt. Il. 2. ℣. 301. of the Catalogue.

IT ſeems, by the 465th Verſe of the ſecond Iliad, that the Grecian Army was drawn up under the ſeveral Leaders by the Banks of Scamander on that ſide toward the Ships: In the mean time that of Troy and the Auxiliaries was rang'd in Order at Myrinne's Sepulchre. Ibid. ℣. 320 of the Catal. The Place of the Firſt Battel where Diomed performs his Exploits, was near the joining of Simois and Scamander; for Juno and Pallas coming to him, alight at the Confluence of thoſe Rivers. Il. 5. ℣. 776. and that the Greeks had not yet paſt the Stream, but fought on that ſide next the Fleet, appears from ℣. 791 of the ſame Book, where Juno ſays the Trojans now brave them at their very Ships. But in the beginning of the ſixth Book, the Place of Battel is ſpecify'd to be between the Rivers of Simois and Scamander; ſo that the Greeks (tho' Homer does not particularize when, or in what manner) had then croſs'd the Stream toward Troy.

The Engagement in the eighth Book is evidently cloſe to the Grecian Fortification on the Shore. That Night Hector lay at Ilus's Tomb in the Field, as Dolon tells us Lib. 10. ℣. 415. And in the eleventh Book the Battel is chiefly about Ilus's Tomb.

In the twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth, about the Fortification of the Greeks, and in the fifteenth at the Ships.

In the ſixteenth, the Trojans being repulſed by Patroclus, they engage between the Fleet, the River, and the Grecian Wall: See ℣. 396. Patroclus ſtill advancing they fight at the Gates of Troy ℣. 700. In the ſeventeenth the Fight about the [13] Body of Patroclus is under the Trojan Wall ℣. 403. His Body being carried off, Hector and Aeneas purſue the Greeks to the Fortification ℣. 760. And in the eighteenth, upon Achilles's appearing, they retire and encamp without the Fortification.

In the twentieth, the Fight is ſtill on that ſide next the Sea; for the Trojans being purſued by Achilles, paſs over the Scamander as they run toward Troy: See the beginning of Book 21. The following Battels are either in the River itſelf, or between that and the City, under whoſe Walls Hector is kill'd in the twenty ſecond Book, which puts an end to the Battels of the Iliad.

THE FIFTH BOOK OF THE ILIAD.

[]

The ARGUMENT.
The Acts of Diomed.

[]

DIOMED, aſſiſted by Pallas, performs Wonders in this Day's Battel. Pandarus wounds him with an Arrow, but the Goddeſs cures him, enables him to diſcern Gods from Mortals, and prohibits him from contending with any of the former, excepting Venus. Aeneas joins Pandarus to oppoſe him, Pandarus is killed, and Aeneas in great danger but for the Aſſiſtance of Venus; who, as ſhe is removing her Son from the Fight, is wounded on the Hand by Diomed. Apollo ſeconds her in his Reſcue, and at length carries off Aeneas to Troy, where he is heal'd in the Temple of Pergamus. Mars rallies the Trojans, and aſſiſts Hector to make a Stand. In the mean time Aeneas is reſtor'd to the Field, and they overthrow ſeveral of the Greeks; among the reſt Tlepolemus is ſlain by Sarpedon. Juno and Minerva deſcend to reſiſt Mars; the latter incites Diomed to go againſt that God; he wounds him, and ſends him groaning to Heaven.

The firſt Battel continues thro' this Book. The Scene is the ſame as in the former.

THE FIFTH BOOK OF THE ILIAD.

[17]
BUT Pallas now Tydides Soul inſpires,
Fills with her Force, and warms with all her Fires,
Above the Greeks his deathleſs Fame to raiſe,
And crown her Hero with diſtinguiſh'd Praiſe.
High on his Helm Celeſtial Lightnings play,
His beamy Shield emits a living Ray;
Th' unweary'd Blaze inceſſant Streams ſupplies,
Like the red Star that fires th' Autumnal Skies,
When freſh he rears his radiant Orb to Sight,
And bath'd in Ocean, ſhoots a keener Light.
Such Glories Pallas on the Chief beſtow'd,
Such, from his Arms, the fierce Effulgence flow'd:
[18] Onward ſhe drives him, furious to engage,
Where the Fight burns, and where the thickeſt rage.
The Sons of Dares firſt the Combate ſought,
A wealthy Prieſt, but rich without a Fault;
In Vulcan's Fane the Father's Days were led,
The Sons to Toils of glorious Battel bred;
Theſe ſingled from their Troops the Fight maintain,
Theſe from their Steeds, Tydides on the Plain.
Fierce for Renown the Brother Chiefs draw near,
And firſt bold Phegeus caſt his ſounding Spear,
Which o'er the Warrior's Shoulder took its Courſe,
And ſpent in empty Air its erring Force.
Not ſo, Tydides, flew thy Lance in vain,
But pierc'd his Breaſt, and ſtretch'd him on the Plain.
Seiz'd with unuſual Fear Idaeus fled,
Left the rich Chariot, and his Brother dead;
And had not Vulcan lent Celeſtial Aid,
He too had ſunk to Death's Eternal Shade;
But in a ſmoaky Cloud the God of Fire
Preſerv'd the Son, in Pity to the Sire.
The Steeds and Chariot, to the Navy led,
Encreas'd the Spoils of gallant Diomed.
[19]
Struck with Amaze, and Shame, the Trojan Crew
Or ſlain, or fled, the Sons of Dares view:
When by the blood-ſtain'd Hand Minerva preſt
The God of Battels, and this Speech addreſt.
Stern Pow'r of War! by whom the Mighty fall,
Who bath'ſt in Blood, and ſhak'ſt the lofty Wall!
Let the brave Chiefs their glorious Toils divide;
And whoſe the Conqueſt, mighty Jove decide:
While we from interdicted Fields retire,
Nor tempt the Wrath of Heav'ns avenging Sire.
Her Words allay th' impetuous Warrior's Heat,
The God of Arms and Martial Maid retreat;
Remov'd from Fight, on Xanthus-flow'ry Bounds
They ſate, and liſten'd to the dying Sounds.
Meantime the Greeks the Trojan Race purſue,
And ſome bold Chieftain ev'ry Leader ſlew:
Firſt Odius falls, and bites the bloody Sand,
His Death ennobled by Atrides' Hand;
As he to Flight his wheeling Car addreſt,
The ſpeedy Javelin drove from Back to Breaſt.
In Duſt the mighty Halizonian lay,
His Arms reſound, the Spirit wings its way.
[20]
Thy Fate was next, O Phaeſtus! doom'd to feel
The great Idomeneus' protended Steel;
Whom Borus ſent (his Son and only Joy)
From fruitful Tarne to the Fields of Troy.
The Cretan Javelin reach'd him from afar,
And pierc'd his Shoulder as he mounts his Car;
Back from the Car he tumbles to the Ground,
And everlaſting Shades his Eyes ſurround.
Then dy'd Scamandrius, expert in the Chace,
In Woods and Wilds to wound the Savage Race;
Diana taught him all her Sylvan Arts,
To bend the Bow and aim unerring Darts:
But vainly here Diana's Arts he tries,
The fatal Lance arreſts him as he flies;
From Menelaus' Arm the Weapon ſent,
Thro' his broad Back and heaving Boſom went:
Down ſinks the Warrior with a thundring Sound,
His Brazen Armor rings againſt the Ground.
Next artful Phereclus untimely fell;
Bold Merion ſent him to the Realms of Hell.
Thy Father's Skill, O Phereclus, was thine,
The graceful Fabrick and the fair Deſign;
[21] For lov'd by Pallas, Pallas did impart
To him the Shipwright's and the Builder's Art.
Beneath his Hand the Fleet of Paris roſe,
The fatal Cauſe of all his Country's Woes,
But he, the myſtick Will of Heav'n unknown,
Nor ſaw his Country's Peril, nor his own.
The hapleſs Artiſt, while confus'd he fled,
The Spear of Merion mingled with the Dead.
Thro' his right Hip with forceful Fury caſt,
Between the Bladder and the Bone it paſt:
Prone on his Knees he falls with fruitleſs Cries,
And Death in laſting Slumber ſeals his Eyes.
From Meges' Force the ſwift Pedaeus fled,
Antenor's Offspring from a foreign Bed,
Whoſe gen'rous Spouſe, Theano, heav'nly Fair,
Nurs'd the young Stranger with a Mother's Care.
How vain thoſe Cares! when Meges in the Rear
Full in his Nape infix'd the fatal Spear;
Swift thro' his crackling Jaws the Weapon glides,
And the cold Tongue and grinning Teeth divides.
Then dy'd Hypſenor, gen'rous and divine,
Sprung from the brave Dolopion's mighty Line,
[22] Who near ador'd Scamander made Abode,
Prieſt of the Stream, and honour'd as a God.
On him, amidſt the flying Numbers found,
Eurypilus inflicts a deadly Wound;
On his broad Shoulder fell the forceful Brand,
Thence glancing downward lopp'd his Holy Hand,
Which ſtain'd with ſacred Blood the bluſhing Sand.
Down ſunk the Prieſt: the Purple Hand of Death
Clos'd his dim Eye, and Fate ſuppreſs'd his Breath.
Thus toil'd the Chiefs in diff'rent Parts engag'd,
In ev'ry Quarter fierce Tydides rag'd,
Amid the Greek, amid the Trojan Train,
Rapt thro' the Ranks he thunders o'er the Plain,
Now here, now there, he darts from Place to Place,
Pours on the Rear, or lightens in their Face.
Thus from high Hills the Torrents ſwift and ſtrong
Deluge whole Fields, and ſweep the Trees along,
Thro' ruin'd Moles the ruſhing Wave reſounds,
O'erwhelms the Bridge, and burſts the lofty Bounds;
The yellow Harveſts of the ripen'd Year,
And flatted Vineyards, one ſad Waſte appear;
[23] While Jove deſcends in ſluicy Sheets of Rain,
And all the Labours of Mankind are vain.
So rag'd Tydides, boundleſs in his Ire,
Drove Armies back, and made all Troy retire.
With Grief the
Pandarus.
Leader of the Lycian Band
Saw the wide Waſte of his deſtructive Hand:
His bended Bow againſt the Chief he drew;
Swift to the Mark the thirſty Arrow flew,
Whoſe forky Point the hollow Breaſtplate tore,
Deep in his Shoulder pierc'd, and drank the Gore:
The ruſhing Stream his Brazen Armor dy'd,
While the proud Archer thus exulting cry'd.
Hither ye Trojans, hither drive your Steeds!
Lo! by our Hand the braveſt Grecian bleeds.
Not long the deathful Dart he can ſuſtain;
Or Phaebus urg'd me to theſe Fields in vain.
So ſpoke he, boaſtful; but the winged Dart
Stopt ſhort of Life, and mock'd the Shooter's Art.
The wounded Chief behind his Car retir'd,
The helping Hand of Sthenelus requir'd;
Swift from his Seat he leap'd upon the Ground,
And tugg'd the Weapon from the guſhing Wound;
[24] When thus the King his Guardian Pow'r addreſt,
The purple Current wand'ring o'er his Veſt.
O Progeny of Jove! unconquer'd Maid!
If e'er my Godlike Sire deſerv'd thy Aid,
If e'er I felt thee in the fighting Field;
Now, Goddeſs, now, thy ſacred Succour yield.
Oh give my Lance to reach the Trojan Knight,
Whoſe Arrow wounds the Chief thou guard'ſt in Fight;
And lay the Boaſter grov'ling on the Shore,
That vaunts theſe Eyes ſhall view the Light no more.
Thus pray'd Tydides, and Minerva heard,
His Nerves confirm'd, his languid Spirits chear'd;
He feels each Limb with wonted Vigor light;
His beating Boſom claims the promis'd Fight.
Be bold (ſhe cry'd) in ev'ry Combate ſhine,
War be thy Province, thy Protection mine;
Ruſh to the Fight, and ev'ry Foe controul;
Wake each Paternal Virtue in thy Soul:
Strength ſwells thy boiling Breaſt, infus'd by me,
And all thy Godlike Father breathes in thee!
Yet more, from mortal Miſts I purge thy Eyes,
And ſet to View the warring Deities.
[25] Theſe ſee thou ſhun, thro' all th' embattled Plain,
Nor raſhly ſtrive where human Force is vain.
If Venus mingle in the martial Band,
Her ſhalt thou wound: So Pallas gives Command.
With that, the blue-ey'd Virgin wing'd her Flight;
The Hero ruſh'd impetuous to the Fight;
With tenfold Ardor now invades the Plain,
Wild with Delay, and more enrag'd by Pain.
As on the fleecy Flocks, when Hunger calls,
Amidſt the Field a brindled Lyon falls;
If chance ſome Shepherd with a diſtant Dart
The Savage wound, he rowzes at the Smart,
He foams, he roars; The Shepherd dares not ſtay,
But trembling leaves the ſcatt'ring Flocks a Prey.
Heaps fall on Heaps; he bathes with Blood the Ground,
Then leaps victorious o'er the lofty Mound.
Not with leſs Fury ſtern Tydides flew,
And two brave Leaders at an Inſtant ſlew;
Aſtynous breathleſs fell, and by his ſide
His People's Paſtor, good Hypenor, dy'd;
Aſtynous' Breaſt the deadly Lance receives,
Hypenor's Shoulder his broad Faulchion cleaves.
[26] Thoſe ſlain he left; and ſprung with noble Rage
Abas, and Polyidus to engage;
Sons of Eurydamas, who wiſe and old,
Could Fates foreſee, and myſtic Dreams unfold;
The Youths return'd not from the doubtful Plain,
And the ſad Father try'd his Arts in vain;
No myſtic Dream could make their Fates appear,
Tho' now determin'd by Tydides' Spear.
Young Xanthus next and Thoon felt his Rage,
The Joy and Hope of Phoenops feeble Age,
Vaſt was his Wealth, and theſe the only Heirs
Of all his Labours, and a Life of Cares;
Cold Death o'ertakes them in their blooming Years,
And leaves the Father unavailing Tears:
To Strangers now deſcends his heapy Store,
The Race forgotten, and the Name no more.
Two Sons of Priam in one Chariot ride,
Glitt'ring in Arms, and combate Side by Side.
As when the lordly Lyon ſeeks his Food
Where grazing Heifers range the lonely Wood,
He leaps amidſt them with a furious Bound,
Bends their ſtrong Necks, and tears them to the Ground.
[27] So from their Seats the Brother-Chiefs are torn,
Their Steeds and Chariot to the Navy born.
With deep Concern divine Aeneas view'd
The Foe prevailing, and his Friends purſu'd,
Thro' the thick Storm of ſinging Spears he flies,
Exploring Pandarus with careful Eyes.
At length he found Lycaon's mighty Son;
To whom the Chief of Venus' Race begun.
Where, Pandarus, are all thy Honours now,
Thy winged Arrows and unerring Bow,
Thy matchleſs Skill, thy yet-unrival'd Fame,
And boaſted Glory of the Lycian Name?
Oh pierce that Mortal, if we Mortal call
That wondrous Force by which whole Armies fall,
Or God incens'd, who quits the diſtant Skies
To puniſh Troy for ſlighted Sacrifice;
(Which oh avert from our unhappy State!
For what ſo dreadful as Celeſtial Hate?)
Whoe'er he be, propitiate Jove with Pray'r;
If Man, deſtroy; if God, entreat to ſpare.
To him the Lycian. Whom your Eyes behold,
If right I judge, is Diomed the bold.
[28] Such Courſers whirl him o'er the duſty Field,
So tow'rs his Helmet, and ſo flames his Shield.
If 'tis a God, he wears that Chief's Diſguiſe;
Or if that Chief, ſome Guardian of the Skies
Involv'd in Clouds, protects him in the Fray,
And turns unſeen the fruſtrate Dart away.
I wing'd an Arrow, which not idly fell,
The Stroke had fix'd him to the Gates of Hell,
And, but ſome God, ſome angry God withſtands,
His Fate was due to theſe unerring Hands.
Skill'd in the Bow, on Foot I ſought the War,
Nor join'd ſwift Horſes to the rapid Car.
Ten poliſh'd Chariots I poſſeſs'd at home,
And ſtill they grace Lycaon's Princely Dome:
There veil'd in ſpacious Coverlets they ſtand;
And twice ten Courſers wait their Lord's Command.
The good old Warrior bade me truſt to theſe,
When firſt for Troy I ſail'd the ſacred Seas,
In Fields, aloft, the whirling Car to guide,
And thro' the Ranks of Death triumphant ride.
But vain with Youth, and yet to Thrift inclin'd,
I heard his Counſels with unheedful Mind,
[29] And thought the Steeds (your large Supplies unknown)
Might fail of Forage in the ſtraiten'd Town:
So took my Bow and pointed Darts in hand,
And left the Chariots in my Native Land.
Too late, O Friend! my Raſhneſs I deplore;
Theſe Shafts, once fatal, carry Death no more.
Tydeus' and Atreus' Sons their Points have found,
And undiſſembled Gore purſu'd the Wound.
In vain they bled: This unavailing Bow
Serves not to ſlaughter, but provoke the Foe.
In evil Hour theſe bended Horns I ſtrung,
And ſeiz'd the Quiver where it idly hung.
Curs'd be the Fate that ſent me to the Field,
Without a Warrior's Arms, the Spear and Shield!
If e'er with Life I quit the Trojan Plain,
If e'er I ſee my Spouſe and Sire again,
This Bow, unfaithful to my glorious Aims,
Broke by my Hand, ſhall feed the blazing Flames.
To whom the Leader of the Dardan Race:
Be calm, nor Phoebus' honour'd Gift diſgrace.
The diſtant Dart be prais'd, tho' here we need
The ruſhing Chariot, and the bounding Steed.
[30] Againſt yon' Hero let us bend our Courſe,
And, Hand to Hand, encounter Force with Force.
Now haſte, aſcend my Seat, and from the Car
Obſerve my Father's Steeds, renown'd in War,
Practis'd alike to turn, to ſtop, to chace,
To dare the Shock, or urge the rapid Race:
Secure with theſe, thro' fighting Fields we go,
Or ſafe to Troy, if Jove aſſiſt the Foe.
Haſte, ſeize the Whip, and ſnatch the guiding Rein;
The Warrior's Fury let this Arm ſuſtain;
Or if to Combate thy bold Heart incline,
Take thou the Spear, the Chariot's Care be mine.
O Prince! (Lycaon's valiant Son reply'd)
As thine the Steeds, be thine the Task to guide.
The Horſes practis'd to their Lord's Command,
Shall hear the Rein, and anſwer to thy Hand.
But if unhappy, we deſert the Fight,
Thy Voice alone can animate their Flight:
Elſe ſhall our Fates be number'd with the Dead,
And theſe, the Victor's Prize, in Triumph led.
Thine be the Guidance then: With Spear and Shield
My ſelf will charge this Terror of the Field.
[31]
And now both Heroes mount the glitt'ring Car;
The bounding Courſers ruſh amidſt the War.
Their fierce Approach bold Sthenelus eſpy'd,
Who thus, alarm'd, to great Tydides cry'd.
O Friend! two Chiefs of Force immenſe I ſee,
Dreadful they come, and bend their Rage on thee:
Lo the brave Heir of old Lycaon's Line,
And great Aeneas, ſprung from Race Divine!
Enough is giv'n to Fame. Aſcend thy Car;
And ſave a Life, the Bulwark of our War.
At this the Hero caſt a gloomy Look,
Fix'd on the Chief with Scorn, and thus he ſpoke.
Me doſt thou bid to ſhun the coming Fight,
Me would'ſt thou move to baſe inglorious Flight?
Know, 'tis not honeſt in my Soul to fear,
Nor was Tydides born to tremble here.
I loath in lazy Fights to preſs the Car,
At diſtance wound, or wage a flying War;
But while my Nerves are ſtrung, my Force entire,
Thus front the Foe, and emulate my Sire.
Nor ſhall yon' Steeds that fierce to Fight convey
Thoſe threatning Heroes, bear them both away;
[32] One Chief at leaſt beneath this Arm ſhall die;
So Pallas tells me, and forbids to fly.
But if ſhe dooms, and if no God withſtand,
That both ſhall fall by one victorious Hand;
Then heed my Words: My Horſes here detain,
Fix'd to the Chariot by the ſtraiten'd Rein;
Swift to Aeneas' empty Seat proceed,
And ſeize the Courſers of Aetherial Breed.
The Race of thoſe which once the thund'ring God
For raviſh'd Ganymede on Tros beſtow'd,
The beſt that e'er on Earth's broad Surface run,
Beneath the riſing or the ſetting Sun.
Hence great Anchiſes ſtole a Breed unknown
By mortal Mares, from fierce Laomedon.
Four of this Race his ample Stalls contain,
And two tranſport Aeneas o'er the Plain.
Theſe, were the rich immortal Prize our own,
Thro' the wide World ſhould make our Glory known.
Thus while they ſpoke, the Foe came furious on,
And ſtern Lycaon's warlike Race begun.
Prince, thou art met. Tho' late in vain aſſail'd,
The Spear may enter where the Arrow fail'd.
[33]
He ſaid, then ſhook the pondrous Lance and flung,
On his broad Shield the ſounding Weapon rung,
Pierc'd the tough Orb, and in his Cuiraſs hung.
He bleeds! The Pride of Greece! (the Boaſter cries)
Our Triumph now, the mighty Warrior lies!
Miſtaken Vaunter! Diomed reply'd;
Thy Dart has err'd, and now my Spear be try'd:
Ye ſcape not both; One, headlong from his Car,
With hoſtile Blood ſhall glut the God of War.
He ſpoke, and riſing hurl'd his forceful Dart,
Which driv'n by Pallas, pierc'd a vital Part;
Full in his Face it enter'd, and betwixt
The Noſe and Eye-ball the proud Lycian fixt;
Craſh'd all his Jaws, and cleft the Tongue within,
'Till the bright Point look'd out beneath the Chin.
Headlong he falls, his Helmet knocks the Ground;
Earth groans beneath him, and his Arms reſound;
The ſtarting Courſers tremble with Affright;
The Soul indignant ſeeks the Realms of Night.
To guard his ſlaughter'd Friend, Aeneas flies,
His Spear extending where the Carcaſs lies;
[34] Watchful he wheels, protects it ev'ry way,
As the grim Lyon ſtalks around his Prey.
O'er the fall'n Trunk his ample Shield diſplay'd,
He hides the Hero with his mighty Shade.
And threats aloud: The Greeks with longing Eyes
Behold at diſtance, but forbear the Prize.
Then fierce Tydides ſtoops; and from the Fields
Heav'd with vaſt Force, a Rocky Fragment wields.
Not two ſtrong Men th' enormous Weight could raiſe,
Such Men as live in theſe degen'rate Days.
He ſwung it round; and gath'ring Strength to throw,
Diſcharg'd the pond'rous Ruin at the Foe.
Where to the Hip th' inſerted Thigh unites,
Full on the Bone the pointed Marble lights;
Thro' both the Tendons broke the rugged Stone,
And ſtripp'd the Skin, and crack'd the ſolid Bone.
Sunk on his Knees and ſtagg'ring with his Pains,
His falling Bulk his bended Arm ſuſtains;
Loſt in a dizzy Miſt the Warrior lies;
A ſudden Cloud comes ſwimming o'er his Eyes.
There the brave Chief who mighty Numbers ſway'd
Oppreſs'd had ſunk to Death's Eternal Shade,
[35] But Heav'nly Venus, mindful of the Love
She bore Anchiſes in th' Idaean Grove,
His Danger views with Anguiſh and Deſpair,
And guards her Offspring with a Mother's Care.
About her much-lov'd Son her Arms ſhe throws,
Her Arms whoſe Whiteneſs match'd the falling Snows.
Screen'd from the Foe behind her ſhining Veil,
The Swords wave harmleſs, and the Javelins fail:
Safe thro' the ruſhing Horſe and feather'd Flight
Of ſounding Shafts, ſhe bears him from the Fight.
Nor Sthenelus, with unaſſiſting Hands,
Remain'd unheedful of his Lord's Commands:
His panting Steeds, remov'd from out the War,
He fix'd with ſtraiten'd Traces to the Car.
Next ruſhing to the Dardan Spoil, detains
The heav'nly Courſers with the flowing Manes.
Theſe in proud Triumph to the Fleet convey'd,
No longer now a Trojan Lord obey'd.
That Charge to bold Deipylus he gave,
(Whom moſt he lov'd, as brave Men love the Brave)
Then mounting on his Car, reſum'd the Rein,
And follow'd where Tydides ſwept the Plain.
[36]
Meanwhile (his Conqueſt raviſh'd from his Eyes)
The raging Chief in chace of Venus flies:
No Goddeſs She, commiſſion'd to the Field,
Like Pallas dreadful with her ſable Shield,
Or fierce Bellona thund'ring at the Wall,
While Flames aſcend, and mighty Ruins fall.
He knew ſoft Combates ſuit the tender Dame,
New to the Field, and ſtill a Foe to Fame.
Thro' breaking Ranks his furious Courſe he bends,
And at the Goddeſs his broad Lance extends;
Thro' her bright Veil the daring Weapon drove
Th' Ambroſial Veil which all the Graces wove:
Her ſnowie Hand the razing Steel profan'd,
And the tranſparent Skin with Crimſon ſtain'd.
From the clear Vein a Stream immortal flow'd,
Such Stream as iſſues from a wounded God;
Pure Emanation! uncorrupted Flood;
Unlike our groſs, diſeas'd, terreſtrial Blood:
(For not the Bread of Man their Life ſuſtains,
No Wine's inflaming Juice ſupplies their Veins.)
With tender Shrieks the Goddeſs fill'd the Place,
And dropt her Offspring from her weak Embrace.
[37] Him Phaebus took: He caſts a Cloud around
The fainting Chief, and wards the mortal Wound.
Then with a Voice that ſhook the vaulted Skies,
The King inſults the Goddeſs as ſhe flies.
Ill with Jove's Daughter bloody Fights agree,
The Field of Combate is no Scene for thee:
Go, let thy own ſoft Sex employ thy Care,
Go lull the Coward, or delude the Fair.
Taught by this Stroke, renounce the War's Alarms,
And learn to tremble at the Name of Arms.
Tydides thus. The Goddeſs, ſeiz'd with Dread,
Confus'd, diſtracted, from the Conflict fled.
To aid her, ſwift the winged Iris flew,
Wrapt in a Miſt above the warring Crew.
The Queen of Love with faded Charms ſhe found,
Pale was her Cheek, and livid look'd the Wound.
To Mars, who ſate remote, they bent their way;
Far on the left, with Clouds involv'd, he lay;
Beſide him ſtood his Lance, diſtain'd with Gore,
And, rein'd with Gold, his foaming Steeds before.
Low at his Knee, ſhe begg'd, with ſtreaming Eyes,
Her Brother's Car, to mount the diſtant Skies,
[38] And ſhew'd the Wound by fierce Tydides giv'n,
A mortal Man, who dares encounter Heav'n.
Stern Mars attentive hears the Queen complain,
And to her Hand commits the golden Rein:
She mounts the Seat oppreſs'd with ſilent Woe,
Driv'n by the Goddeſs of the painted Bow.
The Laſh reſounds, the rapid Chariot flies,
And in a Moment ſcales the lofty Skies.
There ſtopp'd the Car, and there the Courſers ſtood,
Fed by fair Iris with Ambroſial Food.
Before her Mother Love's bright Queen appears,
O'erwhelm'd with Anguiſh and diſſolv'd in Tears;
She rais'd her in her Arms, beheld her bleed,
And ask'd, what God had wrought this guilty Deed?
Then ſhe: This Inſult from no God I found,
An impious Mortal gave the daring Wound!
Behold the Deed of haughty Diomed!
'Twas in the Son's Defence the Mother bled.
The War with Troy no more the Grecians wage;
But with the Gods (th' immortal Gods) engage.
Dione then. Thy Wrongs with Patience bear,
And ſhare thoſe Griefs inferior Pow'rs muſt ſhare;
[39] Unnumber'd Woes Mankind from us ſuſtain,
And Men with Woes afflict the Gods again.
The mighty Mars in mortal Fetters bound,
And lodg'd in Brazen Dungeons under Ground,
Full thirteen Moons impriſon'd roar'd in vain;
Otus and Ephialtes held the Chain:
Perhaps had periſh'd; had not Hermes' Care
Reſtor'd the groaning God to upper Air.
Great Juno's ſelf has born her Weight of Pain,
Th' imperial Partner of the heav'nly Reign;
Amphitryon's Son infix'd the deadly Dart,
And fill'd with Anguiſh her immortal Heart.
Ev'n Hell's grim King Alcides' Pow'r confeſt,
The Shaft found Entrance in his Iron Breaſt,
To Jove's high Palace for a Cure he fled,
Pierc'd in his own Dominions of the Dead;
Where Paeon ſprinkling heav'nly Balm around,
Aſſwag'd the glowing Pangs, and clos'd the Wound.
Raſh, impious Man! to ſtain the bleſt Abodes,
And drench his Arrows in the Blood of Gods!
But thou (tho' Pallas urg'd thy frantic Deed)
Whoſe Spear ill-fated makes a Goddeſs bleed,
[40] Know thou, whoe'er with heav'nly Pow'r contends,
Short is his Date, and ſoon his Glory ends;
From Fields of Death when late he ſhall retire,
No Infant on his Knees ſhall call him Sire.
Strong as thou art, ſome God may yet be found,
To ſtretch thee pale and gaſping on the Ground;
Thy diſtant Wife, Aegiale the Fair,
Starting from Sleep with a diſtracted Air,
Shall rowze thy Slaves, and her loſt Lord deplore,
The brave, the great, the glorious, now no more!
This ſaid, ſhe wip'd from Venus' wounded Palm
The ſacred Ichor, and infus'd the Balm.
Juno and Pallas with a Smile ſurvey'd,
And thus to Jove began the blue-ey'd Maid.
Permit thy Daughter, gracious Jove! to tell
How this Miſchance the Cyprian Queen befell.
As late ſhe try'd with Paſſion to inflame
The tender Boſome of a Grecian Dame,
Allur'd the Fair with moving Thoughts of Joy,
To quit her Country for ſome Youth of Troy;
The claſping Zone, with golden Buckles bound,
Raz'd her ſoft Hand with this lamented Wound.
[41]
The Sire of Gods and Men ſuperior ſmil'd,
And, calling Venus, thus addreſt his Child.
Not theſe, O Daughter, are thy proper Cares,
Thee milder Arts befit, and ſofter Wars;
Sweet Smiles are thine and kind endearing Charms,
To Mars and Pallas leave the Deeds of Arms.
Thus they in Heav'n: While on the Plain below
The fierce Tydides charg'd his Dardan Foe:
Fluſh'd with Celeſtial Blood purſu'd his way,
And fearleſs dar'd the threatning God of Day;
Already in his Hopes he ſaw him kill'd,
Tho' ſcreen'd behind Apollo's mighty Shield.
Thrice ruſhing furious, at the Chief he ſtrook;
His blazing Buckler thrice Apollo ſhook:
He try'd the fourth: When breaking from the Cloud,
A more than mortal Voice was heard aloud.
O Son of Tydeus, ceaſe! be wiſe and ſee
How vaſt the Diff'rence of the Gods and Thee;
Diſtance immenſe! between the Pow'rs that ſhine
Above, Eternal, Deathleſs, and Divine,
And mortal Man! a Wretch of humble Birth,
A ſhort-liv'd Reptile in the Duſt of Earth.
[42]
So ſpoke the God who darts Celeſtial Fires;
He dreads his Fury, and ſome Steps retires.
Then Phoebus bore the Chief of Venus' Race
To Troy's high Fane, and to his Holy Place;
Latona there and Phoebe heal'd the Wound,
With Vigor arm'd him, and with Glory crown'd.
This done, the Patron of the Silver Bow
A Phantom rais'd, the ſame in Shape and Show
With great Aeneas; ſuch the Form he bore,
And ſuch in Fight the radiant Arms he wore.
Around the Spectre bloody Wars are wag'd,
And Greece and Troy with claſhing Shields engag'd.
Meantime on Ilion's Tow'r Apollo ſtood,
And calling Mars, thus urg'd the raging God.
Stern Pow'r of Arms! by whom the Mighty fall,
Who bathe in Blood, and ſhake th' embattel'd Wall!
Riſe in thy Wrath! To Hell's abhorr'd Abodes
Diſpatch yon' Greek, and vindicate the Gods.
Firſt roſie Venus felt his brutal Rage;
Me next he charg'd, and dares all Heav'n engage:
The Wretch would brave high Heav'ns immortal Sire,
His triple Thunder, and his Bolts of Fire.
[43]
The God of Battel iſſues on the Plain,
Stirs all the Ranks, and fires the Trojan Train;
In Form like Acamas, the Thracian Guide,
Enrag'd, to Troy's retiring Chiefs he cry'd.
How long, ye Sons of Priam! will ye fly,
And unreveng'd ſee Priam's People die?
Still unreſiſted ſhall the Foe deſtroy,
And ſtretch the Slaughter to the Gates of Troy?
Lo brave Aeneas ſinks beneath his Wound,
Not Godlike Hector more in Arms renown'd:
Haſte all, and take the gen'rous Warrior's Part.
He ſaid; new Courage ſwell'd each Hero's Heart.
Sarpedon firſt his ardent Soul expreſs'd,
And, turn'd to Hector, theſe bold Words addreſs'd.
Say, Chief, is all thy ancient Valor loſt,
Where are thy Threats, and where thy glorious Boaſt,
That propt alone by Priam's Race ſhould ſtand
Troy's ſacred Walls, nor need a foreign Hand?
Now, now thy Country calls her wanted Friends,
And the proud Vaunt in juſt Deriſion ends.
Remote they ſtand, while Alien Troops engage,
Like trembling Hounds before the Lion's Rage.
[44] Far diſtant hence I held my wide Command,
Where foaming Xanthus laves the Lycian Land,
With ample Wealth (the Wiſh of Mortals) bleſt,
A beauteous Wife, and Infant at her Breaſt;
With thoſe I left whatever dear could be;
Greece, if ſhe conquers, nothing wins from me.
Yet firſt in Fight my Lycian Bands I chear,
And long to meet this mighty Man ye fear.
While Hector idle ſtands, nor bids the Brave
Their Wives, their Infants, and their Altars ſave.
Haſte, Warrior, haſte! preſerve thy threaten'd State;
Or one vaſt Burſt of all-involving Fate
Full o'er your Tow'rs ſhall fall, and ſweep away
Sons, Sires, and Wives, an undiſtinguiſh'd Prey.
Rowze all thy Trojans, urge thy Aids to fight;
Theſe claim thy Thoughts by Day, thy Watch by Night:
With Force inceſſant the brave Greeks oppoſe;
Such Cares thy Friends deſerve, and ſuch thy Foes.
Stung to the Heart the gen'rous Hector hears,
But juſt Reproof with decent Silence bears.
From his proud Car the Prince impetuous ſprings;
On Earth he leaps; his Brazen Armor rings.
[45] Two ſhining Spears are brandiſh'd in his Hands;
Thus arm'd, he animates his drooping Bands,
Revives their Ardor, turns their Steps from Flight,
And wakes anew the dying Flames of Fight.
They turn, they ſtand: The Greeks their Fury dare,
Condenſe their Pow'rs, and wait the growing War.
As when on Ceres' ſacred Floor the Swain
Spreads the wide Fan to clear the golden Grain,
And the light Chaff, before the Breezes born,
Aſcends in Clouds from off the heapy Corn;
The grey Duſt, riſing with collected Winds,
Drives o'er the Barn, and whitens all the Hinds.
So white with Duſt the Grecian Hoſt appears,
From trampling Steeds, and thundring Charioteers,
The dusky Clouds from labour'd Earth ariſe,
And roll in ſmoaking Volumes to the Skies.
Mars hovers o'er them with his ſable Shield,
And adds new Horrors to the darken'd Field;
Pleas'd with his Charge, and ardent to fulfill
In Troy's Defence Apollo's heav'nly Will:
Soon as from Fight the blue-ey'd Maid retires,
Each Trojan Boſom with new Warmth he fires.
[46] And now the God, from forth his ſacred Fane,
Produc'd Aeneas to the ſhouting Train;
Alive, unharm'd, with all his Peers around,
Erect he ſtood, and vig'rous from his Wound:
Enquiries none they made; the dreadful Day
No Pauſe of Words admits, no dull Delay;
Fierce Diſcord ſtorms, Apollo loud exclaims,
Fame calls, Mars thunders, and the Field's in Flames.
Stern Diomed with either Ajax ſtood,
And great Ulyſſes, bath'd in hoſtile Blood.
Embodied cloſe, the lab'ring Grecian Train
The fierceſt Shock of charging Hoſts ſuſtain;
Unmov'd and ſilent, the whole War they wait,
Serenely dreadful, and as fix'd as Fate.
So when th' embattel'd Clouds in dark Array
Along the Skies their gloomy Lines diſplay,
When now the North his boiſt'rous Rage has ſpent,
And peaceful ſleeps the liquid Element,
The low-hung Vapors, motionleſs and ſtill,
Reſt on the Summits of the ſhaded Hill;
'Till the Maſs ſcatters as the Winds ariſe,
Diſpers'd and kroken thro' the ruffled Skies.
[47]
Nor was the Gen'ral wanting to his Train,
From Troop to Troop he toils thro' all the Plain.
Ye Greeks be Men! the Charge of Battel bear;
Your brave Aſſociates, and Your-ſelves revere!
Let glorious Acts more glorious Acts inſpire,
And catch from Breaſt to Breaſt the noble Fire!
On Valor's ſide the Odds of Combate lie,
The Brave live glorious, or lamented die;
The Wretch who trembles in the Field of Fame,
Meets Death, and worſe than Death, Eternal Shame.
Theſe Words he ſeconds with his flying Lance,
To meet whoſe Point was ſtrong Deicoon's Chance;
Aeneas' Friend, and in his native Place
Honour'd and lov'd like Priam's Royal Race:
Long had he fought the foremoſt in the Field;
But now the Monarch's Lance tranſpierc'd his Shield,
His Shield too weak the furious Dart to ſtay,
Thro' his broad Belt the Weapon forc'd its way;
The grizly Wound diſmiſs'd his Soul to Hell,
His Arms around him rattled as he fell.
Then fierce Aeneas brandiſhing his Blade,
In Duſt Orſilochus and Crethon laid,
[48] Whoſe Sire Diöcleus, wealthy, brave and great,
In well-built Pherae held his lofty Seat:
Sprung from Alpheus, plenteous Stream! that yields
Encreaſe of Harveſts to the Pylian Fields:
He got Orſilochus, Diöcleus He,
And theſe deſcended in the third Degree.
Too early expert in the martial Toil,
In ſable Ships they left their native Soil,
T'avenge Atrides: Now, untimely ſlain,
They fell with Glory on the Phrygian Plain.
So two young Mountain Lions, nurs'd with Blood
In deep Receſſes of the gloomy Wood,
Ruſh fearleſs to the Plains, and uncontroul'd
Depopulate the Stalls and waſte the Fold;
'Till pierc'd at diſtance from their native Den,
O'erpow'r'd they fall beneath the Force of Men.
Proſtrate on Earth their beauteous Bodies lay,
Like Mountain Firs, as tall and ſtrait as they.
Great Menelaus views with pitying Eyes,
Lifts his bright Lance, and at the Victor flies;
Mars urg'd him on; yet, ruthleſs in his Hate,
The God but urg'd him to provoke his Fate.
[49] He thus advancing, Neſtor's valiant Son
Shakes for his Danger, and neglects his own;
Struck with the Thought, ſhould Helen's Lord be ſlain,
And all his Country's glorious Labours vain.
Already met the threat'ning Heroes ſtand;
The Spears already tremble in their Hand;
In ruſh'd Antilochus, his Aid to bring,
And fall or conquer by the Spartan King.
Theſe ſeen, the Dardan backward turn'd his Courſe,
Brave as he was, and ſhunn'd unequal Force.
The breathleſs Bodies to the Greeks they drew;
Then mix in Combate and their Toils renew.
Firſt Pylaemenes, great in Battel, bled,
Who ſheath'd in Braſs the Paphlagonians led.
Atrides mark'd him where ſublime he ſtood;
Fix'd in his Throat, the Javelin drank his Blood.
The faithful Mydon as he turn'd from Fight
His flying Courſers, ſunk to endleſs Night:
A broken Rock by Neſtor's Son was thrown,
His bended Arm receiv'd the falling Stone,
From his numb'd Hand the Iv'ry-ſtudded Reins
Dropt in the Duſt are trail'd along the Plains.
[50] Meanwhile his Temples feel a deadly Wound;
He groans in Death, and pondrous ſinks to Ground:
Deep drove his Helmet in the Sands, and there
The Head ſtood fix'd, the quiv'ring Legs in Air:
'Till trampled flat beneath the Courſer's Feet,
The youthful Victor mounts his empty Seat,
And bears the Prize in Triumph to the Fleet.
Great Hector ſaw, and raging at the View
Pours on the Greeks: The Trojan Troops purſue:
He fires his Hoſt with animating Cries,
And brings along the Furies of the Skies.
Mars, ſtern Deſtroyer! and Bellona dread,
Flame in the Front, and thunder at their Head:
This ſwells the Tumult and the Rage of Fight;
That ſhakes a Spear that caſts a dreadful Light;
Where Hector march'd, the God of Battels ſhin'd,
Now ſtorm'd before him, and now rag'd behind.
Tydides paus'd amidſt his full Carrier;
Then firſt the Hero's manly Breaſt knew Fear.
As when ſome ſimple Swain his Cot forſakes,
And wide thro' Fens an unknown Journey takes;
[51] If chance a ſwelling Brook his Paſſage ſtay,
And foam impervious croſs the Wand'rer's way,
Confus'd he ſtops, a Length of Country paſt,
Eyes the rough Waves, and tir'd returns at laſt.
Amaz'd no leſs the great Tydides ſtands;
He ſtay'd, and turning, thus addreſs'd his Bands.
No wonder, Greeks! that all to Hector yield,
Secure of fav'ring Gods, he takes the Field;
His Strokes they ſecond, and avert our Spears:
Behold where Mars in mortal Arms appears!
Retire then Warriors, but ſedate and ſlow;
Retire, but with your Faces to the Foe.
Truſt not too much your unavailing Might;
'Tis not with Troy, but with the Gods ye fight.
Now near the Greeks the black Battalions drew,
And firſt two Leaders valiant Hector ſlew,
His Force Anchialus and Mneſthes found,
In ev'ry Art of glorious War renown'd;
In the ſame Car the Chiefs to Combate ride,
And fought united, and united dy'd.
Struck at the Sight, the mighty Ajax glows
With Thirſt of Vengeance, and aſſaults the Foes.
[52] His maſſy Spear with matchleſs Fury ſent
Thro' Amphius' Belt and heaving Belly went:
Amphius Apaeſus' happy Soil poſſeſs'd,
With Herds abounding, and with Treaſure bleſs'd;
But Fate reſiſtleſs from his Country led
The Chief, to periſh at his People's Head.
Shook with his Fall his Brazen Armor rung,
And fierce, to ſeize it, conqu'ring Ajax ſprung:
Around his Head an Iron Tempeſt rain'd;
A Wood of Spears his ample Shield ſuſtain'd;
Beneath one Foot the yet-warm Corps he preſt,
And drew his Javelin from the bleeding Breaſt:
He could no more; The ſhow'ring Darts deny'd
To ſpoil his glitt'ring Arms, and Plumy Pride.
Now Foes on Foes came pouring on the Fields,
With briſtling Lances, and compacted Shields;
'Till in the Steely Circle ſtraiten'd round,
Forc'd he gives way, and ſternly quits the Ground.
While thus they ſtrive, Tlepolemus the great,
Urg'd by the Force of unreſiſted Fate,
Burns with Deſire Sarpedon's Strength to prove;
Alcides' Offspring meets the Son of Jove.
[53] Sheath'd in bright Arms each adverſe Chief came on,
Jove's great Deſcendent, and his greater Son.
Prepar'd for Combate, e're the Lance he toſt,
The daring Rhodian vents his haughty Boaſt.
What brings this Lycian Counſellor ſo far,
To tremble at our Arms, not mix in War?
Know thy vain ſelf, nor let their Flatt'ry move
Who ſtyle thee Son of Cloud-compelling Jove.
How far unlike thoſe Chiefs of Race divine,
How vaſt the Diff'rence of their Deeds and thine?
Jove got ſuch Heroes as my Sire, whoſe Soul
No Fear could daunt, nor Earth, nor Hell controul.
Troy felt his Arm, and yon' proud Ramparts ſtand
Rais'd on the Ruins of his vengeful Hand:
With ſix ſmall Ships, and but a ſlender Train,
He left the Town a wide, deſerted Plain.
But what art thou? who deedleſs look'ſt around,
While unreveng'd thy Lycians bite the Ground:
Small Aid to Troy thy feeble Force can be,
But wert thou greater, thou muſt yield to me.
Pierc'd by my Spear to endleſs Darkneſs go!
I make this Preſent to the Shades below.
[54]
The Son of Hercules, the Rhodian Guide,
Thus haughty ſpoke. The Lycian King reply'd.
Thy Sire, O Prince! o'erturn'd the Trojan State,
Whoſe perjur'd Monarch well deſerv'd his Fate;
Thoſe heav'nly Steeds the Hero ſought ſo far,
Falſe he detain'd, the juſt Reward of War:
Nor ſo content, the gen'rous Chief defy'd,
With baſe Reproaches and unmanly Pride.
But you, unworthy the high Race you boaſt,
Shall raiſe my Glory when thy own is loſt:
Now meet thy Fate, and by Sarpedon ſlain
Add one more Ghoſt to Pluto's gloomy Reign.
He ſaid: Both Javelins at an Inſtant flew:
Both ſtrook, both wounded, but Sarpedon's ſlew:
Full in the Boaſter's Neck the Weapon ſtood,
Transfix'd his Throat, and drank the vital Blood;
The Soul diſdainful ſeeks the Caves of Night,
And his ſeal'd Eyes for ever loſe the Light.
Yet not in vain, Tlepolemus, was thrown
Thy angry Lance; which piercing to the Bone
Sarpedon's Thigh, had robb'd the Chief of Breath;
But Jove was preſent, and forbad the Death.
[55] Born from the Conflict by his Lycian Throng,
The wounded Hero dragg'd the Lance along.
(His Friends, each buſy'd in his ſev'ral Part,
Thro' Haſte, or Danger, had not drawn the Dart)
The Greeks with ſlain Tlepolemus retir'd;
Whoſe Fall Ulyſſes view'd, with Fury fir'd;
Doubtful if Jove's great Son he ſhould purſue,
Or pour his Vengeance on the Lycian Crew.
But Heav'n and Fate the firſt Deſign withſtand,
Nor this great Death muſt grace Ulyſſes' Hand.
Minerva drives him on the Lycian Train;
Alaſtor, Chromius, Halius ſtrow'd the Plain,
Alcander, Prytanis, Noëmon fell,
And Numbers more his Sword had ſent to Hell:
But Hector ſaw; and furious at the Sight,
Ruſh'd terrible amidſt the Ranks of Fight.
With Joy Sarpedon view'd the wiſh'd Relief,
And faint, lamenting, thus implor'd the Chief.
Oh ſuffer not the Foe to bear away
My helpleſs Corps, an unaſſiſted Prey.
If I, unbleſt, muſt ſee my Son no more,
My much-lov'd Conſort, and my native Shore,
[56] Yet let me die in Ilion's ſacred Wall;
Troy, in whoſe Cauſe I fell, ſhall mourn my Fall.
He ſaid, nor Hector to the Chief replies,
But ſhakes his Plume, and fierce to Combate flies,
Swift as a Whirlwind drives the ſcatt'ring Foes,
And dyes the Ground in Purple as he goes.
Beneath a Beech, Jove's conſecrated Shade,
His mournful Friends divine Sarpedon laid:
Brave Pelagon, his fav'rite Chief, was nigh,
Who wrench'd the Javelin from his ſinewy Thigh.
The fainting Soul ſtood ready wing'd for Flight,
And o'er his Eye-balls ſwum the Shades of Night.
But Boreas riſing freſh, with gentle Breath,
Recall'd his Spirit from the Gates of Death.
The gen'rous Greeks recede with tardy Pace,
Tho Mars and Hector thunder in their Face;
None turn their Backs to mean ignoble Flight,
Slow they retreat, and ev'n retreating fight.
Who firſt, who laſt, by Mars and Hector's Hand
Stretch'd in their Blood lay gaſping on the Sand?
Teuthras the great, Oreſtes the renown'd
For manag'd Steeds, and Trechus preſs'd the Ground;
[57] Next Oenomaus, and Oenops' Offspring dy'd;
Oresbius laſt fell groaning at their ſide:
Oresbius, in his painted Mitre gay,
In fat Boeotia held his wealthy Sway,
Where Lakes ſurround low Hylè's watry Plain;
A Prince and People ſtudious of their Gain.
The Carnage Juno from the Skies ſurvey'd,
And touch'd with Grief beſpoke the blue-ey'd Maid.
Oh Sight accurſt! Shall faithleſs Troy prevail,
And ſhall our Promiſe to our People fail?
How vain the Word to Menelaus giv'n
By Jove's great Daughter and the Queen of Heav'n,
Beneath his Arms that Priam's Tow'rs ſhould fall;
If warring Gods for ever guard the Wall?
Mars, red with Slaughter, aids our hated Foes:
Haſte, let us arm, and Force with Force oppoſe!
She ſpoke; Minerva burns to meet the War:
And now Heav'ns Empreſs calls her blazing Car.
At her Command ruſh forth the Steeds Divine;
Rich with immortal Gold their Trappings ſhine.
Bright Hebè waits; by Hebè, ever young,
The whirling Wheels are to the Chariot hung.
[58] On the bright Axle turns the bidden Wheel,
Of ſounding Braſs; the poliſh'd Axle Steel.
Eight brazen Spokes in radiant Order flame;
The Circles Gold, of uncorrupted Frame,
Such as the Heav'ns produce: and round the Gold
Two brazen Rings of Work divine were roll'd.
The boſſie Naves of ſolid Silver ſhone;
Braces of Gold ſuſpend the moving Throne:
The Car behind an arching Figure bore;
The bending Concave form'd an Arch before.
Silver the Beam, th' extended Yoke was Gold,
And golden Reins th' immortal Courſers hold.
Herſelf, impatient, to the ready Car
The Courſers joins, and breathes Revenge and War.
Pallas diſrobes; Her radiant Veil unty'd,
With Flow'rs adorn'd, with Art diverſify'd,
(The labour'd Veil her heav'nly Fingers wove)
Flows on the Pavement of the Court of Jove.
Now Heav'ns dread Arms her mighty Limbs inveſt,
Jove's Cuiraſs blazes on her ample Breaſt;
Deck'd in ſad Triumph for the mournful Field,
O'er her broad Shoulders hangs his horrid Shield,
[59] Dire, black, tremendous! Round the Margin roll'd,
A Fringe of Serpents hiſſing guards the Gold:
Here all the Terrors of grim War appear,
Here rages Force, here tremble Flight and Fear,
Here ſtorm'd Contention, and here Fury frown'd;
And the dire Orb Portentous Gorgon crown'd.
The maſſy golden Helm ſhe next aſſumes,
That dreadful nods with four o'erſhading Plumes;
So vaſt, the broad Circumference contains
A hundred Armies on a hundred Plains.
The Goddeſs thus th' imperial Car aſcends;
Shook by her Arm the mighty Javelin bends,
Pond'rous and huge; that when her Fury burns,
Proud Tyrants humbles, and whole Hoſts o'erturns.
Swift at the Scourge th' Ethereal Courſers fly,
While the ſmooth Chariot cuts the liquid Sky.
Heav'n Gates ſpontaneous open to the Pow'rs,
Heav'ns golden Gates, kept by the winged Hours;
Commiſſion'd in alternate Watch to ſtand,
The Sun's bright Portals and the Skies command,
Involve in Clouds th' Eternal Gates of Day,
Or the dark Barrier roll with Eaſe away.
[60] The ſounding Hinges ring: On either ſide
The gloomy Volumes, pierc'd with Light, divide.
The Chariot mounts, where deep in ambient Skies,
Confus'd, Olympus' hundred Heads ariſe;
Where far apart the Thund'rer fills his Throne,
O'er all the Gods, ſuperior and alone.
There with her ſnowy Hand the Queen reſtrains
The fiery Steeds, and thus to Jove complains.
O Sire! can no Reſentment touch thy Soul?
Can Mars rebel, and does no Thunder roll?
What lawleſs Rage on yon' forbidden Plain,
What raſh Deſtruction! and what Heroes ſlain?
Venus, and Phoebus with the dreadful Bow,
Smile on the Slaughter, and enjoy my Woe.
Mad, furious Pow'r! whoſe unrelenting Mind
No God can govern, and no Juſtice bind.
Say, mighty Father! Shall we ſcourge his Pride,
And drive from Fight th' impetuous Homicide?
To whom aſſenting, thus the Thund'rer ſaid:
Go! and the great Minerva be thy Aid.
To tame the Monſter-God Minerva knows,
And oft' afflicts his Brutal Breaſt with Woes.
[61]
He ſaid; Saturnia, ardent to obey,
Laſh'd her white Steeds along th' Aerial Way.
Swift down the Steep of Heav'n the Chariot rolls,
Between th' expanded Earth and ſtarry Poles.
Far as a Shepherd, from ſome Point on high,
O'er the wide Main extends his boundleſs Eye,
Thro' ſuch a Space of Air, with thund'ring Sound,
At ev'ry Leap th' Immortal Courſers bound.
Troy now they reach'd, and touch'd thoſe Banks Divine
Where Silver Simois and Scamander join.
There Juno ſtop'd, and (her fair Steeds unloos'd)
Of Air condens'd a Vapor circumfus'd:
For theſe, impregnate with Celeſtial Dew
On Simois' Brink Ambroſial Herbage grew.
Thence, to relieve the fainting Argive Throng,
Smooth as the ſailing Doves they glide along.
The beſt and braveſt of the Grecian Band
(A warlike Circle) round Tydides ſtand:
Such was their Look as Lions bath'd in Blood,
Or foaming Boars, the Terror of the Wood.
Heav'ns Empreſs mingles with the mortal Crowd,
And ſhouts, in Stentor's ſounding Voice, aloud:
[62] Stentor the ſtrong, endu'd with Brazen Lungs,
Whoſe Throat ſurpaſs'd the Force of fifty Tongues.
Inglorious Argives! to your Race a Shame,
And only Men in Figure and in Name!
Once from their Walls your tim'rous Foes engag'd,
While fierce in War divine Achilles rag'd;
Now iſſuing fearleſs they poſſeſs the Plain,
Now win the Shores, and ſcarce the Seas remain.
Her Speech new Fury to their Hearts convey'd;
While near Tydides ſtood th' Athenian Maid:
The King beſide his panting Steeds ſhe found,
O'erſpent with Toil, repoſing on the Ground;
To cool his glowing Wound he ſate apart,
(The Wound inflicted by the Lycian Dart)
Large Drops of Sweat from all his Limbs deſcend,
Beneath his pond'rous Shield his Sinews bend,
Whoſe ample Belt that o'er his Shoulder lay,
He eas'd; and waſh'd the clotted Gore away.
The Goddeſs leaning o'er the bending Yoke,
Beſide his Courſers, thus her Silence broke.
Degen'rate Prince! and not of Tydeus' Kind,
Whoſe little Body lodg'd a mighty Mind.
[63] Foremoſt he preſs'd, in glorious Toils to ſhare,
And ſcarce refrain'd when I forbad the War.
Alone, unguarded, once he dar'd to go,
And feaſt encircled by the Theban Foe;
There brav'd, and vanquiſh'd, many a hardy Knight;
Such Nerves I gave him, and ſuch Force in Fight.
Thou too no leſs haſt been my conſtant Care;
Thy Hands I arm'd, and ſent thee forth to War:
But Thee or Fear deterrs, or Sloth detains;
No Drop of all thy Father warms thy Veins.
The Chief thus anſwer'd mild. Immortal Maid!
I own thy Preſence, and confeſs thy Aid.
Not Fear, thou know'ſt, withholds me from the Plains,
Nor Sloth hath ſeiz'd me, but thy Word reſtrains:
From warring Gods thou bad'ſt me turn my Spear,
And Venus only found Reſiſtance here.
Hence, Goddeſs! heedful of thy high Commands,
Loth I gave way, and warn'd our Argive Bands:
For Mars, the Homicide, theſe Eyes beheld,
With Slaughter red, and raging round the Field.
Then thus Minerva. Brave Tydides hear!
Not Mars himſelf, nor ought Immortal fear.
[64] Full on the God impell thy foaming Horſe:
Pallas commands, and Pallas lends thee Force.
Raſh, furious, blind, from theſe to thoſe he flies,
And ev'ry ſide of wav'ring Combate tries;
Large Promiſe makes, and breaks the Promiſe made;
Now gives the Grecians, now the Trojans Aid.
She ſaid, and to the Steeds approaching near,
Drew from his Seat the martial Charioteer.
The vig'rous Pow'r the trembling Car aſcends,
Fierce for Revenge; and Diomed attends.
The groaning Axle bent beneath the Load;
So great a Hero, and ſo great a God.
She ſnatch'd the Reins, ſhe laſh'd with all her Force,
And full on Mars impell'd the foaming Horſe:
But firſt, to hide her Heav'nly Viſage, ſpread
Black Orcus' Helmet o'er her radiant Head.
Juſt then Gigantic Periphas lay ſlain,
The ſtrongeſt Warrior of th' Aetolian Train;
The God who ſlew him, leaves his proſtrate Prize
Stretch'd where he fell, and at Tydides flies.
Now ruſhing fierce, in equal Arms appear,
The daring Greek; the dreadful God of War!
[65] Full at the Chief, above his Courſer's Head,
From Mars his Arm th' enormous Weapon fled:
Pallas oppos'd her Hand, and caus'd to glance
Far from the Car, the ſtrong immortal Lance.
Then threw the Force of Tydeus' warlike Son;
The Javelin hiſs'd; the Goddeſs urg'd it on:
Where the broad Cincture girt his Armor round,
It pierc'd the God: His Groin receiv'd the Wound.
From the rent Skin the Warrior tuggs again
The ſmoaking Steel. Mars bellows with the Pain:
Loud, as the Roar encountring Armies yield,
When ſhouting Millions ſhake the thund'ring Field.
Both Armies ſtart, and trembling gaze around;
And Earth and Heav'n rebellow to the Sound.
As Vapors blown by Auſter's ſultry Breath,
Pregnant with Plagues, and ſhedding Seeds of Death,
Beneath the Rage of burning Sirius riſe,
Choak the parch'd Earth, and blacken all the Skies;
In ſuch a Cloud the God from Combate driv'n,
High o'er the duſty Whirlwind ſcales the Heav'n.
Wild with his Pain, he ſought the bright Abodes,
There ſullen ſate beneath the Sire of Gods,
[66] Show'd the Celeſtial Blood, and with a Groan
Thus pour'd his Plaints before th' immortal Throne.
Can Jove, ſupine, flagitious Facts ſurvey,
And brook the Furies of this daring Day?
For mortal Men Celeſtial Pow'rs engage,
And Gods on Gods exert Eternal Rage.
From thee, O Father! all theſe Ills we bear,
And thy fell Daughter with the Shield and Spear:
Thou gav'ſt that Fury to the Realms of Light,
Pernicious, wild, regardleſs of the Right.
All Heav'n beſide revere thy Sov'reign Sway,
Thy Voice we hear, and thy Beheſts obey:
'Tis hers t'offend; and ev'n offending ſhare
Thy Breaſt, thy Counſels, thy diſtinguiſh'd Care:
So boundleſs ſhe, and thou ſo partial grown,
Well may we deem the wond'rous Birth thy own.
Now frantic Diomed, at her Command,
Againſt th' Immortals lifts his raging Hand:
The heav'nly Venus firſt his Fury found,
Me next encount'ring, me he dar'd to wound;
Vanquiſh'd I fled: Ev'n I, the God of Fight,
From mortal Madneſs ſcarce was ſav'd by Flight.
[67] Elſe had'ſt thou ſeen me ſink on yonder Plain,
Heap'd round, and heaving under Loads of ſlain;
Or pierc'd with Grecian Darts, for Ages lie,
Condemn'd to Pain, tho' fated not to die.
Him thus upbraiding, with a wrathful Look
The Lord of Thunders view'd, and ſtern beſpoke.
To me, Perfidious! this lamenting Strain?
Of lawleſs Force ſhall lawleſs Mars complain?
Of all the Gods who tread the ſpangled Skies,
Thou moſt unjuſt, moſt odious in our Eyes!
Inhuman Diſcord is thy dire Delight,
The Waſte of Slaughter, and the Rage of Fight.
No Bound, no Law thy fiery Temper quells,
And all thy Mother in thy Soul rebells.
In vain our Threats, in vain our Pow'r we uſe;
She gives th' Example, and her Son purſues.
Yet long th' inflicted Pangs thou ſhalt not mourn,
Sprung ſince thou art from Jove, and Heav'nly born.
Elſe, ſing'd with Light'ning, had'ſt thou hence been thrown,
Where chain'd on burning Rocks the Titans groan.
[68]
Thus He who ſhakes Olympus with his Nod;
Then gave to Poeon's Care the bleeding God.
With gentle Hand the Balm he pour'd around,
And heal'd th' immortal Fleſh, and clos'd the Wound
As when the Fig's preſt Juice, infus'd in Cream,
To Curds coagulates the liquid Stream,
Sudden the Fluids fix, the Parts combin'd;
Such, and ſo ſoon, th' Aetherial Texture join'd.
Cleans'd from the Duſt and Gore, fair Hebè dreſt
His mighty Limbs in an immortal Veſt.
Glorious he ſate, in Majeſty reſtor'd,
Faſt by the Throne of Heav'ns ſuperior Lord.
Juno and Pallas mount the bleſt Abodes,
Their Task perform'd, and mix among the Gods.

OBSERVATIONS ON THE Fifth Book.
[71]OBSERVATIONS ON THE FIFTH BOOK.

[]

I.

‘VERSE 1. BUT Pallas now, &c.]’ As in every juſt Hiſtory Picture there is one principal Figure, to which all the reſt refer and are ſubſervient; ſo in each Battel of the Iliad there is one principal Perſon, that may properly be call'd the Hero of that Day or Action. This Conduct preſerves the Unity of the Piece, and keeps the Imagination from being diſtracted and confuſed with a wild Number of independent Figures, which have no Subordination to each other. To make this probable, Homer ſuppoſes theſe extraordinary Meaſures of Courage to be the immediate Gift of the Gods; who beſtow them ſometimes upon one, and ſometimes upon another, as they think fit to make them the Inſtruments of their Deſigns; an Opinion conformable to true Theology. Whoever reflects upon this, will not blame our Author for repreſenting the ſame Heroes brave at one time, and diſpirited at another; juſt as the Gods aſſiſt, or abandon them on different Occaſions.

II.

‘VERSE 1. Tydides.]’ That we may enter into the Spirit and Beauty of this Book, it will be proper to ſettle the true Character of Diomed who is the Hero of it. Achilles is no [72] ſooner retired, but Homer raiſes his other Greeks to ſupply his Abſence; like Stars that ſhine each in his due Revolution, till the principal Hero riſes again, and eclipſes all others. As Diomed is the firſt in this Office, he ſeems to have more of the Character of Achilles than any beſides. He has naturally an Exceſs of Boldneſs and too much Fury in his Temper, forward and intrepid like the other, and running after Gods or Men promiſcuouſly as they offer themſelves. But what differences his Character is, that he is ſoon reclaim'd by Advice, hears thoſe that are more experienced, and in a word, obeys Minerva in all things. He is aſſiſted by the Patroneſs of Wiſdom and Arms, as he is eminent both for Prudence and Valor. That which characterizes his Prudence is a quick Sagacity and Preſence of Mind in all Emergencies, and an undiſturb'd Readineſs in the very Article of Danger. And what is particular in his Valor is agreeable to theſe Qualities; his Actions being always performed with remarkable Dexterity, Activity, and Diſpatch. As the gentle and manageable Turn of his Mind ſeems drawn with an Oppoſition to the boiſterous Temper of Achilles, ſo his bodily Excellencies ſeem deſign'd as in Contraſte to thoſe of Ajax, who appears with great Strength, but heavy and unwieldy. As he is forward to act in the Field, ſo is he ready to ſpeak in the Council: But 'tis obſervable that his Counſels ſtill incline to War, and are byaſs'd rather on the ſide of Bravery than Caution. Thus he adviſes to reject the Propoſals of the Trojans in the ſeventh Book, and not to accept of Helen her ſelf, tho' Paris ſhould offer her. In the ninth, he oppoſes Agamemnon's Propoſition to return to Greece, in ſo ſtrong a manner, as to declare he will ſtay and continue the Siege himſelf, if the General ſhould depart. And thus he hears without Concern Achilles's Refuſal of a Reconciliation, and doubts not to be able to carry on the War without him. As for his private Character, he appears a gallant Lover of Hoſpitality in his Behaviour to Glaucus in the ſixth Book; a Lover of Wiſdom in his Aſſiſtance of Neſtor in the eighth, and his Choice of Ulyſſes to accompany him in the tenth; upon the whole, an open ſincere Friend, and a generous Enemy.

[73] The wonderful Actions he performs in this Battel, ſeem to be the Effect of a noble Reſentment at the Reproach he had receiv'd from Agamemnon in the foregoing Book, to which theſe Deeds are the Anſwer. He becomes immediately the ſecond Hero of Greece, and dreaded equally with Achilles by the Trojans. At the firſt Sight of him his Enemies make a Queſtion, Whether he is a Man or a God? Aeneas and Pandarus go againſt him, whoſe Approach terrifies Sthenelus, and the Apprehenſion of ſo great a Warrior marvellouſly exalts the Intrepidity of Diomed. Aeneas himſelf is not ſav'd but by the interpoſing of a Deity: He purſues and wounds that Deity, and Aeneas again eſcapes only by the Help of a ſtronger Power, Apollo. He attempts Apollo too, retreats not till the God threatens him in his own Voice, and even then retreats but a few Steps. When he ſees Hector and Mars himſelf in open Arms againſt him, he had not retir'd tho' he was wounded, but in Obedience to Minerva, and then retires with his Face toward them. But as ſoon as ſhe permits him to engage with that God, he conquers, and ſends him groaning to Heaven. What Invention and what Conduct appears in this whole Epiſode? What Boldneſs in raiſing a Character to ſuch a Pitch, and what Judgment in raiſing it by ſuch Degrees? While the moſt daring Flights of Poetry are employ'd to move our Admiration, and at the ſame time the juſteſt and cloſeſt Allegory, to reconcile thoſe Flights to moral Truth and Probability? It may be farther remark'd, that the high Degree to which Homer elevates this Character, enters into the principal Deſign of his whole Poem; which is to ſhew, that the greateſt Perſonal Qualities and Forces are of no Effect when Union is wanting among the chief Rulers, and that nothing can avail till they are reconciled ſo as to act in Concert.

III.

‘VERSE 5. High on his Helm Celeſtial Light'nings play.]’ This beautiful Paſſage gave occaſion to Zoilus for an inſipid Piece of Raillery, who ask'd how it happen'd that the Hero eſcap'd burning by theſe Fires that continually broke from [74] his Armor? Euſtathius anſwers, that there are ſeveral Examples in Hiſtory, of Fires being ſeen to break forth from human Bodies as Preſages of Greatneſs and Glory. Among the reſt, Plutarch in the Life of Alexander deſcribes his Helmet much in this manner. This is enough to warrant the Fiction, and were there no ſuch Example, the ſame Author ſays very well that the Imagination of a Poet is not to be confined to ſtrict Phyſical Truths. But all Objections may eaſily be removed, if we conſider it as done by Minerva, who had determined this Day to raiſe Diomed above all the Heroes, and cauſed this Apparition to render him formidable. The Power of a God makes it not only allowable but highly noble, and greatly imagined by Homer; as well as correſpondent to a Miracle in holy Scripture, where Moſes is deſcribed with a Glory ſhining on his Face at his Deſcent from Mount Sinai, a Parallel which Spondanus has taken notice of.

Virgil was too ſenſible of the Beauty of this Paſſage not to imitate it, and it muſt be owned he has ſurpaſſed his Original.

Ardet apex capiti, criſtiſque ac vertice flamma
Funditur, & vaſtos umbo vomit aureus ignes.
Non ſecus ac liquida ſi quando nocte Cometae
Sanguinei lugubre rubent: aut Sirius ardor,
Ille ſitim morboſque ferens mortalibus aegris,
Naſcitur, & laevo contriſtat lumine caelum.

In Homer's Compariſon there is no other Circumſtance alluded to but that of a remarkable Brightneſs: Whereas Virgil's Compariſon, beſide this, ſeems to foretel the immenſe Slaughter his Hero was to make, by comparing him firſt to a Comet, which is vulgarly imagin'd a Prognoſtick, if not the real Cauſe of much Miſery to Mankind; and again to the Dog-ſtar, which appearing with the greateſt Brightneſs in the latter end of Summer, is ſuppos'd the Occaſion of all the Diſtempers of that ſickly Seaſon. And methinks the Objection of Macrobius to this Place is not juſt, who thinks the Simile unſeaſonably apply'd by Virgil to Aeneas, becauſe he was yet on his Ship, and had not begun the Battel. One may anſwer, that this miraculous Appearance could never be [75] more proper than at the firſt Sight of the Hero, to ſtrike Terror into the Enemy, and to prognoſticate his approaching Victory.

IV.

‘VERSE 27. Idaeus fled, Left the rich Chariot.]’ It is finely ſaid by M. Dacier, that Homer appears perhaps greater by the Criticiſms that have been paſt upon him, than by the Praiſes which have been given him. Zoilus had a Cavil at this Place; he thought it ridiculous in Idaeus to deſcend from his Chariot to fly, which he might have done faſter by the help of his Horſes. Three things are ſaid in anſwer to this; firſt, that Idaeus knowing the Paſſion which Diomed had for Horſes, might hope the Pleaſure of ſeizing theſe would retard him from purſuing him. Next, that Homer might deſign to repreſent in this Action of Idaeus the common Effect of Fear, which diſturbs the Underſtanding to ſuch a degree, as to make Men abandon the ſureſt means to ſave themſelves. And then, that Idaeus might have ſome Advantage of Diomed in Swiftneſs, which he had reaſon to confide in. But I fancy one may add another Solution which will better account for this Paſſage. Homer's word is [...], which I believe would be better tranſlated non perſeveravit, than non ſuſtinuit defendere fratrem interfectum: and then the Senſe will be clear, that Idaeus made an Effort to ſave his Brother's Body, which proving impracticable, he was obliged to fly with the utmoſt Precipitation. One may add, that his alighting from his Chariot was not that he could run faſter on foot, but that he could ſooner eſcape by mixing with the Crowd of common Soldiers. There is a Particular exactly of the ſame Nature in the Book of Judges, Ch. 4. ℣. 15. where Siſera alights to fly in the ſame manner.

V.

‘VERSE 40. Who bathe in Blood.]’ It may ſeem ſomething unnatural, that Pallas at a time when ſhe is endeavouring to work upon Mars under the Appearance of Benevolence and Kindneſs, ſhould make uſe of Terms which ſeem ſo full of [76] bitter Reproaches; but theſe will appear very properly applied to this warlike Deity. For Perſons of this martial Character, who ſcorning Equity and Reaſon, carry all things by Force, are better pleas'd to be celebrated for their Power than their Virtue. Statues are rais'd to the Conquerors, that is, the Deſtroyers of Nations, who are complemented for excelling in the Arts of Ruine. Demetrius the Son of Antigonus was celebrated by his Flatterers with the Title of Poliorcetes, a Term equivalent to one here made uſe of.

VI.

‘VERSE 46. The God of Arms and martial Maid retreat.]’ The Retreat of Mars from the Trojans intimates that Courage forſook them: It may be ſaid then, that Minerva's Abſence from the Greeks will ſignify that Wiſdom deſerted them alſo. It is true ſhe does deſert them, but it is at a time when there was more occaſion for gallant Actions than for wiſe Counſels. Euſtathius.

VII.

‘VERSE 48. The Greeks the Trojan Race purſue.]’ Homer always appears very zealous for the Honour of Greece, which alone might be a Proof of his being of that Country, againſt the Opinion of thoſe who would have him of other Nations.

It is obſervable thro' the whole Ilaid, that he endeavours every where to repreſent the Greeks as ſuperior to the Trojans in Valor and the Art of War. In the beginning of the third Book he deſcribes the Trojans ruſhing on to the Battel in a barbarous and confus'd manner, with loud Shouts and Cries, while the Greeks advance in the moſt profound Silence and exact Order. And in the latter Part of the fourth Book, where the two Armies march to the Engagement, the Greeks are animated by Pallas, while Mars inſtigates the Trojans, the Poet attributing by this plain Allegory to the former a well-conducted Valor, to the latter raſh Strength and brutal Force: So that the Abilities of each Nation are diſtinguiſh'd by the Characters of the Deities who aſſiſt them. [77] But in this Place, as Euſtathius obſerves, the Poet being willing to ſhew how much the Greeks excell'd their Enemies when they engag'd only with their proper Force, and when each ſide was alike deſtitute of divine Aſſiſtance, takes occaſion to remove the Gods out of the Battel, and then each Grecian Chief gives ſignal Inſtances of Valor ſuperior to the Trojans.

A modern Critick obſerves that this conſtant Superiority of the Greeks in the Art of War, Valor, and Number, is contradictory to the main Deſign of the Poem, which is to make the Return of Achilles appear neceſſary for the Preſervation of the Greeks; but this Contradiction vaniſhes when we reflect that the Affront given Achilles was the occaſion of Jupiter's interpoſing in favour of the Trojans. Wherefore the Anger of Achilles was not pernicious to the Greeks purely becauſe it kept him inactive, but becauſe it occaſion'd Jupiter to afflict them in ſuch a manner, as made it neceſſary to appeaſe Achilles in order to render Jupiter propitious.

VIII.

‘VERSE 63. Back from the Car he tumbles.]’ It is in Poetry as in Painting, the Poſtures and Attitudes of each Figure ought to be different: Homer takes care not to draw two Perſons in the ſame Poſture; one is tumbled from his Chariot, another is ſlain as he aſcends it, a third as he endeavours to eſcape on Foot, a Conduct which is every where obſerved by the Poet. Euſtathius.

IX.

‘VERSE 75. Next artful Phereclus.]’ This Character of Phereclus is finely imagined, and preſents a noble Moral in an uncommon manner. There ran a Report, that the Trojans had formerly receiv'd an Oracle, commanding them to follow Husbandry, and not apply themſelves to Navigation. Homer from hence takes occaſion to feign, that the Shipwright who preſumed to build the Fleet of Paris when he took his fatal Voyage to Greece, was overtaken by the divine [78] Vengeance ſo long after as in this Battel. One may take notice too in this, as in many other Places, of the remarkable Diſpoſition Homer ſhews to Mechanicks; he never omits an Opportunity either of deſcribing a Piece of Workmanſhip, or of celebrating an Artiſt.

X.

VERSE 92.
Antenor's Offspring from a foreign Bed,
Whoſe gen'rous Spouſe Theano heav'nly Fair,
Nurs'd the young Stranger with a Mother's Care.

Homer in this remarkable Paſſage commends the fair Theano for breeding up a Baſtard of her Husband's with the ſame Tenderneſs as her own Children. This Lady was a Woman of the firſt Quality, and (as it appears in the ſixth Iliad) the high Prieſteſs of Minerva: So that one cannot imagine the Education of this Child was impoſed upon her by the Authority or Power of Antenor; Homer himſelf takes care to remove any ſuch derogatory Notion, by particularizing the Motive of this unuſual Piece of Humanity to have been to pleaſe her Husband, [...]. Nor ought we to leſſen this Commendation by thinking the Wives of thoſe Times in general were more complaiſant than thoſe of our own. The Stories of Phoenix, Clytemneſtra, Medea, and many others, are plain Inſtances how highly the keeping of Miſtreſſes was reſented by the married Ladies. But there was indeed a difference between the Greeks and Aſiaticks as to their Notions of Marriage: For it is certain the latter allowed Plurality of Wives; Priam had many lawful ones, and ſome of them Princeſſes who brought great Dowries. Theano was an Aſiatick, and that is the moſt we can grant; for the Son ſhe nurs'd ſo carefully was apparently not by a Wife, but by a Miſtreſs; and her Paſſions were naturally the ſame with thoſe of the Grecian Women. As to the Degree of Regard then ſhewn to the Baſtards, they were carefully enough educated, tho' not (like this of Antenor) as the lawful Iſſue, nor admitted to an equal ſhare of Inheritance. Megapenthes and Nicoſtratus were excluded from the Inheritance of Sparta, becauſe they were born of Bond-Women, [79] as Pauſanias ſays. But Neoptolemus, a natural Son of Achilles by Deidamia, ſucceeded in his Father's Kingdom, perhaps with reſpect to his Mother's Quality who was a Princeſs. Upon the whole, however that Matter ſtood, Homer was very favourable to Baſtards, and has paid them more Complements than one in his Works. If I am not miſtaken Ulyſſes reckons himſelf one in the Odyſſeis. Agamemnon in the eighth Iliad plainly accounts it no Diſgrace, when charm'd with the noble Exploits of young Teucer, and praiſing him in the Rapture of his Heart, he juſt then takes occaſion to mention his Illegitimacy as a kind of Panegyrick upon him. The Reader may conſult the Paſſage, ℣. 284 of the Original and ℣. 333 of the Tranſlation. From all this I ſhould not be averſe to believe that Homer himſelf was a Baſtard, as Virgil was, of which I think this Obſervation a better Proof, than what is ſaid for it in the common Lives of him.

XI.

VERSE 100.
—Hypſenor, gen'rous and divine,
Sprung from the brave Dolopion's mighty Line;
Who near ador'd Scamander made Abode;
Prieſt of the Stream, and honour'd as a God.

From the Number of Circumſtances put together here, and in many other Paſſages, of the Parentage, Place of Abode, Profeſſion, and Quality of the Perſons our Author mentions; I think it is plain he compoſed his Poem from ſome Records or Traditions of the Actions of the Times preceding, and complied with the Truth of Hiſtory. Otherwiſe theſe particular Deſcriptions of Genealogies and other minute Circumſtances would have been an Affectation extremely needleſs and unreaſonable. This Conſideration will account for ſeveral things that ſeem odd or tedious, not to add that one may naturally believe he took theſe Occaſions of paying a Complement to many great Men and Families of his Patrons, both in Greece and Aſia.

XII.

[80]

‘VERSE 108. Down ſinks the Prieſt.]’ Homer makes him die upon the cutting off his Arm, which is an Inſtance of his Skill; for the great Flux of Blood that muſt follow ſuch a Wound, would be the immediate Cauſe of Death.

XIII.

‘VERSE 116. Thus Torrents ſwift and ſtrong.]’ This whole Paſſage (ſays Euſtathius) is extremely beautiful. It deſcribes the Hero carry'd by an Enthuſiaſtick Valor into the midſt of his Enemies, and ſo mingled with their Ranks as if himſelf were a Trojan. And the Simile wonderfully illuſtrates this Fury proceeding from an uncommon Infuſion of Courage from Heaven, in reſembling it not to a conſtant River, but a Torrent riſing from an extraordinary Burſt of Rain. This Simile is one of thoſe that draws along with it ſome foreign Circumſtances: We muſt not often expect from Homer thoſe minute Reſemblances in every Branch of a Compariſon, which are the Pride of modern Similes. If that which one may call the main Action of it, or the principal Point of Likeneſs, be preſerved; he affects, as to the reſt, rather to preſent the Mind with a great Image, than to fix it down to an exact one. He is ſure to make a fine Picture in the whole, without drudging on the under Parts; like thoſe free Painters who (one would think) had only made here and there a few very ſignificant Strokes, that give Form and Spirit to all the Piece. For the preſent Compariſon, Virgil in the ſecond Aeneid has inſerted an Imitation of it, which I cannot think equal to this, tho' Scaliger prefers Virgil's to all our Author's Similitudes from Rivers put together.

Non ſic aggeribus ruptis cum ſpumeus amnis
Exiit, oppoſitaſque evicit gurgite moles,
Fertur in arva furens cumulo, campoſque per omnes
Cum ſtabulis armenta trahit—

[81]
Not with ſo fierce a Rage, the foaming Flood
Roars, when he finds his rapid Courſe withſtood;
Bears down the Dams with unreſiſted Sway,
And ſweeps the Cattel and the Cotts away.
Dryden.

XIV.

‘VERSE 139. The Dart ſtopt ſhort of Life.]’ Homer ſays it did not kill him, and I am at a Loſs why M. Dacier tranſlates it, The Wound was ſlight; when juſt after the Arrow is ſaid to have pierc'd quite thro', and ſhe herſelf there turns it, Perçoit l'eſpaule d'outre en outre. Had it been ſo ſlight, he would not have needed the immediate Aſſiſtance of Minerva to reſtore his uſual Vigor, and enable him to continue the Fight.

XV.

‘VERSE 164. From mortal Miſts I purge thy Eyes.]’ This Fiction of Homer (ſays M. Dacier) is founded upon an important Truth of Religion, not unknown to the Pagans, that God only can open the Eyes of Men, and enable them to ſee what they cannot diſcover by their own Capacity. There are frequent Examples of this in the Old Teſtament. God opens the Eyes of Hagar that ſhe might ſee the Fountain, in Geneſ. 21. ℣. 14. So Numbers 22. ℣. 31. The Lord open'd the Eyes of Balaam, and he ſaw the Angel of the Lord ſtanding in his way, and his Sword drawn in his Hand. A Paſſage much reſembling this of our Author. Venus in Virgil's ſecond Aeneid performs the ſame Office to Aeneas, and ſhews him the Gods who were engag'd in the Deſtruction of Troy.

Aſpice; namque omnem quae nunc obducta tuenti
Mortales hebetat viſus tibi, & humida circum
Caligat, nubem eripiam—
Apparent dirae facies, inimicaque Trojae
Numina magna Deûm.—

Milton ſeems likewiſe to have imitated this where he makes [82] Michael open Adam's Eyes to ſee the future Revolutions of the World, and Fortunes of his Poſterity, Book 11.

—He purg'd with Euphraſie and Rue
The viſual Nerve, for he had much to ſee,
And from the Well of Life three Drops diſtill'd.

This diſtinguiſhing Sight of Diomed was given him only for the preſent Occaſion and Service in which he was employ'd by Pallas. For we find in the ſixth Book that upon meeting Glaucus, he is ignorant whether that Hero be a Man or a God.

XVI.

‘VERSE 194. No myſtic Dream.]’ This Line in the Original, [...], contains as puzzling a Paſſage for the Conſtruction as I have met with in Homer. Moſt Interpreters join the negative Particle [...] with the Verb [...], which may receive three different Meanings: That Eurydamas had not interpreted the Dreams of his Children when they went to the Wars, or that he had foretold them by their Dreams they ſhould never return from the Wars, or that he ſhould now no more have the Satisfaction to interpret their Dreams at their Return. After all, this Conſtruction ſeems forced, and no way agreeable to the general Idiom of the Greek Language, or to Homer's ſimple Diction in particular. If we join [...] with [...], I think the moſt obvious Senſe will be this; Diomed attacks the two Sons of Eurydamas an old Interpreter of Dreams; his Children not returning, the Prophet ſought by his Dreams to know their Fate; however they fall by the Hands of Diomed. This Interpretation ſeems natural and poetical, and tends to move Compaſſion, which is almoſt conſtantly the Deſign of the Poet in his frequent ſhort Digreſſions concerning the Circumſtances and Relations of dying Perſons.

XVII.

‘VERSE 202. To Strangers now deſcends his wealthy Store.]’ [83] This is a Circumſtance than which nothing could be imagined more tragical, conſidering the Character of the Father. Homer ſays the Truſtees of the remote collateral Relations ſeiz'd the Eſtate before his Eyes (according to a Cuſtom of thoſe Times) which to a covetous old Man muſt be the greateſt of Miſeries.

XVIII.

‘VERSE 212. Divine Aeneas.]’ It is here Aeneas begins to act, and if we take a View of the whole Epiſode of this Hero in Homer, where he makes but an Under-part, it will appear that Virgil has kept him perfectly in the ſame Character in his Poem, where he ſhines as the firſt Hero. His Piety and his Valor, tho' not drawn at ſo full a length, are mark'd no leſs in the Original than in the Copy. It is the manner of Homer to expreſs very ſtrongly the Character of each Perſon in the firſt Speech he is made to utter in the Poem. In this of Aeneas, there is a great Air of Piety in thoſe Strokes, Is he ſome God who puniſhes Troy for having neglected his Sacrifices? And then that Sentence, The Anger of Heaven is terrible. When he is in Danger afterwards, he is ſaved by the heavenly Aſſiſtance of two Deities at once, and his Wounds cured in the holy Temple of Pergamus by Latona and Diana. As to his Valor, he is ſecond only to Hector, and in perſonal Bravery as great in the Greek Author as in the Roman. He is made to exert himſelf on Emergencies of the firſt Importance and Hazard, rather than on common Occaſions: he checks Diomed here in the midſt of his Fury; in the thirteenth Book defends his Friend Deiphobus before it was his Turn to fight, being placed in one of the hindmoſt Ranks (which Homer, to take off all Objection to his Valor, tells us happen'd becauſe Priam had an Animoſity to him, tho' he was one of the braveſt of the Army.) He is one of thoſe who reſcue Hector when he is overthrown by Ajax in the fourteenth Book. And what alone were ſufficient to eſtabliſh him a firſt-rate Hero, he is the firſt that dares reſiſt Achilles himſelf at his Return to the Fight in all his Rage for the Loſs of Patroclus. He indeed avoids encountering [84] two at once, in the preſent Book; and ſhews upon the whole a ſedate and deliberate Courage, which if not ſo glaring as that of ſome others, is yet more juſt. It is worth conſidering how thoroughly Virgil penetrated into all this, and ſaw into the very Idea of Homer; ſo as to extend and call forth the whole Figure in its full Dimenſions and Colours from the ſlighteſt Hints and Sketches which were but caſually touch'd by Homer, and even in ſome Points too where they were rather left to be underſtood, than expreſs'd. And this, by the way, ought to be conſider'd by thoſe Criticks who object to Virgil's Hero the want of that ſort of Courage which ſtrikes us ſo much in Homer's Achilles. Aeneas was not the Creature of Virgil's Imagination, but one whom the World was already acquainted with, and expected to ſee continued in the ſame Character; and one who perhaps was choſen for the Hero of the Latin Poem, not only as he was the Founder of the Roman Empire, but as this more calm and regular Character better agreed with the Temper and Genius of the Poet himſelf.

XIX.

‘VERSE 242. Skill'd in the Bow, &c.]’ We ſee thro' this whole Diſcourſe of Pandarus the Character of a vain-glorious paſſionate Prince, who being skill'd in the Uſe of the Bow, was highly valued by himſelf and others for this Excellence; but having been ſucceſsleſs in two different Trials of his Skill, he is rais'd into an outragious Paſſion, which vents itſelf in vain Threats on his guiltleſs Bow. Euſtathius on this Paſſage relates a Story of a Paphlagonian famous like him for his Archery, who having miſs'd his Aim at repeated Trials, was ſo tranſported by Rage, that breaking his Bow and Arrows, he executed a more fatal Vengeance by hanging himſelf.

XX.

‘VERSE 244. Ten poliſh'd Chariots.]’ Among the many Pictures Homer gives us of the Simplicity of the Heroic Ages, he mingles from time to time ſome Hints of an extraordinary [85] Magnificence. We have here a Prince who has all theſe Chariots for Pleaſure at one time, with their particular Sets of Horſes to each, and the moſt ſumptuous Coverings in their Stables. But we muſt remember that he ſpeaks of an Aſiatic Prince, thoſe Barbarians living in great Luxury. Dacier.

XXI.

‘VERSE 252. Yet to Thrift inclin'd.]’ 'Tis Euſtathius his Remark, that Pandarus did this out of Avarice, to ſave the Expence of his Horſes. I like this Conjecture, becauſe nothing ſeems more judicious, than to give a Man of a perfidious Character a ſtrong Tincture of Avarice.

XXII.

‘VERSE 261. And undiſſembled Gore purſu'd the Wound.]’ The Greek is [...]. He ſays he is ſure it was real Blood that follow'd his Arrow; becauſe it was anciently a Cuſtom, particularly among the Spartans, to have Ornaments and Figures of a purple Colour on their Breaſt-Plates, that the Blood they loſt might not be ſeen by the Soldiers, and tend to their Diſcouragement. Plutarch in his Inſtit. Lacon. takes notice of this Point of Antiquity, and I wonder it eſcap'd Madam Dacier in her Tranſlation.

XXIII.

‘VERSE 273. Nor Phoebus' honour'd Gift diſgrace.]’ For Homer tells us in the ſecond Book, ℣. 334 of the Catalogue, that the Bow and Shafts of Pandarus were given him by Apollo.

XXIV.

‘VERSE 284. Haſte, ſeize the Whip, &c.]’ Homer means not here, that one of the Heroes ſhould alight or deſcend from the Chariot, but only that he ſhould quit the Reins to the Management of the other, and ſtand on Foot upon the Chariot to fight from thence. As one might uſe the Expreſſion, [86] to deſcend from the Ship, to ſignify to quit the Helm or Oar, in order to take up Arms. This is the Note of Euſtathius, by which it appears that moſt of the Tranſlators are miſtaken in the Senſe of this Paſſage, and among the reſt Mr. Hobbes.

XXV.

‘VERSE 320. One Chief at leaſt beneath this Arm ſhall die.]’ It is the manner of our Author to make his Perſons have ſome Intimation from within, either of proſperous or adverſe Fortune, before it happens to them. In the preſent Inſtance, we have ſeen Aeneas, aſtoniſh'd at the great Exploits of Diomed, propoſing to himſelf the Means of his Eſcape by the Swiftneſs of his Horſes, before he advances to encounter him. On the other hand, Diomed is ſo filled with Aſſurance, that he gives Orders here to Sthenelus to ſeize thoſe Horſes, before they come up to him. The Oppoſition of theſe two (as Mad. Dacier has remark'd) is very obſervable.

XXVI.

‘VERSE 327. The Courſers of Aethereal Breed.]’ We have already obſerved the great Delight Homer takes in Horſes. He makes ſome Horſes, as well as Heroes, of celeſtial Race: and if he has been thought too fond of the Genealogies of ſome of his Warriors, in relating them even in a Battel; we find him here as willing to trace that of his Horſes in the ſame Circumſtance. Theſe were of that Breed which Jupiter beſtow'd upon Tros, and far ſuperior to the common Strain of Trojan Horſes. So that (according to Euſtathius's Opinion) the Tranſlators are miſtaken who turn [...], the Trojan Horſes, in ℣. 222 of the Original, where Aeneas extolls their Qualities to Pandarus. The ſame Author takes notice, that Frauds in the Caſe of Horſes have been thought excuſable in all Times, and commends Anchiſes for this Piece of Theft. Virgil was ſo well pleas'd with it as to imitate this Paſſage in the ſeventh Aeneid.

[87]
Abſenti Aeneae currum, geminoſque jugales
Semine ab aethereo, ſpirantes naribus ignem,
Illorum de gente, patri quos daedala Circe
Suppoſita de matre nothos furata creavit.

XXVII.

‘VERSE 353. Full in his Face it enter'd.]’ It has been ask'd, how Diomed being on Foot, could naturally be ſuppos'd to give ſuch a Wound as is deſcrib'd here. Were it never ſo improbable, the expreſs mention that Minerva conducted the Javelin to that Part, would render this Paſſage unexceptionable. But without having recourſe to a Miracle, ſuch a Wound might be receiv'd by Pandarus either if he ſtoop'd; or if his Enemy took the Advantage of a riſing Ground, by which means he might not impoſſibly ſtand higher, tho' the other were in a Chariot. This is the Solution given by the ancient Scholia, which is confirm'd by the Lowneſs of the Chariots, obſerved in the Eſſay on Homer's Battels.

XXVIII.

‘VERSE 361. To guard his ſlaughter'd Friend Aeneas flies.]’ This protecting of the dead Body was not only an Office of Piety agreeable to the Character of Aeneas in particular, but look'd upon as a Matter of great Importance in thoſe Times. It was believ'd that the very Soul of the deceas'd ſuffer'd by the Body's remaining deſtitute of the Rites of Sepulture, as not being elſe admitted to paſs the Waters of Styx.

Haec omnis, quam cernis, inops inhumataque turba eſt;
Portitor ille, Charon; hi, quos vehit unda, ſepulti.
Nec ripas datur horrendas & rauca fluenta
Tranſportare prius, quam ſedibus oſſa quierunt.
Centum errant annos, volitantque haec litora circum.
Virg. Aen. 6.

[88] Whoever conſiders this, will not be ſurprized at thoſe long and obſtinate Combates for the Bodies of the Heroes, ſo frequent in the Iliad. Homer thought it of ſuch Weight, that he has put this Circumſtance of want of Burial into the Propoſition at the beginning of his Poem, as one of the chief Misfortunes that befel the Greeks.

XXIX.

‘VERSE 371. Not two ſtrong Men.]’ This Opinion of a Degeneracy of human Size and Strength in the Proceſs of Ages, has been very general. Lucretius, Lib. 2.

Jamque adeo fracta eſt aetas, effoetaque tellus
Vix animalia parva creat, quae cuncta creavit
Saecla, deditque ferarum ingentia corpora partu.

The active Life and Temperance of the firſt Men, before their native Powers were prejudiced by Luxury, may be ſuppoſed to have given them this Advantage. Celſus in his firſt Book obſerves, that Homer mentions no ſort of Diſeaſes in the old Heroic Times but what were immediately inflicted by Heaven, as if their Temperance and Exerciſe preſerved them from all beſides. Virgil imitates this Paſſage, with a farther Allowance of the Decay in Proportion to the Diſtance of his Time from that of Homer. For he ſays it was an Attempt that exceeded the Strength of twelve Men, inſtead of two.

—Saxum circumſpicit ingens—
Vix illud lecti bis ſex cervice ſubirent.
Qualia nunc hominum producit corpora tellus.

Juvenal has made an agreeable Uſe of this Thought in his fourteenth Satyr.

Nam genus hoc vivo jam decreſcebat Homero,
Terra malos homines nunc educat, atque puſillos.

XXX.

[89]

‘VERSE 391. Hid from the Foe behind her ſhining Veil.]’ Homer ſays, ſhe ſpread her Veil that it might be a Defence againſt the Darts. How comes it then afterwards to be pierc'd thro', when Venus is wounded? It is manifeſt the Veil was not impenetrable, and is ſaid here to be a Defence only as it render'd Aeneas inviſible, by being interpoſed. This is the Obſervation of Euſtathius, and was thought too material to be neglected in the Tranſlation.

XXXI.

‘VERSE 403. To bold Deipylus—Whom moſt he lov'd.]’ Sthenelus (ſays M. Dacier) loved Deipylus, parce qu'il avoit la meſme humeur que luy, la meſme ſageſſe. The Words in the Original are [...]. Becauſe his Mind was equal and conſentaneous to his own; which I ſhould rather tranſlate, with regard to the Character of Sthenelus, that he had the ſame Bravery, than the ſame Wiſdom. For that Sthenelus was not remarkable for Wiſdom appears from many Paſſages, and particularly from his Speech to Agamemnon in the fourth Book, upon which ſee Plutarch's Remark, Note 28.

XXXII.

‘VERSE 408. The Chief in chace of Venus flies.]’ We have ſeen with what Eaſe Venus takes Paris out of the Battel in the third Book, when his Life was in danger from Menelaus; but here when ſhe has a Charge of more Importance and nearer Concern, ſhe is not able to preſerve her ſelf or her Son from the Fury of Diomed. The difference of Succeſs in two Attempts ſo like each other, is occaſion'd by that Penetration of Sight with which Pallas had endu'd her Favorite. For the Gods in their Intercourſe with Men are not ordinarily ſeen but when they pleaſe to render themſelves viſible; wherefore Venus might think her ſelf and her Son ſecure from the Inſolence of this daring Mortal; but was in this deceiv'd, [90] being ignorant of that Faculty, wherewith the Hero was enabled to diſtinguiſh Gods as well as Men.

XXXIII.

‘VERSE 419. Her ſnowie Hand the razing Steel profan'd.]’ Plutarch in his Sympoſiacks l. 9. tells us, that Maximus the Rhetorician propos'd this far-fetch'd Queſtion at a Banquet, On which of her Hands Venus was wounded? and that Zopyrion anſwer'd it by asking, On which of his Legs Philip was lame? But Maximus reply'd it was a different Caſe: For Demoſthenes left no Foundation to gueſs at the one, whereas Homer gives a Solution of the other, in ſaying that Diomed throwing his Spear acroſs, wounded her Wriſt: ſo that it was her right Hand he hurt, her left being oppoſite to his right. He adds another humorous Reaſon from Pallas's reproaching her afterwards, as having got this Wound while ſhe was ſtroking and ſolliciting ſome Grecian Lady, and unbuckling her Zone; An Action (ſays this Philoſopher) in which no one would make uſe of the left Hand.

XXXIV.

‘VERSE 422. Such Stream as iſſues from a wounded God.]’ This is one of thoſe Paſſages in Homer which have given occaſion to that famous Cenſure of Tully and Longinus, That he makes Gods of his Heroes, and Mortals of his Gods. Theſe, taken in a general Senſe, appear'd the higheſt Impiety to Plato and Pythagoras; one of whom has baniſh'd Homer from his Commonwealth, and the other ſaid he was tortured in Hell, for Fictions of this Nature. But if a due Diſtinction be made of a difference among Beings ſuperior to Mankind, which both the Pagans and Chriſtians have allowed, theſe Fables may be eaſily accounted for. Wounds inflicted on the Dragon, Bruiſing of the Serpent's Head, and other ſuch metaphorical Images are conſecrated in holy Writ, and apply'd to Angelical and incorporeal Natures. But in our Author's Days they had a Notion of Gods that were corporeal, to whom they aſcribed Bodies, tho' of a more ſubtil Kind than [91] thoſe of Mortals. So in this very Place he ſuppoſes them to have Blood, but Blood of a finer and ſuperior Nature. Notwithſtanding the foregoing Cenſures, Milton has not ſcrupled to imitate and apply this to Angels in the Chriſtian Syſtem, when Satan is wounded by Michael in his ſixth Book.

—Then Satan firſt knew Pain,
And writh'd him to and fro convolv'd; ſo ſore
The griding Sword with diſcontinuous Wound
Paſs'd thro' him; but th' Aetherial Subſtance clos'd,
Not long diviſible, and from the gaſh
A Stream of Nectarous Humour iſſuing flow'd,
Sanguin, ſuch as Celeſtial Spirits may bleed—
Yet ſoon he heal'd, for Spirits that live throughout,
Vital in ev'ry Part, not as frail Man
In Entrails, Head or Heart, Liver or Reins,
Cannot but by annihilating die.

Ariſtotle, Cap. 26. Art. Poet. excuſes Homer for following Fame and common Opinion in his Account of the Gods, tho' no way agreeable to Truth. The Religion of thoſe Times taught no other Notions of the Deity, than that the Gods were Beings of human Forms and Paſſions; ſo that any but a real Anthropomorphite would probably have paſt among the ancient Greeks for an impious Heretick: They thought their Religion, which worſhipped the Gods in Images of human Shape, was much more refin'd and rational than that of Aegypt and other Nations, who ador'd them in animal or monſtrous Forms. And certainly Gods of human Shape cannot juſtly be eſteemed or deſcribed otherwiſe, than as a celeſtial Race, ſuperior only to mortal Men by greater Abilities, and a more extenſive Degree of Wiſdom and Strength, ſubject however to the neceſſary Inconveniencies conſequent to corporeal Beings. Cicero in his Book de Nat. Deor. urges this Conſequence ſtrongly againſt the Epicureans, who tho' they depos'd the Gods from any Power in creating or governing the World, yet maintain'd their Exiſtence in human Forms. Non enim ſentitis quam multa vobis ſuſcipienda ſunt ſi impetraveritis ut concedamus eandem eſſe hominum & deorum [92] figuram; omnis cultus & curatio corporis erit eadem adhibenda Deo quae adhibetur homini, ingreſſus, curſus, accubatio, inclinatio, ſeſſio, comprehenſio, ad extremum etiam ſermo & oratio. Nam quod & mares Deos & faeminas eſſe dicitis, quid ſequatur videtis.

This Particular of the wounding of Venus ſeems to be a Fiction of Homer's own Brain, naturally deducible from the Doctrine of corporeal Gods above-mentioned; and conſidered as Poetry, no way ſhocking. Yet our Author as if he had foreſeen ſome Objection, has very artfully inſerted a Juſtification of this bold Stroke, in the Speech Dione ſoon after makes to Venus. For as it was natural to comfort her Daughter, by putting her in mind that many other Deities had receiv'd as ill Treatment from Mortals by the Permiſſion of Jupiter; ſo it was of great Uſe to the Poet, to enumerate thoſe ancient Fables to the ſame Purpoſe, which being then generally aſſented to might obtain Credit for his own. This fine Remark belongs to Euſtathius.

XXXV.

‘VERSE 424. Unlike our groſs, diſeas'd, terreſtrial Blood, &c.]’ The Opinion of the Incorruptibility of Celeſtial Matter ſeems to have been receiv'd in the Time of Homer. For he makes the Immortality of the Gods to depend upon the incorruptible Nature of the Nutriment by which they are ſuſtained: As the Mortality of Men to proceed from the corruptible Materials of which they are made, and by which they are nouriſhed. We have ſeveral Inſtances in him from whence this may be inferred, as when Diomed queſtions Glaucus if he be a God or a Mortal, he adds, One who is ſuſtained by the Fruits of the Earth. Lib. 6. ℣. 142.

XXXVI.

‘VERSE 449. Low at his Knee ſhe begg'd.]’ All the former Engliſh Tranſlators make it, ſhe fell on her Knees, an Overſight occaſion'd by the want of a competent Knowledge in Antiquities (without which no Man can tolerably underſtand this Author.) For the Cuſtom of praying on the Knees was [93] unknown to the Greeks, and in uſe only among the Hebrews.

XXXVII.

‘VERSE 472. And ſhare thoſe Griefs inferior Pow'rs muſt ſhare.]’ The word Inferior is added by the Tranſlator, to open the Diſtinction Homer makes between the Divinity itſelf, which he repreſents impaſſible, and the ſubordinate celeſtial Beings or Spirits.

XXXVIII.

‘VERSE 475. The mighty Mars, &c.]’ Homer in theſe Fables, as upon many other Occaſions, makes a great Show of his Theological Learning, which was the manner of all the Greeks who had travell'd into Aegypt. Thoſe who would ſee theſe Allegories explained at large, may conſult Euſtathius on this Place. Virgil ſpeaks much in the ſame Figure when he deſcribes the happy Peace with which Auguſtus had bleſt the World,

—Furor impius intus
Saeva ſedens ſuper arma, & centum vinctus aënis
Poſt tergum nodis, fremit horridus ore cruento.

XXXIX.

‘VERSE 479. Perhaps had periſh'd.]’ Some of Homer's Cenſurers have inferr'd from this Paſſage, that the Poet repreſents his Gods ſubject to Death, when nothing but great Miſery is here deſcribed. It is a common way of Speech to uſe Perdition and Deſtruction for Misfortune. The Language of Scripture calls eternal Puniſhment periſhing everlaſtingly. There is a remarkable Paſſage to this Purpoſe in Tacitus, An. 6. which very lively repreſents the miſerable State of a diſtracted Tyrant: It is the beginning of a Letter from Tiberius to the Senate, Quid ſcribam vobis, P. C. aut quomodo ſcribam, aut quid omnino non ſcribam hoc tempore, Dii me deaeque pejus perdant quam perire quotidie ſentio, ſi ſcio.

XL.

[94]

‘VERSE 498. No Infant on his Knees ſhall call him Sire.]’ This is Homer's manner of foretelling that he ſhall periſh unfortunately in Battel, which is infinitely a more artful way of conveying that Thought than by a direct Expreſſion. He does not ſimply ſay, he ſhall never return from the War, but intimates as much by deſcribing the Loſs of the moſt ſenſible and affecting Pleaſure that a Warrior can receive at his Return. Of the like Nature is the Prophecy at the end of this Speech of the Hero's Death, by repreſenting it in a Dream of his Wife's. There are many fine Strokes of this kind in the Prophetical Parts of the Old Teſtament. Nothing is more natural than Dione's forming theſe Images of Revenge upon Diomed, the Hope of which Vengeance was ſo proper a Topick of Conſolation to Venus.

XLI.

‘VERSE 500. To ſtretch thee pale, &c.]’ Virgil has taken notice of this threatning Denunciation of Vengeance, tho' fulfill'd in a different manner, where Diomed in his Anſwer to the Embaſſador of K. Latinus enumerates his Misfortunes, and imputes the Cauſe of them to this impious Attempt upon Venus. Aeneid, Lib. 11.

Invidiſſe Deos patriis ut redditus oris
Conjugium optatum & pulchram Calydona viderem?
Nunc etiam horribili viſu portenta ſequuntur:
Et ſocii amiſſi petierunt Aequora pennis:
Fluminibuſque vagantur aves (heu dira meorum
Supplicia!) & ſcopulos, lachrymoſis vocibus implent.
Haec adeo ex illo mihi jam ſperanda fuerunt
Tempore, cum ferro caeleſtia corpora demens
Appetii, & Veneris violavi vulnere dextram.

XLII.

[95]

‘VERSE 501. Thy diſtant Wife.]’ The Poet ſeems here to complement the Fair Sex at the Expence of Truth, by concealing the Character of Aegiale, whom he has deſcrib'd with the Diſpoſition of a faithful Wife; tho' the Hiſtory of thoſe Times repreſents her as an abandon'd Proſtitute, who gave up her own Perſon and her Husband's Crown to her Lover. So that Diomed at his Return from Troy, when he expected to be receiv'd with all the Tenderneſs of a loving Spouſe, found his Bed and Throne poſſeſs'd by an Adulterer, was forc'd to fly his Country, and ſeek Refuge and Subſiſtence in foreign Lands. Thus the offended Goddeſs executed her Vengeance by the proper Effects of her own Power, by involving the Hero in a Series of Misfortunes proceeding from the Incontinence of his Wife.

XLIII.

‘VERSE 517. The Sire of Gods and Men ſuperior ſmil'd.]’ One may obſerve the Decorum and Decency our Author conſtantly preſerves on this Occaſion: Jupiter only ſmiles, the other Gods laugh out. That Homer was no Enemy to Mirth may appear from ſeveral Places of his Poem; which ſo ſerious as it is, is interſpers'd with many Gayeties, indeed more than he has been follow'd in by the ſucceeding Epic Poets. Milton, who was perhaps fonder of him than the reſt, has given moſt into the ludicrous; of which his Paradiſe of Fools in the third Book, and his Jeſting Angels in the ſixth, are extraordinary Inſtances. Upon the Confuſion of Babel, he ſays there was great Laughter in Heaven: as Homer calls the Laughter of the Gods in the firſt Book [...], an inextinguiſhable Laugh: But the Scripture might perhaps embolden the Engliſh Poet, which ſays, The Lord ſhall laugh them to Scorn, and the like. Plato is very angry at Homer for making the Deities laugh, as a high Indecency and Offence to Gravity. He ſays the Gods in our Author repreſent Magiſtrates and Perſons in Authority, and are deſigned [96] as Examples to ſuch: On this Suppoſition, he blames him for propoſing immoderate Laughter as a thing decent in great Men. I forgot to take notice in its proper Place, that the Epither inextinguiſhable is not to be taken literally for diſſolute or ceaſleſs Mirth, but was only a Phraſe of that time to ſignify Chearfulneſs and ſeaſonable Gayety; in the ſame manner as we may now ſay, to die with Laughter, without being underſtood to be in danger of dying with it. The Place, Time, and Occaſion were all agreeable to Mirth: It was at a Banquet; and Plato himſelf relates ſeveral things that paſt at the Banquet of Agathon, which had not been either decent or rational at any other Seaſon. The ſame may be ſaid of the preſent Paſſage: Raillery could never be more natural than when two of the Female Sex had an Opportunity of triumphing over another whom they hated. Homer makes Wiſdom her ſelf not able, even in the Preſence of Jupiter, to reſiſt the Temptation. She breaks into a ludicrous Speech, and the ſupreme Being himſelf vouchſafes a Smile at it. But this (as Euſtathius remarks) is not introduduced without Judgment and Precaution. For we ſee he makes Minerva firſt beg Jupiter's Permiſſion for this Piece of Freedom, Permit thy Daughter, gracious Jove; in which he asks the Reader's leave to enliven his Narration with this Piece of Gayety.

XLIV.

‘VERSE 540. He dreads his Fury, and ſome Steps retires.]’ Diomed ſtill maintains his intrepid Character; he retires but a Step or two even from Apollo. The Conduct of Homer is remarkably juſt and rational here. He gives Diomed no ſort of Advantage over Apollo, becauſe he would not feign what was entirely incredible, and what no Allegory could juſtify. He wounds Venus and Mars, as it is morally poſſible to overcome the irregular Paſſions which are repreſented by thoſe Deities. But it is impoſſible to vanquiſh Apollo, in whatſoever Capacity he is conſidered, either as the Sun, or as Deſtiny: One may ſhoot at the Sun but not hurt him, and one may ſtrive againſt Deſtiny but not ſurmount it. Euſtathius.

XLV.

[97]

‘VERSE 546. A Phantome rais'd.]’ The Fiction of a God's placing a Phantome inſtead of the Hero, to delude the Enemy and continue the Engagement, means no more than that the Enemy thought he was in the Battel. This is the Language of Poetry, which prefers a marvellous Fiction to a plain and ſimple Truth, the Recital whereof would be cold and unaffecting. Thus Minerva's guiding a Javelin, ſignifies only that it was thrown with Art and Dexterity; Mars taking upon him the Shape of Acamas, that the Courage of Acamas incited him to do ſo, and in like manner of the reſt. The preſent Paſſage is copied by Virgil in the tenth Aeneid, where the Spectre of Aeneas is raiſed by Juno or the Air, as it is here by Apollo or the Sun; both equally proper to be employ'd in forming an Apparition. Whoever will compare the two Authors on this Subject, will obſerve with what admirable Art, and what exquiſite Ornaments, the latter has improved and beautify'd his Original. Scaliger in comparing theſe Places, has abſurdly cenſured the Phantome of Homer for its Inactivity; whereas it was only form'd to repreſent the Hero lying on the Ground, without any Appearance of Life or Motion. Spencer in the eighth Canto of the third Book ſeems to have improved this Imagination, in the Creation of his falſe Florimel, who performs all the Functions of Life, and gives occaſion for many Adventures.

XLVI.

‘VERSE 575. The Speech of Sarpedon to Hector.]’ It will be hard to find a Speech more warm and ſpirited than this of Sarpedon, or which comprehends ſo much in ſo few Words. Nothing could be more artfully thought upon to pique Hector, who was ſo jealous of his Country's Glory, than to tell him he had formerly conceiv'd too great a Notion of the Trojan Valor; and to exalt the Auxiliaries above his Countrymen. The Deſcription Sarpedon gives of the little Concern or Intereſt himſelf had in the War, in Oppoſition to the [98] Neceſſity and imminent Danger of the Trojans, greatly ſtrengthens this Preference, and lays the Charge very home upon their Honour. In the latter Part, which preſcribes Hector his Duty, there is a particular Reprimand in telling him how much it behoves him to animate and encourage the Auxiliaries; for this is to ſay in other Words, You ſhould exhort them, and they are forc'd on the contrary to exhort you.

XLVII.

‘VERSE 611. Ceres' ſacred Floor.]’ Homer calls the Threſhing Floor ſacred (ſays Euſtathius) not only as it was conſecrated to Ceres, but in regard of its great Uſe and Advantage to human Kind; in which Senſe alſo he frequently gives the ſame Epithet to Cities, &c. This Simile is of an exquiſite Beauty.

XLVIII.

‘VERSE 641. So when th' embattel'd Clouds.]’ This Simile contains as proper a Compariſon, and as fine a Picture of Nature as any in Homer: Yet however it is to be fear'd the Beauty and Propriety of it will not be very obvious to many Readers, becauſe it is the Deſcription of a natural Appearance which they have not had an Opportunity to remark, and which can be obſerved only in a mountainous Country. It happens frequently in very calm Weather, that the Atmoſphere is charg'd with thick Vapors, whoſe Gravity is ſuch, that they neither riſe nor fall, but remain poiz'd in the Air at a certain Height, where they continue frequently for ſeveral Days together. In a plain Country this occaſions no other viſible Appearance, but of an uniform clouded Sky; but in a Hilly Region theſe Vapors are to be ſeen covering the Tops and ſtretch'd along the Sides of the Mountains, the clouded Parts above being terminated and diſtinguiſh'd from the clear Parts below by a ſtrait Line running parallel to the Horizon, as far as the Mountains extend. The whole Compaſs of Nature cannot afford a nobler and more exact Repreſentation of a numerous Army, drawn up in Line of Battel, and expecting the Charge. The long-extended even front, the [99] Cloſeneſs of the Ranks; the Firmneſs, Order, and Silence of the whole, are all drawn with great Reſemblance in this one Compariſon. The Poet adds, that this Appearance is while Boreas and the other boiſterous Winds which diſperſe and break the Clouds, are laid aſleep. This is as exact as it is Poetical; for when the Winds ariſe, this regular Order is ſoon diſſolv'd. This Circumſtance is added to the Deſcription, as an ominous Anticipation of the Flight and Diſſipation of the Greeks, which ſoon enſued when Mars and Hector broke in upon them.

XLIX.

‘VERSE 651. Ye Greeks be Men, &c.]’ If Homer in the longer Speeches of the Iliad, ſays all that could be ſaid by Eloquence, in the ſhorter he ſays all that can be ſaid with Judgment. Whatever ſome few modern Criticks have thought, it will be found upon due Reflection, that the Length or Brevity of his Speeches is determined as the Occaſions either allow Leiſure or demand Haſte. This conciſe Oration of Agamemnon is a Maſterpiece in the Laconic way. The Exigence required he ſhould ſay ſomething very powerful, and no Time was to be loſt. He therefore warms the Brave and the Timorous by one and the ſame Exhortation, which at once moves by the Love of Glory, and the Fear of Death. It is ſhort and full, like that of the brave Scotch General under Guſtavus, who upon Sight of the Enemy, ſaid only this; See ye thoſe Lads? Either fell them or they'll fell you.

L.

‘VERSE 652. Your brave Aſſociates and your ſelves revere.]’ This noble Exhortation of Agamemnon is correſpondent to the wiſe Scheme of Neſtor in the ſecond Book: where he adviſed to rank the Soldiers of the ſame Nation together, that being known to each other, all might be incited either by a generous Emulation or a decent Shame. Spondanus.

LI.

[100]

‘VERSE 691. Mars urg'd him on.]’ This is another Inſtance of what has been in general obſerv'd in the Diſcourſe on the Battels of Homer, his artful manner of making us meaſure one Hero by another. We have here an exact Scale of the Valor of Aeneas and of Menelaus; how much the former outweighs the latter, appears by what is ſaid of Mars in theſe Lines, and by the Neceſſity of Antilochus's aſſiſting Menelaus: as afterwards what Over-balance that Aſſiſtance gave him, by Aeneas's retreating from them both. How very nicely are theſe Degrees mark'd on either Hand? This Knowledge of the Difference which Nature itſelf ſets between one Man and another, makes our Author neither blame theſe two Heroes for going againſt one, who was ſuperior to each of them in Strength; nor that one for retiring from both, when their Conjunction made them an Overmatch to him. There is great Judgment in all this.

LII.

‘VERSE 696. And all his Country's glorious Labours vain.]’ For (as Agamemnon ſaid in the fourth Book upon Menelaus's being wounded) if he were ſlain, the War would be at an end, and the Greeks think only of returning to their Country. Spondanus.

LIII.

‘VERSE 726. Mars, ſtern Deſtroyer, &c.]’ There is a great Nobleneſs in this Paſſage. With what Pomp is Hector introduced into the Battel, where Mars and Bellona are his Attendants? The Retreat of Diomed is no leſs beautiful; Minerva had remov'd the Miſt from his Eyes, and he immediately diſcovers Mars aſſiſting Hector. His Surprize on this Occaſion is finely imag'd by that of the Traveller on the ſudden Sight of the River.

LIV.

[101]

‘VERSE 784. What brings this Lycian Counſellor ſo far?]’ There is a particular Sarcaſm in Tlepolemus's calling Sarpedon in this Place [...], Lycian Counſellor, one better skill'd in Oratory than War; as he was the Governor of a People who had long been in Peace, and probably (if we may gueſs from his Character in Homer) remarkable for his Speeches. This is rightly obſerved by Spondanus, tho' not taken notice of by M. Dacier.

LV.

‘VERSE 792. Troy felt his Arm.]’ He alludes to the Hiſtory of the firſt Deſtruction of Troy by Hercules, occaſion'd by Laomedon's refuſing that Hero the Horſes, which were the Reward promis'd him for the Delivery of his Daughter Heſione.

LVI.

‘VERSE 809. With baſe Reproaches and unmanly Pride.]’ Methinks theſe Words [...] include the chief Sting of Sarpedon's Anſwer to Tlepolemus, which no Commentator that I remember has remark'd. He tells him Laomedon deſerv'd his Misfortune, not only for his Perfidy, but for injuring a brave Man with unmanly and ſcandalous Reproaches; alluding to thoſe which Tlepolemus had juſt before caſt upon him.

LVII.

‘VERSE 848. Nor Hector to the Chief replies.]’ Homer is in nothing more admirable than in the excellent Uſe he makes of the Silence of the Perſons he introduces. It would be endleſs to collect all the Inſtances of this Truth throughout his Poem; yet I cannot but put together thoſe that have already occurr'd in the Courſe of this Work, and leave to the Reader the Pleaſure of obſerving it in what remains. The Silence of [102] the two Heralds when they were to take Briſeis from Achilles in Lib. 1. of which ſee Note 39. In the third Book, when Iris tells Helen the two Rivals were to fight in her Quarrel, and that all Troy were ſtanding Spectators; that guilty Princeſs makes no Anſwer, but caſts a Veil over her Face and drops a Tear; and when ſhe comes juſt after into the Preſence of Priam, ſhe ſpeaks not, till after he has in a particular manner encourag'd and commanded her. Paris and Menelaus being juſt upon the Point to encounter, the latter declares his Wiſhes and Hopes of Conqueſt to Heaven, the former being engag'd in an unjuſt Cauſe, ſays not a word. In the fourth Book, when Jupiter has expreſs'd his Deſire to favour Troy, Juno declaims againſt him, but the Goddeſs of Wiſdom, tho' much concern'd, holds her Peace. When Agamemnon too raſhly reproves Diomed, that Hero remains ſilent, and in the true Character of a rough Warrior, leaves it to his Actions to ſpeak for him. In the preſent Book when Sarpedon has reproach'd Hector in an open and generous manner, Hector preſerving the ſame warlike Character, returns no Anſwer, but immediately haſtens to the Buſineſs of the Field; as he alſo does in this Place, where he inſtantly brings off Sarpedon, without ſo much as telling him he will endeavour his Reſcue. Chapman was not ſenſible of the Beauty of this, when he imagined Hector's Silence here proceeded from the Pique he had conceiv'd at Sarpedon for his late Reproof of him. That Tranſlator has not ſcrupled to inſert this Opinion of his in a groundleſs Interpolation altogether foreign to the Author. But indeed it is a Liberty he frequently takes, to draw any Paſſage to ſome new, far-fetch'd Conceit of his Invention; inſomuch, that very often before he tranſlates any Speech, to the Senſe or Deſign of which he gives ſome fanciful Turn of his own; he prepares it by ſeveral additional Lines purpoſely to prepoſſeſs the Reader of that Meaning. Thoſe who will take the Trouble may ſee Examples of this in what he ſets before the Speeches of Hector, Paris, and Helena in the ſixth Book, and innumerable other Places.

LVIII.

[103]

‘VERSE 858. But Boreas riſing freſh.]’ Sarpedon's fainting at the Extraction of the Dart, and reviving by the free Air, ſhews the great Judgment of our Author in theſe Matters. But how Poetically has he told this Truth in raiſing the God Boreas to his Hero's Aſſiſtance, and making a little Machine of but one Line? This manner of repreſenting common Things in Figure and Perſon, was perhaps the Effect of Homer's Aegyptian Education.

LIX.

‘VERSE 860. The gen'rous Greeks, &c.]’ This ſlow and orderly Retreat of the Greeks with their Front conſtantly turn'd to the Enemy, is a fine Encomium both of their Courage and Diſcipline. This manner of Retreat was in uſe among the ancient Lacedaemonians, as were many other martial Cuſtoms deſcrib'd by Homer. This Practice took its Riſe among that brave People from the Apprehenſions of being ſlain with a Wound receiv'd in their Back. Such a Misfortune was not only attended with the higheſt Infamy, but they had found a way to puniſh them who ſuffer'd thus even after their Death, by denying them (as Euſtathius informs us) the Rites of Burial.

LX.

VERSE 864.
Who firſt, who laſt, by Mars and Hector's Hand
Stretch'd in their Blood, lay gaſping on the Sand?]

This manner of breaking out into an Interrogation, amidſt the Deſcription of a Battel, is what ſerves very much to awaken the Reader. It is here an Invocation to the Muſe that prepares us for ſomething uncommon; and the Muſe is ſuppos'd immediately to anſwer, Teuthras the great, &c. Virgil, I think, has improved the Strength of this Figure by addreſſing the Apoſtrophe to the Perſon whoſe Exploits he is celebrating, as to Camilla in the eleventh Book.

[104]
Quem telo primum, quem poſtremum, aſpera virgo,
Dejicis? aut quot humi morientia corpora fundis?

LXI.

‘VERSE 885. And now Heav'ns Empreſs calls her blazing Car, &c.]’ Homer ſeems never more delighted than when he has ſome Occaſion of diſplaying his Skill in Mechanicks. The Detail he gives us of this Chariot is a beautiful Example of it, where he takes occaſion to deſcribe every different Part with a Happineſs rarely to be found in Deſcriptions of this Nature.

LXII.

‘VERSE 904. Pallas diſrobes.]’ This Fiction of Pallas arraying herſelf with the Arms of Jupiter, finely intimates (ſays Euſtathius) that ſhe is nothing elſe but the Wiſdom of the Almighty. The ſame Author tells us, that the Ancients mark'd this Place with a Star, to diſtinguiſh it as one of thoſe that were perfectly admirable. Indeed there is a Greatneſs and Sublimity in the whole Paſſage, which is aſtoniſhing and ſuperior to any Imagination but that of Homer, nor is there any that might better give occaſion for that celebrated Saying, That he was the only Man who had ſeen the Forms of the Gods, or the only Man who had ſhewn them. With what Nobleneſs he deſcribes the Chariot of Juno, the Armor of Minerva, the Aegis of Jupiter, fill'd with the Figures of Horror, Affright, Diſcord, and all the Terrors of War, the Effects of his Wrath againſt Men; and that Spear with which his Power and Wiſdom overturns whole Armies, and humbles the Pride of the Kings who offend him? But we ſhall not wonder at the unuſual Majeſty of all theſe Ideas, if we conſider that they have a near Reſemblance to ſome Deſcriptions of the ſame Kind in the ſacred Writings, where the Almighty is repreſented arm'd with Terror, and deſcending in Majeſty to be aveng'd on his Enemies: The Chariot, the Bow, and the Shield of God are Expreſſions frequent in the Pſalms.

LXIII.

[105]

‘VERSE 913. A Fringe of Serpents.]’ Our Author does not particularly deſcribe this Fringe of the Aegis, as conſiſting of Serpents; but that it did ſo, may be learn'd from Herodotus in his fourth Book. ‘"The Greeks (ſays he) borrowed the Veſt and Shield of Minerva from the Lybians, only with this Difference, that the Lybian Shield was fringed with Thongs of Leather, the Grecian with Serpents."’ And Virgil's Deſcription of the ſame Aegis agrees with this, Aen. 8. ℣. 435.

Aegidaque horriferam, turbatae Palladis arma,
Certatim ſquamis ſerpentum, auroque polibant,
Connexoſque angues—

This Note is taken from Spondanus, as is alſo Ogilby's on this Place, but he has tranſlated the Paſſage of Herodotus wrong, and made the Lybian Shield have the Serpents which were peculiar to the Grecian. By the way I muſt obſerve, that Ogilby's Notes are for the moſt part a Tranſcription of Spondanus's.

LXIV.

‘VERSE 920. So vaſt, the wide Circumference contains A hundred Armies.]’ The Words in the Original are [...], which are capable of two Meanings; either that this Helmet of Jupiter was ſufficient to have covered the Armies of an hundred Cities, or that the Armies of an hundred Cities were engraved upon it. It is here tranſlated in ſuch a manner that it may be taken either way, tho' the Learned are moſt inclined to the former Senſe, as that Idea is greater and more extraordinary, indeed more agreeable to Homer's bold manner; and not extravagant if we call in the Allegory to our Aſſiſtance, and imagine it (with M. Dacier) an Alluſion to the Providence of God that extends over all the Univerſe.

LXV.

[106]

‘VERSE 928. Heav'n Gates ſpontaneous open'd.]’ This marvellous Circumſtance of the Gates of Heaven opening themſelves of their own accord to the Divinities that paſt thro' them, is copied by Milton, Lib. 5.

—At the Gate
Of Heav'n arriv'd, the Gate ſelf-open'd wide
On golden Hinges turning, as by Work
Divine the Sov'reign Architect had fram'd.

And again in the ſeventh Book,

—Heav'n open'd wide
Her everduring Gates, Harmonious Sound,
On golden Hinges moving—

As the Fiction that the Hours are the Guards of thoſe Gates, gave him the Hint of that beautiful Paſſage in the beginning of his ſixth,

—The Morn
Wak'd by the circling Hours, with roſie Hand
Unbarr'd the Gates of Light, &c.

This Expreſſion of the Gates of Heaven is in the Eaſtern manner, where they ſaid the Gates of Heaven, or of Earth, for the Entrance or Extremities of Heaven or Earth; a Phraſe uſual in the Scriptures, as is obſerv'd by Dacier.

LXVI.

‘VERSE 929. Heav'ns golden Gates, kept by the winged Hours.]’ By the Hours here are meant the Seaſons; and ſo Hobbes tranſlates it, but ſpoils the Senſe by what he adds,

Tho' to the Seaſons Jove the Power gave
Alone to judge of early and of late,

[107] Which is utterly unintelligible, and nothing like Homer's Thought. Natalis Comes explains it thus, Lib. 4. c. 5. Homerus libro quinto Iliadis non ſolum has, Portas coeli ſervare, ſed etiam nubes inducere & ſerenum facere, cum libuerit; quippe cum apertum coelum, ſerenum nominent Poetae, at clauſum, tectum nubibus.

LXVII.

‘VERSE 954. To tame the Monſter-God Minerva knows.]’ For it is only Wiſdom that can maſter Strength. It is worth while here to obſerve the Conduct of Homer. He makes Minerva, and not Juno, to fight with Mars; becauſe a Combate between Mars and Juno could not be ſupported by any Allegory to have authorized the Fable: whereas the Allegory of a Battel between Mars and Minerva is very open and intelligible. Euſtathius.

LXVIII.

‘VERSE 960. Far as a Shepherd, &c.]’ Longinus citing theſe Verſes as a noble Inſtance of the Sublime, ſpeaks to this Effect. ‘"In what a wonderful manner does Homer exalt his Deities; meaſuring the Leaps of their very Horſes by the whole Breadth of the Horizon? Who is there that conſidering the Magnificence of this Hyperbole, would not cry out with Reaſon, that if theſe heavenly Steeds were to make a ſecond Leap, the World would want room for a third?"’ This puts me in mind of that Paſſage in Heſiod's Theogony, where he deſcribes the Height of the Heavens, by ſaying a Smith's Anvil would be nine Days in falling from thence to Earth.

LXIX.

‘VERSE 971. Smooth as the gliding Doves.]’ This Simile is intended to expreſs the Lightneſs and Smoothneſs of the Motion of theſe Goddeſſes. The Doves to which Homer compares them, are ſaid by the ancient Scholiaſt to leave no [108] Impreſſion of their Steps. The Word [...] in the Original may be render'd aſcenderunt as well as inceſſerunt; ſo may imply (as M. Dacier tranſlates it) moving without touching the Earth, which Milton finely calls ſmooth-gliding without Step. Virgil deſcribes the gliding of one of theſe Birds by an Image parallel to that in this Verſe.

—Mox aere lapſa quieto,
Radit iter liquidum, celeres neque commovet alas.

This kind of Movement was appropriated to the Gods by the Egyptians, as we ſee in Heliodorus, Lib. 3. Homer might poſſibly have taken this Notion from them. And Virgil in that Paſſage where Aeneas diſcovers Venus by her Gate, Et vera inceſſu patuit Dea, ſeems to allude to ſome manner of moving that diſtinguiſh'd Divinities from Mortals. This Opinion is likewiſe hinted at by him in the fifth Aeneid, where he ſo beautifully and briefly enumerates the diſtinguiſhing Marks of a Deity,

—Divini ſigna decoris,
Ardenteſque notate oculos: qui ſpiritus illi,
Qui vultus, vociſque ſonus, vel greſſus eunti!

This Paſſage likewiſe ſtrengthens what is ſaid in the thirtieth Note on the firſt Book.

LXX.

‘VERSE 978. Stentor the ſtrong, endu'd with Brazen Lungs.]’ There was a Neceſſity for Cryers whoſe Voices were ſtronger than ordinary, in thoſe ancient Times, before the Uſe of Trumpets was known in their Armies. And that they were in Eſteem afterwards may be ſeen from Herodotus, where he takes notice that Darius had in his Train an Egyptian, whoſe Voice was louder and ſtronger than any Man's of his Age. There is a farther Propriety in Homer's attributing this Voice to Juno; becauſe Juno is no other than the Air, and becauſe the Air is the Cauſe of Sound. Euſtathius. Spondanus.

LXXI.

[109]

‘VERSE 998. Degen'rate Prince, &c.]’ This Speech of Minerva to Diomed derives its whole Force and Efficacy from the offenſive Compariſon ſhe makes between Tydeus and his Son. Tydeus when he was ſingle in the City of his Enemy, fought and overcame the Thebans even tho' Minerva forbade him; Diomed in the midſt of his Army, and with Enemies inferior in Number, declines the Fight, tho' Minerva commands him. Tydeus diſobeys her, to engage in the Battel; Diomed diſobeys her to avoid engaging; and that too after he had upon many Occaſions experienced the Aſſiſtance of the Goddeſs. Madam Dacier ſhould have acknowledged this Remark to belong to Euſtathius.

LXXII.

‘VERSE 1024. Raſh, furious, blind, from theſe to thoſe he flies.]’ Minerva in this Place very well paints the Manners of Mars, whoſe Buſineſs was always to fortify the weaker ſide, in order to keep up the Broil. I think the Paſſage includes a fine Allegory of the Nature of War. Mars is called inconſtant, and a Breaker of his Promiſes, becauſe the Chance of War is wavering, and uncertain Victory is perpetually changing ſides. This latent Meaning of the Epithet [...] is taken notice of by Euſtathius.

LXXIII.

‘VERSE 1033. So great a God.]’ The Tranſlation has ventured to call a Goddeſs ſo; in Imitation of the Greek, which uſes the word [...] promiſcuouſly for either Gender. Some of the Latin Poets have not ſcrupled to do the ſame. Statius, Thebaid 4. (ſpeaking of Diana)

Nec caret umbra Deo.

And Virgil, Aeneid 2. where Aeneas is conducted by Venus thro' the Dangers of the Fire and the Enemy.

[110]
Deſcendo, ac ducente Deo, flammam inter & hoſtes
Expedior—

LXXIV.

‘VERSE 1037. Black Orcus' Helmet.]’ As every thing that goes into the dark Empire of Pluto, or Orcus, diſappears and is ſeen no more; the Greeks from thence borrow'd this figurative Expreſſion, to put on Pluto's Helmet, that is to ſay, to become inviſible. Plato uſes this Proverb in the tenth Book of his Republick, and Ariſtophanes in Acharnenſ. Euſtathius.

LXXV.

‘VERSE 1054. Loud as the Roar encountring Armies yield.]’ This Hyperbole to expreſs the roaring of Mars, ſo ſtrong as it is, yet is not extravagant. It wants not a qualifying Circumſtance or two; the Voice is not Human, but that of a Deity, and the Compariſon being taken from an Army, renders it more natural with reſpect to the God of War. It is leſs daring to ſay that a God could ſend forth a Voice as loud as the Shout of two Armies, than that Camilla, a Latian Nymph, could run ſo ſwiftly over the Corn as not to bend an Ear of it. Or, to alledge a nearer Inſtance, that Polyphemus a meer Mortal, ſhook all the Iſland of Sicily, and made the deepeſt Caverns of Aetna roar with his Cries. Yet Virgil generally eſcapes the Cenſure of thoſe Moderns who are ſhock'd with the bold Flights of Homer. It is uſual with thoſe who are Slaves to common Opinion to overlook or praiſe the ſame Things in one, that they blame in another. They think to depreciate Homer in extolling the Judgment of Virgil, who never ſhew'd it more than when he followed him in theſe Boldneſſes. And indeed they who would take Boldneſs from Poetry, muſt leave Dulneſs in the room of it.

LXXVI.

‘VERSE 1058. As Vapors blown, &c.]’ Mars after a ſharp [111] Engagement amidſt the Rout of the Trojans, wrapt in a Whirlwind of Duſt which was rais'd by ſo many thouſand Combatants, flies toward Olympus. Homer compares him in this Eſtate, to thoſe black Clouds, which during a ſcorching Southern Wind in the Dog-days, are ſometimes born towards Heaven; for the Wind at that time gathering the Duſt together, forms a dark Cloud of it. The Heat of the Fight, the Precipitation of the Trojans, together with the Clouds of Duſt that flew above the Army and took Mars from the Sight of his Enemy, ſupply'd Homer with this noble Image. Dacier.

LXXVII.

‘VERSE 1074. Thou gav'ſt that Fury to the Realms of Light, Pernicious, wild, &c.]’ It is very artful in Homer, to make Mars accuſe Minerva of all thoſe Faults and Enormities he was himſelf ſo eminently guilty of. Thoſe People who are the moſt unjuſt and violent accuſe others, even the beſt, of the ſame Crimes: Every irrational Man is a diſtorted Rule, tries every thing by that wrong Meaſure, and forms his Judgment accordingly. Euſtathius.

LXXVIII.

‘VERSE 1091. Condemn'd to Pain, tho' fated not to die.]’ Thoſe are miſtaken who imagine our Author repreſents his Gods as mortal. He only repreſents the inferior or corporeal Deities as capable of Pains and Puniſhments, during the Will of Jupiter, which is not inconſiſtent with true Theology. If Mars is ſaid in Dione's Speech to Venus to have been near periſhing by Otus and Ephialtes, it means no more than laſting Miſery, ſuch as Jupiter threatens him with when he ſpeaks of precipitating him into Tartarus. Homer takes care to tell us both of this God and of Pluto when Paeon cured them, that they were not mortal.

[...]

LXXIX.

[112]

‘VERSE 1096. Of all the Gods—Thou moſt unjuſt, moſt odious, &c.]’ Jupiter's Reprimand of Mars is worthy the Juſtice and Goodneſs of the great Governor of the World, and ſeems to be no more than was neceſſary in this Place. Homer hereby admirably diſtinguiſhes between Minerva and Mars, that is to ſay, between Wiſdom and ungovern'd Fury; the former is produced from Jupiter without a Mother, to ſhow that it proceeds from God alone; (and Homer's alluding to that Fable in the preceding Speech ſhows that he was not unacquainted with this Opinion.) The latter is born of Jupiter and Juno, becauſe, as Plato explains it, whatever is created by the Miniſtry of ſecond Cauſes, and the Concurrence of Matter, partakes of that Original Spirit of Diviſion which reigned in the Chaos, and is of a corrupt and rebellious Nature. The Reader will find this Allegory purſued with great Beauty in theſe two Speeches; eſpecially where Jupiter concludes with ſaying he will not deſtroy Mars, becauſe he comes from himſelf; God will not annihilate Paſſion, which he created to be of uſe to Reaſon: ‘"Wiſdom (ſays Euſtathius upon this Place) has occaſion for Paſſion, in the ſame manner as Princes have need of Guards. Therefore Reaſon and Wiſdom correct and keep Paſſion in Subjection, but do not entirely deſtroy and ruin it.’

LXXX.

‘VERSE 1101. And all thy Mother in thy Soul rebels, &c.]’ Jupiter ſays of Juno, that ſhe has a Temper which is inſupportable, and knows not how to ſubmit, tho' he is perpetually chaſtiſing her with his Reproofs. Homer ſays no more than this, but M. Dacier adds, Si je ne la retenois par la ſeveritè des mes loix, il n'eſt rien qu'elle ne bouleverſaſt dans l'Olympe & ſous l'Olympe. Upon which ſhe makes a Remark to this effect, ‘"that if it were not for the Laws of Providence, the whole World would be nothing but Confuſion."’ This Practice of refining and adding to Homer's Thought in the [113] Text, and then applauding the Author for it in the Notes, is pretty uſual with the more florid modern Tranſlators. In the third Iliad in Helen's Speech to Priam, ℣. 175. ſhe wiſhes ſhe had rather dy'd than follow'd Paris to Troy. To this is added in the French, Mais je n'eus ni aſſez de Courage ni aſſez de vertu, for which there is not the leaſt Hint in Homer. I mention this particular Inſtance in pure Juſtice, becauſe in the Treatiſe de la Corruption du Gout Exam. de Liv. 3. She triumphs over M. de la Motte as if he had omitted the Senſe and Moral of Homer in that Place, when in Truth he only left out her own Interpolation.

LXXXI.

‘VERSE 1113. As when the Fig's preſt Juice, &c.]’ The ſudden Operation of the Remedy adminiſter'd by Paeon, is well expreſs'd by this Similitude. It is neceſſary juſt to take notice, that they anciently made uſe of the Juice or Sap of a green Fig for Runnet, to cauſe their Milk to coagulate. It may not be amiſs to obſerve, that Homer is not very delicate in the Choice of his Alluſions. He often borrowed his Similes from low Life, and provided they illuſtrated his Thoughts in a juſt and lively manner, it was all he had regard to.

THE Allegory of this whole Book lies ſo open, is carry'd on with ſuch Cloſeneſs, and wound up with ſo much Fulneſs and Strength, that it is a wonder how it could enter into the Imagination of any Critick, that theſe Actions of Diomed were only a daring and extravagant Fiction in Homer, as if he affected the Marvellous at any rate. The great Moral of it is, that a brave Man ſhould not contend againſt Heaven, but reſiſt only Venus and Mars, Incontinence and ungovern'd Fury. Diomed is propos'd as an Example of a great and enterprizing Nature, which would perpetually be venturing too far, and committing Extravagancies or Impieties, did it not ſuffer itſelf to be check'd and guided by Minerva or Prudence: For it is this Wiſdom (as we are told in the very firſt Lines of the Book) that raiſes a Hero above all others. Nothing is more obſervable than the particular Care Homer has taken to ſhew [114] he deſigned this Moral. He never omits any Occaſion throughout the Book, to put it in expreſs Terms into the Mouths of the Gods or Perſons of the greateſt Weight. Minerva, at the beginning of the Battel, is made to give this Precept to Diomed; Fight not againſt the Gods, but give way to them, and reſiſt only Venus. The ſame Goddeſs opens his Eyes, and enlightens him ſo far as to perceive when it is Heaven that acts immediately againſt him, or when it is Man only that oppoſes him. The Hero himſelf, as ſoon as he has perform'd her Dictates in driving away Venus, cries out, not as to the Goddeſs, but as to the Paſſion, Thou haſt no Buſineſs with Warriors, is it not enough that thou deceiv'ſt weak Women? Even the Mother of Venus while ſhe comforts her Daughter, bears Teſtimony to the Moral: That Man (ſays ſhe) is not long-liv'd who contends with the Gods. And when Diomed, tranſported by his Nature, proceeds but a Step too far, Apollo diſcovers himſelf in the moſt ſolemn manner, and declares this Truth in his own Voice, as it were by direct Revelation: Mortal, forbear! conſider, and know the vaſt difference there is between the Gods and Thee. They are immortal and divine, but Man a miſerable Reptile of the Duſt.

THE SIXTH BOOK OF THE ILIAD.

[]

The ARGUMENT.
The Epiſodes of Glaucus and Diomed, and of Hector and Andromache.

[]

THE Gods having left the Field, the Grecians prevail. Helenus, the chief Augur of Troy, commands Hector to return to the City in order to appoint a ſolemn Proceſſion of the Queen and the Trojan Matrons to the Temple of Minerva, to entreat her to remove Diomed from the Fight. The Battel relaxing during the Abſence of Hector, Glaucus and Diomed have an Interview between the two Armies; where coming to the Knowledge of the Friendſhip and Hoſpitality paſt between their Anceſtors, they make exchange of their Arms. Hector having performed the Orders of Helenus, prevail'd upon Paris to return to the Battel, and taken a tender Leave of his Wife Andromache, haſtens again to the Field.

The Scene is firſt in the Field of Battel, between the Rivers Simois and Scamander, and then changes to Troy.

THE SIXTH BOOK OF THE ILIAD.

[117]
NOW Heav'n forſakes the Fight: Th'Immortals yield
To human Force and human Skill, the Field:
Dark Show'rs of Javelins fly from Foes to Foes;
Now here, now there, the Tyde of Combate flows;
While Troy's fam'd Streams that bound the deathful Plain
Scamander and Simois.
On either ſide run purple to the Main.
Great Ajax firſt to Conqueſt led the way,
Broke the thick Ranks, and turn'd the doubtful Day.
The Thracian Acamas his Faulchion found,
That hew'd th' enormous Giant to the Ground;
His thundring Arm a deadly Stroke impreſt
Where the black Horſe-hair nodded o'er his Creſt:
[118] Fix'd in his Front the brazen Weapon lies,
And ſeals in endleſs Shades his ſwimming Eyes.
Next Teuthras' Son diſtain'd the Sands with Blood,
Axylus, hoſpitable, rich and good:
In fair Arisba's Walls (his native Place)
He held his Seat; a Friend to Human Race.
Faſt by the Road, his ever-open Door
Oblig'd the Wealthy, and reliev'd the Poor.
To ſtern Tydides now he falls a Prey,
No Friend to guard him in the dreadful Day!
Breathleſs the good Man fell, and by his ſide
His faithful Servant, old Caleſius dy'd.
By great Euryalus was Dreſus ſlain,
And next he lay'd Opheltius on the Plain.
Two Twins were near, bold beautiful and young,
From a fair Naiad and Bucolion ſprung:
(Laomedon's white Flocks Bucolion fed,
That Monarch's Firſt-born by a foreign Bed;
In ſecret Woods he won the Naiad's Grace,
And two fair Infants crown'd his ſtrong Embrace.)
Here dead they lay in all their youthful Charms;
The ruthleſs Victor ſtripp'd their ſhining Arms.
[119]
Aſtyalus by Polypaetes fell;
Ulyſſes' Spear Pidytes ſent to Hell;
By Teuter's Shaft brave Arctaon bled,
And Neſtor's Son laid ſtern Ablerus dead.
Great Agamemnon, Leader of the Brave,
The mortal Wound of rich Elatus gave,
Who held in Pedaſus his proud Abode,
And till'd the Banks where ſilver Satnio flow'd.
Melanthius by Eurypylus was ſlain;
And Phylacus from Leitus flies in vain.
Unbleſt Adraſtus next at Mercy lies
Beneath the Spartan Spear, a living Prize.
Scar'd with the Din and Tumult of the Fight,
His headlong Steeds, precipitate in Flight,
Ruſh'd on a Tamarisk's ſtrong Trunk, and broke
The ſhatter'd Chariot from the crooked Yoke:
Wide o'er the Field, reſiſtleſs as the Wind,
For Troy they fly, and leave their Lord behind.
Prone on his Face he ſinks beſide the Wheel;
Atrides o'er him ſhakes his vengeful Steel;
The fallen Chief in ſuppliant Poſture preſs'd
The Victor's Knees, and thus his Pray'r addreſs'd.
[120]
Oh ſpare my Youth, and for the Life I owe
Large Gifts of Price my Father ſhall beſtow;
When Fame ſhall tell, that not in Battel ſlain
Thy hollow Ships his Captive Son detain,
Rich Heaps of Braſs ſhall in thy Tent be told;
And Steel well-temper'd, and perſuaſive Gold.
He ſaid: Compaſſion touch'd the Hero's Heart,
He ſtood ſuſpended with the lifted Dart:
As Pity pleaded for his vanquiſh'd Prize,
Stern Agamemnon ſwift to Vengeance flies,
And furious, thus. Oh impotent of Mind!
Shall theſe, ſhall theſe Atrides' Mercy find?
Well haſt thou known proud Troy's perfidious Land,
And well her Natives merit at thy Hand!
Not one of all the Race, not Sex, nor Age,
Shall ſave a Trojan from our boundleſs Rage:
Ilion ſhall periſh whole, and bury All;
Her Babes, her Infants at the Breaſt, ſhall fall.
A dreadful Leſſon of exampled Fate,
To warn the Nations, and to curb the Great!
The Monarch ſpoke: the Words with Warmth addreſt
To rigid Juſtice ſteel'd his Brother's Breaſt.
[121] Fierce from his Knees the hapleſs Chief he thruſt;
The Monarch's Javelin ſtretch'd him in the Duſt.
Then preſſing with his Foot his panting Heart,
Forth from the ſlain he tugg'd the reeking Dart.
Old Neſtor ſaw, and rowz'd the Warrior's Rage;
Thus, Heroes! thus the vig'rous Combate wage!
No Son of Mars deſcend, for ſervile Gains,
To touch the Booty, while a Foe remains.
Behold yon' glitt'ring Hoſt, your future Spoil!
Firſt gain the Conqueſt, then reward the Toil.
And now had Greece Eternal Fame acquir'd.
And frighted Troy within her Walls retir'd;
Had not ſage Helenus her State redreſt,
Taught by the Gods that mov'd his ſacred Breaſt:
Where Hector ſtood, with great Aeneas join'd,
The Seer reveal'd the Counſels of his Mind.
Ye gen'rous Chiefs! on whom th' Immortals lay
The Cares and Glories of this doubtful Day,
On whom your Aid's, your Country's Hopes depend,
Wiſe to conſult, and active to defend!
Here, at our Gates, your brave Efforts unite,
Turn back the Routed, and forbid the Flight;
[120] [...][121] [...]
[122] E're yet their Wives ſoft Arms the Cowards gain,
The Sport and Inſult of the Hoſtile Train.
When your Commands have hearten'd ev'ry Band,
Our ſelves, here fix'd, will make the dang'rous Stand:
Preſs'd as we are, and ſore of former Fight,
Theſe Straits demand our laſt Remains of Might.
Meanwhile, thou Hector to the Town retire,
And teach our Mother what the Gods require:
Direct the Queen to lead th' aſſembled Train
Of Troy's chief Matrons to Minerva's Fane;
Unbar the ſacred Gates; and ſeek the Pow'r
With offer'd Vows, in Ilion's topmoſt Tow'r.
The largeſt Mantle her rich Wardrobes hold,
Moſt priz'd for Art, and labour'd o'er with Gold,
Before the Goddeſs' honour'd Knees be ſpread;
And twelve young Heifers to her Altars led.
If ſo the Pow'r, atton'd by fervent Pray'r,
Our Wives, our Infants, and our City ſpare,
And far avert Tydides' waſtful Ire,
That mows whole Troops, and makes all Troy retire.
Not thus Achilles taught our Hoſts to dread,
Sprung tho' he was from more than mortal Bed;
[123] Not thus reſiſtleſs rul'd the Stream of Fight,
In Rage unbounded, and unmatch'd in Might.
Hector obedient heard; and, with a Bound,
Leap'd from his trembling Chariot to the Ground;
Thro' all his Hoſt, inſpiring Force he flies,
And bids the Thunder of the Battel riſe.
With Rage recruited the bold Trojans glow;
And turn the Tyde of Conflict on the Foe:
Fierce in the Front he ſhakes two dazling Spears;
All Greece recedes, and 'midſt her Triumph fears.
Some God, they thought, who rul'd the Fate of Wars,
Shot down avenging, from the Vault of Stars.
Then thus, aloud. Ye dauntleſs Dardans hear!
And you whom diſtant Nations ſend to War!
Be mindful of the Strength your Fathers bore;
Be ſtill your ſelves, and Hector asks no more.
One Hour demands me in the Trojan Wall,
To bid our Altars flame, and Victims fall:
Nor ſhall, I truſt, the Matron's holy Train
And rev'rend Elders, ſeek the Gods in vain.
This ſaid, with ample Strides the Hero paſt;
The Shield's large Orb behind his Shoulder caſt,
[124] His Neck o'erſhading, to his Ancle hung;
And as he march'd, the brazen Buckler rung.
Now paus'd the Battel, (Godlike Hector gone)
When daring Glaucus and great Tydeus' Son
Between both Armies met: The Chiefs from far
Obſerv'd each other, and had mark'd for War.
Near as they drew, Tydides thus began.
What art thou, boldeſt of the Race of Man?
Our Eyes, till now, that Aſpect ne'er beheld,
Where Fame is reap'd amid th' embattel'd Field;
Yet far before the Troops thou dar'ſt appear,
And meet a Lance the fierceſt Heroes fear.
Unhappy they, and born of luckleſs Sires,
Who tempt our Fury when Minerva fires!
But if from Heav'n, Celeſtial thou deſcend;
Know, with Immortals we no more contend.
Not long Lycurgus view'd the Golden Light,
That daring Man who mix'd with Gods in Fight;
Bacchus, and Bacchus' Votaries he drove
With brandiſh'd Steel from Nyſſa's ſacred Grove,
Their conſecrated Spears lay ſcatter'd round,
With curling Vines and twiſted Ivy bound;
[125] While Bacchus headlong ſought the briny Flood,
And Thetis' Arms receiv'd the trembling God.
Nor fail'd the Crime th' Immortals Wrath to move,
(Th' Immortals bleſt with endleſs Eaſe above)
Depriv'd of Sight by their avenging Doom,
Chearleſs he breath'd, and wander'd in the Gloom,
Then ſunk unpity'd to the dire Abodes,
A Wretch accurſt, and hated by the Gods!
I brave not Heav'n: But if the Fruits of Earth
Suſtain thy Life, and Human be thy Birth;
Bold as thou art, too prodigal of Breath,
Approach, and enter the dark Gates of Death.
What, or from whence I am, or who my Sire,
(Reply'd the Chief) can Tydeus' Son enquire?
Like Leaves on Trees the Race of Man is found,
Now green in Youth, now with'ring on the Ground,
Another Race the following Spring ſupplies,
They fall ſucceſſive, and ſucceſſive riſe;
So Generations in their Courſe decay,
So flouriſh theſe, when thoſe are paſt away.
But if thou ſtill perſiſt to ſearch my Birth,
Then hear a Tale that fills the ſpacious Earth.
[126]
A City ſtands on Argos' utmoſt Bound,
(Argos the fair for warlike Steeds renown'd)
Aeolian Syſiphus, with Wiſdom bleſt,
In ancient Time the happy Walls poſſeſt,
Then call'd Ephyre: Glaucus was his Son;
Great Glaucus Father of Bellerophon,
Who o'er the Sons of Men in Beauty ſhin'd,
Lov'd for that Valour which preſerves Mankind.
Then mighty Praetus Argos' Sceptres ſway'd,
Whoſe hard Commands Bellerophon obey'd.
With direful Jealouſy the Monarch rag'd,
And the brave Prince in num'rous Toils engag'd.
For him, Antaea burn'd with lawleſs Flame,
And ſtrove to tempt him from the Paths of Fame:
In vain ſhe tempted the relentleſs Youth,
Endu'd with Wiſdom, ſacred Fear, and Truth.
Fir'd at his Scorn the Queen to Praetus fled,
And beg'd Revenge for her inſulted Bed:
Incens'd he heard, reſolving on his Fate;
But Hoſpitable Laws reſtrain'd his Hate:
To Lycia the devoted Youth he ſent,
With Tablets ſeal'd, that told his dire Intent.
[127] Now bleſt by ev'ry Pow'r who guards the Good,
The Chief arriv'd at Xanthus' ſilver Flood:
There Lycia's Monarch paid him Honours due;
Nine Days he feaſted, and nine Bulls he ſlew.
But when the tenth bright Morning Orient glow'd,
The faithful Youth his Monarch's Mandate ſhow'd:
The fatal Tablets, till that Inſtant ſeal'd,
The deathful Secret to the King reveal'd.
Firſt, dire Chymaera's Conqueſt was enjoin'd;
A mingled Monſter, of no mortal Kind;
Behind, a Dragon's fiery Tail was ſpread;
A Goat's rough Body bore a Lion's Head;
Her pitchy Noſtrils flaky Flames expire;
Her gaping Throat emits infernal Fire.
This Peſt he ſlaughter'd (for he read the Skies,
And truſted Heav'ns informing Prodigies)
Then met in Arms the Solymaean Crew,
(Fierceſt of Men) and thoſe the Warrior ſlew.
Next the bold Amazon's whole Force defy'd;
And conquer'd ſtill, for Heav'n was on his ſide.
Nor ended here his Toils: His Lycian Foes
At his Return, a treach'rous Ambuſh, roſe,
[128] With levell'd Spears along the winding Shore;
There fell they breathleſs, and return'd no more.
At length the Monarch with repentant Grief
Confeſs'd the Gods, and God-deſcended Chief;
His Daughter gave, the Stranger to detain,
With half the Honours of his ample Reign.
The Lycians grant a choſen Space of Ground,
With Woods, with Vineyards, and with Harveſts crown'd.
There long the Chief his happy Lot poſſeſs'd,
With two brave Sons and one fair Daughter bleſs'd;
(Fair ev'n in heav'nly Eyes; her fruitful Love
Crown'd with Sarpedon's Birth th' Embrace of Jove)
But when at laſt, diſtracted in his Mind,
Forſook by Heav'n, forſaking Human-kind,
Wide o'er th' Aleian Field he choſe to ſtray,
A long, forlorn, uncomfortable Way!
Woes heap'd on Woes oppreſs'd his waſted Heart;
His beauteous Daughter fell by Phoebè's Dart;
His Eldeſt-born by raging Mars was ſlain,
In Combate on the Solymaean Plain.
[129] Hippolochus ſurviv'd; from him I came,
The honour'd Author of my Birth and Name;
By his Decree I ſought the Trojan Town,
By his Inſtructions learn to win Renown,
To ſtand the firſt in Worth as in Command,
To add new Honours to my native Land,
Before my Eyes my mighty Sires to place,
And emulate the Glories of our Race.
He ſpoke, and Tranſport fill'd Tydides' Heart;
In Earth the gen'rous Warrior fix'd his Dart,
Then friendly, thus, the Lycian Prince addreſt.
Welcome, my brave Hereditary Gueſt!
Thus ever let us meet, with kind Embrace,
Nor ſtain the ſacred Friendſhip of our Race.
Know, Chief, our Grandſires have been Gueſts of old;
Oeneus the ſtrong, Bellerophon the bold:
Our ancient Seat his honour'd Preſence grac'd,
Where twenty Days in Genial Rites he paſs'd.
The parting Heroes mutual Preſents left;
A golden Goblet was thy Grandſire's Gift;
Oeneus a Belt of matchleſs Work beſtow'd,
That rich with Tyrian Dye refulgent glow'd.
[130] (This from his Pledge I learn'd, which ſafely ſtor'd
Among my Treaſures, ſtill adorns my Board:
For Tydeus left me young, when Thebè's Wall
Beheld the Sons of Greece untimely fall.)
Mindful of this, in Friendſhip let us join;
If Heav'n our Steps to foreign Lands incline,
My Gueſt in Argos thou, and I in Lycia thine.
Enough of Trojans to this Lance ſhall yield,
In the full Harveſt of yon' ample Field;
Enough of Greeks ſhall die thy Spear with Gore;
But Thou and Diomed be Foes no more.
Now change we Arms, and prove to either Hoſt
We guard the Friendſhip of the Line we boaſt.
Thus having ſaid, the gallant Chiefs alight,
Their Hands they join, their mutual Faith they plight,
Brave Glaucus then each narrow Thought reſign'd,
(Jove warm'd his Boſom and enlarg'd his Mind)
For Diomed's Braſs Arms, of mean Device,
For which nine Oxen paid (a vulgar Price)
He gave his own, of Gold divinely wrought,
A hundred Beeves the ſhining Purchaſe bought.
[131]
Meantime the Guardian of the Trojan State,
Great Hector enter'd at the Scaean Gate.
Beneath the Beech-Tree's conſecrated Shades,
The Trojan Matrons and the Trojan Maids
Around him flock'd, all preſs'd with pious Care
For Husbands, Brothers, Sons, engag'd in War.
He bids the Train in long Proceſſion go,
And ſeek the Gods, t' avert th' impending Woe.
And now to Priam's ſtately Courts he came,
Rais'd on arch'd Columns of ſtupendous Frame;
O'er theſe a Range of Marble Structure runs,
The rich Pavillions of his fifty Sons,
In fifty Chambers lodg'd; and Rooms of State
Oppos'd to thoſe, where Priam's Daughters ſate:
Twelve Domes for them and their lov'd Spouſes ſhone,
Of equal Beauty, and of poliſh'd Stone.
Hither great Hector paſs'd, nor paſs'd unſeen
Of Royal Hecuba, his Mother Queen.
(With her Laodicè, whoſe beauteous Face
Surpaſs'd the Nymphs of Troy's illuſtrious Race)
Long in a ſtrict Embrace ſhe held her Son,
And preſs'd his Hand, and tender thus begun.
[132]
O Hector! ſay, what great Occaſion calls
My Son from Fight, when Greece ſurrounds our Walls?
Com'ſt thou to ſupplicate th' Almighty Pow'r,
With lifted Hands from Ilion's lofty Tow'r?
Stay, till I bring the Cup with Bacchus crown'd,
In Jove's high Name to ſprinkle on the Ground,
And pay due Vows to all the Gods around.
Then with a plenteous Draught refreſh thy Soul,
And draw new Spirits from the gen'rous Bowl;
Spent as thou art with long laborious Fight,
The brave Defender of thy Country's Right.
Far hence be Bacchus' Gifts (the Chief rejoin'd)
Inflaming Wine, pernicious to Mankind,
Unnerves the Limbs, and dulls the noble Mind.
Let Chiefs abſtain, and ſpare the ſacred Juice
To ſprinkle to the Gods, its better Uſe.
By me that holy Office were prophan'd;
Ill fits it me, with human Gore diſtain'd,
To the pure Skies theſe horrid Hands to raiſe,
Or offer Heav'n's great Sire polluted Praiſe.
You, with your Matrons, go! a ſpotleſs Train,
And burn rich Odors in Minerva's Fane.
[133] The largeſt Mantle your full Wardrobes hold,
Moſt priz'd for Art, and labour'd o'er with Gold,
Before the Goddeſs' honour'd Knees be ſpread,
And twelve young Heifers to her Altar led.
So may the Pow'r, atton'd by fervent Pray'r,
Our Wives, our Infants, and our City ſpare,
And far avert Tydides' waſtful Ire,
Who mows whole Troops and makes all Troy retire.
Be this, O Mother, your religious Care;
I go to rowze ſoft Paris to the War;
If yet not loſt to all the Senſe of Shame,
The recreant Warrior hear the Voice of Fame.
Oh would kind Earth the hateful Wretch embrace,
That Peſt of Troy, that Ruin of our Race!
Deep to the dark Abyſs might he deſcend,
Troy yet ſhould flouriſh, and my Sorrows end.
This heard, ſhe gave Command; and ſummon'd came
Each noble Matron, and illuſtrious Dame.
The Phrygian Queen to her rich Wardrobe went,
Where treaſur'd Odors breath'd a coſtly Scent.
There lay the Veſtures, of no vulgar Art,
Sidonian Maids embroider'd ev'ry Part,
[134] Whom from ſoft Sidon youthful Paris bore,
With Helen touching on the Tyrian Shore.
Here as the Queen revolv'd with careful Eyes
The various Textures and the various Dies,
She choſe a Veil that ſhone ſuperior far,
And glow'd refulgent as the Morning Star.
Herſelf with this the long Proceſſion leads;
The Train majeſtically ſlow proceeds.
Soon as to Ilion's topmoſt Tow'r they come,
And awful reach the high Palladian Dome,
Antenor's Conſort, fair Theano, waits
As Pallas' Prieſteſs, and unbars the Gates.
With Hands uplifted and imploring Eyes,
They fill the Dome with ſupplicating Cries.
The Prieſteſs then the ſhining Veil diſplays,
Plac'd on Minerva's Knees, and thus ſhe prays.
Oh awful Goddeſs! ever-dreadful Maid,
Troy's ſtrong Defence, unconquer'd Pallas, aid!
Break thou Tydides' Spear, and let him fall
Prone on the Duſt before the Trojan Wall.
So twelve young Heifers, guiltleſs of the Yoke,
Shall fill thy Temple with a grateful Smoke.
[135] But thou, atton'd by Penitence and Pray'r,
Our ſelves, our Infants, and our City ſpare!
So pray'd the Prieſteſs in her holy Fane;
So vow'd the Matrons, but they vow'd in vain.
While theſe appear before the Pow'r with Pray'rs,
Hector to Paris' lofty Dome repairs.
Himſelf the Manſion rais'd, from ev'ry Part
Aſſembling Architects of matchleſs Art.
Near Priam's Court and Hector's Palace ſtands
The pompous Structure, and the Town commands.
A Spear the Hero bore of wondrous Strength,
Of full ten Cubits was the Lance's Length,
The ſteely Point with golden Ringlets join'd,
Before him brandiſh'd, at each Motion ſhin'd.
Thus entring in the glitt'ring Rooms, he found
His Brother-Chief, whoſe uſeleſs Arms lay round,
His Eyes delighting with their ſplendid Show,
Bright'ning the Shield, and poliſhing the Bow.
Beſide him, Helen with her Virgins ſtands,
Guides their rich Labours, and inſtructs their Hands.
Him thus unactive, with an ardent Look
The Prince beheld, and high-reſenting ſpoke.
[136] Thy Hate to Troy, is this the Time to ſhow?
(Oh Wretch ill-fated, and thy Country's Foe!)
Paris and Greece againſt us both conſpire;
Thy cloſe Reſentment, and their vengeful Ire.
For thee great Ilion's Guardian Heroes fall,
Till Heaps of Dead alone defend her Wall;
For thee the Soldier bleeds, the Matron mourns,
And waſtful War in all its Fury burns.
Ungrateful Man! deſerves not this thy Care,
Our Troops to hearten, and our Toils to ſhare?
Riſe, or behold the conqu'ring Flames aſcend,
And all the Phrygian Glories at an end.
Brother, 'tis juſt (reply'd the beauteous Youth)
Thy free Remonſtrance proves thy Worth and Truth:
Yet charge my Abſence leſs, oh gen'rous Chief!
On Hate to Troy, than conſcious Shame and Grief:
Here, hid from human Eyes, thy Brother ſate,
And mourn'd in ſecret, his, and Ilion's Fate.
'Tis now enough: now Glory ſpreads her Charms,
And beauteous Helen calls her Chief to Arms.
Conqueſt to Day my happier Sword may bleſs,
'Tis Man's to fight, but Heav'ns to give Succeſs.
[137] But while I arm, contain thy ardent Mind;
Or go, and Paris ſhall not lag behind.
He ſaid, nor anſwer'd Priam's warlike Son;
When Helen thus with lowly Grace begun.
Oh gen'rous Brother! if the guilty Dame
That caus'd theſe Woes, deſerve a Siſter's Name!
Would Heav'n, e're all theſe dreadful Deeds were done,
The Day, that ſhow'd me to the golden Sun,
Had ſeen my Death! Why did not Whirlwinds bear
The fatal Infant to the Fowls of Air?
Why ſunk I not beneath the whelming Tyde,
And 'midſt the Roarings of the Waters dy'd?
Heav'n fill'd up all my Ills, and I accurſt
Bore all, and Paris of thoſe Ills the worſt.
Helen at leaſt a braver Spouſe might claim,
Warm'd with ſome Virtue, ſome Regard of Fame!
Now tir'd with Toils, thy fainting Limbs recline,
With Toils, ſuſtain'd for Paris' ſake and mine:
The Gods have link'd our miſerable Doom,
Our preſent Woe, and Infamy to come:
Wide ſhall it ſpread, and laſt thro' Ages long,
Example ſad! and Theme of future Song.
[138]
The Chief reply'd: This Time forbids to reſt:
The Trojan Bands by hoſtile Fury preſt.
Demand their Hector, and his Arm require;
The Combate urges, and my Soul's on fire.
Urge thou thy Knight to march where Glory calls,
And timely join me, e're I leave the Walls.
E're yet I mingle in the direful Fray,
My Wife, my Infant, claim a Moment's Stay;
This Day (perhaps the laſt that ſees me here)
Demands a parting Word, a tender Tear:
This Day, ſome God who hates our Trojan Land
May vanquiſh Hector by a Grecian Hand.
He ſaid, and paſt with ſad preſaging Heart
To ſeek his Spouſe, his Soul's far dearer Part;
At home he ſought her, but he ſought in vain;
She, with one Maid of all her Menial Train,
Had thence retir'd; and with her ſecond Joy,
The young Aſtyanax, the Hope of Troy.
Penſive ſhe ſtood on Ilion's Tow'ry Height,
Beheld the War, and ſicken'd at the Sight;
There her ſad Eyes in vain her Lord explore,
Or weep the Wounds her bleeding Country bore.
[139]
But he who found not whom his Soul deſir'd,
Whoſe Virtue charm'd him as her Beauty fir'd,
Stood in the Gates, and ask'd what way ſhe bent
Her parting Step? If to the Fane ſhe went,
Where late the mourning Matrons made Reſort;
Or ſought her Siſters in the Trojan Court?
Not to the Court (reply'd th' Attendant Train)
Nor mix'd with Matrons to Minerva's Fane:
To Ilion's ſteepy Tow'r ſhe bent her way,
To mark the Fortunes of the doubtful Day.
Troy fled, ſhe heard, before the Grecian Sword;
She heard, and trembled for her abſent Lord:
Diſtracted with Surprize, ſhe ſeem'd to fly,
Fear on her Cheek, and Sorrow in her Eye.
The Nurſe attended with her Infant Boy,
The young Aſtyanax, the Hope of Troy.
Hector, this heard, return'd without Delay;
Swift thro' the Town he trod his former way,
Thro' Streets of Palaces and Walks of State;
And met the Mourner at the Scaean Gate.
With haſte to meet him ſprung the joyful Fair,
His blameleſs Wife, Aëtion's wealthy Heir:
[140] (Cilician Thebè great Aëtion ſway'd,
And Hippoplacus' wide-extended Shade)
The Nurſe ſtood near, in whoſe Embraces preſt
His only Hope hung ſmiling at her Breaſt,
Whom each ſoft Charm and early Grace adorn,
Fair as the new-born Star that gilds the Morn.
To this lov'd Infant Hector gave the Name
Scamandrius, from Scamander's honour'd Stream;
Aſtyanax the Trojans call'd the Boy,
From his great Father, the Defence of Troy.
Silent the Warrior ſmil'd, and pleas'd reſign'd
To tender Paſſions all his mighty Mind:
His beauteous Princeſs caſt a mournful Look,
Hung on his Hand, and then dejected ſpoke;
Her Boſom labour'd with a boding Sigh,
And the big Tear ſtood trembling in her Eye.
Too daring Prince! ah whither doſt thou run?
Ah too forgetful of thy Wife and Son!
And think'ſt thou not how wretched we ſhall be,
A Widow I, an helpleſs Orphan He!
For ſure ſuch Courage Length of Life denies,
And thou muſt fall, thy Virtue's Sacrifice.
[141] Greece in her ſingle Heroes ſtrove in vain;
Now Hoſts oppoſe thee, and thou muſt be ſlain!
Oh grant me Gods! e're Hector meets his Doom,
All I can ask of Heav'n, an early Tomb!
So ſhall my Days in one ſad Tenor run,
And end with Sorrows as they firſt begun.
No Parent now remains, my Griefs to ſhare,
No Father's Aid, no Mother's tender Care.
The fierce Achilles wrapt our Walls in Fire,
Lay'd Thebè waſte, and ſlew my warlike Sire!
His Fate Compaſſion in the Victor bred;
Stern as he was, he yet rever'd the Dead,
His radiant Arms preſerv'd from hoſtile Spoil,
And lay'd him decent on the Fun'ral Pyle;
Then rais'd a Mountain where his Bones were burn'd,
The Mountain Nymphs the rural Tomb adorn'd,
Jove's Sylvan Daughters bade their Elms beſtow
A barren Shade, and in his Honour grow.
By the ſame Arm my ſev'n brave Brothers fell,
In one ſad Day beheld the Gates of Hell;
While the fat Herds and ſnowie Flocks they fed,
Amid their Fields the hapleſs Heroes bled!
[142] My Mother liv'd to bear the Victor's Bands,
The Queen of Hippoplacia's Sylvan Lands:
Redeem'd too late, ſhe ſcarce beheld again
Her pleaſing Empire and her native Plain,
When ah! oppreſt by Life-conſuming Woe,
She fell a Victim to Diana's Bow.
Yet while my Hector ſtill ſurvives, I ſee
My Father, Mother, Brethren, all, in thee.
Alas! my Parents, Brothers, Kindred, all,
Once more will periſh if my Hector fall.
Thy Wife, thy Infant, in thy Danger ſhare:
Oh prove a Husband's and a Father's Care!
That Quarter moſt the skillful Greeks annoy,
Where yon' wild Fig-Trees join the Wall of Troy:
Thou, from this Tow'r defend th' important Poſt;
There Agamemnon points his dreadful Hoſt,
That Paſs Tydides, Ajax ſtrive to gain,
And there the vengeful Spartan fires his Train.
Thrice our bold Foes the fierce Attack have giv'n,
Or led by Hopes, or dictated from Heav'n.
Let others in the Field their Arms employ,
But ſtay my Hector here, and guard his Troy.
[143]
The Chief reply'd: That Poſt ſhall be my Care,
Nor that alone, but all the Works of War.
How would the Sons of Troy, in Arms renown'd,
And Troy's proud Dames whoſe Garments ſweep the Ground,
Attaint the Luſtre of my former Name,
Should Hector baſely quit the Field of Fame?
My early Youth was bred to martial Pains,
My Soul impells me to th' embattel'd Plains;
Let me be foremoſt to defend the Throne,
And guard my Father's Glories, and my own.
Yet come it will, the Day decreed by Fates;
(How my Heart trembles while my Tongue relates!)
The Day when thou, Imperial Troy! muſt bend,
And ſee thy Warriors fall, thy Glories end.
And yet no dire Prefage ſo wounds my Mind,
My Mother's Death, the Ruin of my Kind,
Not Priam's hoary Hairs defil'd with Gore,
Not all my Brothers gaſping on the Shore;
As thine, Andromache! thy Griefs I dread;
I ſee thee trembling, weeping, Captive led!
[144] In Argive Looms our Battels to deſign,
And Woes, of which ſo large a Part was thine!
To bear the Victor's hard Commands, or bring
The Weight of Waters from Hyperia's Spring.
There, while you groan beneath the Load of Life,
They cry, Behold the mighty Hector's Wife!
Some haughty Greek who lives thy Tears to ſee,
Embitters all thy Woes, by naming me.
The Thoughts of Glory paſt, and preſent Shame,
A thouſand Griefs ſhall waken at the Name!
May I lie cold before that dreadful Day,
Preſs'd with a Load of Monumental Clay!
Thy Hector wrapt in everlaſting Sleep,
Shall neither hear thee ſigh, nor ſee thee weep.
Thus having ſpoke, th' illuſtrious Chief of Troy
Stretch'd his fond Arms to claſp the lovely Boy.
The Babe clung crying to his Nurſe's Breaſt,
Scar'd at the dazling Helm, and nodding Creſt.
With ſecret Pleaſure each fond Parent ſmil'd,
And Hector haſted to relieve his Child,
The glitt'ring Terrors from his Brows unbound,
And plac'd the beaming Helmet on the Ground.
[145] Then kiſt the Child, and lifting high in Air,
Thus to the Gods prefer'd a Father's Pray'r.
O Thou! whoſe Glory fills th' Aetherial Throne,
And all ye deathleſs Pow'rs! protect my Son!
Grant him, like me, to purchaſe juſt Renown,
To guard the Trojans, to defend the Crown,
Againſt his Country's Foes the War to wage,
And riſe the Hector of the future Age!
So when triumphant from ſucceſsful Toils,
Of Heroes ſlain he bears the reeking Spoils,
Whole Hoſts may hail him with deſerv'd Acclaim,
And ſay, This Chief tranſcends his Father's Fame:
While pleas'd amidſt the gen'ral Shouts of Troy,
His Mother's conſcious Heart o'erflows with Joy.
He ſpoke, and fondly gazing on her Charms
Reſtor'd the pleaſing Burden to her Arms;
Soft on her fragrant Breaſt the Babe ſhe laid,
Huſh'd to Repoſe, and with a Smile ſurvey'd.
The troubled Pleaſure ſoon chaſtis'd by Fear,
She mingled with the Smile a tender Tear.
The ſoften'd Chief with kind Compaſſion view'd,
And dry'd the falling Drops, and thus purſu'd.
[146]
Andromache! my Soul's far better Part,
Why with untimely Sorrows heaves thy Heart?
No hoſtile Hand can antedate my Doom,
Till Fate condemns me to the ſilent Tomb.
Fix'd is the Term to all the Race of Earth,
And ſuch the hard Condition of our Birth.
No Force can then reſiſt, no Flight can ſave,
All ſink alike, the Fearful and the Brave.
No more—but haſten to thy Tasks at home,
There guide the Spindle, and direct the Loom:
Me Glory ſummons to the martial Scene,
The Field of Combate is the Sphere for Men.
Where Heroes war, the foremoſt Place I claim,
The firſt in Danger as the firſt in Fame.
Thus having ſaid, the glorious Chief reſumes
His Tow'ry Helmet, black with ſhading Plumes.
His Princeſs parts with a prophetick Sigh,
Unwilling parts, and oft' reverts her Eye
That ſtream'd at ev'ry Look: then, moving ſlow,
Sought her own Palace, and indulg'd her Woe.
There, while her Tears deplor'd the Godlike Man,
Thro' all her Train the ſoft Infection ran,
[147] The pious Maids their mingled Sorrows ſhed,
And mourn the living Hector, as the dead.
But now, no longer deaf to Honour's Call,
Forth iſſues Paris from the Palace Wall.
In Brazen Arms that caſt a gleamy Ray,
Swift thro' the Town the Warrior bends his way.
The wanton Courſer thus, with Reins unbound,
Breaks from his Stall, and beats the trembling Ground;
Pamper'd and proud, he ſeeks the wonted Tides,
And laves, in Height of Blood, his ſhining Sides;
His Head now freed, he toſſes to the Skies;
His Mane diſhevel'd o'er his Shoulders flies;
He ſnuffs the Females in the diſtant Plain,
And ſprings, exulting, to his Fields again.
With equal Triumph, ſprightly, bold and gay,
In Arms refulgent as the God of Day,
The Son of Priam, glorying in his Might,
Ruſh'd forth with Hector to the Fields of Fight.
And now the Warriors paſſing on the way,
The graceful Paris firſt excus'd his Stay.
To whom the noble Hector thus reply'd:
O Chief! in Blood, and now in Arms, ally'd!
[148] Thy Pow'r in War with Juſtice none conteſt;
Known is thy Courage, and thy Strength confeſt.
What Pity, Sloath ſhould ſeize a Soul ſo brave,
Or Godlike Paris live a Woman's Slave!
My Heart weeps Blood at what the Trojans ſay,
And hopes, thy Deeds ſhall wipe the Stain away.
Haſte then, in all their glorious Labours ſhare;
For much they ſuffer, for thy ſake, in War.
Theſe Ills ſhall ceaſe, whene'er by Jove's Decree
We crown the Bowl to Heav'n and Liberty:
While the proud Foe his fruſtrate Triumphs mourns,
And Greece indignant thro' her Seas returns.

OBSERVATIONS ON THE Sixth Book.
[151]OBSERVATIONS ON THE SIXTH BOOK.

[]

I.

‘VERSE 7. FIRST Ajax.]’ Ajax performs his Exploits immediately upon the Departure of the Gods from the Battel. It is obſerv'd that this Hero is never aſſiſted by the Deities, as moſt of the reſt are: See his Character in the Notes on the ſeventh Book. The Expreſſion of the Greek is, that he brought Light to his Troops, which M. Dacier takes to be metaphorical: I do not ſee but it may be literal; he broke the thick Squadrons of the Enemy, and open'd a Paſſage for the Light.

II.

‘VERSE 9. The Thracian Acamas.]’ This Thracian Prince is the ſame in whoſe Likeneſs Mars appears in the preceding Book, rallying the Trojans and forcing the Greeks to retire. In the preſent Deſcription of his Strength and Size, we ſee with what Propriety this Perſonage was ſelected by the Poet as fit to be aſſumed by the God of War.

III.

‘VERSE 16. Axylus, Hoſpitable.]’ This beautiful Character of Axylus has not been able to eſcape the Miſunderſtanding of [152] ſome of the Commentators, who thought Homer deſign'd it as a Reproof of an undiſtinguiſh'd Generoſity. It is evidently a Panegyrick on that Virtue, and not improbably on the Memory of ſome excellent, but unfortunate Man in that Country, whom the Poet honours with the noble Title of A Friend to Mankind. It is indeed a ſevere Reproof of the Ingratitude of Men, and a kind of Satyr on human Race, while he repreſents this Lover of his Species miſerably periſhing without Aſſiſtance from any of thoſe Numbers he had obliged. This Death is very moving, and the Circumſtance of a faithful Servant's dying by his ſide, well imagined, and natural to ſuch a Character. His manner of keeping Houſe near a frequented Highway, and relieving all Travellers, is agreeable to that ancient Hoſpitality which we now only read of. There is Abundance of this Spirit every where in the Odyſſeis. The Patriarchs in the Old Teſtament ſit at their Gates to ſee thoſe who paſs by, and entreat them to enter into their Houſes: This cordial manner of Invitation is particularly deſcribed in the 18th and 19th Chapters of Geneſis. The Eaſtern Nations ſeem to have had a peculiar Diſpoſition to theſe Exerciſes of Humanity, which continues in a great meaſure to this Day. It is yet a Piece of Charity frequent with the Turks, to erect Caravanſerahs, or Inns for the Reception of Travellers. Since I am upon this Head, I muſt mention one or two extraordinary Examples of ancient Hoſpitality. Diodorus Siculus writes of Gallias of Agrigentum, that having built ſeverall Inns for the Relief of Strangers, he appointed Perſons at the Gates to invite all who travell'd to make uſe of them; and that this Example was followed by many others who were inclined after the ancient manner to live in a human and beneficent Correſpondence with Mankind. That this Gallias entertain'd and cloathed at one time no leſs than five hundred Horſemen; and that there were in his Cellars three hundred Veſſels, each of which contain'd an hundred Hogſheads of Wine. The ſame Author tells us of another Agrigentine, that at the Marriage of his Daughter feaſted all the People of his City, who at that time were above twenty thouſand.

Herodotus in his ſeventh Book has a Story of this kind, which is prodigious, being of a private Man ſo immenſely [153] rich as to entertain Xerxes and his whole Army. I ſhall tranſcribe the Paſſage as I find it tranſlated to my Hands.

"Pythius the Son of Atys, a Lydian, then reſiding in Celaene, entertain'd the King and all his Army with great Magnificence, and offer'd him his Treaſures towards the Expence of the War: which Liberality Xerxes communicating to the Perſians about him, and asking who this Pythius was, and what Riches he might have to enable him to make ſuch an Offer? Receiv'd this Anſwer; Pythius, ſaid they, is the Perſon who preſented your Father Darius with a Plane-Tree and Vine of Gold: and after you, is the richeſt Man we know in the World. Xerxes ſurpriz'd with theſe laſt Words, ask'd him to what Sum his Treaſures might amount. I ſhall conceal nothing from you, ſaid Pythius; nor pretend to be ignorant of my own Wealth; but being perfectly inform'd of the State of my Accompts, ſhall tell you the Truth with Sincerity. When I heard you was ready to begin the March towards the Grecian Sea, I reſolv'd to preſent you with a Sum of Money towards the Charge of the War; and to that end having taken an Account of my Riches, I found by Computation that I had two thouſand Talents of Silver, and three Millions nine hundred ninety three thouſand Pieces of Gold, bearing the Stamp of Darius. Theſe Treaſures I freely give you, becauſe I ſhall be ſufficiently furniſh'd with whatever is neceſſary to Life by the Labour of my Servants and Husbandmen.

"Xerxes heard theſe Words with Pleaſure, and in anſwer to Pythius, ſaid; My Lydian Hoſt, ſince I parted from Suſa I have not found a Man beſides your ſelf, who has offer'd to entertain my Army, or voluntarily to contribute his Treaſures to promote the preſent Expedition. You alone have treated my Army magnificently, and readily offer'd me immenſe Riches: Therefore, in Return of your Kindneſs, I make you my Hoſt; and that you may be Maſter of the intire Sum of four Millions in Gold, I will give you ſeven thouſand Darian Pieces out of my own Treaſure. Keep then all the Riches you now poſſeſs; and [154] if you know how to continue always in the ſame good Diſpoſition, you ſhall never have reaſon to repent of your Affection to me, either now or in future time.

The Sum here offer'd by Pythius amounts by Brerewood's Computation to three Millions three hundred ſeventy five thouſand Pounds Sterling, according to the leſſer Valuation of Talents. I make no Apology for inſerting ſo remarkable a Paſſage at length, but ſhall only add, that it was at laſt the Fate of this Pythius (like our Axylus) to experience the Ingratitude of Man; his eldeſt Son being afterwards cut in Pieces by the ſame Xerxes.

IV.

‘VERSE 57. Oh ſpare my Youth, &c.]’ This Paſſage, where Agamemnon takes away that Trojan's Life whom Menelaus had pardoned, and is not blamed by Homer for ſo doing, muſt be aſcribed to the uncivilized Manners of thoſe Times, when Mankind was not united by the Bonds of a rational Society, and is not therefore to be imputed to the Poet, who followed Nature as it was in his Days. The Hiſtorical Books of the Old Teſtament abound in Inſtances of the like Cruelty to conquer'd Enemies.

Virgil had this Part of Homer in his View when he deſcribed the Death of Magus in the tenth Aeneid. Thoſe Lines of his Prayer where he offers a Ranſome are tranſlated from this of Adraſtus, but both the Prayer and the Anſwer Aeneas makes when he refuſes him Mercy, are very much heighten'd and improved. They alſo receive a great Addition of Beauty and Propriety from the Occaſion on which he inſerts them: Young Pallas is juſt kill'd, and Aeneas ſeeking to be reveng'd upon Turnus, meets this Magus. Nothing can be a more artful Piece of Addreſs than the firſt Lines of that Supplication, if we conſider the Character of Aeneas to whom it is made.

Per patrios manes, per ſpes ſurgentis Jüli,
Te precor, hanc animam ſerves natoque, Patrique!

[155] And what can exceed the Cloſeneſs and Fullneſs of that Reply to it?

—Belli commercia Turnus
Suſtulit iſta prior, jam tum Pallante perempto.
Hoc patris Anchiſae manes, hoc ſentit Jülus.

This removes the Imputation of Cruelty from Aeneas, which had leſs agreed with his Character than it does with Agamemnon's; whoſe Reproof to Menelaus in this Place is not unlike that of Samuel to Saul for not killing Agag.

V.

‘VERSE 74. Her Infants at the Breaſt ſhall fall.]’ Or, her Infants yet in the Womb, for it will bear either Senſe. But I think Madam Dacier in the right, in her Affirmation that the Greeks were not arrived to that Pitch of Cruelty to rip up the Wombs of Women with Child. Homer (ſays ſhe) to remove all equivocal Meaning from this Phraſe, adds the Words [...], juvenem puerulum exiſtentem, which would be ridiculous were it ſaid of a Child yet unborn. Beſides, he would never have repreſented one of his firſt Heroes capable of ſo barbarous a Crime, or at leaſt would not have commended him (as he does juſt after) for ſuch a wicked Exhortation.

VI.

‘VERSE 88. Firſt gain the Conqueſt, then divide the Spoil.]’ This important Maxim of War is very naturally introduced, upon Neſtor's having ſeen Menelaus ready to ſpare an Enemy for the ſake of a Ranſome. It was for ſuch Leſſons as theſe (ſays M. Dacier) that Alexander ſo much eſteem'd Homer and ſtudy'd his Poem. He made his Uſe of this Precept in the Battel of Arbela, when Parmenio being in danger of weakening the main Body to defend the Baggage, he ſent this Meſſage to him. Leave the Baggage there, for if we carry the Victory, we ſhall not only recover what is our [156] own, but be Maſters of all that is the Enemy's. Hiſtories ancient and modern are fill'd with Examples of Enterprizes that have miſcarry'd, and Battels that have been loſt, by the Greedineſs of Soldiers for Pillage.

VII.

‘VERSE 98. Wiſe to conſult, and active to defend.]’ This is a twofold Branch of Praiſe, expreſſing the Excellence of theſe Princes both in Council and in Battel. I think Madam Dacier's Tranſlation does not come up to the Senſe of the Original. Les plus hardis & les plus experimentez des nos Capitains.

VIII.

‘VERSE 107. Thou Hector to the Town.]’ It has been a modern Objection to Homer's Conduct, that Hector upon whom the whole Fate of the Day depended, is made to retire from the Battel, only to carry a Meſſage to Troy concerning a Sacrifice, which might have been done as well by any other. They think it abſurd in Helenus to adviſe this, and in Hector to comply with it. What occaſion'd this falſe Criticiſm was that they imagin'd it to be a Piece of Advice, and not a Command. Helenus was a Prieſt and Augur of the higheſt Rank, he enjoins it as a Point of Religion, and Hector obeys him as one inſpired from Heaven. The Trojan Army was in the utmoſt Diſtreſs, occaſion'd by the prodigious Slaughter made by Diomed: There was therefore more Reaſon and Neceſſity to propitiate Minerva who aſſiſted that Hero; which Helenus might know, tho' Hector would have choſen to have ſtay'd and truſted to the Arm of Fleſh. Here is nothing but what may agree with each of their Characters. Hector goes as he was obliged in Religion, but not before he has animated the Troops, re-eſtabliſhed the Combate, repulſed the Greeks to ſome diſtance, received a Promiſe from Helenus that they would make a ſtand at the Gates, and given one himſelf to the Army that he would ſoon return to the Fight: All which Homer has been careful to ſpecify, to ſave the Honour and preſerve the Character of this Hero. As to Helenus his [157] Part, he ſaw the Straits his Countrymen were reduced to, he knew his Authority as a Prieſt, and deſign'd to revive the Courage of the Troops by a Promiſe of divine Aſſiſtance. Nothing adds more Courage to the Minds of Men than Superſtition, and perhaps it was the only Expedient then left; much like a modern Practice in the Army, to enjoin a Faſt when they wanted Proviſion. Helenus could no way have made his Promiſe more credible, than by ſending away Hector; which look'd like an Aſſurance that nothing could prejudice them during his Abſence on ſuch a religious Account. No Leader of leſs Authority than Hector could ſo properly have enjoin'd this ſolemn Act of Religion; and laſtly, no other whoſe Valour was leſs known than his, could have left the Army in this Juncture without a Taint upon his Honour. Homer makes this Piety ſucceed; Paris is brought back to the Fight, the Trojans afterwards prevail, and Jupiter appears openly in their favour, l. 8. Tho' after all, I cannot diſſemble my Opinion, that the Poet's chief Intention in this, was to introduce that fine Epiſode of the Parting of Hector and Andromache. This Change of the Scene to Troy furniſhes him with a great Number of Beauties. By this means (ſays Euſtathius) his Poem is for a time diveſted of the Fierceneſs and Violence of Battels, and being as it were waſh'd from Slaughter and Blood, becomes calm and ſmiling by the Beauty of theſe various Epiſodes.

IX.

‘VERSE 117. If ſo the Pow'r atton'd.]’ The Poet here plainly ſuppoſes Helenus, by his Skill in Augury or ſome other divine Inſpiration, well inform'd that the Might of Diomed which wrought ſuch great Deſtruction among the Trojans, was the Gift of Pallas incens'd againſt them. The Prophet therefore directs Prayers, Offerings, and Sacrifices to be made to appeaſe the Anger of this offended Goddeſs; not to invoke the Mercy of any propitious Deity. This is conformable to the whole Syſtem of Pagan Superſtition, the Worſhip whereof being grounded not on Love but Fear, ſeems directed rather to avert the Malice and Anger of a wrathful and [158] miſchievous Daemon, than to implore the Aſſiſtance and Protection of a benevolent Being. In this Strain of Religion this ſame Prophet is introduced by Virgil in the third Aeneid, giving particular Direction to Aeneas to appeaſe the Indignation of Juno, as the only means which could bring his Labours to a proſperous End.

Unum illud tibi, nate Dea, praeque omnibus unum
Praedicam, & repetens iterumque iterumque monebo.
Junonis magnae primum prece numen adora:
Junoni cane vota libens, dominamque potentem
Supplicibus ſupera donis:—

X.

‘VERSE 147. The Interview of Glaucus and Diomed.]’ No Paſſage in our Author has been the Subject of more ſevere and groundleſs Criticiſms than this, where theſe two Heroes enter into a long Converſation (as they will have it) in the Heat of a Battel. Monſieur Dacier's Anſwer in Defence of Homer is ſo full, that I cannot do better than to tranſlate it from his Remarks on the 26th Chapter of Ariſtotle's Poetic. There can be nothing more unjuſt than the Criticiſms paſt upon things that are the Effect of Cuſtom. It was uſual in ancient Times for Soldiers to talk together before they encounter'd. Homer is full of Examples of this ſort, and he very well deſerves we ſhould be ſo juſt as to believe, he had never done it ſo often, but that it was agreeable to the Manners of his Age. But this is not only a thing of Cuſtom, but founded in Reaſon itſelf. The Ties of Hoſpitality in thoſe Times were held more ſacred than thoſe of Blood; and it is on that Account Diomed gives ſo long an Audience to Glaucus, whom he acknowledges to be his Gueſt, with whom it was not lawful to engage in Combate. Homer makes an admirable Uſe of this Conjuncture, to introduce an entertaining Hiſtory after ſo many Battels as he has been deſcribing, and to unbend the Mind of his Reader by a Recital of ſo much Variety as the Story of the Family of Siſyphus. It may be farther obſerv'd, with what [159] Addreſs and Management he places this long Converſation; it is not during the Heat of an obſtinate Battel, which had been too unſeaſonable to be excuſed by any Cuſtom whatever; but he brings it in after he has made Hector retire into Troy, when the Abſence of ſo powerful an Enemy had given Diomed that Leiſure which he could not have had otherwiſe. One need only read the judicious Remark of Euſtathius upon this Place. The Poet (ſays he) after having caus'd Hector to go out of the Fight, interrupts the Violence of Wars, and gives ſome Relaxation to the Reader, in cauſing him to paſs from the Confuſion and Diſorder of the Action to the Tranquillity and Security of an Hiſtorical Narration. For by means of the happy Epiſode of Glaucus, he caſts a thouſand pleaſing Wonders into his Poem; as Fables, that include beautiful Allegories, Hiſtories, Genealogies, Sentences, ancient Cuſtoms, and ſeveral other Graces that tend to the diverſifying of his Work, and which by breaking (as one may ſay) the Monotomy of it, agreeably inſtruct the Reader. Let us obſerve, in how fine a manner Homer has hereby praiſed both Diomed and Hector. For he makes us know, that as long as Hector is in the Field, the Greeks have not the leaſt Leiſure to take breath; and that as ſoon as he quits it, all the Trojans, however they had regain'd all their Advantages, were not able to employ Diomed ſo far as to prevent his entertaining himſelf with Glaucus without any danger to his Party. Some may think after all, that tho' we may juſtify Homer, we cannot excuſe the Manners of his Time; it not being natural for Men with Swords in their Hands to dialogue together in cold Blood juſt before they engage. But not to alledge, that theſe very Manners yet remain in thoſe Countries, which have not been corrupted by the Commerce of other Nations, (which is a great Sign of their being natural) what Reaſon can be offer'd that it is more natural to fall on at firſt Sight with Rage and Fierceneſs, than to ſpeak to an Enemy before the Encounter? Thus far Monſieur Dacier, and St. Evremont asks humourouſly, if it might not be as proper in that Country for Men to harangue before they fought, as it is in England to make Speeches before they are hanged.

[160] That Homer is not in general apt to make unſeaſonable Harangues (as theſe Cenſurers would repreſent) may appear from that remarkable Care he has ſhewn in many Places to avoid them: As when in the fifth Book Aeneas being cured on a ſudden in the middle of the Fight, is ſeen with Surprize by his Soldiers; he ſpecifies with particular Caution, that they asked him no Queſtions how he became cured, in a time of ſo much Buſineſs and Action. Again, when there is a Neceſſity in the ſame Book that Minerva ſhould have a Conference with Diomed, in order to engage him againſt Mars (after her Prohibition to him to fight with the Gods) Homer chuſes a time for that Speech, juſt when the Hero is retir'd behind his Chariot to take Breath, which was the only Moment that could be ſpared during the Hurry of that whole Engagement. One might produce many Inſtances of the ſame kind.

The Diſcourſe of Glaucus to Diomed is ſeverely cenſured, not only on Account of the Circumſtance of Time and Place, but likewiſe on the Score of the Subject, which is taxed as improper, and foreign to the End and Deſign of the Poem. But the Criticks who have made this Objection, ſeem neither to comprehend the Deſign of the Poet in general, nor the particular Aim of this Diſcourſe. Many Paſſages in the beſt ancient Poets appear unaffecting at preſent, which probably gave the greateſt Delight to their firſt Readers, becauſe they were nearly intereſted in what was there related. It is very plain that Homer deſigned this Poem as a Monument to the Honour of the Greeks, who, tho' conſiſting of ſeveral independent Societies, were yet very national in Point of Glory, being ſtrongly affected with every thing that ſeem'd to advance the Honour of their common Country, and reſentful of any Indignity offer'd to it. This Diſpoſition was the Ground of that grand Alliance which is the Subject of this Poem. To Men ſo fond of their Country's Glory, what could be more agreeable than to read a Hiſtory fill'd with Wonders of a noble Family tranſplanted from Greece into Aſia? They might here learn with Pleaſure that the Grecian Virtues did not degenerate by removing into diſtant Climes: but eſpecially they muſt be affected with uncommon Delight to find that [161] Sarpedon and Glaucus, the braveſt of the Trojan Auxiliaries, were originally Greeks.

Taſſo in this manner has introduced an agreeable Epiſode, which ſhews Clorinda the Offspring of Chriſtian Parents, tho' engag'd in the Service of the Infidels, Cant. 12.

XI.

‘VERSE 149. Between both Armies met, &c.]’ It is uſual with Homer before he introduces a Hero, to make as it were a Halt, to render him the more remarkable. Nothing could more prepare the Attention and Expectation of the Reader, than this Circumſtance at the firſt meeting of Diomed and Glaucus. Juſt at the Time when the Mind begins to be weary with the Battel, it is diverted with the Proſpect of a ſingle Combate, which of a ſudden turns to an Interview of Friendſhip and an unexpected Scene of ſociable Virtue. The whole Air of the Converſation between theſe two Heroes has ſomething heroically ſolemn in it.

XII.

‘VERSE 159. But if from Heav'n, &c.]’ A quick change of Mind from the greateſt Impiety to as great Superſtition, is frequently obſervable in Men who having been guilty of the moſt heinous Crimes without any Remorſe, on the ſudden are fill'd with Doubts and Scruples about the moſt lawful or indifferent Actions. This ſeems the preſent Caſe of Diomed, who having knowingly wounded and inſulted the Deities, is now afraid to engage the firſt Man he meets, leſt perhaps a God might be conceal'd in that Shape. This Diſpoſition of Diomed produces the Queſtion he puts to Glaucus, which without this Conſideration will appear impertinent, and ſo naturally occaſions that agreeable Epiſode of Bellerophon which Glaucus relates in anſwer to Diomed.

XIII.

‘VERSE 161. Not long Lycurgus, &c.]’ What Diomed [162] here ſays is the Effect of Remorſe, as if he had exceeded the Commiſſion of Pallas in encountring with the Gods, and dreaded the Conſequences of proceeding too far. At leaſt he had no ſuch Commiſſion now, and beſides, was no longer capable of diſtinguiſhing them from Men (a Faculty ſhe had given him in the foregoing Book:) He therefore mentions this Story of Lycurgus as an Example that ſufficed to terrify him from ſo raſh an Undertaking. The Ground of the Fable they ſay is this, Lycurgus cauſed moſt of the Vines of his Country to be rooted up, ſo that his Subjects were obliged to mix it with Water when it was leſs plentiful: Hence it was feign'd that Thetis receiv'd Bacchus into her Boſom.

XIV.

‘VERSE 170. Immortals bleſt with endleſs Eaſe.]’ Tho' Dacier's and moſt of the Verſions take no Notice of the Epithet uſed in this Place, [...], Dii facilè ſeu beatè viventes; the Tranſlator thought it a Beauty which he could not but endeavour to preſerve.

XV.

‘VERSE 178. Approach, and enter the dark Gates of Death.]’ This haughty Air which Homer gives his Heroes was doubtleſs a Copy of the Manners and hyperbolical Speeches of thoſe Times. Thus Goliah to David, Sam. 1. Ch. 17. Approach, and I will give thy Fleſh to the Fowls of the Air and the Beaſts of the Field. The Orientals ſpeak the ſame Language to this Day.

XVI.

‘VERSE 181. Like Leaves on Trees.]’ There is a noble Gravity in the beginning of this Speech of Glaucus, according to the true Style of Antiquity, Few and evil are our Days. This beautiful Thought of our Author whereby the Race of Men are compared to the Leaves of Trees, is celebrated by [163] Simonides in a fine Fragment extant in Stobaeus. The ſame Thought may be found in Eccleſiaſticus, Ch. 14. ℣. 18. almoſt in the ſame Words; As of the green Leaves on a thick Tree, ſome fall, and ſome grow; ſo is the Generation of Fleſh and Blood, one cometh to an end, and another is born.

The Reader who has ſeen ſo many Paſſages imitated from Homer by ſucceeding Poets, will no doubt be pleaſed to ſee one of an ancient Poet which Homer has here imitated; this is a Fragment of Muſaeus preſerv'd by Clemens Alexandrinus in his Stromata, Lib. 6.

[...]
[...]
[...]

Tho' this Compariſon be juſtly admir'd for its Beauty in this obvious Application to the Mortality and Succeſſion of human Life, it ſeems however deſign'd by the Poet in this Place as a proper Emblem of the tranſitory State not of Men but of Families, which being by their Misfortunes or Follies fallen and decay'd, do again in a happier Seaſon revive and flouriſh in the Fame and Virtues of their Poſterity: In this Senſe it is a direct Anſwer to what Diomed had ask'd, as well as a proper Preface to what Glaucus relates of his own Family, which having been extinct in Corinth, had recover'd new Life in Lycia.

XVII.

‘VERSE 193. Then call'd Ephyre.]’ It was the ſame which was afterwards called Corinth, and had that Name in Homer's Time, as appears from this Catalogue, ℣. 77.

XVIII.

‘VERSE 196. Lov'd for that Valour which preſerves Mankind.]’ This Diſtinction of true Valour which has the Good of Mankind for its End, in Oppoſition to the Valour of Tyrants or Oppreſſors, is beautifully hinted by Homer in the Epithet [164] [...], amiable Valour. Such as was that of Bellerophon who freed the Land from Monſters, and Creatures deſtructive to his Species. It is apply'd to this young Hero with particular Judgment and Propriety, if we conſider the Innocence and Gentleneſs of his Manners appearing from the following Story, which every one will obſerve has a great Reſemblance with that of Joſeph in the Scriptures.

XIX.

‘VERSE 216. The faithful Youth his Monarch's Mandate ſhow'd.]’ Plutarch much commends the Virtue of Bellerophon, who faithfully carry'd thoſe Letters he might ſo juſtly ſuſpect of ill Conſequence to him: The Paſſage is in his Diſcourſe of Curioſity, and worth tranſcribing. ‘"A Man of Curioſity is void of all Faith, and it is better to truſt Letters or any important Secrets to Servants, than to Friends and Familiars of an inquiſitive Temper. Bellerophon when he carry'd Letters that order'd his own Deſtruction, did not unſeal them, but forbore touching the King's Diſpatches with the ſame Continence, as he had refrain'd from injuring his Bed: For Curioſity is an Incontinence as well as Adultery.’

XX.

‘VERSE 219. Firſt dire Chimaera.]’ Chimaera was feign'd to have the Head of a Lion breathing Flames, the Body of a Goat, and the Tail of a Dragon; becauſe the Mountain of that Name in Lycia had a Vulcano on its top, and nouriſh'd Lions, the middle Part afforded Paſture for Goats, and the bottom was infeſted with Serpents. Bellerophon deſtroying theſe, and rendring the Mountain habitable, was ſaid to have conquer'd Chimaera. He calls this Monſter [...], in the manner of the Hebrews, who gave to any thing vaſt or extraordinary the Appellative of Divine. So the Pſalmiſt ſays, The Mountains of God, &c.

XXI.

[165]

‘VERSE 227. The Solymaean Crew.]’ Theſe Solymi were an ancient Nation inhabiting the mountainous Parts of Aſia Minor between Lycia and Piſidia. Pliny mentions them as an Inſtance of a People ſo entirely deſtroy'd, that no Footſteps of them remain'd in his Time. Some Authors both ancient and modern, from a Reſemblance in ſound to the Latin Name of Jeruſalem, have confounded them with the Jews. Tacitus; ſpeaking of the various Opinions concerning the Origin of the Jewiſh Nation, has theſe Words, Clara alii tradunt Judaeorum initia, Solymos carminibus Homeri celebratum gentem, conditae urbi Hieroſolymam nomen è ſuo feciſſe. Hiſt. Lib. 6.

XXII.

‘VERSE 239. The Lycians grant a choſen Space of Ground.]’ It was uſual in the ancient Times, upon any ſignal Piece of Service perform'd by the Kings or great Men, to have a Portion of Land decreed by the Publick as a Reward to them. Thus when Sarpedon in the twelfth Book incites Glaucus to behave himſelf valiantly, he puts him in mind of theſe Poſſeſſions granted by his Countrymen.

[...]—&c.
[...]
[...]

In the ſame manner in the ninth Book of Virgil, Niſus is promiſed by Aſcanius the Fields which were poſſeſs'd by Latinus, as a Reward for the Service he undertook.

—Campi quod rex habet ipſe Latinus.

Chapman has an Interpolation in this Place, to tell us that this Field was afterwards called by the Lycians, The Field of Wandrings, from the Wandrings and Diſtraction of Bellerophon in the latter Part of his Life. But they were not [166] theſe Fields that were call'd [...], but thoſe upon which he fell from the Horſe Pegaſus, when he endeavour'd (as the Fable has it) to mount to Heaven.

XXIII.

‘VERSE 245. But when at laſt, &c.]’ The ſame Criticks who have taxed Homer for being too tedious in this Story of Bellerophon, have cenſured him for omitting to relate the particular Offence which had rais'd the Anger of the Gods againſt a Man formerly ſo highly favour'd by them: But this Relation coming from the Mouth of his Grandſon, it is with great Decorum and Propriety he paſſes over in Silence thoſe Crimes of his Anceſtor, which had provok'd the divine Vengeance againſt him. Milton has interwoven this Story with what Homer here relates of Bellerophon.

Leſt from this flying Steed unrein'd (as once
Bellerophon, though from a lower Clime)
Diſmounted on the Aleian Field I fall,
Erroneous there to wander and forlorn.
Parad. loſt. B. 7.

Tully in his third Book of Tuſculane Queſtions, having obſerv'd that Perſons oppreſs'd with Woe naturally ſeek Solitude, inſtances this Example of Bellerophon, and gives us his Tranſlation of two of theſe Lines.

Qui miſer in campos moerens errabat Aleis,
Ipſe ſuum cor edens, hominum veſtigia vitans.

XXIV.

‘VERSE 267. Our Grandſires have been Gueſts of old.]’ The Laws of Hoſpitality were anciently held in great Veneration. The Friendſhip contracted hereby was ſo ſacred, that they prefer'd it to all the Bands of Conſanguinity and Alliance, and accounted it obligatory even to the third and fourth Generation. We have ſeen in the foregoing Story of [167] Bellerophon, that Proetus, a Prince under the Suppoſition of being injur'd in the higheſt degree, is yet afraid to revenge himſelf upon the Criminal on this Account: He is forced to ſend him into Lycia rather than be guilty of a Breach of this Law in his own Country. And the King of Lycia having entertain'd the Stranger before he unſeal'd the Letters, puts him upon Expeditions abroad, in which he might be deſtroy'd, rather than at his Court. We here ſee Diomed and Glaucus agreeing not to be Enemies during the whole Courſe of a War, only becauſe their Grandfathers had been mutual Gueſts. And we afterwards find Tea [...]er engaged with the Greeks on this Account againſt the Trojans, tho' he was himſelf of Trojan Extraction, the Nephew of Priam by the Mother's ſide, and Couſin German of Hector, whoſe Life he purſues with the utmoſt Violence. They preſerved in their Families the Preſents which had been made on theſe Occaſions, as obliged to tranſmit to their Children the Memorials of this Right of Hoſpitality. Euſtathius.

XXV.

‘VERSE 291. Jove warm'd his Boſom and enlarg'd his Mind.]’ The Words in the Original are [...], which may equally be interpreted, he took away his Senſe, or he elevated his Mind. The former being a Reflection upon Glaucus's Prudence, for making ſo unequal an Exchange, the latter a Praiſe of the Magnanimity and Generoſity which induced him to it. Porphyry contends for its being underſtood in this laſt way, and Euſtathius, Monſieur and Madam Dacier are of the ſame Opinion. Notwithſtanding it is certain that Homer uſes the ſame Words in the contrary Senſe in the ſeventeenth Iliad, ℣. 470. and in the nineteenth, ℣. 137. And it is an obvious Remark, that the Interpretation of Porphyry as much diſhonours Diomed who propoſed this Exchange, as it does Honour to Glaucus for conſenting to it. However I have followed it, if not as the juſter, as the moſt heroic Senſe, and as it has the nobler Air in Poetry.

XXVI.

[168]

‘VERSE 295. A hundred Beeves.]’ I wonder the Curious have not remark'd from this Place, that the Proportion of the Value of Gold to Braſs in the Time of the Trojan War, was but as an hundred to nine; allowing theſe Armours of equal Weight; which as they belong'd to Men of equal Strength, is a reaſonable Suppoſition. As to this manner of computing the Value of the Armour by Beeves or Oxen, it might be either becauſe the Money was anciently ſtamp'd with thoſe Figures, or (which is moſt probable in this Place) becauſe in thoſe Times they generally purchaſed by Exchange of Commodities, as we ſee by a Paſſage near the end of the ſeventh Book.

XXVII.

‘VERSE 329. Far hence be Bacchus' Gifts—Enflaming Wine.]’ This Maxim of Hector's concerning Wine, has a great deal of Truth in it. It is a vulgar Miſtake to imagine the Uſe of Wine either raiſes the Spirits, or encreaſes Strength. The beſt Phyſicians agree with Homer in the Point; whatever our modern Soldiers may object to this old heroic Regimen. One may take notice that Sampſon as well as Hector was a Water-drinker; for he was a Nazarite by Vow, and as ſuch was forbid the Uſe of Wine. To which Milton alludes in his Sampſon Agoniſtes.

Where-ever Fountain or freſh Current flow'd
Againſt the Eaſtern Ray, tranſlucent, pure,
With touch Aethereal of Heav'ns fiery Rod,
I drank, from the clear milky Juice allaying
Thirſt, and refreſh'd; nor envy'd them the Grape,
Whoſe Heads that turbulent Liquor fills with Fumes.

XXVIII.

‘VERSE 335. Ill fits it me, with human Gore diſtain'd, &c.]’ [169] The Cuſtom which prohibits Perſons polluted with Blood to perform any Offices of divine Worſhip before they were purified, is ſo ancient and univerſal, that it may in ſome ſort be eſteem'd a Precept of natural Religion, tending to inſpire an uncommon Dread and religious Horror of Bloodſhed. There is a fine Paſſage in Euripides where Iphigenia argues how impoſſible it is that human Sacrifices ſhould be acceptable to the Gods, ſince they do not permit any defil'd with Blood, or even polluted with the Touch of a dead Body, to come near their Altars. Iphig. in Tauris. ℣. 380. Virgil makes his Aeneas ſay the ſame thing Hector does here.

Me bello è tanto digreſſum & caede recenti
Attrectare nefas, donec me flumine vivo
Abluero.—

XXIX.

‘VERSE 361. Sidonian Maids.]’ Dictys Cretenſis, lib. 1. acquaints us that Paris return'd not directly to Troy after the Rape of Helen, but fetch'd a Compaſs, probably to avoid Purſuit. He touch'd at Sidon, where he ſurprized the King of Phoenicia by Night, and carry'd off many of his Treaſures and Captives, among which probably were theſe Sidonian Women. The Author of the ancient Poem of the Cypriacks ſays, he ſailed from Sparta to Troy in the Space of three Days: from which Paſſage Herodotus concludes that Poem was not Homer's. We find in the Scriptures, that Tyre and Sidon were famous for Works in Gold, Embroidery, &c. and for whatever regarded Magnificence and Luxury.

XXX.

‘VERSE 374. With Hands uplifted.]’ The only Geſture deſcrib'd by Homer as uſed by the Ancients in the Invocation of the Gods, is the lifting up their Hands to Heaven. Virgil frequently alludes to this Practice; particularly in the ſecond Book there is a Paſſage, the Beauty of which is much rais'd by this Conſideration.

[170]
Ecce trahebatur paſſis Priameia virgo
Crinibus, a Templo, Caſſandra, adytiſque Minervae,
Ad caelum tendens ardentia lumina fruſtra,
Lumina! nam teneras arcebant vincula palmas.

XXXI.

‘VERSE 378. Oh awful Goddeſs, &c.]’ This Proceſſion of the Trojan Matrons to the Temple of Minerva, with their Offering, and the Ceremonies; tho' it be a Paſſage ſome Moderns have criticis'd upon, ſeems to have particularly pleas'd Virgil. For he has not only introduced it among the Figures in the Picture at Carthage,

Interea ad templum non aequae Palladis ibant
Crinibus Iliades paſſis, peplumque ferebant
Suppliciter triſtes; & tunſis pectora palmis.
Diva ſolo fixos oculos averſa tenebat.

But he has again copied it in the eleventh Book, where the Latian Dames make the ſame Proceſſion upon the Approach of Aeneas to their City. The Prayer to the Goddeſs is tranſlated almoſt word for word:

Armipotens praeſes belli, Tritonia virgo,
Frange manu telum Phrygii praedonis, & ipſum
Pronum ſterne ſolo portiſque effunde ſub altis.

This Prayer in the Latin Poet ſeems introduced with leſs Propriety, ſince Pallas appears no where intereſted in the Conduct of Affairs thro' the whole Aeneid. The firſt Line of the Greek here is tranſlated more literally than the former Verſions; [...]. I take the firſt Epithet to allude to Minerva's being the particular Protectreſs of Troy by means of the Palladium, and not (as Mr. Hobbes underſtands it) the Protectreſs of all Cities in general.

XXXII.

[171]

‘VERSE 387. But they vow'd in vain.]’ For Helenus only ordered that Prayers ſhould be made to Minerva to drive Diomed from before the Walls. But Theano prays that Diomed may periſh, and periſh flying, which is included in his falling forward. Madam Dacier is ſo free as to obſerve here, that Women are ſeldom moderate in the Prayers they make againſt their Enemies, and therefore are ſeldom heard.

XXXIII.

‘VERSE 390. Himſelf the Manſion rais'd.]’ I muſt own my ſelf not ſo great an Enemy to Paris as ſome of the Commentators. His blind Paſſion is the unfortunate Occaſion of the Ruine of his Country, and he has the ill Fate to have all his fine Qualities ſwallowed up in that. And indeed I cannot ſay he endeavours much to be a better Man than his Nature made him. But as to his Parts and Turn of Mind, I ſee nothing that is either weak, or wicked, the general Manners of thoſe Times conſidered. On the contrary, a gentle Soul, patient of good Advice, tho' indolent enough to forget it; and liable only to that Frailty of Love which methinks might in his Caſe as well as Helen's be charged upon the Stars, and the Gods. So very amorous a Conſtitution, and ſo incomparable a Beauty to provoke it, might be Temptation enough even to a wiſe Man, and in ſome degree make him deſerve Compaſſion, if not Pardon. It is remarkable, that Homer does not paint him and Helen (as ſome other Poets would have done) like Monſters, odious to Gods and Men, but allows their Characters ſuch eſteemable Qualifications as could conſiſt, and in Truth generally do, with tender Frailties. He gives Paris ſeveral polite Accompliſhments, and in particular a Turn to thoſe Sciences that are the Reſult of a fine Imagination. He makes him have a Taſte and Addiction to curious Works of all ſorts, which caus'd him to tranſport Sidonian Artiſts to Troy, and employ himſelf at home in adorning and finiſhing his Armour: And now we [172] are told that he aſſembled the moſt skilful Builders from all Parts of the Country, to render his Palace a compleat Piece of Architecture. This, together with what Homer has ſaid elſewhere of his Skill in the Harp, which in thoſe Days included both Muſick and Poetry, may I think eſtabliſh him a Bel-Eſprit and a fine Genius.

XXXIV.

‘VERSE 406. Thy Hate to Troy, &c.]’ All the Commentators obſerve this Speech of Hector to be a Piece of Artifice; he ſeems to imagine that the Retirement of Paris proceeds only from his Reſentment againſt the Trojans, and not from his Indolence, Luxury, or any other Cauſe. Plutarch thus diſcourſes upon it. ‘"As a diſcreet Phyſician rather chuſes to cure his Patient by Diet or Reſt, than by Caſtoreum or Scammony, ſo a good Friend, a good Maſter, or a good Father, are always better pleaſed to make uſe of Commendation than Reproof, for the Reformation of Manners: For nothing ſo much aſſiſts a Man who reprehends with Frankneſs and Liberty, nothing renders him leſs offenſive, or better promotes his good Deſign, than to reprove with Calmneſs, Affection, and Temper. He ought not therefore to urge them too ſeverely if they deny the Fact, nor foreſtall their Juſtification of themſelves, but rather try to help them out, and furniſh them artificially with honeſt and colourable Pretences to excuſe them; and tho' he ſees that their Fault proceeded from a more ſhameful Cauſe, he ſhould yet impute it to ſomething leſs criminal. Thus Hector deals with Paris, when he tells him, This is not the time to manifeſt your Anger againſt the Trojans: As if his Retreat from the Battel had not been abſolutely a Flight, but merely the Effect of Reſentment and Indignation.’ Plut. Of knowing a Flatterer from a Friend, juxta fin.

XXXV.

‘VERSE 418. Brother, 'tis juſt, &c.]’ Paris readily lays hold of the Pretext Hector had furniſh'd him with, and confeſſes [173] he has partly touch'd upon the true Reaſon of his Retreat, but that it was alſo partly occaſion'd by the Concern he felt at the Victory of his Rival. Next he profeſſes his Readineſs for the Fight; but nothing can be a finer Trait (if we conſider his Character) than what Homer puts into his Mouth juſt in this Place, that he is now exhorted to it by Helen: which ſhews that not the Danger of his Country and Parents, neither private Shame, nor publick Hatred, could ſo much prevail upon him, as the Commands of his Miſtreſs, to go and recover his Honour.

XXXVI.

‘VERSE 432. Helen's Speech.]’ The Repentance of Helena (which we have before obſerved Homer never loſes an Opportunity of manifeſting) is finely touch'd again here. Upon the whole we ſee the Gods are always concern'd in what befalls an unfortunate Beauty: Her Stars foredoom'd all the Miſchief, and Heaven was to blame in ſuffering her to live: Then ſhe fairly gets quit of the Infamy of her Lover, and ſhews ſhe has higher Sentiments of Honour than he. How very natural is all this in the like Characters to this Day?

XXXVII.

‘VERSE 462. The Epiſode of Hector and Andromache.]’ Homer undoubtedly ſhines moſt upon the great Subjects, in raiſing our Admiration or Terror: Pity, and the ſofter Paſſions, are not ſo much of the Nature of his Poem, which is formed upon Anger and the Violence of Ambition. But we have cauſe to think his Genius was no leſs capable of touching the Heart with Tenderneſs, than of firing it with Glory, from the few Sketches he has left us of his Excellency that way too. In the preſent Epiſode of the Parting of Hector and Andromache, he aſſembled all that Love, Grief, and Compaſſion could inſpire. The greateſt Cenſurers of Homer have acknowledg'd themſelves charm'd with this Part, even Monſieur Perault tranſlated it into French Verſe as a kind of [174] Penitential Sacrifice for the Sacrileges he had committed againſt this Author.

This Epiſode tends very much to raiſe the Character of Hector and endear him to every Reader. This Hero, tho' doubtful if he ſhould ever ſee Troy again, yet goes not to his Wife and Child, till after he has taken care for the Sacrifice, exhorted Paris to the Fight, and diſcharg'd every Duty to the Gods, and to his Country; his Love of which, as we formerly remark'd, makes his chief Character. What a beautiful Contraſte has Homer made between the Manners of Paris and thoſe of Hector, as he here ſhews them one after the other in this domeſtic Light, and in their Regards to the Fair Sex? What a Difference between the Characters and Behaviour of Helen and of Andromache? And what an amiable Picture of conjugal Love, oppos'd to that of unlawful Paſſion?

I muſt not forget, that Mr. Dryden has formerly tranſlated this admirable Epiſode, and with ſo much Succeſs, as to leave me at leaſt no hopes of improving or equalling it. The utmoſt I can pretend is to have avoided a few modern Phraſes and Deviations from the Original, which have eſcaped that great Man. I am unwilling to remark upon an Author to whom every Engliſh Poet owes ſo much; and ſhall therefore only take notice of a Criticiſm of his which I muſt be obliged to anſwer in its Place, as it is an Accuſation of Homer himſelf.

XXXVIII.

‘VERSE 468. Penſive ſhe ſtood on Ilion's Tow'ry Height.]’ It is a fine Imagination to repreſent the Tenderneſs of Andromache for Hector, by her ſtanding upon the Tower of Troy, and watching all his Motions in the Field; even the religious Office of the Proceſſion to Minerva's Temple could not draw her from this Place, at a time when ſhe thought her Huſband in danger.

XXXIX.

‘VERSE 473. Whoſe Virtue charm'd him, &c.]’ Homer in [175] this Verſe particularizes the Virtue of Andromache in the Epithet [...], blameleſs, or without a Fault. I have uſed it literally in another Part of this Epiſode.

XL.

‘VERSE 487. Hector, this heard, return'd.]’ Hector does not ſtay to ſeek his Wife on the Tower of Ilion, but haſtens where the Buſineſs of the Field calls him. Homer is never wanting in Point of Honour and Decency, and while he conſtantly obeys the ſtricteſt Rules, finds a way to make them contribute to the Beauty of his Poem. Here for inſtance he has managed it ſo, that this Obſervance of Hector's is the Cauſe of a very pleaſing Surprize to the Reader; for at firſt he is not a little diſappointed to find that Hector does not meet Andromache, and is no leſs pleaſed afterwards to ſee them encounter by chance, which gives him a Satisfaction he thought he had loſt. Dacier.

XLI.

‘VERSE 501. Scamandrius, from Scamander's honour'd Stream, &c.]’ This manner of giving proper Names to Children derived from any Place, Accident, or Quality belonging to them or their Parents, is very ancient, and was cuſtomary among the Hebrews. The Trojans call'd the Son of Hector, Aſtyanax, becauſe (as it is ſaid here and at the end of the twenty ſecond Book) his Father defended the City. There are many Inſtances of the ſame kind in the thirtieth Chapter of Geneſis, where the Names given to Jacob's Children, and the Reaſons of thoſe Names, are enumerated.

XLII.

‘VERSE 524. The fierce Achilles, &c.]’ Mr. Dryden in the Preface to the third Volume of Miſcellany Poems has paſt a Judgment upon Part of this Speech which is altogether unworthy of him. ‘"Andromache (ſays he) in the midſt of her Concernment and Fright for Hector, runs off her Biaſs, to tell him a Story [176] of her Pedigree, and of the lamentable Death of her Father, her Mother, and her ſeven Brothers. The Devil was in Hector, if he knew not all this Matter, as well as ſhe who told it him; for ſhe had been his Bedfellow for many Years together: and if he knew it, then it muſt be confeſs'd, that Homer in this long Digreſſion, has rather given us his own Character, than that of the fair Lady whom he paints. His dear Friends the Commentators, who never fail him at a Pinch, will needs excuſe him, by making the preſent Sorrow of Andromache, to occaſion the Remembrance of all the paſt: But others think that ſhe had enough to do with that Grief which now oppreſs'd her, without running for Aſſiſtance to her Family."’ But may not it be anſwer'd, that nothing was more natural in Andromache, than to recollect her paſt Calamities in order to repreſent her preſent Diſtreſs to Hector in a ſtronger Light, and ſhew her utter Deſertion if he ſhould periſh. What could more effectually work upon a generous and tender Mind like that of Hector? What could therefore be more proper to each of their Characters? If Hector be induced to refrain from the Field, it proceeds from Compaſſion to Andromache: If Andromache endeavour to perſuade him, it proceeds from her Fear for the Life of Hector. Homer had yet a farther View in this Recapitulation; it tends to raiſe his chief Hero Achilles, and acquaints us with thoſe great Atchievements of his which preceded the Opening of the Poem. Since there was a Neceſſity that this Hero ſhould be abſent from the Action during a great Part of the Iliad, the Poet has ſhewn his Art in nothing more, than the Methods he takes from time to time to keep up our great Idea of him, and to awaken our Expectation of what he is to perform in the Progreſs of the Work. His greateſt Enemies cannot upbraid or complain of him, but at the ſame time they confeſs his Glory and deſcribe his Victories. When Apollo encourages the Trojans to fight, it is by telling them Achilles fights no more. When Juno animates the Greeks, it is by putting them in mind that they have to do with Enemies who durſt not appear out of their Walls while Achilles engaged. When Andromache trembles for Hector, it is with Remembrance of the reſiſtleſs Force [177] of Achilles. And when Agamemnon would bribe him to a Reconciliation, it is partly with thoſe very Treaſures and Spoils which had been won by Achilles himſelf.

XLIII.

‘VERSE 528. His Arms preſerv'd from hoſtile Spoil.]’ This Circumſtance of Aetion's being burned with his Arms will not appear trivial in this Relation, when we reflect with what eager Paſſion theſe ancient Heroes fought to ſpoil and carry off the Armour of a vanquiſh'd Enemy; and therefore this Action of Achilles is mention'd as an Inſtance of uncommon Favour and Generoſity. Thus Aeneas in Virgil having ſlain Lauſus, and being mov'd with Compaſſion for this unhappy Youth, gives him a Promiſe of the like Favour.

Arma, quibus laetatus, habe tua: teque parentum
Manibus, & cineri, ſi qua eſt ea cura, remitto.

XLIV.

‘VERSE 532. Joves's Sylvan Daughters bade their Elms beſtow A barren Shade, &c.]’ It was the Cuſtom to plant about Tombs only ſuch Trees as Elms, Alders, &c. that bear no Fruit, as being moſt ſuitable to the Dead. This Paſſage alludes to that Piece of Antiquity.

XLV.

‘VERSE 543. A Victim to Diana's Bow.]’ The Greeks aſcribed all ſudden Deaths of Women to Diana. So Ulyſſes in Odyſſ. 11. asks Antyclia among the Shades if ſhe died by the Darts of Diana? And in the preſent Book Laodame the Daughter of Bellerophon, is ſaid to have periſh'd young by the Arrows of this Goddeſs. Or perhaps it may allude to ſome Diſeaſe fatal to Women, ſuch as Macrobius ſpeaks of Sat. 1. 17. Foeminas certis afflictas morbis [...] vocant.

XLVI.

[178]

‘VERSE 550. That Quarter moſt—Where yon' wild Figtrees.]’ The Artifice Andromache here uſes to detain Hector in Troy is very beautifully imagined. She takes occaſion from the three Attacks that had been made by the Enemy upon this Place, to give him an honourable Pretence for ſtaying at that Rampart to defend it. If we conſider that thoſe Attempts muſt have been known to all in the City, we ſhall not think ſhe talks like a Soldier, but like a Woman, who naturally enough makes uſe of any Incident that offers, to perſuade her Lover to what ſhe deſires. The Ignorance too which ſhe expreſſes, of the Reaſons that mov'd the Greeks to attack this particular Place, was what I doubt not Homer intended, to reconcile it the more to a Female Character.

XLVII.

‘VERSE 583. Hyperia's Spring.]’ Drawing Water was the Office of the meaneſt Slaves. This appears by the holy Scripture, where the Gibeonites who had deceiv'd Joſuah are made Slaves and ſubjected to draw Water. Joſuah pronounces the Curſe againſt them in theſe Words: Now therefore ye are curſed, and there ſhall none of you be freed from being Bondmen, and Hewers of Wood, and Drawers of Water. Joſh. Ch. 9. V. 23. Dacier.

XLVIII.

‘VERSE 595. Stretch'd his fond Arms.]’ There never was a finer Piece of Painting than this. Hector extends his Arms to embrace his Child; the Child affrighted at the glittering of his Helmet and the ſhaking of the Plume, ſhrinks backward to the Breaſt of his Nurſe; Hector unbraces his Helmet, lays it on the Ground, takes the Infant in his Arms, lifts him towards Heaven, and offers a Prayer for him to the Gods: then returns him to the Mother Andromache, who receives him with a Smile of Pleaſure, but at the ſame [179] inſtant the Fears for her Husband make her burſt into Tears. All theſe are but ſmall Circumſtances, but ſo artfully choſen, that every Reader immediately feels the force of them, and repreſents the whole in the utmoſt Livelineſs to his Imagination. This alone might be a Confutation of that falſe Criticiſm ſome have fallen into, who affirm that a Poet ought only to collect the great and noble Particulars in his Paintings. But it is in the Images of Things as in the Characters of Perſons; where a ſmall Action, or even a ſmall Circumſtance of an Action, lets us more into the Knowledge and Comprehenſion of them, than the material and principal Parts themſelves. As we find this in a Hiſtory, ſo we do in a Picture, where ſometimes a ſmall Motion or Turning of a Finger will expreſs the Character and Action of the Figure more than all the other Parts of the Deſign. Longinus indeed blames an Author's inſiſting too much on trivial Circumſtances; but in the ſame Place extols Homer as ‘"the Poet who beſt knew how to make uſe of important and beautiful Circumſtances, and to avoid the mean and ſuperfluous ones."’ There is a vaſt difference betwixt a ſmall Circumſtance and a trivial one, and the ſmalleſt become important if they are well choſen, and not confuſed.

XLIX.

‘VERSE 604. Hector's Prayer for his Son.]’ It may be asked how Hector's Prayer, that his Son might protect the Trojans, could be conſiſtent with what he had ſaid juſt before, that he certainly knew Troy and his Parents would periſh. We ought to reflect that this is only a Prayer: Hector in the Exceſs of a tender Emotion for his Son, entreats the Gods to preſerve Troy, and permit Aſtyanax to rule there. It is at all times allowable to beſeech Heaven to appeaſe its Anger, and change its Decrees; and we are taught that Prayers can alter Deſtiny. Dacier. Beſides it cannot be infer'd from hence, that Hector had any divine Foreknowledge of his own Fate and the approaching Ruine of his Country; ſince in many following Paſſages we find him poſſeſs'd with ſtrong Hopes and firm Aſſurances to raiſe the Siege by the Flight or Deſtruction [180] of the Greeks. So that theſe Forebodings of his Fate were only the Apprehenſions and Miſgivings of a Soul dejected with Sorrow and Compaſſion, by conſidering the great Dangers to which he ſaw all that was dear to him expos'd.

L.

‘VERSE 612. Tranſcends his Father's Fame.]’ The Commendation Hector here gives himſelf, is not only agreeable to the Openneſs of a brave Man, but very becoming on ſuch a ſolemn Occaſion; and a natural Effect from the Teſtimony of his own Heart to his Honour; at this time eſpecially, when he knew not but he was ſpeaking his laſt Words. Virgil has not ſcrupled it, in what he makes Aeneas ſay to Aſcanius at his Parting for the Battel.

Et pater Aeneas & avunculus excitet Hector.
Diſce puer virtutem ex me, verumque laborem,
Fortunam ex aliis—
Aen. 12.

I believe he had this of Homer in his Eye, tho' the pathetical mention of Fortune in the laſt Line ſeems an Imitation of that Prayer of Sophocles, copied alſo from hence, where Ajax wiſhes his Son may be like him in all things but in his Miſfortunes.

LI.

‘VERSE 615. His Mother's conſcious Heart.]’ Tho' the chief Beauty of this Prayer conſiſts in the paternal Piety ſhewn by Hector, yet it wants not a fine Stroake at the end, to continue him in the Character of a tender Lover of his Wife, when he makes one of the Motives of his Wiſh, to be the Joy ſhe ſhall receive on hearing her Son applauded.

LII.

‘VERSE 628. Fix'd is the Term.]’ The Reaſon which Hector here urges to allay the Affliction of his Wife, is grounded on [181] a very ancient and common Opinion, that the fatal Period of Life is appointed to all Men at the time of their Birth; which as no Precaution can avoid, ſo no Danger can haſten. This Sentiment is as proper to give Comfort to the diſtreſs'd, as to inſpire Courage to the deſponding; ſince nothing is ſo fit to quiet and ſtrengthen our Minds in Times of Difficulty, as a firm Aſſurance that our Lives are expos'd to no real Hazards, in the greateſt Appearances of Danger.

LIII.

‘VERSE 649. Forth iſſues Paris.]’ Paris ſtung by the Reproaches of Hector, goes to the Battel. 'Tis a juſt Remark of Euſtathius, that all the Reproofs and Remonſtrances made in Homer have conſtantly their Effect. The Poet by this ſhews the great Uſe of Reprehenſions when properly apply'd, and finely intimates that every worthy Mind will be the better for them.

LIV.

‘VERSE 652. The wanton Courſer thus, &c.]’ This beautiful Compariſon being tranſlated by Virgil in the eleventh Aeneid; I ſhall tranſcribe the Originals that the Reader may have the Pleaſure of comparing them.

[...]
[...]
[...]
[...]
[...]
[...]

Qualis ubi abruptis fugit praeſepia vinclis
Tandem liber equus, campoque potitus aperto,
Aut ille in paſtus armentaque tendit equarum:
Aut aſſuetus aquae perfundi flumine noto
Emicat, arrectiſque fremit cervicibus alte
Luxurians; luduntque jubae per colla, per armos.

[182] Tho' nothing can be tranſlated better than this is by Virgil, yet in Homer the Simile ſeems more perfect, and the Place more proper. Paris had been indulging his Eaſe within the Walls of his Palace, as the Horſe in his Stable, which was not the Caſe of Turnus. The Beauty and Wantonneſs of the Steed agrees more exactly with the Character of Paris than with the other: And the Inſinuation of his Love of the Mares has yet a nearer Reſemblance. The languiſhing Flow of that Verſe,

[...]

finely correſponds with the Eaſe and Luxuriancy of the pamper'd Courſer bathing in the Flood; a Beauty which Scaliger did not conſider, when he criticis'd particularly upon that Line. Taſſo has alſo imitated this Simile, Cant. 9.

Come deſtrier, che da la regie ſtalle
Ove a l'uſo de l'arme ſi reſerba,
Fugge, e libero alfin per largo calle
Và trâ gl'armenti, ò al fiume uſato, ò a l'erba;
Scherzau ſù 'l collo i crini, e ſù le ſpalle,
Si ſcote la cervice alta, e ſuperba;
Suonano i piè nel corſo, e par, ch'auvampi,
Di ſonori nitriti empiendo i campi.

LV.

‘VERSE 665. Paris excus'd his Stay.]’ Here, in the Original, is a ſhort Speech of Paris containing only theſe Words; Brother, I have detained you too long, and ſhould have come ſooner as you deſired me. This and ſome few others of the ſame Nature in the Iliad, the Tranſlator has ventured to omit, expreſſing only the Senſe of them. A living Author (whom future Times will quote, and therefore I ſhall not ſcruple to do it) ſays that theſe ſhort Speeches, tho' they may be natural in other Languages, can't appear ſo well in ours, which is much more ſtubborn and unpliant, and therefore are but as [183] ſo many Rubs in the Story that are ſtill turning the Narration out of its proper Courſe.

LVI.

‘VERSE 669. Known is thy Courage, &c.]’ Hector here confeſſes the natural Valour of Paris, but obſerves it to be overcome by the Indolence of his Temper and the Love of Pleaſure. An ingenious French Writer very well remarks, that the true Character of this Hero has a great Reſemblance with that of Marc Anthony. See the 4th and 11th Notes on the third Book.

LVII.

‘VERSE 677. We crown the Bowl to Heav'n and Liberty.]’ The Greek is, [...], the free Bowl, in which they made Libations to Jupiter after the Recovery of their Liberty. The Expreſſion is obſerved by M. Dacier to reſemble thoſe of the Hebrews; The Cup of Salvation, the Cup of Sorrow, the Cup of Benediction, &c. Athenaeus mentions thoſe Cups which the Greeks call'd [...], and were conſecrated to the Gods in Memory of ſome Succeſs. He gives us the Inſcription of one of this ſort, which was, [...].

THE SEVENTH BOOK OF THE ILIAD.

[]

The ARGUMENT.
The ſingle Combate of Hector and Ajax.

[]

THE Battel renewing with double Ardour upon the Return of Hector, Minerva is under Apprehenſions for the Greeks. Apollo ſeeing her deſcend from Olympus, joins her near the Scaean Gate. They agree to put off the general Engagement for that Day, and incite Hector to challenge the Greeks to a ſingle Combate. Nine of the Princes accepting the Challenge, the Lot is caſt, and falls upon Ajax. Theſe Heroes, after ſeveral Attacks, are parted by the Night. The Trojans calling a Council, Antenor propoſes the Delivery of Helen to the Greeks, to which Paris will not conſent, but offers to reſtore them her Riches. Priam ſends a Herald to make this Offer, and to demand a Truce for burning the Dead, the laſt of which only is agreed to by Agamemnon. When the Funerals are performed, the Greeks, purſuant to the Advice of Neſtor, erect a Fortification to protect their Fleet and Camp, flank'd with Towers, and defended by a Ditch and Paliſades. Neptune teſtifies his Jealouſy at this Work, but is pacified by a Promiſe from Jupiter. Both Armies paſs the Night in Feaſting, but Jupiter diſheartens the Trojans with Thunder and other Signs of his Wrath.

The three and twentieth Day ends with the Duel of Hector and Ajax: The next Day the Truce is agreed: Another is taken up in the Funeral Rites of the Slain; and one more in building the Fortification before the Ships: So that ſomewhat above three Days is employed in this Book. The Scene lies wholly in the Field.

THE SEVENTH BOOK OF THE ILIAD.

[187]
SO ſpoke the Guardian of the Trojan State,
Then ruſh'd impetuous thro' the Scaean Gate.
Him Paris follow'd to the dire Alarms;
Both breathing Slaughter, both reſolv'd in Arms.
As when to Sailors lab'ring thro' the Main,
That long had heav'd the weary Oar in vain,
Jove bids at length th' expected Gales ariſe;
The Gales blow grateful, and the Veſſel flies:
So welcome theſe to Troy's deſiring Train;
The Bands are chear'd, the War awakes again.
Bold Paris firſt the Work of Death begun,
On great Meneſthius, Areïthous' Son;
[188] Sprung from the fair Philomeda's Embrace,
The pleaſing Arnè was his native Place.
Then ſunk Eioneus to the Shades below,
Beneath his ſteely Caſque he felt the Blow
Full on his Neck, from Hector's weighty Hand;
And roll'd, with Limbs relax'd, along the Land.
By Glaucus' Spear the bold Iphinous bleeds,
Fix'd in the Shoulder as he mounts his Steeds;
Headlong he tumbles: His ſlack Nerves unbound
Drop the cold uſeleſs Members on the Ground.
When now Minerva ſaw her Argives ſlain,
From vaſt Olympus to the gleaming Plain
Fierce ſhe deſcends: Apollo mark'd her Flight,
Nor ſhot leſs ſwift from Ilion's Tow'ry Height:
Radiant they met, beneath the Beechen Shade;
When thus Apollo to the blue-ey'd Maid.
What cauſe, O Daughter of Almighty Jove!
Thus wings thy Progreſs from the Realms above?
Once more impetuous doſt thou bend thy way,
To give to Greece the long-divided Day?
Too much has Troy already felt thy Hate,
Now breathe thy Rage, and huſh the ſtern Debate:
[189] This Day, the Buſineſs of the Field ſuſpend;
War ſoon ſhall kindle, and great Ilion bend;
Since vengeful Goddeſſes confed'rate join
To raze her Walls, tho' built by Hands Divine.
To whom the Progeny of Jove replies.
I left, for this, the Council of the Skies:
But who ſhall bid conflicting Hoſts forbear,
What Art ſhall calm the furious Sons of War?
To her the God: Great Hector's Soul incite
To dare the boldeſt Greek to ſingle Fight,
Till Greece, provok'd, from all her Numbers ſhow
A Warrior worthy to be Hector's Foe.
At this agreed, the Heav'nly Pow'rs withdrew;
Sage Helenus their ſecret Counſels knew:
Hector inſpir'd he ſought: To him addreſt,
Thus told the Dictates of his ſacred Breaſt.
O Son of Priam! let thy faithful Ear
Receive my Words; thy Friend and Brother hear!
Go forth perſuaſive, and a while engage
The warring Nations to ſuſpend their Rage;
Then dare the boldeſt of the hoſtile Train
To mortal Combate on the liſted Plain.
[190] For not this Day ſhall end thy glorious Date;
The Gods have ſpoke it, and their Voice is Fate.
He ſaid: The Warrior heard the Word with Joy.
Then with his Spear reſtrain'd the Youth of Troy,
Held by the midſt athwart. On either Hand
The Squadrons part; th' expecting Trojans ſtand.
Great Agamemnon bids the Greeks forbear;
They breathe, and huſh the Tumult of the War.
Th' Athenian Maid, and glorious God of Day,
With ſilent Joy the ſettling Hoſts ſurvey:
In Form like Vulturs, on the Beeche's Height
They ſit conceal'd, and wait the future Fight.
The thronging Troops obſcure the dusky Fields,
Horrid with briſtling Spears, and gleaming Shields.
As when a gen'ral Darkneſs veils the Main,
(Soft Zephyr curling the wide wat'ry Plain)
The Waves ſcarce heave, the Face of Ocean ſleeps,
And a ſtill Horror ſaddens all the Deeps:
Thus in thick Orders ſettling wide around,
At length compos'd they ſit, and ſhade the Ground.
Great Hector firſt amidſt both Armies broke
The ſolemn Silence, and their Pow'rs beſpoke.
[191]
Hear all ye Trojan, all ye Grecian Bands,
What my Soul prompts, and what ſome God commands.
Great Jove averſe our Warfare to compoſe,
O'erwhelms the Nations with new Toils and Woes;
War with a fiercer Tide once more returns,
Till Ilion falls, or till yon' Navy burns.
You then, O Princes of the Greeks! appear,
'Tis Hector ſpeaks, and calls the Gods to hear:
From all your Troops ſelect the boldeſt Knight,
And him, the boldeſt, Hector dares to Fight.
Here if I fall, by chance of Battel ſlain,
Be his my Spoil, and his theſe Arms remain;
But let my Body, to my Friends return'd,
By Trojan Hands and Trojan Flames be burn'd.
And if Apollo, in whoſe Aid I truſt,
Shall ſtretch your daring Champion in the Duſt;
If mine the Glory to deſpoil the Foe;
On Phoebus' Temple I'll his Arms beſtow:
The breathleſs Carcaſe to your Navy ſent,
Greece on the Shore ſhall raiſe a Monument;
Which when ſome future Mariner ſurveys,
Waſh'd by broad Helleſpont's reſounding Seas,
[192] Thus ſhall he ſay. "A valiant Greek lies there,
"By Hector ſlain, the mighty Man of War.
The Stone ſhall tell your vanquiſh'd Hero's Name,
And diſtant Ages learn the Victor's Fame.
This fierce Defiance Greece aſtoniſh'd heard,
Bluſh'd to refuſe, and to accept it fear'd.
Stern Menelaus firſt the Silence broke,
And inly groaning, thus opprobrious ſpoke.
Women of Greece! Oh Scandal of your Race,
Whoſe Coward Souls your manly Form diſgrace.
How great the Shame, when ev'ry Age ſhall know
That not a Grecian met this noble Foe!
Go then! reſolve to Earth from whence ye grew,
A heartleſs, ſpiritleſs, inglorious Crew:
Be what ye ſeem, unanimated Clay!
My ſelf will dare the Danger of the Day.
'Tis Man's bold Task the gen'rous Strife to try,
But in the Hands of God is Victory.
Theſe Words ſcarce ſpoke, with gen'rous Ardour preſt,
His manly Limbs in Azure Arms he dreſt:
That Day, Atrides! a ſuperior Hand
Had ſtretch'd thee breathleſs on the hoſtile Strand;
[193] But all at once, thy Fury to compoſe,
The Kings of Greece, an awful Band, aroſe:
Ev'n He their Chief, great Agamemnon preſs'd
Thy daring Hand, and this Advice addreſs'd.
Whither, O Menelaus! would'ſt thou run,
And tempt a Fate which Prudence bids thee ſhun?
Griev'd tho' thou art, forbear the raſh Deſign;
Great Hector's Arm is mightier far than thine.
Ev'n fierce Achilles learn'd its Force to fear,
And trembling met this dreadful Son of War.
Sit thou ſecure amidſt thy ſocial Band;
Greece in our Cauſe ſhall arm ſome pow'rful Hand.
The mightieſt Warrior of th' Achaian Name,
Tho' bold, and burning with Deſire of Fame,
Content, the doubtful Honour might foregoe,
So great the Danger, and ſo brave the Foe.
He ſaid, and turn'd his Brother's vengeful Mind,
He ſtoop'd to Reaſon, and his Rage reſign'd.
No longer bent to ruſh on certain Harms,
His joyful Friends unbrace his Azure Arms.
He, from whoſe Lips divine Perſuaſion flows,
Grave Neſtor, then, in graceful Act aroſe.
[194] Thus to the Kings he ſpoke. What Grief, what Shame
Attend on Greece, and all the Grecian Name?
How ſhall, alas! her hoary Heroes mourn,
Their Sons degen'rate, and their Race a Scorn?
What Tears ſhall down thy ſilver Beard be roll'd,
Oh Peleus, old in Arms, in Wiſdom old!
Once with what Joy the gen'rous Prince would hear
Of ev'ry Chief who ſought this glorious War,
Participate their Fame, and pleas'd enquire
Each Name, each Action, and each Hero's Sire?
Gods! ſhould he ſee our Warriors trembling ſtand,
And trembling all before one hoſtile Hand;
How would he lift his aged Arms on high,
Lament inglorious Greece, and beg to die!
Oh would to all th' immortal Pow'rs above,
Minerva, Phoebus, and Almighty Jove!
Years might again roll back, my Youth renew,
And give this Arm the Spring which once it knew:
When fierce in War, where Jardan's Waters fall,
I led my Troops to Phea's trembling Wall,
And with th' Arcadian Spears my Proweſs try'd,
Where Celadon rolls down his rapid Tide.
[195] There Ereuthalion brav'd us in the Field,
Proud, Areithous' dreadful Arms to wield;
Great Areithous, known from Shore to Shore
By the huge, knotted Iron-Mace he bore;
No Lance he ſhook, nor bent the twanging Bow,
But broke, with this, the Battel of the Foe.
Him not by manly Force Lycurgus ſlew,
Whoſe guileful Javelin from the Thicket flew,
Deep in a winding Way his Breaſt aſſail'd,
Nor ought the Warrior's thund'ring Mace avail'd.
Supine he fell: Thoſe Arms which Mars before
Had giv'n the Vanquiſh'd, now the Victor bore.
But when old Age had dim'd Lycurgus Eyes,
To Ereuthalion he conſign'd the Prize.
Furious with this, he cruſh'd our levell'd Bands,
And dar'd the Trial of the ſtrongeſt Hands;
Nor cou'd the ſtrongeſt Hands his Fury ſtay;
All ſaw, and fear'd, his huge, tempeſtuous Sway.
Till I, the youngeſt of the Hoſt, appear'd,
And youngeſt, met whom all our Army fear'd.
I fought the Chief: my Arms Minerva crown'd:
Prone fell the Giant o'er a Length of Ground.
[196] What then I was, Oh were your Neſtor now!
Not Hector's ſelf ſhould want an equal Foe.
But Warriors, you, that youthful Vigour boaſt,
The Flow'r of Greece, th' Examples of our Hoſt,
Sprung from ſuch Fathers, who ſuch Numbers ſway;
Can you ſtand trembling, and deſert the Day?
His warm Reproofs the liſt'ning Kings inflame,
And nine, the nobleſt of the Grecian Name,
Up-ſtarted fierce: But far before the reſt
The King of Men advanc'd his dauntleſs Breaſt:
Then bold Tydides, great in Arms, appear'd;
And next his Bulk gigantic Ajax rear'd:
Oileus follow'd, Idomen was there,
And Merion, dreadful as the God of War:
With theſe Eurypylus and Thoas ſtand,
And wiſe Ulyſſes clos'd the daring Band.
All theſe, alike inſpir'd with noble Rage,
Demand the Fight. To whom the Pylian Sage:
Leſt Thirſt of Glory your brave Souls divide,
What Chief ſhall combate, let the Lots decide.
Whom Heav'n ſhall chuſe, be his the Chance to raiſe
His Country's Fame, his own immortal Praiſe.
[197]
The Lots produc'd, each Hero ſigns his own,
Then in the Gen'rals Helm the Fates are thrown.
The People pray with lifted Eyes and Hands,
And Vows like theſe aſcend from all the Bands.
Grant thou Almighty! in whoſe Hand is Fate,
A worthy Champion for the Grecian State.
This Task let Ajax or Tydides prove,
Or He, the King of Kings, belov'd by Jove.
Old Neſtor ſhook the Caſque. By Heav'n inſpir'd,
Leap'd forth the Lot of ev'ry Greek deſir'd.
This from the Right to Left the Herald bears,
Held out in Order to the Grecian Peers.
Each to his Rival yields the Mark unknown,
Till Godlike Ajax finds the Lot his own;
Surveys th' Inſcription with rejoicing Eyes,
Then caſts before him, and with Tranſport cries:
Warriors! I claim the Lot, and arm with Joy;
Be mine the Conqueſt of this Chief of Troy.
Now, while my brighteſt Arms my Limbs inveſt,
To Saturn's Son be all your Vows addreſt:
But pray in ſecret, leſt the Foes ſhould hear,
And deem your Pray'rs the mean Effect of Fear.
[198] Said I in ſecret? No, your Vows declare,
In ſuch a Voice as fills the Earth and Air.
Lives there a Chief whom Ajax ought to dread,
Ajax, in all the Toils of Battel bred?
From warlike Salamis I drew my Birth,
And born to Combates, fear no Force of Earth.
He ſaid. The Troops with elevated Eyes,
Implore the God whoſe Thunder rends the Skies.
O Father of Mankind, Superior Lord!
On lofty Ida's holy Hill ador'd;
Who in the higheſt Heav'n haſt fix'd thy Throne,
Supreme of Gods! unbounded, and alone:
Grant thou, that Telamon may bear away
The Praiſe and Conqueſt of this doubtful Day.
Or if illuſtrious Hector be thy Care,
That both may claim 'em, and that both may ſhare.
Now Ajax brac'd his dazling Armour on;
Sheath'd in bright Steel the Giant-Warrior ſhone:
He moves to Combate with majeſtic Pace;
So ſtalks in Arms the grizly God of Thrace,
When Jove to puniſh faithleſs Men prepares,
And gives whole Nations to the Waſte of Wars.
[199] Thus march'd the Chief, tremendous as a God;
Grimly he ſmil'd; Earth trembled as he ſtrode:
His maſſy Javelin quiv'ring in his Hand,
He ſtood, the Bulwark of the Grecian Band.
Thro' ev'ry Argive Heart new Tranſport ran,
All Troy ſtood trembling at the mighty Man.
Ev'n Hector paus'd, and with new Doubt oppreſt
Felt his great Heart ſuſpended in his Breaſt:
'Twas vain to ſeek Retreat, and vain to fear;
Himſelf had challeng'd, and the Foe drew near.
Stern Telamon behind his ample Shield
As from a Brazen Tow'r, o'erlook'd the Field.
Huge was its Orb, with ſev'n thick Folds o'ercaſt,
Of tough Bull-hides; of ſolid Braſs the laſt.
(The Work of Tychius, who in Hylè dwell'd,
And All in Arts of Armoury excell'd.)
This Ajax bore before his manly Breaſt,
And threat'ning, thus his adverſe Chief addreſt.
Hector! approach my Arm, and ſingly know
What Strength thou haſt, and what the Grecian Foe.
Achilles ſhuns the Fight; yet ſome there are
Not void of Soul, and not unskill'd in War:
[200] Let him, unactive on the Sea-beat Shore,
Indulge his Wrath, and aid our Arms no more;
Whole Troops of Heroes, Greece has yet to boaſt,
And ſends thee One, a Sample of her Hoſt.
Such as I am, I come to prove thy Might;
No more—be ſudden, and begin the Fight.
O Son of Telamon, thy Country's Pride!
(To Ajax thus the Trojan Prince reply'd)
Me, as a Boy or Woman would'ſt thou fright,
New to the Field, and trembling at the Fight?
Thou meet'ſt a Chief deſerving of thy Arms,
To Combate born, and bred amidſt Alarms:
I know to ſhift my Ground, remount the Car,
Turn, charge, and anſwer ev'ry Call of War,
To right, to left, the dext'rous Lance I wield,
And bear thick Battel on my ſounding Shield.
But open be our Fight, and bold each Blow;
I ſteal no Conqueſt from a noble Foe.
He ſaid, and riſing, high above the Field
Whirl'd the long Lance againſt the ſev'nfold Shield.
Full on the Braſs deſcending from above
Thro' ſix Bull-hides the furious Weapon drove,
[201] Till in the ſev'nth it fix'd. Then Ajax threw,
Thro' Hector's Shield the forceful Javelin flew,
His Corſlet enters, and his Garment rends,
And glancing downwards near his Flank deſcends.
The wary Trojan ſhrinks, and bending low
Beneath his Buckler, diſappoints the Blow.
From their bor'd Shields the Chiefs the Javelins drew,
Then cloſe impetuous, and the Charge renew:
Fierce as the Mountain-Lions bath'd in Blood,
Or foaming Boars, the Terror of the Wood.
At Ajax Hector his long Lance extends;
The blunted Point againſt the Buckler bends.
But Ajax watchful as his Foe drew near,
Drove thro' the Trojan Targe the knotty Spear;
It reach'd his Neck, with matchleſs Strength impell'd;
Spouts the black Gore, and dimms his ſhining Shield.
Yet ceas'd not Hector thus; but, ſtooping down,
In his ſtrong Hand up-heav'd a flinty Stone,
Black, craggy, vaſt: To this his Force he bends;
Full on the Brazen Boſs the Stone deſcends;
The hollow Braſs reſounded with the Shock.
Then Ajax ſeiz'd the Fragment of a Rock,
[202] Apply'd each Nerve, and ſwinging round on high,
With Force tempeſtuous let the Ruin fly:
The huge Stone thund'ring thro' his Buckler broke;
His ſlacken'd Knees receiv'd the numbing Stroke;
Great Hector falls extended on the Field,
His Bulk ſupporting on the ſhatter'd Shield.
Nor wanted heav'nly Aid: Apollo's Might
Confirm'd his Sinews, and reſtor'd to Fight.
And now both Heroes their broad Faulchions drew,
In flaming Circles round their Heads they flew,
But then by Heralds Voice the Word was giv'n,
The ſacred Miniſters of Earth and Heav'n:
Divine Talthybius whom the Greeks employ,
And ſage Idaeus on the Part of Troy,
Between the Swords their peaceful Sceptres rear'd;
When thus Idaeus' awful Voice was heard.
Forbear, my Sons! your farther Force to prove,
Both dear to Men, and both belov'd of Jove.
To either Hoſt your matchleſs Worth is known,
Each ſounds your Praiſe, and War is all your own.
But now the Night extends her awful Shade;
The Goddeſs parts you: Be the Night obey'd.
[203]
To whom great Ajax his high Soul expreſs'd.
O Sage! to Hector be theſe Words addreſs'd.
Let him, who firſt provok'd our Chiefs to fight,
Let him demand the Sanction of the Night:
If firſt he ask it, I content obey,
And ceaſe the Strife when Hector ſhows the way.
Oh firſt of Greeks! (his noble Foe rejoin'd)
Whom Heav'n adorns, ſuperior to thy Kind,
With Strength of Body, and with Worth of Mind!
Now Martial Law commands us to forbear,
Hereafter we ſhall meet in glorious War,
Some future Day ſhall lengthen out the Strife,
And let the Gods decide of Death or Life!
Since then the Night extends her gloomy Shade,
And Heav'n enjoins it, be the Night obey'd.
Return, brave Ajax, to thy Grecian Friends,
And joy the Nations whom thy Arm defends;
As I ſhall glad each Chief, and Trojan Wife,
Who wearies Heav'n with Vows for Hector's Life.
But let us, on this memorable Day,
Exchange ſome Gift; that Greece and Troy may ſay,
[204] "Not Hate, but Glory, made theſe Chiefs contend;
"And each brave Foe was in his Soul a Friend.
With that, a Sword with Stars of Silver grac'd,
The Baldric ſtudded, and the Sheath enchas'd,
He gave the Greek. The gen'rous Greek beſtow'd
A radiant Belt that rich with Purple glow'd.
Then with majeſtic Grace they quit the Plain;
This ſeeks the Grecian, that the Phrygian Train.
The Trojan Bands returning Hector wait,
And hail with Joy the Champion of their State:
Eſcap'd great Ajax, they ſurvey'd him round,
Alive, unharm'd, and vig'rous from his Wound.
To Troy's high Gates the God-like Chief they bear,
Their preſent Triumph, as their late Deſpair.
But Ajax, glorying in his hardy Deed,
The well-arm'd Greeks to Agamemnon lead.
A Steer for Sacrifice the King deſign'd,
Of full five Years, and of the nobler Kind.
The Victim falls, they ſtrip the ſmoaking Hide,
The Beaſt they quarter, and the Joints divide,
Then ſpread the Tables, the Repaſt prepare,
Each takes his Seat, and each receives his Share.
[205] The King himſelf (an Honorary Sign)
Before great Ajax plac'd the mighty Chine.
When now the Rage of Hunger was remov'd;
Neſtor, in each perſuaſive Art approv'd,
The Sage whoſe Counſels long had ſway'd the reſt,
In Words like theſe his prudent Thought expreſt.
How dear, O Kings! this fatal Day has coſt,
What Greeks are periſh'd! what a People loſt!
What Tides of Blood have drench'd Scamander's Shore?
What Crowds of Heroes ſunk, to riſe no more?
Then hear me, Chief! nor let the Morrow's Light
Awake thy Squadrons to new Toils of Fight.
Some Space at leaſt permit the War to breathe,
While we to Flames our ſlaughter'd Friends bequeathe,
From the red Field their ſcatter'd Bodies bear,
And nigh the Fleet a Fun'ral Structure rear:
So decent Urns their ſnowy Bones may keep,
And pious Children o'er their Aſhes weep.
Here, where on one promiſcuous Pile they blaz'd,
High o'er them all a gen'ral Tomb be rais'd.
Next, to ſecure our Camp, and Naval Pow'rs,
Raiſe an embattel'd Wall, with lofty Tow'rs;
[206] From Space to Space be ample Gates around,
For paſſing Chariots, and a Trench profound.
So Greece to Combate ſhall in Safety go,
Nor fear the fierce Incurſions of the Foe.
'Twas thus the Sage his wholſome Counſel mov'd;
The ſceptred Kings of Greece his Words approv'd.
Meanwhile, conven'd at Priam's Palace Gate,
The Trojan Peers in nightly Council ſate:
A Senate void of Union as of Choice,
Their Hearts were fearful, and confus'd their Voice.
Antenor riſing, thus demands their Ear:
Ye Trojans, Dardans, and Auxiliars hear!
'Tis Heav'n the Counſel of my Breaſt inſpires,
And I but move what ev'ry God requires,
Let Sparta's Treaſures be this Hour reſtor'd,
And Argive Helen own her ancient Lord.
The Ties of Faith, the ſworn Alliance broke,
Our impious Battels the juſt Gods provoke.
As this Advice ye practiſe, or reject,
So hope Succeſs, or dread the dire Effect.
The Senior ſpoke, and ſate. To whom reply'd
The graceful Husband of the Spartan Bride.
[207] Cold Counſels, Trojan, may become thy Years,
But ſound ungrateful in a Warrior's Ears:
Old Man, if void of Fallacy or Art
Thy Words expreſs the Purpoſe of thy Heart,
Thou, in thy Time, more ſound Advice haſt giv'n;
But Wiſdom has its Date, aſſign'd by Heav'n.
Then hear me, Princes of the Trojan Name!
Their Treaſures I'll reſtore, but not the Dame;
My Treaſures too, for Peace, I will reſign;
But be this bright Poſſeſſion ever mine.
'Twas then, the growing Diſcord to compoſe,
Slow from his Seat the rev'rend Priam roſe.
His God-like Aſpect deep Attention drew:
He paus'd, and theſe pacific Words enſue.
Ye Trojans, Dardans, and Auxiliar Bands!
Now take Refreſhment as the Hour demands:
Guard well the Walls, relieve the Watch of Night,
Till the new Sun reſtores the chearful Light:
Then ſhall our Herald to th' Atrides ſent,
Before their Ships, proclaim my Son's Intent:
Next let a Truce be ask'd, that Troy may burn
Her ſlaughter'd Heroes, and their Bones in-urn.
[208] That done, once more the Fate of War be try'd,
And whoſe the Conqueſt, mighty Jove decide!
The Monarch ſpoke: the Warriors ſnatch'd with haſte
(Each at his Poſt in Arms) a ſhort Repaſte.
Soon as the roſy Morn had wak'd the Day,
To the black Ships Idaeus bent his way:
There, to the Sons of Mars, in Council found,
He rais'd his Voice: The Hoſts ſtood liſt'ning round.
Ye Sons of Atreus, and ye Greeks, give ear!
The Words of Troy, and Troy's great Monarch hear.
Pleas'd may ye hear (ſo Heav'n ſucceed my Pray'rs)
What Paris, Author of the War, declares.
The Spoils and Treaſures he to Ilion bore,
(Oh had he periſh'd e'er they touch'd our Shore)
He proffers injur'd Greece; with large Encreaſe
Of added Trojan Wealth to buy the Peace.
But to reſtore the beauteous Bride again,
This Greece demands, and Troy requeſts in vain.
Next, O ye Chiefs! we ask a Truce to burn
Our ſlaughter'd Heroes, and their Bones in-urn.
That done, once more the Fate of War be try'd,
And whoſe the Conqueſt, mighty Jove decide!
[209]
The Greeks gave ear, but none the Silence broke,
At length Tydides roſe, and riſing ſpoke.
Oh take not, Friends! defrauded of your Fame;
Their proffer'd Wealth, nor ev'n the Spartan Dame.
Let Conqueſt make them ours: Fate ſhakes their Wall,
And Troy already totters to her Fall.
Th' admiring Chiefs, and all the Grecian Name,
With gen'ral Shouts return'd him loud Acclaim.
Then thus the King of Kings rejects the Peace:
Herald! in him thou hear'ſt the Voice of Greece.
For what remains; let Fun'ral Flames be fed
With Heroes Corps: I war not with the Dead:
Go ſearch your ſlaughter'd Chiefs on yonder Plain,
And gratify the Manes of the ſlain.
Be witneſs, Jove! whoſe Thunder rolls on high.
He ſaid, and rear'd his Sceptre to the Sky.
To ſacred Troy, where all her Princes lay
To wait th' Event, the Herald bent his way.
He came, and ſtanding in the midſt, explain'd
The Peace rejected, but the Truce obtain'd.
Strait to their ſev'ral Cares the Trojans move,
Some ſearch the Plain, ſome fell the ſounding Grove:
[210] Nor leſs the Greeks, deſcending on the Shore,
Hew'd the green Foreſts, and the Bodies bore.
And now from forth the Chambers of the Main,
To ſhed his ſacred Light on Earth again,
Aroſe the golden Chariot of the Day,
And tipt the Mountains with a purple Ray.
In mingled Throngs, the Greek and Trojan Train
Thro' Heaps of Carnage ſearch'd the mournful Plain.
Scarce could the Friend his ſlaughter'd Friend explore,
With Duſt diſhonour'd, and deform'd with Gore.
The Wounds they waſh'd, their pious Tears they ſhed,
And, lay'd along their Cars, deplor'd the dead.
Sage Priam check'd their Grief: With ſilent Haſte
The Bodies decent on the Piles were plac'd:
With melting Hearts the cold Remains they burn'd;
And ſadly ſlow, to ſacred Troy return'd.
Nor leſs the Greeks their pious Sorrows ſhed,
And decent on the Pile diſpoſe the dead;
The cold Remains conſume with equal Care;
And ſlowly, ſadly, to their Fleet repair.
Now, e're the Morn had ſtreak'd with red'ning Light
The doubtful Confines of the Day and Night;
[211] About the dying Flames the Greeks appear'd,
And round the Pile a gen'ral Tomb they rear'd.
Then, to ſecure the Camp and Naval Pow'rs,
They rais'd embattel'd Walls with lofty Tow'rs:
From Space to Space were ample Gates around,
For paſſing Chariots; and a Trench profound,
Of large Extent, and deep in Earth below
Strong Piles infix'd ſtood adverſe to the Foe.
So toil'd the Greeks: Meanwhile the Gods above
In ſhining Circle round their Father Jove,
Amaz'd beheld the wondrous Works of Man:
Then * He, whoſe Trident ſhakes the Earth, began.
What Mortals henceforth ſhall our Pow'r adore,
Our Fanes frequent, our Oracles implore,
If the proud Grecians thus ſucceſsful boaſt
Their riſing Bulwarks on the Sea-beat Coaſt?
See the long Walls extending to the Main,
No God conſulted, and no Victim ſlain!
Their Fame ſhall fill the World's remoteſt Ends,
Wide, as the Morn her golden Beam extends.
While old Laömedon's divine Abodes,
Thoſe radiant Structures rais'd by lab'ring Gods,
[212] Shall, raz'd and loſt, in long Oblivion ſleep.
Thus ſpoke the hoary Monarch of the Deep.
Th' Almighty Thund'rer with a Frown replies,
That clouds the World, and blackens half the Skies.
Strong God of Ocean! Thou, whoſe Rage can make
The ſolid Earth's eternal Baſis ſhake!
What Cauſe of Fear from mortal Works, cou'd move
The meaneſt Subject of our Realms above?
Where-e'er the Sun's refulgent Rays are caſt,
Thy Pow'r is honour'd, and thy Fame ſhall laſt.
But yon' proud Work no future Age ſhall view,
No Trace remain where once the Glory grew.
The ſapp'd Foundations by thy Force ſhall fall,
And whelm'd beneath thy Waves, drop the huge Wall:
Vaſt Drifts of Sand ſhall change the former Shore;
The Ruin vaniſh'd, and the Name no more.
Thus they in Heav'n: while, o'er the Grecian Train,
The rolling Sun deſcending to the Main
Beheld the finiſh'd Work. Their Bulls they ſlew;
Black from the Tents the ſav'ry Vapors flew.
And now the Fleet, arriv'd from Lemnos' Strands,
With Bacchus' Bleſſings chear'd the gen'rous Bands.
[213] Of fragrant Wines the rich Eunaeus ſent
A thouſand Meaſures to the Royal Tent.
(Eunaeus, whom Hypſipyle of yore
To Jaſon, Shepherd of his People, bore)
The reſt they purchas'd at their proper Coſt,
And well the plenteous Freight ſupply'd the Hoſt:
Each, in exchange, proportion'd Treaſures gave;
Some Braſs or Iron, ſome an Oxe, or Slave.
All Night they feaſt, the Greek and Trojan Pow'rs;
Thoſe on the Fields, and theſe within their Tow'rs.
But Jove averſe the Signs of Wrath diſplay'd,
And ſhot red Light'nings thro' the gloomy Shade:
Humbled they ſtood; pale Horror ſeiz'd on all,
While the deep Thunder ſhook th' Aerial Hall.
Each pour'd to Jove before the Bowl was crown'd,
And large Libations drench'd the thirſty Ground;
Then late refreſh'd with Sleep from Toils of Fight,
Enjoy'd the balmy Bleſſings of the Night.

OBSERVATIONS ON THE Seventh Book.
[217]OBSERVATIONS ON THE SEVENTH BOOK.

[]

I.

‘VERSE 2. THRO' the Scaean Gate.]’ This Gate is not here particularized by Homer, but it appears by the 393d Verſe of the ſixth Book that it could be no other. Euſtathius takes notice of the Difference of the Words [...] and [...], the one apply'd to Hector, the other to Paris: by which the Motion of the former is deſcribed as an impetuous ſallying forth, agreeable to the Violence of a Warrior; and that of the latter as a calmer Movement, correſpondent to the gentler Character of a Lover. But perhaps this Remark is too refined, ſince Homer plainly gives Paris a Character of Bravery in what immediately precedes and follows this Verſe.

II.

‘VERSE 5. As when to Sailors, &c.]’ This Simile makes it plain that the Battel had relax'd during the Abſence of Hector in Troy; and conſequently that the Converſation of Diomed and Glaucus in the former Book, was not (as Homer's Cenſurers would have it) in the Heat of the Engagement.

III.

[218]

‘VERSE 23. When now Minerva, &c.]’ This Machine of the two Deities meeting to part the Armies is very noble. Euſtathius tells us it is an allegorical Minerva and Apollo: Minerva repreſents the prudent Valour of the Greeks, and Apollo who ſtood for the Trojans, the Power of Deſtiny: So that the Meaning of the Allegory may be, that the Valour and Wiſdom of the Greeks had now conquer'd Troy, had not Deſtiny withſtood. Minerva therefore complies with Apollo, an Intimation that Wiſdom can never oppoſe Fate. But if you take them in the literal Senſe as a real God and Goddeſs, it may be ask'd what Neceſſity there was for the Introduction of two ſuch Deities? To this Euſtathius anſwers, that the laſt Book was the only one in which both Armies were deſtitute of the Aid of the Gods: In Conſequence of which there is no gallant Action atchiev'd, nothing extraordinary done, eſpecially after the Retreat of Hector; but here the Gods are again introduced to uſher in a new Scene of great Actions. The ſame Author offers this other Solution: Hector finding the Trojan Army overpower'd, conſiders how to ſtop the Fury of rhe preſent Battel; this he thinks may beſt be done by the Propoſal of a ſingle Combate: Thus Minerva by a very eaſy and natural Fiction may ſignify that Wiſdom or Courage (ſhe being the Goddeſs of both) which ſuggeſts the Neceſſity of diverting the War; and Apollo, that ſeaſonable Stratagem by which he effected it.

IV.

‘VERSE 37. Vengeſul Goddeſſes.]’ [...] in this Place muſt ſignify Minerva and Juno, the Word being of the feminine Gender. Euſtathius.

V.

‘VERSE 48. Sage Helenus their ſacred Counſels knew.]’ Helenus was the Prieſt of Apollo, and might therefore be ſuppos'd [219] to be informed of this by his God, or taught by an Oracle that ſuch was his Will. Or elſe being an Augur, he might learn it from the Flight of thoſe Birds, into which the Deities are here feigned to transform themſelves, (perhaps for that Reaſon, as it would be a very Poetical manner of expreſſing it.) The Fiction of theſe Divinities ſitting on the Beech-Tree in the Shape of Vulturs, is imitated by Milton in the fourth Book of Paradiſe Loſt, where Satan leaping over the Boundaries of Eden ſits in the Form of a Cormorant upon the Tree of Life.

VI.

‘VERSE 57. For not this Day ſhall end thy glorious Date.]’ Euſtathius juſtly obſerves that Homer here takes from the Greatneſs of Hector's Intrepidity, by making him foreknow that he ſhould not fall in this Combate; whereas Ajax encounters him without any ſuch Encouragement. It may perhaps be difficult to give a Reaſon for this Management of the Poet, unleſs we aſcribe it to that commendable Prejudice, and honourable Partiality he bears his Countrymen, which makes him give a Superiority of Courage to the Heroes of his own Nation.

VII.

‘VERSE 60. Then with his Spear reſtrain'd the Youth of Troy, Held by the midſt athwart.—]’ The Remark of Euſtathius here is obſervable: He tells us that the Warriors of thoſe Times (having no Trumpets, and becauſe the Voice of the loudeſt Herald would be drown'd in the Noiſe of a Battel) addreſs'd themſelves to the Eyes, and that graſping the middle of the Spear denoted a Requeſt that the Fight might a while be ſuſpended; the holding the Spear in that Poſition not being the Poſture of a Warrior; and thus Agamemnon underſtands it without any farther Explication. But however it be, we have a lively Picture of a General who ſtretches his Spear acroſs, and preſſes back the moſt advanced Soldiers of his Army.

VIII.

[220]

‘VERSE 71. As when a gen'ral Darkneſs, &c.]’ The thick Ranks of the Troops compoſing themſelves, in order to ſit and hear what Hector was about to propoſe, are compared to the Waves of the Sea that are juſt ſtirr'd by the Weſt Wind; the Simile partly conſiſting in the Darkneſs and Stillneſs. This is plainly different from thoſe Images of the Sea, given us on other Occaſions, where the Armies in their Engagement and Confuſion are compared to the Waves in their Agitation and Tumult: And that the contrary is the Drift of this Simile appears particularly from Homer's uſing the Word [...], ſedebant, twice in the Application of it. All the other Verſions ſeem to be miſtaken here: What cauſed the Difficulty was the Expreſſion [...], which may ſignify the Weſt Wind blowing on a ſudden, as well as firſt riſing. But the Deſign of Homer was to convey an Image both of the gentle Motion that aroſe over the Field from the Helmets and Spears before their Armies were quite ſettled; and of the Repoſe and Awe which enſued, when Hector began to ſpeak.

IX.

‘VERSE 79. Hear all ye Trojan, all ye Grecian Bands.]’ The Appearance of Hector, his formal Challenge, and the Affright of the Greeks upon it, have a near Reſemblance to the Deſcription of the Challenge of Goliah in the firſt Book of Samuel, Ch. 17. And he ſtood and cried to the Armies of Iſrael—Chuſe you a Man for you, and let him come down to me. If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your Servants: but if I prevail againſt him, and kill him, then ſhall ye be our Servants.—When Saul and all Iſrael heard the Words of the Philiſtinc, they were diſmayed, and greatly afraid, &c.’

There is a fine Air of Gallantry and Bravery in this Challenge of Hector. If he ſeems to ſpeak too vainly, we ſhould conſider him under the Character of a Challenger, whoſe Buſineſs it is to defy the Enemy. Yet at the ſame time we [221] find a decent Modeſty in his manner of expreſſing the Conditions of the Combate: He ſays ſimply, If my Enemy kills me; but of himſelf, If Apollo grant me Victory. It was an Imagination equally agreeable to a Man of Generoſity and a Lover of Glory, to mention the Monument to be erected over his vanquiſh'd Enemy; tho' we ſee he conſiders it not ſo much an Honour paid to the Conquer'd as a Trophie to the Conqueror. It was natural too to dwell moſt upon the Thought that pleas'd him beſt, for he takes no notice of any Monument that ſhould be raiſed over himſelf if he ſhould fall unfortunately. He no ſooner allows himſelf to expatiate, but the Proſpect of Glory carries him away thus far beyond his firſt Intention, which was only to allow the Enemy liberty to inter their Champion with Decency.

X.

‘VERSE 96. On Phoebus' Temple I'll his Arms beſtow.]’ It was the Manner of the Ancients to dedicate Trophies of this kind to the Temples of the Gods. The particular Reaſon for conſecrating the Arms in this Place to Apollo, is not only as he was the conſtant Protector of Troy, but as this Thought of the Challenge was inſpired by him.

XI.

‘VERSE 98. Greece on the Shore ſhall raiſe a Monument.]’ Homer took the Hint of this from ſeveral Tombs of the ancient Heroes who had fought at Troy, remaining in his time upon the Shore of the Helleſpont. He gives that Sea the Epithet broad, to diſtinguiſh the particular Place of thoſe Tombs, which was on the Rhoetean or Sigaean Coaſt, where the Helleſpont (which in other Parts is narrow) opens itſelf to the Aegean Sea. Strabo gives an Account of the Monument of Ajax near Rhoeteum, and of Achilles at the Promontory of Sigaeum. This is one among a thouſand Proofs of our Author's exact Knowledge in Geography and Antiquities. Time (ſays Euſtathius) has deſtroy'd thoſe Tombs which were to have preſerv'd Hector's Glory, but Homer's Poetry more [222] laſting than Monuments and Proof againſt Ages, will for ever ſupport and convey it to the lateſt Poſterity.

XII.

‘VERSE 105. All Greece aſtoniſh'd heard.]’ It ſeems natural to enquire, why the Greeks, before they accepted Hector's Challenge, did not demand Reparation for the former Treachery of Pandarus, and inſiſt upon delivering up the Author of it; which had been the ſhorteſt way for the Trojans to have wip'd off that Stain: It was very reaſonable for the Greeks to reply to this Challenge, that they could not venture a ſecond ſingle Combate for fear of ſuch another inſidious Attempt upon their Champion. And indeed I wonder that Neſtor did not think of this Excuſe for his Countrymen, when they were ſo backward to engage. One may make ſome ſort of anſwer to this, if we conſider the Clearneſs of Hector's Character, and his Words at the beginning of the foregoing Speech, where he firſt complains of the Revival of the War as a Misfortune common to them both (which is at once very artful and decent) and lays the blame of it upon Jupiter. Tho', by the way, his charging the Trojans Breach of Faith upon the Deity looks a little like the reaſoning of ſome modern Saints in the Doctrine of abſolute Reprobation, making God the Author of Sin, and may ſerve for ſome Inſtance of the Antiquity of that falſe Tenet.

XIII.

‘VERSE 109. Women of Greece! &c.]’ There is a great deal of Fire in this Speech of Menelaus, which very well agrees with his Character and Circumſtances. Methinks while he ſpeaks one ſees him in a Poſture of Emotion, pointing with Contempt at the Commanders about him. He upbraids their Cowardice, and wiſhes they may become (according to the literal Words) Earth and Water: that is, be reſolved into thoſe Principles they ſprung from, or die. Thus Euſtathius explains it very exactly from a Verſe he cites of Zenophanes.

[223]
[...]

XIV.

‘VERSE 131. Ev'n fierce Achilles learn'd his Force to fear.]’ The Poet every where takes occaſion to ſet the brotherly Love of Agamemnon toward Menelaus in the moſt agreeable Light: When Menelaus is wounded, Agamemnon is more concern'd than He; and here diſſuades him from a Danger, which he offers immediately after to undertake himſelf. He makes uſe of Hector's ſuperior Courage to bring him to a Compliance; and tells him that even Achilles dares not engage with Hector. This (ſays Euſtathius) is not true, but only the Affection for his Brother thus breaks out into a kind Extravagance. Agamemnon likewiſe conſults the Honour of Menelaus, for it will be no Diſgrace to him to decline encountering a Man whom Achilles himſelf is afraid of. Thus he artfully provides for his Safety and Honour at the ſame time.

XV.

‘VERSE 135. The mightieſt Warrior, &c.]’ It cannot with Certainty be concluded from the Words of Homer, who is the Perſon to whom Agamemnon applies the laſt Lines of this Speech; the Interpreters leave it as undetermin'd in their Tranſlations as it is in the Original. Some would have it underſtood of Hector, that the Greeks would ſend ſuch an Antagoniſt againſt him, from whoſe Hands Hector might be glad to eſcape. But this Interpretation ſeems contrary to the plain Deſign of Agamemnon's Diſcourſe, which only aims to deter his Brother from ſo raſh an Undertaking as engaging with Hector. So that inſtead of dropping any Expreſſion which might depreciate the Power or Courage of this Hero, he endeavours rather to repreſent him as the moſt formidable of Men, and dreadful even to Achilles. This Paſſage therefore will be moſt conſiſtent with Agamemnon's Deſign, if it be conſider'd as an Argument offer'd to Menelaus, at once [224] to diſſuade him from the Engagement, and to comfort him under the Appearance of ſo great a Diſgrace as refuſing the Challenge; by telling him that any Warrior, how bold and intrepid ſoever, might be content to ſit ſtill and rejoice that he is not expos'd to ſo hazardous an Engagement. The Words [...], ſignify not to eſcape out of the Combate (as the Tranſlators take it) but to avoid entring into it.

The Phraſe of [...], which is literally to bend the Knee, means (according to Euſtathius) to reſt, to ſit down, [...], and is uſed ſo by Aeſchylus in Prometheo. Thoſe Interpreters were greatly miſtaken who imagin'd it ſignify'd to kneel down, to thank the Gods for eſcaping from ſuch a Combate; whereas the Cuſtom of kneeling in Prayer (as we before obſerv'd) was not in uſe among theſe Nations.

XVI.

‘VERSE 145. The Speech of Neſtor.]’ This Speech, if we conſider the Occaſion of it, could be made by no Perſon but Neſtor. No young Warrior could with Decency exhort others to undertake a Combate which himſelf declin'd. Nothing could be more in his Character than to repreſent to the Greeks how much they would ſuffer in the Opinion of another old Man like himſelf. In naming Peleus he ſets before their Eyes the Expectations of all their Fathers, and the Shame that muſt afflict them in their old Age if their Sons behaved themſelves unworthily. The Account he gives of the Converſations he had formerly held with that King, and his Jealouſy for the Glory of Greece, is a very natural Picture of the warm Dialogues of two old Warriors upon the Commencement of a new War. Upon the whole, Neſtor never more diſplays his Oratory than in this Place: You ſee him riſing with a Sigh, expreſſing a pathetick Sorrow, and wiſhing again for his Youth that he might wipe away this Diſgrace from his Country. The Humour of Story-telling, ſo natural to old Men, is almoſt always mark'd by Homer in the Speeches of Neſtor. The Apprehenſion that their Age makes them contemptible, puts them upon repeating the brave Deeds of their [225] Youth. Plutarch juſtifies the Praiſes Neſtor here gives himſelf, and the Vaunts of his Valour, which on this Occaſion were only Exhortations to thoſe he addreſs'd them to: By theſe he reſtores Courage to the Greeks who were aſtoniſh'd at the bold Challenge of Hector, and cauſes nine of the Princes to riſe and accept it. If any Man had a right to commend himſelf, it was this venerable Prince, who in relating his own Actions did no more than propoſe Examples of Virtue to the Young. Virgil, without any ſuch ſoftening Qualification, makes his Hero ſay of himſelf,

Sum pius Aeneas, fama ſuper aethera notus.

And comfort a dying Warrior with theſe Words,

Aeneae magni dextra cadis.—

The ſame Author alſo imitates the Wiſh of Neſtor for a Return of his Youth, where Evander cries out,

O mihi praeteritos referat ſi Jupiter annos!
Qualis eram, cum primam aciem Praeneſte ſub ipſa
Stravi, ſcutorumque incendi Victor acervos,
Et regem hac Herilum dextra ſub Tartara miſi!

As for the Narration of the Arcadian War introduced here, it is a Part of the true Hiſtory of thoſe Times, as we are inform'd by Pauſanias.

XVII.

‘VERSE 177. Thoſe Arms which Mars before Had giv'n.]’ Homer has the peculiar Happineſs of being able to raiſe the obſcureſt Circumſtance into the ſtrongeſt Point of Light. Areithous had taken theſe Arms in Battel, and this gives occaſion to our Author to ſay they were the Preſent of Mars. Euſtathius.

XVIII.

[226]

‘VERSE 188. Prone fell the Giant o'er a Length of Ground.]’ Neſtor's inſiſting upon this Circumſtance of the Fall of Ereuthalion, which paints his vaſt Body lying extended on the Earth, has a particular Beauty in it, and recalls into the old Man's Mind the Joy he felt on the Sight of his Enemy after he was ſlain. Theſe are the fine and natural Strokes that give Life to the Deſcriptions of Poetry.

XIX.

‘VERSE 195. And nine, the nobleſt, &c.]’ In this Catalogue of the nine Warriors, who offer themſelves as Champions for Greece, one may take notice of the firſt and the laſt who riſes up. Agamemnon advanced foremoſt, as it beſt became the General, and Ulyſſes with his uſual Caution took time to deliberate till ſeven more had offer'd themſelves. Homer gives a great Encomium of the Eloquence of Neſtor in making it produce ſo ſudden an Effect; eſpecially when Agamemnon, who did not proffer himſelf before, even to ſave his Brother, is now the firſt that ſteps forth: One would fancy this particular Circumſtance was contrived to ſhew, that Eloquence has a greater Power than even Nature itſelf.

XX.

‘VERSE 207. Let the Lots decide.]’ This was a very prudent Piece of Conduct in Neſtor: he does not chuſe any of theſe nine himſelf, but leaves the Determination entirely to Chance. Had he named the Hero, the reſt might have been griev'd to have ſeen another prefer'd before them; and he well knew that the Lot could not fall upon a wrong Perſon, where all were valiant. Euſtathius.

XXI.

VERSE 208.
Whom Heav'n ſhall chuſe, be his the Chance to raiſe
His Country's Fame, his own immortal Praiſe.]

The Original of this Paſſage is ſomewhat confuſed; the Interpreters [227] render it thus: Caſt the Lots, and he who ſhall be choſen, if he eſcapes from this dangerous Combate, will do an eminent Service to the Greeks, and alſo have cauſe to be greatly ſatisfied himſelf. But the Senſe will appear more diſtinct and rational if the Words [...] and [...] be not underſtood of the ſame Perſon: and the Meaning of Neſtor will then be, he who is choſen for the Engagement by the Lot, will do his Country great Service, and he likewiſe who is not, will have reaſon to rejoice for eſcaping ſo dangerous a Combate. The Expreſſion [...], is the ſame Homer uſes in ℣. 118, 119. of this Book, which we explain'd in the ſame Senſe in Note 15.

XXII.

‘VERSE 212. The People pray.]’ Homer who ſuppoſes every thing on Earth to proceed from the immediate Diſpoſition of Heaven, allows not even the Lots to come up by Chance, but places them in the Hands of God. The People pray to him for the Diſpoſal of them, and beg that Ajax, Diomed, or Agamemnon may be the Perſon. In which the Poet ſeems to make the Army give his own Sentiments, concerning the Preference of Valour in his Heroes, to avoid an odious Compariſon in downright Terms, which might have been inconſiſtent with his Deſign of complementing the Grecian Families. They afterwards offer up their Prayers again, juſt as the Combate is beginning, that if Ajax does not conquer, at leaſt he may divide the Glory with Hector; in which the Commentators obſerve Homer prepares the Readers for what is to happen in the Sequel.

XXIII.

‘VERSE 224. Surveys th' Inſcription.]’ There is no Neceſſity to ſuppoſe that they put any Letters upon theſe Lots, at leaſt not their Names, becauſe the Herald could not tell to whom the Lot of Ajax belong'd, till he claim'd it himſelf. It is more probable that they made ſome private Mark or Signet each upon his own Lot. The Lot was only a Piece of Wood, a Shell, or any thing that lay at hand. Euſtathius.

XXIV.

[228]

‘VERSE 226. Warriors! I claim the Lot.]’ This is the firſt Speech of Ajax in the Iliad. He is no Orator, but always expreſſes himſelf in ſhort, generally bragging, or threatning, and very poſitive. The Appellation of [...], the Bulwark of the Greeks, which Homer almoſt conſtantly gives him, is extremely proper to the Bulk, Strength, and Immobility of this heavy Hero, who on all Occaſions is made to ſtand to the Buſineſs, and ſupport the Brunt. Theſe Qualifications are given him, that he may laſt out, when the reſt of the chief Heroes are wounded. This makes him of excellent Uſe in Iliad 13, &c. He there puts a Stop to the whole Force of the Enemy, and a long time prevents the firing of the Ships. It is particularly obſervable that he is never aſſiſted by any Deity as the others are. Yet one would think Mars had been no improper Patron for him, there being ſome Reſemblance in the boiſterous Character of that God and this Hero. However it be, this Conſideration may partly account for a Particular which elſe might very well raiſe a Queſtion: Why Ajax, who is in this Book ſuperior in Strength to Hector, ſhould afterward in the Iliad ſhun to meet him, and appear his Inferior? We ſee the Gods make this difference: Hector is not only aſſiſted by them in his own Perſon, but his Men ſecond him, whereas thoſe of Ajax are diſpirited by Heaven: To which one may add another which is a natural Reaſon, Hector in this Book expreſly tells Ajax he will now make uſe of no Skill or Art in Fighting with him. The Greek in bare brutal Strength prov'd too hard for Hector, and therefore he might be ſuppos'd afterwards to have exerted his Dexterity againſt him.

XXV.

‘VERSE 250. He moves to Combate, &c.]’ This Deſcription is full of the ſublime Imagery ſo peculiar to our Author. The Grecian Champion is drawn in all that terrible Glory with which he equals his Heroes to the Gods: He is no leſs dreadful [229] than Mars moving to Battel to execute the Decrees of Jove upon Mankind, and determine the Fate of Nations. His March, his Poſture, his Countenance, his Bulk, his Tow'r-like Shield, in a word, his whole Figure ſtrikes our Eyes in all the ſtrongeſt Colours of Poetry. We look upon him as a Deity, and are not aſtoniſh'd at thoſe Emotions which Hector feels at the Sight of him.

XXVI.

‘VERSE 269. The Work of Tychius.]’ I ſhall ask leave to tranſcribe here the Story of this Tychius, as we have it in the ancient Life of Homer attributed to Herodotus. ‘"Homer falling into Poverty, determined to go to Cuma, and as he paſt thro' the Plain of Hermus, came to a Place called The New Wall, which was a Colony of the Cumaeans. Here (after he had recited five Verſes in Celebration of Cuma) he was received by a Leather-dreſſer, whoſe Name was Tychius, into his Houſe, where he ſhew'd to his Hoſt and his Company, a Poem on the Expedition of Amphiaraus, and his Hymns. The Admiration he there obtain'd procur'd him a preſent Subſiſtance. They ſhew to this Day with great Veneration the Place where he ſate when he recited his Verſes, and a Poplar which they affirm to have grown there in his Time."’ If there be any thing in this Story, we have reaſon to be pleas'd with the grateful Temper of our Poet, who took this Occaſion of immortalizing the Name of an ordinary Tradeſman, who had obliged him. The ſame Account of his Life takes notice of ſeveral other Inſtances of his Gratitude in the ſame kind.

XXVII.

‘VERSE 270. In Arts of Armoury.]’ I have called Tychius an Armourer rather than a Leather-dreſſer or Currier; his making the Shield of Ajax authorizes one Expreſſion as well as the other; and tho' that which Homer uſes had no Lowneſs or Vulgarity in the Greek, it was not to be admitted into Engliſh heroic Verſe.

XXVIII.

[230]

‘VERSE 273. Hector, approach my Arm, &c.]’ I think it needleſs to obſerve how exactly this Speech of Ajax correſponds with his blunt and Soldier-like Character. The ſame Propriety, in regard to this Hero, is maintained throughout the Iliad. The Buſineſs he is about is all that employs his Head, and he ſpeaks of nothing but Fighting. The laſt Line is an Image of his Mind at all times,

No more—be ſudden, and begin the Fight.

XXIX.

‘VERSE 285. Me, as a Boy or Woman, would'ſt thou fright?]’ This Reply of Hector ſeems rather to allude to ſome Action Ajax had uſed in his Approach to him, as ſhaking his Spear, or the like, than to any thing he had ſaid in his Speech. For what he had told him amounts to no more than that there were ſeveral in the Grecian Army who had courted the Honour of this Combate as well as himſelf. I think one muſt obſerve many things of this kind in Homer, that allude to the particular Attitude or Action in which the Author ſuppoſes the Perſon to be in at that time.

XXX.

‘VERSE 290. Turn, charge, and anſwer ev'ry Call of War.]’ The Greek is, To move my Feet to the Sound of Mars, which ſeems to ſhew that thoſe military Dances were in Uſe even in Homer's Time, which were afterwards practiſed in Greece.

XXXI.

‘VERSE 305. From their bor'd Shields the Chiefs their Javelins drew.]’ Homer in this Combate makes his Heroes perform all their Exerciſes with all ſorts of Weapons; firſt darting Lances at diſtance, then advancing cloſer, and puſhing with Spears, [231] then caſting Stones, and laſtly attacking with Swords; in every one of which the Poet gives the Superiority to his Countryman. It is farther obſervable (as Euſtathius remarks) that Ajax allows Hector an Advantage in throwing the firſt Spear.

XXXII.

‘VERSE 328. Apollo's Might.]’ In the beginning of this Book we left Apollo perch'd upon a Tree, in the Shape of a Vultur, to behold the Combate: He comes now very opportunely to ſave his Favourite Hector. Euſtathius ſays that Apollo is the ſame with Deſtiny, ſo that when Homer ſays Apollo ſav'd him, he means no more than that it was not his Fate yet to die, as Helenus had foretold him.

XXXIII.

‘VERSE 332. Heralds, the ſacred Miniſters, &c.]’ The Heralds of old were ſacred Perſons, accounted the Delegates of Mercury, and inviolable by the Law of Nations. The ancient Hiſtories have many Examples of the Severity exerciſed againſt thoſe who committed any Outrage upon them. Their Office was to aſſiſt in the Sacrifices and Councils, to proclaim War or Peace, to command Silence at Ceremonies or ſingle Combates, to part the Combatants, and to declare the Conqueror, &c.

XXXIV.

‘VERSE 334. Divine Talthybius, &c.]’ This Interpoſition of the two Heralds to part the Combatants, on the Approach of the Night, is apply'd by Taſſo to the ſingle Combate of Tancred and Argantes in the ſixth Book of his Jeruſalem. The Herald's Speech, and particularly that remarkable Injunction to Obey the Night, are tranſlated literally by that Author. The Combatants there alſo part not without a Promiſe of meeting again in Battel, on ſome more favourable Opportunity.

XXXV.

[232]

‘VERSE 337. And firſt Idaeus.]’ Homer obſerves a juſt Decorum in making Idaeus the Trojan Herald ſpeak firſt, to end the Combate wherein Hector had the Diſadvantage. Ajax is very ſenſible of this Difference, when in his Reply he requires that Hector ſhould firſt ask for a Ceſſation, as he was the Challenger. Euſtathius.

XXXVI.

‘VERSE 350. O firſt of Greeks, &c.]’ Hector, how hardly ſoever he is preſt by his preſent Circumſtance, ſays nothing to obtain a Truce that is not ſtrictly conſiſtent with his Honour. When he praiſes Ajax, it leſſens his own Diſadvantage, and he is careful to extol him only above the Greeks, without acknowledging him more valiant than himſelf or the Trojans: Hector is always jealous of the Honour of his Country. In what follows we ſee he keeps himſelf on a level with his Adverſary; Hereafter we ſhall meet.—Go thou, and give the ſame Joy to thy Grecians for thy Eſcape, as I ſhall to my Trojans. The Point of Honour in all this is very nicely preſerved.

XXXVII.

‘VERSE 362. Who wearies Heav'n with Vows for Hector's Life.]’ Euſtathius gives many Solutions of the Difficulty in theſe Words, [...]: They mean either that the Trojan Ladies will pray to the Gods for him ( [...], or certatim) with the utmoſt Zeal and Tranſport; or that they will go in Proceſſion to the Temples for him ( [...], coetum Deorum;) or that they will pray to him as to a God, [...].

XXXVIII.

‘VERSE 364. Exchange ſome Gift.]’ There is nothing that gives us a greater Pleaſure in reading an heroic Poem, than [233] the Generoſity, which one brave Enemy ſhews to another. The Propoſal made here by Hector, and ſo readily embraced by Ajax, makes the Parting of theſe two Heroes more glorious to them than the Continuance of the Combate had been. A French Critick is ſhock'd at Hector's making Propoſals to Ajax with an Air of Equality; he ſays a Man that is vanquiſh'd, inſtead of talking of Preſents, ought to retire with Shame from his Conqueror. But that Hector was vanquiſh'd is by no means to be allowed; Homer had told us that his Strength was reſtored by Apollo, and that the two Combatants were engaging again upon equal Terms with their Swords. So that this Criticiſm falls to nothing. For the reſt, 'tis ſaid that this Exchange of Preſents between Hector and Ajax gave Birth to a Proverb, that the Preſents of Enemies are generally fatal. For Ajax with this Sword afterwards killed himſelf, and Hector was dragg'd by this Belt at the Chariot of Achilles.

XXXIX.

‘VERSE 387. Before great Ajax plac'd the mighty Chine.]’ This is one of thoſe Paſſages that will naturally fall under the Ridicule of a true modern Critick. But what Agamemnon here beſtows on Ajax was in former Times a great Mark of Reſpect and Honour: Not only as it was cuſtomary to diſtinguiſh the Quality of their Gueſts by the Largeneſs of the Portions aſſigned them at their Tables, but as this Part of the Victim peculiarly belong'd to the King himſelf. It is worth remarking on this Occaſion, that the Simplicity of thoſe Times allowed the eating of no other Fleſh but Beef, Mutton, or Kid. This is the Food of the Heroes of Homer, and the Patriarchs and Warriors of the Old Teſtament. Fiſhing and Fowling were the Arts of more luxurious Nations, and came much later into Greece and Iſrael.

One cannot read this Paſſage without being pleaſed with the wonderful Simplicity of the old heroic Ages. We have here a gallant Warrior returning victorious (for that he thought himſelf ſo, appears from thoſe Words [...]) from a ſingle Combate with the braveſt of his Enemies; and he is [234] no otherwiſe rewarded than with a larger Portion of the Sacrifice at Supper. Thus an upper Seat or a more capacious Bowl was a Recompence for the greateſt Actions; and thus the only Reward in the Olympic Games was a Pine-Branch, or a Chaplet of Parſley or wild Olive. The latter Part of this Note belongs to Euſtathius.

XL.

‘VERSE 399. While we to Flames, &c.]’ There is a great deal of Artifice in this Counſel of Neſtor of burning the Dead and raiſing a Fortification; for tho' Piety was the ſpecious Pretext, their Security was the real Aim of the Truce, which they made uſe of to finiſh their Works. Their doing this at the ſame time they erected the Funeral Piles, made the Impoſition eaſy upon the Enemy, who might naturally miſtake one Work for the other. And this alſo obviates a plain Objection, viz. Why the Trojans did not interrupt them in this Work? The Truce determined no exact Time, but as much as was needful for diſcharging the Rites of the Dead.

I fancy it may not be unwelcome to the Reader to enlarge a little upon the way of diſpoſing the Dead among the Ancients. It may be proved from innumerable Inſtances that the Hebrews interred their Dead; thus Abraham's Burying-place is frequently mentioned in Scripture: And that the Aegyptians did the ſame is plain from their embalming them. Some have been of Opinion that the Uſage of Burning the Dead was originally to prevent any Outrage to the Bodies from their Enemies; which Imagination is render'd not improbable by that Paſſage in the firſt Book of Samuel, where the Iſraelites burn the Bodies of Saul and his Sons after they had been miſuſed by the Philiſtines, even tho' their common Cuſtom was to bury their Dead. And ſo Sylla among the Romans was the firſt of his Family who order'd his Body to be burnt, for fear the Barbarities he had exerciſed on that of Marius might be retaliated upon his own. Tully de legibus, lib. 2. Proculdubio cremandi ritus a Graecis venit, nam ſepultum legimus Numam ad Anienis fontem; totique genti Corneliae [235] ſolenne fuiſſe ſepulcrum, uſque ad Syllam, qui primus ex ea gente crematus eſt. The Greeks uſed both ways of interring and burning; Patroclus was burned, and Ajax lay'd in the Ground, as appears from Sophocles's Ajax, lin. 1185.

[...]
[...]

Haſten (ſays the Chorus) to prepare a hollow Hole, a Grave for this Man.

Thucidydes in his ſecond Book mentions [...]: Coffins or Cheſts made of Cypreſs Wood, in which the Athenians kept the Bones of their Friends that dy'd in the Wars.

The Romans derived from the Greeks both theſe Cuſtoms of burning and burying: In Urbe neve SEPELITO neve URITO, ſays the Law of the Twelve Tables. The Place where they burn'd the Dead was ſet apart for this religious Uſe, and called Glebe; from which Practice the Name is yet apply'd to all the Grounds belonging to the Church.

Plutarch obſerves that Homer is the firſt who mentions one general Tomb for a Number of dead Perſons. Here is a Tumulus built round the Pyre, not to bury their Bodies, for they were to be burn'd; nor to receive the Bones, for thoſe were to be carry'd to Greece; but perhaps to inter their Aſhes, (which Cuſtom may be gather'd from a Paſſage in Iliad 23. ℣. 255.) or it might be only a Cenotaph in Remembrance of the Dead.

XLI.

‘VERSE 415. The Trojan Peers in nightly Council ſate.]’ There is a great Beauty in the two Epithets Homer gives to this Council, [...], [...], timida, turbulenta. The unjuſt ſide is always fearful and diſcordant. I think M. Dacier has not entirely done Juſtice to this Thought in her Tranſlation. Horace ſeems to have accounted this an uſeful and neceſſary Part, that contain'd the great Moral of the Iliad, as may be ſeen from his ſelecting it in particular from the reſt, in his Epiſtle to Lollius.

[236]
Fabula, qua Paridis propter narratur amorem,
Graecia Barbariae lento colliſa duello,
Stultorum Regum & populorum continet aeſtus.
Antenor cenſet belli praecidere cauſam.
Quid Paris? Ut ſalvus regnet, vivatque beatus,
Cogi poſſe negat.—

XLII.

‘VERSE 441. The rev'rend Priam roſe.]’ Priam rejects the wholſome Advice of Antenor, and complies with his Son. This is indeed extremely natural to the indulgent Character and eaſy Nature of the old King, of which the whole Trojan War is a Proof; but I could wiſh Homer had not juſt in this Place celebrated his Wiſdom in calling him [...]. Spondanus refers this Blindneſs of Priam to the Power of Fate, the Time now approaching when Troy was to be puniſh'd for its Injuſtice. Something like this weak Fondneſs of a Father is deſcribed in the Scripture in the Story of David and Abſalom.

XLIII.

‘VERSE 450. Next let a Truce be ask'd.]’ The Conduct of Homer in this Place is remarkable: He makes Priam propoſe in Council to ſend to the Greeks to ask a Truce to bury the Dead. This the Greeks themſelves had before determined to propoſe: But it being more honourable to his Country, the Poet makes the Trojan Herald prevent any Propoſition that could be made by the Greeks. Thus they are requeſted to do what they themſelves were about to requeſt, and have the Honour to comply with a Propoſal which they themſelves would otherwiſe have taken as a Favour. Euſtathius.

XLIV.

‘VERSE 455. Each at his Poſt in Arms.]’ We have here the manner of the Trojans taking their Repaſt: Not promiſcuouſly, [237] but each at his Poſt. Homer was ſenſible that military Men ought not to remit their Guard, even while they refreſh themſelves, but in every Action diſplay the Soldier. Euſtathius.

XLV.

‘VERSE 460. The Speech of Idaeus.]’ The Propoſition of reſtoring the Treaſures, and not Helen, is ſent as from Paris only; in which his Father ſeems to permit him to treat by himſelf as a Sovereign Prince, and the ſole Author of the War. But the Herald ſeems to exceed his Commiſſion in what he tells the Greeks. Paris only offer'd to reſtore the Treaſures he took from Greece, not including thoſe he brought from Sidon and other Coaſts, where he touch'd in his Voyage: But Idaeus here proffers all that he brought to Troy. He adds, as from himſelf, a Wiſh that Paris had periſh'd in that Voyage. Some ancient Expoſitors ſuppoſe thoſe Words to be ſpoken aſide, or in a low Voice, as it is uſual in Dramatic Poetry. But without that Salvo, a generous Love for the Welfare of his Country might tranſport Idaeus into ſome warm Expreſſions againſt the Author of its Woes. He lays aſide the Herald to act the Patriot, and ſpeaks with a noble Indignation againſt Paris, that he may Influence the Grecian Captains to give a favourable Anſwer. Euſtathius.

XLVI.

‘VERSE 474. The Greeks gave ear, but none the Silence broke.]’ This Silence of the Greeks might naturally proceed from their Opinion that however deſirous they were to put an end to this long War, Menelaus would never conſent to relinquiſh Helen, which was the thing inſiſted upon by Paris. Euſtathius accounts for it in another manner, and it is from him M. Dacier has taken her Remark. The Princes (ſays he) were ſilent, becauſe it was the Part of Agamemnon to determine in Matters of this Nature; and Agamemnon is ſilent, being willing to hear the Inclinations of the Princes. By this means he avoided the Imputation of expoſing the Greeks [238] to Dangers for his Advantage and Glory; ſince he only gives the Anſwer which is put into his Mouth by the Princes, with the general Applauſe of the Army.

XLVII.

‘VERSE 476. Oh take not, Greeks! &c.]’ There is a peculiar Decorum in making Diomed the Author of this Advice, to reject even Helen herſelf if ſhe were offer'd; this had not agreed with an amorous Husband like Menelaus, nor with a cunning Politician like Ulyſſes, nor with a wiſe old Man like Neſtor. But it is proper to Diomed, not only as a young fearleſs Warrior, but as he is in particular an Enemy to the Intereſts of Venus.

XLVIII.

‘VERSE 507. And lay'd along the Cars.]’ Theſe probably were not Chariots, but Carriages; for Homer makes Neſtor ſay in ℣. 332. that this was to be done with Mules and Oxen, which were not commonly join'd to Chariots, and the word [...] there, may be apply'd to any Vehicle that runs on Wheels. [...] ſignifies indifferently Plauſtrum or Currus; and our Engliſh word Car implies either. But if they did uſe Chariots in bearing their Dead, it is at leaſt evident, that thoſe Chariots were drawn by Mules and Oxen at Funeral Solemnities. Homer's uſing the word [...] and not [...], confirms this Opinion.

XLIX.

‘VERSE 520. Then, to ſecure the Camp, &c.]’ Homer has been accus'd of an Offence againſt Probability, in cauſing this Fortification to be made ſo late as in the laſt Year of the War. Mad. Dacier anſwers to this Objection, that the Greeks had no Occaſion for it till the Departure of Achilles: He alone was a greater Defence to them; and Homer had told the Reader in a preceding Book, that the Trojans never durſt venture out of the Walls of Troy while Achilles fought: Theſe Intrenchments [239] therefore ſerve to raiſe the Glory of his principal Hero, ſince they become neceſſary as ſoon as he withdraws his Aid. She might have added, that Achilles himſelf ſays all this, and makes Homer's Apology in the ninth Book, ℣. 349. The ſame Author, ſpeaking of this Fortification, ſeems to doubt whether the Uſe of intrenching Camps was known in the Trojan War, and is rather inclined to think Homer borrowed it from what was practiſed in his own Time. But I believe if we conſider the Caution with which he has been obſerved, in ſome Inſtances already given, to preſerve the Manners of the Age he writes of, in Contradiſtinction to what was practiſed in his own; we may reaſonably conclude the Art of Fortification was in uſe even ſo long before him, and in the Degree of Perfection that he here deſcribes it. If it was not, and if Homer was fond of deſcribing an Improvement in this Art made in his own Days, nothing could be better contrived than his feigning Neſtor to be the Author of it, whoſe Wiſdom and Experience in War render'd it probable that he might carry his Projects farther than the reſt of his Contemporaries. We have here a Fortification as perfect as any in the modern Times. A ſtrong Wall is thrown up, Towers are built upon it from Space to Space, Gates are made to iſſue out at, and a Ditch ſunk, deep, wide and long: to all which Paliſades are added to compleat it.

L.

‘VERSE 526. Meanwhile the Gods.]’ The Fiction of this Wall raiſed by the Greeks, has given no little Advantage to Homer's Poem, in furniſhing him with an Opportunity of changing the Scene, and in a great degree the Subject and Accidents of his Battels; ſo that the following Deſcriptions of War are totally different from all the foregoing. He takes care at the firſt mention of it to fix in us a great Idea of this Work, by making the Gods immediately concern'd about it. We ſee Neptune jealous leſt the Glory of his own Work, the Walls of Troy, ſhould be effaced by it; and Jupiter comforting him with a Prophecy that it ſhall be totally deſtroy'd in a ſhort time. Homer was ſenſible that as this was a Building [240] of his Imagination only, and not founded (like many other of his Deſcriptions) upon ſome Antiquities or Traditions of the Country, ſo Poſterity might convict him of a Falſity when no Remains of any ſuch Wall ſhould be ſeen on the Coaſt. Therefore (as Ariſtotle obſerves) he has found this way to elude the Cenſure of an improbable Fiction: The Word of Jove was fulfilled, the Hands of the Gods, the Force of the Rivers, and the Waves of the Sea demoliſh'd it. In the twelfth Book he digreſſes from the Subject of his Poem to deſcribe the Execution of this Prophecy. The Verſes there are very noble, and have given the Hint to Milton for thoſe in which he accounts, after the ſame Poetical manner, for the Vaniſhing of the Terreſtrial Paradiſe.

—All Fountains of the Deep
Broke up, ſhall heave the Ocean to uſurp
Beyond all bounds, till Inundation riſe
Above the higheſt Hills: Then ſhall this Mount
Of Paradiſe by Might of Waves be mov'd
Out of its place, puſh'd by the horned Flood,
With all its Verdure ſpoil'd, and Trees adrift,
Down the great River to the opening Gulf,
And there take root an Iſland ſalt and bare,
The Haunt of Seals and Orcs, and Sea-mews clang.

LI.

‘VERSE 560. And now the Fleet, &c.]’ The Verſes from hence to the end of the Book afford us the Knowledge of ſome Points of Hiſtory and Antiquity. As that Jaſon had a Son by Hypſipyle, who ſucceeded his Mother in the Kingdom of Lemnos. That the Iſle of Lemnos was anciently famous for its Wines, and drove a Traffick in them; and that coined Money was not in uſe in the Time of the Trojan War, but the Trade of Countries carry'd on by Exchange in groſs, Braſs, Oxen, Slaves, &c. I muſt not forget the particular Term uſed here for Slave, [...], which is literally the ſame with our modern word Footman.

LII.

[241]

‘VERSE 572. But Jove averſe, &c.]’ The Signs by which Jupiter here ſhews his Wrath againſt the Grecians, are a Prelude to thoſe more open Declarations of his Anger which follow in the next Book, and prepare the Mind of the Reader for that Machine, which might otherwiſe ſeem too bold and violent.

THE EIGHTH BOOK OF THE ILIAD.

[]

The ARGUMENT.
The ſecond Battel, and the Diſtreſs of the Greeks.

[244]

JUPITER aſſembles a Council of the Deities, and threatens them with the Pains of Tartarus if they aſſiſt either ſide: Minerva only obtains of him that ſhe may direct the Greeks by her Counſels. The Armies join Battel; Jupiter on Mount Ida weighs in his Balances the Fates of both, and affrights the Greeks with his Thunders and Lightnings. Neſtor alone continues in the Field in great Danger; Diomed relieves him; whoſe Exploits, and thoſe of Hector, are excellently deſcribed. Juno endeavours to animate Neptune to the Aſſiſtance of the Greeks, but in vain. The Acts of Teucer, who is at length wounded by Hector and carry'd off. Juno and Minerva prepare to aid the Grecians, but are reſtrained by Iris, ſent from Jupiter. The Night puts an end to the Battel. Hector keeps the Field (the Greeks being driven to their Fortification before the Ships) and gives Orders to keep the Watch all Night in the Camp, to prevent the Enemy from reimbarking and eſcaping by Flight. They kindle Fires through all the Field, and paſs the Night under Arms.

The Time of ſeven and twenty Days is employed from the Opening of the Poem to the End of this Book. The Scene here (except of the Celeſtial Machines) lies in the Field toward the Sea Shore.

THE EIGHTH BOOK OF THE ILIAD.

[245]
AURORA now, fair Daughter of the Dawn,
Sprinkled with roſy Light the dewy Lawn.
When Jove conven'd the Senate of the Skies,
Where high Olympus' cloudy Tops ariſe.
The Sire of Gods his awful Silence broke;
The Heav'ns attentive trembled as he ſpoke.
Celeſtial States, Immortal Gods! give ear,
Hear our Decree, and rev'rence what ye hear;
The fix'd Decree which not all Heav'n can move;
Thou Fate! fulfill it; and ye Pow'rs! approve.
What God but enters yon' forbidden Field,
Who yields Aſſiſtance, or but wills to yield;
[246] Back to the Skies with Shame he ſhall be driv'n,
Gaſh'd with diſhoneſt Wounds, the Scorn of Heav'n:
Or far, oh far from ſteep Olympus thrown,
Low in the dark, Tartarean Gulf ſhall groan,
With burning Chains fix'd to the Brazen Floors,
And lock'd by Hell's inexorable Doors;
As deep beneath th' Infernal Centre hurl'd,
As from that Centre to th' Aethereal World.
Let him who tempts me, dread thoſe dire Abodes;
And know, th' Almighty is the God of Gods.
League all your Forces then, ye Pow'rs above,
Join all, and try th' Omnipotence of Jove:
Let down our golden everlaſting Chain,
Whoſe ſtrong Embrace holds Heav'n, and Earth, and Main:
Strive all, of mortal and immortal Birth,
To drag, by this, the Thund'rer down to Earth:
Ye ſtrive in vain! If I but ſtretch this Hand,
I heave the Gods, the Ocean, and the Land,
I fix the Chain to great Olympus' Height,
And the vaſt World hangs trembling in my Sight!
[247] For ſuch I reign, unbounded and above;
And ſuch are Men, and Gods, compar'd to Jove,
Th' Almighty ſpoke, nor durſt the Pow'rs reply,
A rev'rend Horror ſilenc'd all the Sky;
Trembling they ſtood before their Sov'reign's Look;
At length his Beſt-belov'd, the Pow'r of Wiſdom, ſpoke.
Oh Firſt and Greateſt! God by Gods ador'd!
We own thy Might, our Father and our Lord!
But ah! permit to pity human State;
If not to help, at leaſt lament their Fate.
From Fields forbidden we ſubmiſs refrain,
With Arms unaiding mourn our Argives ſlain;
Yet grant my Counſels ſtill their Breaſts may move,
Or all muſt periſh in the Wrath of Jove.
The Cloud-compelling God her Suit approv'd,
And ſmil'd ſuperior on his Beſt-belov'd.
Then call'd his Courſers, and his Chariot took;
The ſtedfaſt Firmament beneath them ſhook:
Rapt by th' Aethereal Steeds the Chariot roll'd;
Braſs were their Hoofs, their curling Manes of Gold.
Of Heav'ns undroſſy Gold the God's Array
Refulgent, flaſh'd intolerable Day.
[248] High on the Throne he ſhines: His Courſers fly,
Between th' extended Earth and ſtarry Sky.
But when to Ida's topmoſt Height he came,
(Fair Nurſe of Fountains, and of Savage Game)
Where o'er her pointed Summits proudly rais'd,
His Fane breath'd Odours, and his Altar blaz'd:
There, from his radiant Car, the ſacred Sire
Of Gods and Men releas'd the Steeds of Fire:
Blue ambient Miſts th' immortal Steeds embrac'd;
High on the cloudy Point his Seat he plac'd.
Thence his broad Eye the ſubject World ſurveys,
The Town, the Tents, and navigable Seas.
Now had the Grecians ſnatch'd a ſhort Repaſte,
And buckled on their ſhining Arms with Haſte.
Troy rowz'd as ſoon; for on this dreadful Day
The Fate of Fathers, Wives, and Infants lay.
The Gates unfolding pour forth all their Train;
Squadrons on Squadrons cloud the dusky Plain:
Men, Steeds, and Chariots ſhake the trembling Ground;
The Tumult thickens, and the Skies reſound.
And now with Shouts the ſhocking Armies clos'd,
To Lances, Lances, Shields to Shields oppos'd,
[249] Hoſt againſt Hoſt with ſhadowy Legions drew,
The ſounding Darts in Iron Tempeſts flew,
Victors and Vanquiſh'd join promiſcuous Cries,
Triumphant Shouts and dying Groans ariſe;
With ſtreaming Blood the ſlipp'ry Fields are dy'd,
And ſlaughter'd Heroes ſwell the dreadful Tide.
Long as the Morning Beams encreaſing bright,
O'er Heav'ns clear Azure ſpread the ſacred Light;
Commutual Death the Fate of War confounds,
Each adverſe Battel goar'd with equal Wounds.
But when the Sun the Height of Heav'n aſcends;
The Sire of Gods his golden Scales ſuſpends,
With equal Hand: In theſe explor'd the Fate
Of Greece and Troy, and pois'd the mighty Weight.
Preſs'd with its Load the Grecian Balance lies
Low ſunk on Earth, the Trojan ſtrikes the Skies.
Then Jove from Ida's Top his Horrors ſpreads;
The Clouds burſt dreadful o'er the Grecian Heads;
Thick Light'nings flaſh; the mutt'ring Thunder rolls;
Their Strength he withers, and unmans their Souls.
Before his Wrath the trembling Hoſt retire;
The God in Terrors, and the Skies on fire.
[250] Nor great Idomeneus that Sight could bear,
Nor each ſtern Ajax, Thunderbolts of War:
Nor He, the King of Men, th'Alarm ſuſtain'd;
Neſtor alone amidſt the Storm remain'd.
Unwilling he remain'd, for Paris' Dart
Had pierc'd his Courſer in a mortal Part;
Fix'd in the Forehead where the ſpringing Mane
Curl'd o'er the Brow, it ſtung him to the Brain;
Mad with his Anguiſh, he begins to rear,
Paw with his Hoofs aloft, and laſh the Air.
Scarce had his Falchion cut the Reins, and freed
Th' incumber'd Chariot from the dying Steed,
When dreadful Hector, thund'ring thro' the War,
Pour'd to the Tumult on his whirling Car.
That Day had ſtretch'd beneath his matchleſs Hand
The hoary Monarch of the Pylian Band,
But Diomed beheld; from forth the Crowd
He ruſh'd, and on Ulyſſes call'd aloud.
Whither, oh whither does Ulyſſes run?
Oh Flight unworthy great Laertes' Son!
Mix'd with the Vulgar ſhall thy Fate be found,
Pierc'd in the Back, a vile, diſhoneſt Wound?
[251] Oh turn and ſave from Hector's direful Rage
The Glory of the Greeks, the Pylian Sage.
His fruitleſs Words are loſt unheard in Air;
Ulyſſes ſeeks the Ships, and ſhelters there.
But bold Tydides to the Reſcue goes,
A ſingle Warrior 'midſt a Hoſt of Foes;
Before the Courſers with a ſudden Spring
He leap'd, and anxious thus beſpoke the King.
Great Perils, Father! wait th' unequal Fight;
Theſe younger Champions will oppreſs thy Might.
Thy Veins no more with ancient Vigour glow,
Weak is thy Servant, and thy Courſers ſlow.
Then haſte, aſcend my Seat, and from the Car
Obſerve the Steeds of Tros, renown'd in War,
Practis'd alike to turn, to ſtop, to chace,
To dare the Fight, or urge the rapid Race;
Theſe late obey'd Aeneas' guiding Rein;
Leave thou thy Chariot to our faithful Train:
With theſe againſt yon' Trojans will we go,
Nor ſhall great Hector want an equal Foe;
Fierce as he is, ev'n He may learn to fear
The thirſty Fury of my flying Spear.
[252]
Thus ſaid the Chief; and Neſtor, skill'd in War,
Approves his Counſel, and aſcends the Car:
The Steeds he left, their truſty Servants hold;
Eurymedon and Sthenelus the bold.
The rev'rend Charioteer directs the Courſe,
And ſtrains his aged Arm to laſh the Horſe.
Hector they face; unknowing how to fear,
Fierce he drove on; Tydides whirl'd his Spear.
The Spear with erring Haſte miſtook its way,
But plung'd in Eniopeus' Boſom lay.
His opening Hand in Death forſakes the Rein;
The Steeds fly back: He falls, and ſpurns the Plain.
Great Hector ſorrows for his Servant kill'd,
Yet unreveng'd permits to preſs the Field;
Till to ſupply his Place and rule the Car,
Roſe Archeptolemus, the fierce in War.
And now had Death and Horror cover'd all;
Like tim'rous Flocks the Trojans in their Wall
Inclos'd had bled: but Jove with awful Sound
Roll'd the big Thunder o'er the vaſt Profound:
Full in Tydides' Face the Light'ning flew;
The Ground before him flam'd with Sulphur blew;
[253] The quiv'ring Steeds fell proſtrate at the Sight;
And Neſtor's trembling Hand confeſs'd his Fright.
He drop'd the Reins; and ſhook with ſacred Dread,
Thus, turning, warn'd th' intrepid Diomed.
O Chief! too daring in thy Friend's Defence,
Retire advis'd, and urge the Chariot hence.
This Day, averſe, the Sov'reign of the Skies
Aſſiſts great Hector, and our Palm denies.
Some other Sun may ſee the happier Hour,
When Greece ſhall conquer by his heav'nly Pow'r.
'Tis not in Man his fix'd Decree to move:
The Great will glory to ſubmit to Jove.
O rev'rend Prince! (Tydides thus replies)
Thy Years are awful, and thy Words are wiſe.
But ah! what Grief? ſhould haughty Hector boaſt,
I fled inglorious to the guarded Coaſt.
Before that dire Diſgrace ſhall blaſt my Fame,
O'erwhelm me Earth! and hide a Warrior's Shame.
To whom Gerenian Neſtor thus reply'd,
Gods! can thy Courage fear the Phrygian's Pride?
[254] Hector may vaunt, but who ſhall heed the Boaſt?
Not thoſe who felt thy Arm, the Dardan Hoſt,
Nor Troy, yet bleeding in her Heroes loſt;
Not ev'n a Phrygian Dame, who dreads the Sword
That lay'd in Duſt her lov'd, lamented Lord.
He ſaid; and haſty, o'er the gaſping Throng
Drives the ſwift Steeds; the Chariot ſmoaks along.
The Shouts of Trojans thicken in the Wind;
The Storm of hiſſing Javelins pours behind.
Then with a Voice that ſhakes the ſolid Skies,
Pleas'd Hector braves the Warrior as he flies.
Go, mighty Hero! grac'd above the reſt
In Seats of Council and the ſumptuous Feaſt:
Now hope no more thoſe Honours from thy Train;
Go, leſs than Woman in the Form of Man!
To ſcale our Walls, to wrap our Tow'rs in Flames
To lead in Exile the fair Phrygian Dames,
Thy once-proud Hopes, preſumptuous Prince! are fled;
This Arm ſhall reach thy Heart, and ſtretch thee dead.
Now Fears diſſuade him, and now Hopes invite,
To ſtop his Courſers, and to ſtand the Fight;
[255] Thrice turn'd the Chief, and thrice imperial Jove
On Ida's Summits thunder'd from above.
Great Hector heard; he ſaw the flaſhing Light,
(The Sign of Conqueſt) and thus urg'd the Fight.
Hear ev'ry Trojan, Lycian, Dardan Band,
All fam'd in War, and dreadful hand to hand.
Be mindful of the Wreaths your Arms have won,
Your great Forefathers Glories, and your own.
Heard ye the Voice of Jove? Succeſs and Fame
Await on Troy, on Greece eternal Shame.
In vain they skulk behind their boaſted Wall,
Weak Bulwarks! deſtin'd by this Arm to fall.
High o'er their ſlighted Trench our Steeds ſhall bound,
And paſs victorious o'er the levell'd Mound.
Soon as before yon' hollow Ships we ſtand,
Fight each with Flames, and toſs the blazing Brand;
Till their proud Navy wrapt in Smoak and Fires,
All Greece, encompaſs'd, in one Blaze expires.
Furious he ſaid; then, bending o'er the Yoke,
Encourag'd his proud Steeds, while thus he ſpoke.
Now Xanthus, Aethon, Lampus! urge the Chace,
And thou, Podargus! prove thy gen'rous Race:
[256] Be fleet, be fearleſs, this important Day,
And all your Maſters well-ſpent Care repay.
For this, high fed in plenteous Stalls ye ſtand,
Serv'd with pure Wheat, and by a Princeſs' Hand;
For this my Spouſe of great Aetion's Line
So oft' has ſteep'd the ſtrength'ning Grain in Wine.
Now ſwift purſue, now thunder uncontroll'd;
Give me to ſeize rich Neſtor's Shield of Gold;
From Tydeus' Shoulders ſtrip the coſtly Load,
Vulcanian Arms, the Labour of a God:
Theſe if we gain, then Victory, ye Pow'rs!
This Night, this glorious Night, the Fleet is ours.
That heard, deep Anguiſh ſtung Saturnia's Soul;
She ſhook her Throne that ſhook the ſtarry Pole:
And thus to Neptune: Thou! whoſe Force can make
The ſtedfaſt Earth from her Foundations ſhake,
See'ſt thou the Greeks by Fates unjuſt oppreſt,
Nor ſwells thy Heart in that immortal Breaſt?
Yet Aegae, Helicè, thy Pow'r obey,
And Gifts unceaſing on thine Altars lay.
Would all the Deities of Greece combine,
In vain the gloomy Thund'rer might repine:
[257] Sole ſhould he ſit, with ſcarce a God to Friend,
And ſee his Trojans to the Shades deſcend.
Such be the Scene from his Idaean Bow'r;
Ungrateful Proſpect to the ſullen Pow'r!
Neptune with Wrath rejects the raſh Deſign:
What Rage, what Madneſs, furious Queen! is thine?
I war not with the Higheſt. All above
Submit and tremble at the Hand of Jove.
Now Godlike Hector, to whoſe matchleſs Might
Jove gave the Glory of the deſtin'd Fight,
Squadrons on Squadrons drives, and fills the Fields
With cloſe-rang'd Chariots, and with thicken'd Shields.
Where the deep Trench in Length extended lay,
Compacted Troops ſtand wedg'd in firm Array,
A dreadful Front! they ſhake the Bands, and threat
With long-deſtroying Flames, the hoſtile Fleet.
The King of Men, by Juno's ſelf inſpir'd,
Toil'd thro' the Tents, and all his Army fir'd,
Swift as he mov'd he lifted in his Hand
His Purple Robe, bright Enſign of Command.
High on the midmoſt Bark the King appear'd;
There, from Ulyſſes' Deck, his Voice was heard.
[258] To Ajax and Achilles reach'd the Sound,
Whoſe diſtant Ships the guarded Navy bound.
Oh Argives! Shame of human Race; he cry'd,
(The hollow Veſſels to his Voice reply'd)
Where now are all our glorious Boaſts of yore,
Our haſty Triumphs on the Lemnian Shore?
Each fearleſs Hero dares an hundred Foes,
While the Feaſt laſts, and while the Goblet flows;
But who to meet one martial Man is found,
When the Fight rages, and the Flames ſurround?
Oh mighty Jove! oh Sire of the diſtreſs'd!
Was ever King like me, like me oppreſs'd?
With Pow'r immenſe, with Juſtice arm'd in vain;
My Glory raviſh'd, and my People ſlain!
To thee my Vows were breath'd from ev'ry Shore;
What Altar ſmoak'd not with our Victims Gore?
With Fat of Bulls I fed the conſtant Flame,
And ask'd Deſtruction to the Trojan Name.
Now, gracious God! far humbler our Demand;
Give theſe at leaſt to 'ſcape from Hector's Hand,
And ſave the Reliques of the Grecian Land!
[259]
Thus pray'd the King, and Heav'ns great Father heard
His Vows, in Bitterneſs of Soul preferr'd;
The Wrath appeas'd, by happy Signs declares,
And gives the People to their Monarch's Pray'rs.
His Eagle, ſacred Bird of Heav'n! he ſent,
A Fawn his Talons truſs'd (divine Portent)
High o'er the wond'ring Hoſts he ſoar'd above,
Who paid their Vows to Panomphaean Jove;
Then let the Prey before his Altar fall;
The Greeks beheld, and Tranſport ſeiz'd on all:
Encourag'd by the Sign, the Troops revive,
And fierce on Troy with doubled Fury drive.
Tydides firſt, of all the Grecian Force,
O'er the broad Ditch impell'd his foaming Horſe;
Pierc'd the deep Ranks; their ſtrongeſt Battel tore;
And dy'd his Javelin red with Trojan Gore.
Young Ageläus (Phradmon was his Sire)
With flying Courſers ſhun'd his dreadful Ire:
Strook thro' the Back the Phrygian fell oppreſt;
The Dart drove on, and iſſu'd at his Breaſt:
Headlong he quits the Car; his Arms reſound;
His pond'rous Buckler thunders on the Ground.
[260] Forth ruſh a Tide of Greeks, the Paſſage freed;
th' Atridae firſt, th' Ajaces next ſucceed:
Meriones, like Mars in Arms renown'd,
And Godlike Idomen, now paſs the Mound;
Euaemon's Son next iſſues to the Foe,
And laſt young Teucer with his bended Bow.
Secure behind the Telamonian Shield
The skilful Archer wide ſurvey'd the Field,
With ev'ry Shaft ſome hoſtile Victim ſlew,
Then cloſe beneath the ſev'nfold Orb withdrew.
The conſcious Infant ſo, when Fear alarms,
Retires for Safety to the Mother's Arms.
Thus Ajax guards his Brother in the Field,
Moves as he moves, and turns the ſhining Shield.
Who firſt by Teucer's mortal Arrows bled?
Orſilochus; then fell Ormenus dead:
The Godlike Lycophon next preſs'd the Plain,
With Chromius, Daetor, Opheleſtes ſlain:
Bold Hamopäon breathleſs ſunk to Ground;
The bloody Pile great Melanippus crown'd.
Heaps fell on Heaps, ſad Trophies of his Art,
A Trojan Ghoſt attending ev'ry Dart.
[261] Great Agamemnon views with joyful Eye
The Ranks grow thinner as his Arrows fly,
Oh Youth for ever dear! (the Monarch cry'd)
Thus, always thus, thy early Worth be try'd.
Thy brave Example ſhall retrieve our Hoſt,
Thy Country's Saviour, and thy Father's Boaſt!
Sprung from an Alien's Bed thy Sire to grace,
The vig'rous Offspring of a ſtol'n Embrace,
Proud of his Boy, he own'd the gen'rous Flame,
And the brave Son repays his Cares with Fame.
Now hear a Monarchs Vow: If Heav'ns high Pow'rs
Give me to raze Troy's long-defended Tow'rs;
Whatever Treaſures Greece for me deſign,
The next rich Honorary Gift be thine:
Some golden Tripod, or diſtinguiſh'd Car,
With Courſers dreadful in the Ranks of War;
Or ſome fair Captive whom thy Eyes approve
Shall recompence the Warrior's Toils with Love.
To this the Chief: With Praiſe the reſt inſpire,
Nor urge a Soul already fill'd with fire.
What Strength I have, be now in Battel try'd,
Till ev'ry Shaft in Phrygian Blood be dy'd.
[262] Since rallying from our Wall we forc'd the Foe,
Still aim'd at Hector have I bent my Bow;
Eight forky Arrows from this Hand have fled,
And eight bold Heroes by their Points lie dead:
But ſure ſome God denies me to deſtroy
This Fury of the Field, this Dog of Troy.
He ſaid, and twang'd the String. The Weapon flies
At Hector's Breaſt, and ſings along the Skies:
He miſs'd the Mark; but pierc'd Gorgythio's Heart,
And drench'd in Royal Blood the thirſty Dart.
(Fair Caſtianira, Nymph of Form Divine,
This Offspring added to King Priam's Line)
As full blown Poppies overcharg'd with Rain
Decline the Head, and drooping kiſs the Plain;
So ſinks the Youth: his beauteous Head, depreſs'd
Beneath his Helmet, drops upon his Breaſt.
Another Shaft the raging Archer drew;
That other Shaft with erring Fury flew,
(From Hector Phoebus turn'd the flying Wound)
Yet fell not dry, or guiltleſs to the Ground:
Thy Breaſt, brave Archeptolemus! it tore,
And dipp'd its Feathers in no vulgar Gore.
[263] Headlong he falls; his ſudden Fall alarms
The Steeds that ſtartle at his ſounding Arms.
Hector with Grief his Charioteer beheld,
And ey'd him breathleſs on the ſanguin Field.
Then bids Cebriones direct the Rein,
Quits his bright Car, and iſſues on the Plain.
Dreadful he ſhouts: from Earth a Stone he took,
And ruſh'd on Teucer with the lifted Rock.
The Youth already ſtrain'd the forceful Yew;
The Shaft already to his Shoulder drew;
The Feather in his Hand, juſt wing'd for flight,
Touch'd where the Neck and hollow Cheſt unite:
There, where the Juncture knits the Channel Bone,
The furious Chief diſcharg'd the craggy Stone.
The Tendon burſt beneath the pondrous Blow,
And his numb'd Hand diſmiſs'd his uſeleſs Bow.
He fell: But Ajax his broad Shield diſplay'd,
And ſcreen'd his Brother with the mighty Shade;
Till great Alaſtor, and Meciſtheus, bore
The batter'd Archer groaning to the Shore.
Troy yet found Grace before th' Olympian Sire,
He arm'd their Hands, and fill'd their Breaſts with Fire.
[264] The Greeks, repuls'd, retreat behind their Wall,
Or in the Trench on Heaps confus'dly fall.
Firſt of the Foe great Hector march'd along,
With Terror cloath'd, and more than mortal ſtrong.
As the bold Hound that gives the Lion chace,
With beating Boſom, and with eager Pace,
Hangs on his Haunch, or faſtens on his Heels,
Guards as he turns, and circles as he wheels:
Thus oft' the Grecians turn'd, but ſtill they flew;
Thus following Hector ſtill the hindmoſt ſlew.
When flying they had paſs'd the Trench profound,
And many a Chief lay gaſping on the Ground;
Before the Ships a deſp'rate Stand they made,
And fir'd the Troops, and call'd the Gods to aid.
Fierce on his ratt'ling Chariot Hector came;
His Eyes like Gorgon ſhot a ſanguin Flame
That wither'd all their Hoſt: Like Mars he ſtood,
Dire as the Monſter, dreadful as the God!
Their ſtrong Diſtreſs the Wife of Jove ſurvey'd;
Then penſive thus, to War's triumphant Maid.
Oh Daughter of that God, whoſe Arm can wield
Th' avenging Bolt, and ſhake the ſable Shield!
[265] Now, in this Moment of her laſt Deſpair,
Shall wretched Greece no more confeſs our Care,
Condemn'd to ſuffer the full Force of Fate,
And drain the Dregs of Heav'ns relentleſs Hate?
Gods! ſhall one raging Hand thus level All?
What Numbers fell! what Numbers yet ſhall fall!
What Pow'r Divine ſhall Hector's Wrath aſſwage?
Still ſwells the Slaughter, and ſtill grows the Rage!
So ſpoke th' imperial Regent of the Skies;
To whom the Goddeſs with the Azure Eyes.
Long ſince had Hector ſtain'd theſe Fields with Gore,
Stretch'd by ſome Argive on his native Shore:
But He above, the Sire of Heav'n withſtands,
Mocks our Attempts, and ſlights our juſt Demands.
The ſtubborn God, inflexible and hard,
Forgets my Service and deſerv'd Reward.
Sav'd I, for this, his Fav'rite
Hercules
Son diſtreſs'd,
By ſtern Euryſtheus with long Labours prefs'd?
He begg'd, with Tears he begg'd, in deep Diſmay;
I ſhot from Heav'n, and gave his Arm the Day.
Oh had my Wiſdom known this dire Event,
When to grim Pluto's gloomy Gates he went;
[260] The Triple Dog had never felt his Chain,
Nor Styx been croſs'd, nor Hell explor'd in vain.
Averſe to me of all his Heav'n of Gods;
At Thetis' Suit the partial Thund'rer nods.
To grace her gloomy, fierce, reſenting Son,
My Hopes are fruſtrate, and my Greeks undone.
Some future Day, perhaps he may be mov'd
To call his blue-ey'd Maid his Beſt-belov'd.
Haſte, launch thy Chariot, thro' yon' Ranks to ride;
My ſelf will arm, and thunder at thy ſide.
Then Goddeſs! ſay, ſhall Hector glory then,
(That Terror of the Greeks, that Man of Men)
When Juno's ſelf, and Pallas ſhall appear,
All dreadful in the crimſon Walks of War?
What mighty Trojan then, on yonder Shore,
Expiring, pale, and terrible no more,
Shall feaſt the Fowls, and glut the Dogs with Gore?
She ceas'd, and Juno rein'd her Steeds with Care;
Heav'ns awful Empreſs, Saturn's other Heir)
Pallas, meanwhile, her various Veil unbound,
With Flow'rs adorn'd, with Art immortal crown'd;
[257] The radiant Robe her ſacred Fingers wove,
Floats in rich Waves, and ſpreads the Court of Jove.
Her Father's Arms her mighty Limbs inveſt,
His Cuiraſs blazes on her ample Breaſt.
The vig'rous Pow'r the trembling Car aſcends;
Shook by her Arm, the maſſy Javelin bends;
Huge, pond'rous, ſtrong! that when her Fury burns,
Proud Tyrants humbles, and whole Hoſts o'erturns.
Saturnia lends the Laſh; the Courſers fly;
Smooth glides the Chariot thro' the liquid Sky.
Heav'n-Gates ſpontaneous open to the Pow'rs,
Heav'ns golden Gates, kept by the winged Hours,
Commiſſion'd in alternate Watch to ſtand,
The Sun's bright Portals and the Skies command;
Cloſe, or unfold, th' Eternal Gates of Day;
Bar Heav'n with Clouds, or roll thoſe Clouds away.
The ſounding Hinges ring, the Clouds divide;
Pronedown the Steep of Heav'n their Courſe they guide.
But Jove incens'd from Ida's Top ſurvey'd,
And thus enjoin'd the many-colour'd Maid.
Thaumantia! mount the Winds, and ſtop their Car;
Againſt the Higheſt who ſhall wage the War?
[268] If furious yet they dare the vain Debate,
Thus have I ſpoke, and what I ſpake is Fate.
Their Courſers cruſh'd beneath the Wheels ſhall lie,
Their Car in Fragments ſcatter'd o'er the Sky;
My Light'ning theſe Rebellious ſhall confound,
And hurl them flaming, headlong to the Ground,
Condemn'd for ten revolving Years to weep
The Wounds impreſs'd by burning Thunder deep.
So ſhall Minerva learn to ſear our Ire,
Nor dare to combate her's and Natures Sire.
For Juno, headſtrong and imperious ſtill,
She claims ſome Title to tranſgreſs our Will.
Swift as the Wind, the various-colour'd Maid
From Ida's Top her golden Wings diſplay'd;
To great Olympus' ſhining Gates ſhe flies,
There meets the Chariot ruſhing down the Skies,
Reſtrains their Progreſs from the bright Abodes,
And ſpeaks the Mandate of the Sire of Gods.
What Frenzy, Goddeſſes! what Rage can move
Celeſtial Minds to tempt the Wrath of Jove?
Deſiſt, obedient to his high Command;
This is his Word; and know his Word ſhall ſtand.
[269] His Light'ning your Rebellion ſhall confound,
And hurl ye headlong, flaming to the Ground:
Your Horſes cruſh'd beneath the Wheels ſhall lie
Your Car in Fragments ſcatter'd o'er the Sky;
Your ſelves condemn'd ten rolling Years to weep
The Wounds impreſs'd by burning Thunder deep.
So ſhall Minerva learn to fear his Ire,
Nor dare to combate her's and Nature's Sire.
For Juno, headſtrong and imperious ſtill,
She claims ſome Title to tranſgreſs his Will:
But Thee what deſp'rate Inſolence has driv'n,
To lift thy Lance againſt the Sire of Heav'n?
Then mounting on the Pinions of the Wind,
She flew; and Juno thus her Rage reſign'd.
O Daughter of that God, whoſe Arm can wield
Th'avenging Bolt, and ſhake the dreadful Shield!
No more let Beings of ſuperior Birth
Contend with Jove for this low Race of Earth:
Triumphant now, now miſerably ſlain,
They breathe or periſh, as the Fates ordain.
But Jove's high Counſels full Effect ſhall find,
And ever conſtant, ever rule Mankind.
[270]
She ſpoke, and backward turn'd her Steeds of Light,
Adorn'd with Manes of Gold, and Heav'nly bright.
The Hours unloos'd them, panting as they ſtood,
And heap'd their Mangers with Ambroſial Food.
There ty'd, they reſt in high Celeſtial Stalls;
The Chariot propt againſt the Cryſtal Walls.
The penſive Goddeſſes, abaſh'd, controul'd,
Mix with the Gods, and fill their Seats of Gold.
And now the Thund'rer meditates his Flight
From Ida's Summits to th' Olympian Height.
Swifter than Thought the Wheels inſtinctive fly,
Flame thro' the Vaſt of Air, and reach the Sky.
'Twas Neptune's Charge his Courſers to unbrace,
And fix the Car on its immortal Baſe;
There ſtood the Chariot beaming forth its Rays,
Till with a ſnowy Veil he ſcreen'd the Blaze.
He, whoſe all-conſcious Eyes the World behold,
Th' Eternal Thunderer, ſate thron'd in Gold.
High Heav'n the Footſtool of his Feet he makes,
And wide beneath him, all Olympus ſhakes.
Trembling afar th' offending Pow'rs appear'd,
Confus'd and ſilent, for his Frown they fear'd.
[271] He ſaw their Soul, and thus his Word imparts.
Pallas and Juno! ſay, why heave your Hearts?
Soon was your Battel o'er: Proud Troy retir'd
Before your Face, and in your Wrath expir'd.
But know, whoe'er Almighty Pow'r withſtand!
Unmatch'd our Force, unconquer'd is our Hand:
Who ſhall the Sov'reign of the Skies controul?
Not all the Gods that crown the ſtarry Pole.
Your Hearts ſhall tremble, if our Arms we take,
And each immortal Nerve with Horror ſhake.
For thus I ſpeak, and what I ſpeak ſhall ſtand;
What Pow'r ſoe'er provokes our lifted Hand,
On this our Hill no more ſhall hold his Place,
Cut off, and exil'd from th'Aethereal Race.
Juno and Pallas grieving hear the Doom,
But feaſt their Souls on Ilion's Woes to come.
Tho' ſecret Anger ſwell'd Minerva's Breaſt,
The prudent Goddeſs yet her Wrath repreſt,
But Juno, impotent of Rage, replies.
What haſt thou ſaid, Oh Tyrant of the Skies!
Strength and Omnipotence inveſt thy Throne;
'Tis thine to puniſh; ours to grieve alone.
[272] For Greece we grieve, abandon'd by her Fate
To drink the Dregs of thy unmeaſur'd Hate:
From Fields forbidden we ſubmiſs refrain,
With Arms unaiding ſee our Argives ſlain;
Yet grant our Counſels ſtill their Breaſts may move,
Leſt all ſhould periſh in the Rage of Jove.
The Goddeſs thus: and thus the God replies
Who ſwells the Clouds, and blackens all the Skies.
The Morning Sun, awak'd by loud Alarms,
Shall ſee th' Almighty Thunderer in Arms.
What Heaps of Argives then ſhall load the Plain,
Theſe radiant Eyes ſhall view, and view in vain.
Nor ſhall great Hector ceaſe the Rage of Fight,
The Navy flaming, and thy Greeks in Flight,
Ev'n till the Day, when certain Fates ordain
That ſtern Achilles (his Patroclus ſlain)
Shall riſe in Vengeance, and lay waſte the Plain.
For ſuch is Fate, nor can'ſt thou turn its Courſe
With all thy Rage, with all thy Rebel Force.
Fly, if thou wilt, to Earth's remoteſt Bound,
Where on her utmoſt Verge the Seas reſound;
[273] Where curs'd Iäpetus and Saturn dwell,
Faſt by the Brink, within the Steams of Hell;
No Sun e'er gilds the gloomy Horrors there,
No chearful Gales refreſh the lazy Air:
There arm once more the bold Titanian Band;
And arm in vain: For what I will, ſhall ſtand.
Now deep in Ocean ſunk the Lamp of Light,
And drew behind the cloudy Veil of Night:
The conqu'ring Trojans mourn his Beams decay'd;
The Greeks rejoicing bleſs the friendly Shade.
The Victors keep the Field; and Hector calls
A martial Council near the Navy-Walls:
Theſe to Scamander's Bank apart he led,
Where thinly ſcatter'd lay the Heaps of Dead.
Th' aſſembled Chiefs, deſcending on the Ground,
Attend his Order, and their Prince ſurround.
A maſſy Spear he bore of mighty Strength,
Of full ten Cubits was the Lance's Length;
The Point was Steel, refulgent to behold,
Fix'd to the Wood with circling Rings of Gold:
The noble Hector on this Lance reclin'd,
And bending forward, thus reveal'd his Mind.
[274]
Ye valiant Trojans, with Attention hear!
Ye Dardan Bands, and gen'rous Aids give ear!
This Day, we hop'd, would wrap in conq'ring Flame
Greece with her Ships, and crown our Toils with Fame:
But Darkneſs now, to ſave the Cowards, falls,
And guards them trembling in their wooden Walls.
Obey the Night, and uſe her peaceful Hours
Our Steeds to forage, and refreſh our Pow'rs.
Strait from the Town be Sheep and Oxen ſought,
And ſtrength'ning Bread, and gen'rous Wine be brought.
Wide o'er the Field, high-blazing to the Sky,
Let num'rous Fires the abſent Sun ſupply;
The flaming Piles with plenteous Fuel raiſe,
Till the bright Morn her purple Beam diſplays:
Leſt in the Silence and the Shades of Night,
Greece on her ſable Ships attempt her Flight.
Not unmoleſted let the Wretches gain
Their lofty Decks, and ſafely cleave the Main;
Some hoſtile Wound let ev'ry Dart beſtow,
Some laſting Token of the Phrygian Foe,
Wounds, that long hence may ask their Spouſes Care,
And warn their Children from a Trojan War.
[275] Now thro' the Circuit of our Ilian Wall,
Let ſacred Heralds ſound the ſolemn Call;
To bid the Sires with hoary Honours crown'd,
And beardleſs Youths, the Battlements ſurround.
Firm be the Guard, while diſtant lie our Pow'rs,
And let the Matrons hang with Lights the Tow'rs:
Leſt under Covert of the Midnight Shade,
Th' inſidious Foe the naked Town invade.
Suffice, to Night, theſe Orders to obey;
A nobler Charge ſhall rowze the dawning Day.
The Gods, I truſt, ſhall give to Hector's Hand,
From theſe deteſted Foes to free the Land,
Who plow'd, with Fates averſe, the wat'ry way;
For Trojan Vulturs a predeſtin'd Prey.
Our common Safety muſt be now the Care;
But ſoon as Morning paints the Fields of Air,
Sheath'd in bright Arms let ev'ry Troop engage,
And the fir'd Fleet behold the Battel rage.
Then, then ſhall Hector and Tydides prove,
Whoſe Fates are heavieſt in the Scale of Jove.
To Morrow's Light (oh haſte the glorious Morn!)
Shall ſee his bloody Spoils in Triumph born,
[276] With this keen Javelin ſhall his Breaſt be gor'd,
And proſtrate Heroes bleed around their Lord.
Certain as this, oh might my Days endure,
From Age inglorious and black Death ſecure;
So might my Life and Glory know no bound,
Like Pallas worſhip'd, like the Sun renown'd;
As the next Dawn, the laſt they ſhall enjoy,
Shall cruſh the Greeks, and end the Woes of Troy.
The Leader ſpoke. From all his Hoſts around
Shouts of Applauſe along the Shores reſound.
Each from the Yoke the ſmoaking Steeds unty'd,
And fix'd their Headſtalls to his Chariot-ſide.
Fat Sheep and Oxen from the Town are led,
With gen'rous Wine, and all-ſuſtaining Bread.
Full Hecatombs lay burning on the Shore;
The Winds to Heav'n the curling Vapours bore.
Ungrateful Off'ring to th' immortal Pow'rs,
Whoſe Wrath hung heavy o'er the Trojan Tow'rs;
Nor Priam, nor his Sons obtain'd their Grace;
Proud Troy they hated, and her guilty Race.
The Troops exulting ſate in order round,
And beaming Fires illumin'd all the Ground.
[277] As when the Moon, refulgent Lamp of Night!
O'er Heav'ns clear Azure ſheds her ſacred Light,
When not a Breath diſturbs the deep Serene;
And not a Cloud o'ercaſts the ſolemn Scene;
Around her Throne the vivid Planets roll,
And Stars unnumber'd gild the glowing Pole,
O'er the dark Trees a yellower Verdure ſhed,
And tip with Silver ev'ry Mountain's Head;
Then ſhine the Vales, the Rocks in Proſpect riſe,
A Flood of Glory burſts from all the Skies:
The conſcious Swains, rejoicing in the Sight,
Eye the blue Vault, and bleſs the uſeful Light.
So many Flames before proud Ilion blaze,
And lighten glimm'ring Xanthus with their Rays.
The long Reflections of the diſtant Fires
Gleam on the Walls, and tremble on the Spires.
A thouſand Piles the dusky Horrors gild,
And ſhoot a ſhady Luſtre o'er the Field.
Full fifty Guards each flaming Pile attend,
Whoſe umber'd Arms, by fits, thick Flaſhes ſend.
Loud neigh the Courſers o'er their Heaps of Corn,
And ardent Warriors wait the riſing Morn.

OBSERVATIONS ON THE Eighth Book.
[281]OBSERVATIONS ON THE EIGHTH BOOK.

[]

I.

HOMER, like moſt of the Greeks, is thought to have travell'd into Aegypt, and brought from the Prieſts there not only their Learning, but their manner of conveying it in Fables and Hieroglyphicks. This is neceſſary to be conſider'd by thoſe who would thoroughly penetrate into the Beauty and Deſign of many Parts of this Author. For whoever reflects that this was the Mode of Learning in thoſe Times, will make no doubt but there are ſeveral Myſteries both of Natural and Moral Philoſophy involv'd in his Fictions, which otherwiſe in the literal Meaning appear too trivial or irrational; and it is but juſt, when theſe are not plain or immediately intelligible, to imagine that ſomething of this kind may be hid under them. Nevertheleſs, as Homer travell'd not with a direct View of writing Philoſophy or Theology, ſo he might often uſe theſe Hieroglyphical Fables and Traditions as Embelliſhments of his Poetry only, without taking the Pains to open their myſtical Meaning to his Readers, and perhaps without diving very deeply into it himſelf.

II.

‘VERSE 25. Let down our golden everlaſting Chain.]’ The various Opinions of the Ancients concerning this Paſſage are [282] collected by Euſtathius. Jupiter ſays, If he holds this Chain of Gold, the Force of all the Gods is unable to draw him down, but that he can draw up them, the Seas, and the Earth, and cauſe the whole Univerſe to hang unactive. Some think that Jupiter ſignifies the Aether, the golden Chain the Sun: If the Aether did not temper the Rays of the Sun as they paſs thro' it, his Beams would not only drink up and exhale the Ocean in Vapours, but alſo exhale the Moiſture from the Veins of the Earth, which is the Cement that holds it together; by which means the whole Creation would become unactive, and all its Powers be ſuſpended.

Others affirm, that by this golden Chain may be meant the Days of the World's Duration, [...], which are as it were painted by the Luſtre of the Sun, and follow one another in a ſucceſſive Chain till they arrive at their final Period: While Jupiter or the Aether (which the Ancients call'd the Soul of all Things) ſtill remains unchanged.

Plato in his Theaetetus ſays that by this golden Chain is meant the Sun, whoſe Rays enliven all Nature and cement the Parts of the Univerſe.

The Stoicks will have it that by Jupiter is implied Deſtiny, which over-rules every thing both upon, and above the Earth.

Others (delighted with their own Conceits) imagine that Homer intended to repreſent the Excellence of Monarchy; that the Sceptre ought to be ſway'd by one Hand, and that all the Wheels of Government ſhould be put in Motion by one Perſon.

But I fancy a much better Interpretation may be found for this, if we allow (as there is great Reaſon to believe) that the Aegyptians underſtood the true Syſtem of the World, and that Pythagoras firſt learn'd it from them. They held that the Planets were kept in their Orbits by Gravitation upon the Sun, which was therefore called Jovis carcer; and ſometimes by the Sun (as Macrobius informs us) is meant Jupiter himſelf: We ſee too that the moſt prevailing Opinion of Antiquity fixes it to the Sun; ſo that I think it will be no ſtrained Interpretation to ſay, that by the Inability of the Gods to pull Jupiter out of his Place with this Catena, may be underſtood [283] the ſuperior attractive Force of the Sun, whereby he continues unmoved, and draws all the reſt of the Planets toward him.

III.

‘VERSE 16. Low in the dark Tartarean Gulf, &c.]’ This Opinion of Tartarus, the Place of Torture for the Impious after Death, might alſo be taken from the Aegyptians: for it ſeems not improbable, as ſome Writers have obſerved, that ſome Tradition might then be ſpread in the Eaſtern Parts of the World, of the Fall of the Angels, the Puniſhment of the Damned, and other ſacred Truths which were afterwards more fully explain'd and taught by the Prophets and Apoſtles. Theſe Homer ſeems to allude to in this and other Paſſages; as where Vulcan is ſaid to be precipitated from Heaven in the firſt Book, where Jupiter threatens Mars with Tartarus in the fifth, and where the Daemon of Diſcord is caſt out of Heaven in the nineteenth. Virgil has tranſlated a part of theſe Lines into the ſixth Aeneid.

—Tum Tartarus ipſe
Bis patet in praeceps tantum, tenditque ſub umbras,
Quantus ad aethereum coeli ſuſpectus Olympum.

And Milton in his firſt Book,

As far remov'd from God and Light of Heav'n,
As from the Centre thrice to th' utmoſt Pole.

It may not be unpleaſing juſt to obſerve the Gradation in theſe three great Poets, as if they had vied with each other, in extending this Idea of the Depth of Hell. Homer ſays as far, Virgil twice as far, Milton thrice.

IV.

‘VERSE 35. Th' Almighty ſpoke.]’ Homer in this whole Paſſage plainly ſhews his Belief of one ſupreme, omnipotent [284] God, whom he introduces with a Majeſty and Superiority worthy the great Ruler of the Univerſe. Accordingly Juſtin Martyr cites it as a Proof of our Author's attributing the Power and Government of all things to one Firſt God, whoſe Divinity is ſo far ſuperior to all other Deities, that if compared to him they may be rank'd among Mortals. Admon. ad Gentes. Upon this Account, and with the Authority of that learned Father, I have ventur'd to apply to Jupiter in this Place ſuch Appellatives as are ſuitable to the ſupreme Deity: a Practice I would be cautious of uſing in many others where the Notions and Deſcriptions of our Author muſt be own'd to be unworthy of the Divinity.

V.

‘VERSE 39. O firſt and greateſt! &c.]’ Homer is not only to be admir'd for keeping up the Characters of his Heroes, but for adapting his Speeches to the Characters of his Gods. Had Juno here given the Reply, ſhe would have begun with ſome Mark of Reſentment, but Pallas is all Submiſſion; Juno would probably have contradicted him, but Pallas only begs leave to be ſorry for thoſe whom ſhe muſt not aſſiſt; Juno would have ſpoken with the Prerogative of a Wife, but Pallas makes her Addreſs with the Obſequiouſneſs of a prudent Daughter. Euſtathius.

VI.

‘VERSE 70. For on this dreadful Day The Fate of Fathers, Wives, and Infants lay.]’ It may be neceſſary to explain why the Trojans thought themſelves obliged to fight in order to defend their Wives and Children. One would think they might have kept within their Walls, the Grecians made no Attempt to batter them, neither were they inveſted; and the Country was open on all ſides except towards the Sea, to give them Proviſions. The moſt natural thought is, that they and their Auxiliaries being very numerous, could not ſubſiſt but from a large Country about them; and perhaps not [285] without the Sea, and the Rivers, where the Greeks encamp'd: That in time the Greeks would have ſurrounded them, and block'd up every Avenue to their Town: That they thought themſelves obliged to defend the Country with all the Inhabitants of it; and that indeed at firſt this was rather a War between two Nations, and became not properly a Siege till afterwards.

VII.

‘VERSE 71. The Gates unfolding, &c.]’ There is a wonderful Sublimity in theſe Lines; one ſees in the Deſcription the Gates of a warlike City thrown open, and an Army pouring forth; and one hears the Trampling of Men and Horſes ruſhing to the Battel.

Theſe Verſes are, as Euſtathius obſerves, only a Repetition of a former Paſſage, which ſhews that the Poet was particularly pleas'd with them, and that he was not aſhamed of a Repetition when he could not expreſs the ſame Image more happily than he had already done.

VIII.

‘VERSE 84. The ſacred Light.]’ Homer deſcribing the Advance of the Day from Morning till Noon, calls it [...], or ſacred, ſays Euſtathius, who gives this Reaſon for it, becauſe that Part of the Day was allotted to Sacrifice and religious Worſhip.

IX.

‘VERSE 88. The Sire of Gods his golden Scales ſuſpends.]’ This Figure repreſenting God as weighing the Deſtinies of Men in his Balances, was firſt made uſe of in holy Writ. In the Book of Job, which is acknowledg'd to be one of the moſt ancient of all the Scriptures, he prays to be weighed in an even Balance, that God may know his Integrity. Daniel declares from God to Belſhazzar, thou art weighed in the Balances, and ſound light. And Proverbs, Ch. 16. ℣. 11. A juſt [286] Weight and Balance are the Lord's. Our Author has it again in the twenty ſecond Iliad, and it appear'd ſo beautiful to ſucceeding Poets, that Aeſchylus (as we are told by Plutarch de aud. Poetis) writ a whole Tragedy upon this Foundation, which he called Pſychoſtaſia, or the weighing of Souls. In this he introduced Thetis and Aurora ſtanding on either ſide of Jupiter's Scales, and praying each for her Son while the Heroes fought.

[...]
[...]
[...]

It has been copied by Virgil in the laſt Aeneid.

Jupiter ipſe duas aequato examine lances
Suſtinet, & fata imponit diverſa duorum:
Quem damnet labor, & quo vergat pondere lethum.

I cannot agree with Madam Dacier that theſe Verſes are inferior to Homer's; but Macrobius obſerves with ſome Colour, that the Application of them is not ſo juſt as in our Author; for Virgil had made Juno ſay before, that Turnus would certainly periſh.

Nunc Juvenem imparibus video concurrere Fatis,
Parcarumque dies & vis inimica propinquat.

So that there was leſs reaſon for weighing his Fate with that of Aeneas after that Declaration. Scaliger trifles miſerably when he ſays Juno might have learn'd this from the Fates, tho' Jupiter did not know it, before he conſulted them by weighing the Scales. But Macrobius's Excuſe in behalf of Virgil is much better worth regard: I ſhall tranſcribe it entire, as it is perhaps the fineſt Period in all that Author. Haec & alia ignoſcenda Virgilio, qui ſtudii circa Homerum nimietate excedit modum. Et revera non poterat non in aliquibus minor videri, qui per omnem poëſim ſuam hoc uno eſt praecipue uſus Archetypo. Acriter enim in Homerum oculos intendit, ut aemularetur [287] ejus non modo magnitudinem ſed & ſimplicitatem, & praeſentiam orationis, & tacitam majeſtatem. Hinc diverſarum inter Heroas ſuos perſonarum varia magnificatio, hinc Deorum interpoſitio, hinc autoritas fabuloſa, hinc affectuum naturalium expreſſio, hinc monumentorum perſecutio, hinc parabolarum exaggeratio, hinc torrentis orationis ſonitus, hinc rerum ſingularum cum ſplendore faſtigium. Sat. l. 5. c. 13.

As to the Aſcent or Deſcent of the Scales, Euſtathius explains it in this manner. The Deſcent of the Scale toward Earth ſignifies Unhappineſs and Death, the Earth being the Place of Misfortune and Mortality; the Mounting of it ſignifies Proſperity and Life, the ſuperior Regions being the Seats of Felicity and Immortality.

Milton has admirably improved upon this fine Fiction, and with an Alteration agreeable to a Chriſtian Poet. He feigns that the Almighty weighed Satan in ſuch Scales, but judiciouſly makes this difference, that the Mounting of his Scale denoted ill Succeſs; whereas the ſame Circumſtance in Homer points the Victory. His Reaſon was, becauſe Satan was immortal, and therefore the ſinking of his Scale could not ſignify Death, but the mounting of it did his Lightneſs, conformable to the Expreſſion we juſt now cited from Daniel.

Th' Eternal to prevent ſuch horrid Fray
Hung forth in Heav'n his golden Scales, yet ſeen
Between Aſtraea and the Scorpion Sign:
Wherein all things created firſt he weigh'd,
The pendulous round Earth, with balanc'd Air,
In counterpoiſe; now ponders all Events,
Battels and Realms: In theſe he put two Weights,
The Sequel each of Parting and of Fight;
The latter quick up-flew, and kick'd the Beam.

I believe upon the whole this may with Juſtice be preferr'd both to Homer's and Virgil's, on account of the beautiful Alluſion to the Sign of Libra in the Heavens, and that noble Imagination of the Maker's weighing the whole World at the Creation, and all the Events of it ſince; ſo correſpondent at once to Philoſophy, and to the Style of the Scriptures.

X.

[288]

‘VERSE 93. Then Jove from Ida's Top, &c.]’ This Diſtreſs of the Greeks being ſuppos'd, Jupiter's Preſence was abſolutely neceſſary to bring them into it: for the inferior Gods that were friendly to Greece were rather more in Number and ſuperior in Force to thoſe that favour'd Troy; and the Poet had ſhew'd before, when both Armies were left to themſelves, that the Greeks could overcome the Trojans; beſides it would have been an indelible Reflection upon his Countrymen to have been vanquiſh'd by a ſmaller Number. Therefore nothing leſs than the immediate Interpoſition of Jupiter was requiſite, which ſhews the wonderful Addreſs of the Poet in his Machinery. Virgil makes Turnus ſay in the laſt Aeneid,

—Dii me terrent & Jupiter hoſtis.

And indeed this Defeat of the Greeks ſeems more to their Glory than all their Victories, ſince even Jupiter's Omnipotence could with difficulty effect it.

XI.

‘VERSE 95. Thick Light'nings flaſh.]’ This Notion of Jupiter's declaring againſt the Greeks by Thunder and Lightning, is drawn (ſays Dacier) from Truth itſelf. Sam. 1. Ch. 7. And as Samuel was offering up the Burnt-offering, the Philiſtines drew near to Battel againſt Iſrael: But the Lord thunder'd with a great Thunder on that Day upon the Philiſtines, and diſcomfited them, and they were ſmitten before Iſrael.’ To which may be added that in the 18th Pſalm. The Lord thunder'd in the Heavens, and the Higheſt gave his Voice; Hailſtones and Coals of Fire. Yea, he ſent out his Arrows and ſcatter'd them; he ſhot out Lightnings and diſcomfited them.

Upon occaſion of the various Succeſſes given by Jupiter, now to Grecians, now to Trojans, whom he ſuffers to periſh interchangeably; ſome have fancy'd this Suppoſition injurious [289] to the Nature of the Sovereign Being, as repreſenting him variable or inconſtant in his Rewards and Puniſhments. It may be anſwer'd, that as God makes uſe of ſome People to chaſtiſe others, and none are totally void of Crimes, he often decrees to puniſh thoſe very Perſons for leſſer Sins, whom he makes his Inſtruments to puniſh others for greater: ſo purging them from their own Iniquities before they become worthy to be Chaſtiſers of other Men's. This is the Caſe of the Greeks here, whom Jupiter permits to ſuffer many ways, tho' he had deſtin'd them to revenge the Rape of Helen upon Troy. There is a Hiſtory in the Bible juſt of this Nature. In the 20th Chapter of Judges, the Iſraelites are commanded to make War againſt the Tribe of Benjamin, to puniſh a Rape on the Wife of a Levite committed in the City of Gibeah: When they have laid Siege to the Place, the Benjamites ſally upon them with ſo much Vigour, that a great Number of the Beſiegers are deſtroy'd; they are aſtoniſh'd at theſe Defeats, as having undertaken the Siege in Obedience to the Command of God: But they are ſtill order'd to perſiſt, till at length they burn the City, and almoſt extinguiſh the Race of Benjamin. There are many Inſtances in Scripture, where Heaven is repreſented to change its Decrees according to the Repentance or Relapſes of Men: Hezechias is order'd to prepare for Death, and afterwards fifteen Years are added to his Life: It is foretold to Achab that he ſhall periſh miſerably, and then upon his Humiliation God defers the Puniſhment till the Reign of his Succeſſor, &c.

I muſt confeſs, that in comparing Paſſages of the ſacred Books with our Author one ought to uſe a great deal of Caution and Reſpect. If there are ſome Places in Scripture that in Compliance to human Underſtanding repreſent the Deity as acting by Motives like thoſe of Men; there are infinitely more that ſhew him as he is, all Perfection, Juſtice, and Beneficence; whereas in Homer the general Tenor of the Poem repreſents Jupiter as a Being ſubject to Paſſion, Inequality, and Imperfection. I think M. Dacier has carry'd theſe Compariſons too far, and is too zealous to defend him upon every occaſion in the Points of Theology and Doctrine.

XII.

[290]

‘VERSE 115. But Diomed beheld.]’ The whole following Story of Neſtor and Diomed is admirably contriv'd to raiſe the Character of the latter. He maintains his Intrepidity, and ventures ſingly to bring off the old Hero, notwithſtanding the general Conſternation. The Art of Homer will appear wonderful to any one who conſiders all the Circumſtances of this Part, and by what degrees he reconciles this Flight of Diomed to that undaunted Character. The Thunderbolt falls juſt before him; that is not enough; Neſtor adviſes him to ſubmit to Heaven; this does not prevail, he cannot bear the Thoughts of Flight: Neſtor drives back the Chariot without his Conſent; he is again inclined to go on till Jupiter again declares againſt him. Theſe two Heroes are very artfully placed together, becauſe none but a Perſon of Neſtor's Authority and Wiſdom could have prevailed upon Diomed to retreat: A younger Warrior could not ſo well in Honour have given him ſuch Counſel, and from no other would he have taken it. To cauſe Diomed to fly, required both the Counſel of Neſtor, and the Thunder of Jupiter.

XIII.

‘VERSE 121. Oh turn and ſave, &c.]’ There is a Decorum in making Diomed call Ulyſſes to the Aſſiſtance of his Brother Sage; for who better knew the Importance of Neſtor, than Ulyſſes? But the Queſtion is, whether Ulyſſes did not drop Neſtor as one great Miniſter would do another, and fancy'd He ſhould be the wiſe Man when the other was gone? Euſtathius indeed is of Opinion that Homer meant not to caſt any Aſperſion on Ulyſſes, nor would have given him ſo many noble Appellations when in the ſame Breath he reflected upon his Courage. But perhaps the contrary Opinion may not be ill grounded if we obſerve the manner of Homer's Expreſſion. Diomed call'd Ulyſſes, but Ulyſſes was deaf, he did not hear; and whereas the Poet ſays of the reſt, that they had [291] not the Hardineſs to ſtay, Ulyſſes is not only ſaid to fly, but [...], to make violent Haſte towards the Navy.

Ovid at leaſt underſtood it thus, for he puts an Objection in Ajax's Mouth, Metam. 13. drawn from this Paſſage, which would have been improper had not Ulyſſes made more ſpeed than he ought; ſince Ajax on the ſame occaſion retreated as well as he.

XIV.

‘VERSE 142. The thirſty Fury of my flying Spear.]’ Homer has Figures of that Boldneſs which it is impoſſible to preſerve in another Language. The Words in the Original are [...], Hector ſhall ſee if my Spear is mad in my Hands. The Tranſlation pretends only to have taken ſome Shadow of this, in animating the Spear, giving it Fury, and ſtrengthning the Figure with the Epithet thirſty.

XV.

‘VERSE 159. And now had Death, &c.]’ Euſtathius obſerves how wonderfully Homer ſtill advances the Character of Diomed: when all the Leaders of Greece were retreated, the Poet ſays that had not Jupiter interpoſed, Diomed alone had driven the whole Army of Troy to their Walls, and with his ſingle Hand have vanquiſh'd an Army.

XVI.

‘VERSE 164. The Ground before him flam'd.]’ Here is a Battel deſcrib'd with ſo much Fire, that the warmeſt Imagination of an able Painter cannot add a Circumſtance to heighten the Surprize or Horror of the Picture. Here is what they call the Fracas, or Hurry and Tumult of the Action in the utmoſt Strength of Colouring, upon the Foreground; and the Repoſe or Solemnity at a diſtance, with great Propriety and Judgment. Firſt, in the Eloignement, we behold Jupiter in golden Armour, ſurrounded with Glory, upon the Summit [292] of Mount Ida; his Chariot and Horſes by him, wrapt in dark Clouds. In the next Place below the Horizon, appear the Clouds rolling and opening, thro' which the Lightning flaſhes in the Face of the Greeks, who are flying on all ſides; Agamemnon and the reſt of the Commanders in the Rear, in Poſtures of Aſtoniſhment. Towards the middle of the Piece, we ſee Neſtor in the utmoſt Diſtreſs, one of his Horſes having a deadly Wound in the Forehead with a Dart, which makes him rear and writhe, and diſorder the reſt. Neſtor is cutting the Harneſs with his Sword, while Hector advances driving full ſpeed. Diomed interpoſes, in an Action of the utmoſt Fierceneſs and Intrepidity: Theſe two Heroes make the principal Figures and Subject of the Picture. A burning Thunderbolt falls juſt before the Feet of Diomed's Horſes, from whence a horrid Flame of Sulphur ariſes.

This is only a Specimen of a ſingle Picture deſign'd by Homer out of the many with which he has beautified the Iliad. And indeed every thing is ſo natural and ſo lively, that the Hiſtory-Painter would generally have no more to do but to delincate the Forms, and copy the Circumſtances juſt as he finds them deſcribed by this great Maſter. We cannot therefore wonder at what has been ſo often ſaid of Homer's furniſhing Ideas to the moſt famous Painters of Antiquity.

XVII.

‘VERSE 194. The ſolid Skies.]’ Homer ſometimes calls the Heavens Brazen, [...], and Jupiter's Palace, [...]. One might think from hence that the Notion of the Solidity of the Heavens, which is indeed very ancient, had been generally receiv'd. The Scripture uſes Expreſſions agreeable to it, A Heaven of Braſs, and the Firmament.

XVIII.

‘VERSE 214. Heard ye the Voice of Jove?]’ It was a noble and effectual manner of encouraging the Troops, by telling them that God was ſurely on their ſide: This, it ſeems, has been an ancient Practice, as it has been uſed in modern Times by thoſe who never read Homer.

XIX.

[293]

‘VERSE 226. Now Xanthus, Aethon, &c.]’ There have been thoſe who blame this manner introduced by Homer and copied by Virgil, of making a Hero addreſs his Diſcourſe to his Horſes. Virgil has given human Sentiments to the Horſe of Pallas, and made him weep for the Death of his Maſter. In the tenth Aeneid Mezentius ſpeaks to his Horſe in the ſame manner as Hector does here. Nay; he makes Turnus utter a Speech to his Spear, and invoke it as a Divinity. All this is agreeable to the Art of Oratory, which makes it a Precept to ſpeak to every thing, and make every thing ſpeak; of which there are innumerable applauded Inſtances in the moſt celebrated Orators. Nothing can be more ſpirited and affecting than this Enthuſiaſm of Hector, who, in the Tranſport of his Joy at the Sight of Diomed flying before him, breaks out into this Apoſtrophe to his Horſes, as he is purſuing. And indeed the Air of this whole Speech is agreeable to a Man drunk with the Hopes of Succeſs, and promiſing himſelf a Series of Conqueſts. He has in Imagination already forced the Grecian Retrenchments, ſet the Fleet in Flames, and deſtroyed the whole Army.

XX.

‘VERSE 231. For this my Spouſe.]’ There is (ſays M. Dacier) a ſecret Beauty in this Paſſage, which perhaps will only be perceiv'd by thoſe who are particularly vers'd in Homer. He deſcribes a Princeſs ſo tender in her Love to her Husband, that ſhe takes care conſtantly to go and meet him at his Return from every Battel, and in the Joy of ſeeing him again, runs to his Horſes, and gives them Bread and Wine as a Teſtimony of her Acknowledgment to them for bringing him back. Notwithſtanding the Raillery that may be paſt upon this Remark, I take a Lady to be the beſt Judge to what Actions a Woman may be carry'd by Fondneſs to her Husband. Homer does not expreſly mention Bread, but Wheat; and the Commentators are not agreed whether ſhe gave them [294] Wine to drink, or ſteep'd the Grain in it. Hobbes tranſlates it as I do.

XXI.

‘VERSE 237. Vulcanian Arms, the Labour of a God.]’ Theſe were the Arms that Diomed had received from Glaucus, and a Prize worthy Hector, being (as we were told in the ſixth Book) entirely of Gold. I do not remember any other Place where the Shield of Neſtor is celebrated by Homer.

XXII.

‘VERSE 245. Yet Aegae, Helice.]’ Theſe were two Cities of Greece in which Neptune was particularly honoured, and in each of which there was a Temple and Statue of him.

XXIII.

‘VERSE 262. Where the deep Trench.]’ That is to ſay, the Space betwixt the Ditch and the Wall was filled with the Men and Chariots of the Greeks. Hector not having yet paſt the Ditch. Euſtathius.

XXIV.

‘VERSE 269. His Purple Robe.]’ Agamemnon here addreſſes himſelf to the Eyes of the Army; his Voice might have been loſt in the Confuſion of a Retreat, but the Motion of this purple Robe could not fail of attracting the Regards of the Soldiers. His Speech alſo is very remarkable; he firſt endeavours to ſhame them into Courage, and then begs of Jupiter to give that Courage Succeſs; at leaſt ſo far as not to ſuffer the whole Army to be deſtroyed. Euſtathius.

XXV.

‘VERSE 270. High on the midmoſt Bark, &c.]’ We learn from hence the Situation of the Ships of Ulyſſes, Achilles, and [295] Ajax. The two latter being the ſtrongeſt Heroes of the Army, were placed to defend either end of the Fleet as moſt obnoxious to the Incurſions or Surprizes of the Enemy; and Ulyſſes being the ableſt Head, was allotted the middle Place, as more ſafe and convenient for the Council, and that he might be the nearer if any Emergency required his Advice. Euſtathius, Spondanus.

XXVI.

‘VERSE 293. Thus pray'd the King, and Heav'ns great Father heard.]’ It is to be obſerv'd in general, that Homer hardly ever makes his Heroes ſucceed, unleſs they have firſt offer'd a Prayer to Heaven. Whether they engage in War, go upon an Embaſſy, undertake a Voyage; in a word, whatever they enterprize, they almoſt always ſupplicate ſome God; and whenever we find this omitted, we may expect ſome Adverſity to befall them in the Courſe of the Story.

XXVII.

‘VERSE 297. The Eagle, ſacred Bird!]’ Jupiter upon the Prayers of Agamemnon ſends an Omen to encourage the Greeks. The Application of it is obvious: The Eagle ſignified Hector, the Fawn denoted the Fear and Flight of the Greeks, and being drop'd at the Altar of Jupiter, ſhew'd that they would be ſaved by the Protection of that God. The word [...] (ſays Euſtathius) has a great Significancy in this Place. The Greeks having juſt received this happy Omen from Jupiter, were offering Oblations to him under the Title of the Father of Oracles. There may alſo be a natural Reaſon for this Appellation, as Jupiter ſignified the Aether, which is the Vehicle of all Sounds.

Virgil has a fine Imitation of this Paſſage, but diverſify'd with many more Circumſtances, where he make Juturna ſhew a Prodigy of the like Nature to encourage the Latins, Aen. 12.

Namque volans rubrâ ſulvus Jovis ales in aethrâ,
Litoreas agitabat aves, turbamque ſonantem
[296] Agminis aligeri: ſubito cum lapſus ad undas
Cycnum excellentem pedibus rapit improbus uncis.
Arrexere animos Itali: cunctaeque volucres
Convertunt clamore fugam (mirabile viſu)
Aetheraque obſcurant pennis, hoſtemque per auras
Factâ nube premunt: donec vi victus & ipſo
Pondere defecit, praedamque ex unguibus ales
Projecit fluvio, penituſque in nubila fugit.

XXVIII.

‘VERSE 305. Tydides firſt.]’ Diomed, as we have before ſeen, was the laſt that retreated from the Thunder of Jupiter; he is now the firſt that returns to the Battel. It is worth while to obſerve the Behaviour of the Hero upon this Occaſion: He retreats with the utmoſt Reluctancy, and advances with the greateſt Ardour, he flies with greater Impatience to meet danger, than he could before to put himſelf in Safety. Euſtathius.

XXIX.

‘VERSE 320. Secure behind the Telamonian Shield.]’ Euſtathius obſerves that Teucer being an excellent Archer, and uſing only the Bow, could not wear any Arms which would incumber him, and render him leſs expedite in his Archery. Homer to ſecure him from the Enemy, repreſents him as ſtanding behind Ajax's Shield, and ſhooting from thence. Thus the Poet gives us a new Circumſtance of a Battel, and tho' Ajax atchieves nothing himſelf, he maintains a Superiority over Teucer: Ajax may be ſaid to kill theſe Trojans with the Arrows of Teucer.

There is alſo a wonderful Tenderneſs in the Simile with which he illuſtrates the Retreat of Teucer behind the Shield of Ajax: Such tender Circumſtances ſoften the Horrors of a Battel, and diffuſe a Dawn of Serenity over the Soul of the Reader.

XXX.

[297]

‘VERSE 336. Great Agamemnon views.]’ Euſtathius obſerves that Homer would here teach the Duty of a General in a Battel. He muſt obſerve the Behaviour of his Soldiers: He muſt honour the Hero, reproach the Coward, reduce the diſorderly; and for the Encouragement of the deſerving, he muſt promiſe Rewards, that Deſert in Arms may not only be paid with Glory.

XXXI.

‘VERSE 342. Sprung from an Alien's Bed.]’ Agamemnon here in the Height of his Commendations of Teucer, tells him of his ſpurious Birth: This (ſays Euſtathius) was reckon'd no Diſgrace among the Ancients; nothing being more common than for Heroes of old to take their Female Captives to their Beds; and as ſuch Captives were then given for a Reward of Valour, and as a Matter of Glory, it could be no Reproach to be deſcended from them. Thus Teucer (ſays Euſtathius) was deſcended from Telamon, and Heſione the Siſter of Priam, a Female Captive.

XXXII.

‘VERSE 363. This Dog of Troy.]’ This is literal from the Greek, and I have ventured it as no improper Expreſſion of the Rage of Teucer for having been ſo often diſappointed in his Aim, and of his Paſſion againſt that Enemy who had ſo long prevented all the Hopes of the Grecians. Milton was not ſcrupulous of imitating even theſe, which the modern Refiners call unmannerly Strokes of our Author (who knew to what Extreams human Paſſions might proceed, and was not aſhamed to copy them.) He has put this very Expreſſion into the Mouth of God himſelf, who upon beholding the Havock which Sin and Death made in the World, is moved in his Indignation to cry out,

See with what Heat theſe Dogs of Hell advance!

XXXIII.

[298]

‘VERSE 365. He miſs'd the Mark.]’ Theſe Words, ſays Euſtathius, are very artfully inſerted; the Reader might wonder why ſo skilful an Archer ſhould ſo often miſs his Mark, and it was neceſſary that Teucer ſhould miſs Hector becauſe Homer could not falſify the Hiſtory: This Difficulty he removes by the Intervention of Apollo, who wafts the Arrow aſide from him: The Poet does not tell us that this was done by the Hand of a God, till the Arrow of Teucer came ſo near Hector as to kill his Charioteer, which made ſome ſuch Contrivance neceſſary.

XXXIV.

‘VERSE 370. As full-blown Poppies.]’ This Simile is very beautiful, and exactly repreſents the manner of Gorgythion's Death: There is ſuch a Sweetneſs in the Compariſon, that it makes us pity the Youth's Fall, and almoſt feel his Wound. Virgil has apply'd it to the Death of Euryalus.

—Inque humeros cervix collapſa recumbit:
Purpureus veluti cum flos ſucciſus aratro
Langueſcit moriens; laſſove papavera collo
Demiſere caput, pluvia cum forte gravantur.

This is finely improved by the Roman Author with the Particulars of ſucciſus aratro, and laſſo collo. But it may on the other hand be obſerv'd in the favour of Homer, that the Circumſtance of the Head being oppreſſed and weigh'd down by the Helmet is ſo remarkably juſt, that it is a wonder Virgil omitted it, and the rather becauſe he had particularly taken notice before that it was the Helmet of Euryalus which occaſion'd the Diſcovery and unfortunate Death of this young Hero and his Friend.

One may make a general Obſervation, that Homer in thoſe Compariſons that breath an Air of Tenderneſs, is very exact, and adapts them in every Point to the Subject which he [299] is to illuſtrate: But in other Compariſons, where he is to inſpire the Soul with ſublime Sentiments, he gives a Looſe to his Fancy, and does not regard whether the Images exactly correſpond. I take the Reaſon of it to be this: In the firſt, the Copy muſt be like the Original to cauſe it to affect us; the Glaſs needs only to return the real Image to make it beautiful; whereas in the other, a Succeſſion of noble Ideas will cauſe the like Sentiments in the Soul, and tho' the Glaſs ſhould enlarge the Image, it only ſtrikes us with ſuch Thoughts as the Poet intended to raiſe, ſublime and great.

XXXV.

‘VERSE 393. There, where the Juncture knits the Channel Bone.]’ Hector ſtruck Teucer (it ſeems) juſt about the Articulation of the Arm, with the Shoulder; which cut the Tendon or wounded it ſo, that the Arm loſt its Force: This is a true Deſcription of the Effect of ſuch a Blow.

XXXVI.

‘VERSE 406. As the bold Hound that gives the Lion chace.]’ This Simile is the juſteſt imaginable; and gives the moſt lively Picture of the manner in which the Grecians fled, and Hector purſued them, ſtill ſlaughtering the hindmoſt. Gratius and Oppian have given us particular Deſcriptions of thoſe ſort of Dogs, of prodigious Strength and Size, which were employ'd to hunt and tear down wild Beaſts. To one of theſe fierce Animals he compares Hector, and one cannot but obſerve his Care not to diſgrace his Grecian Countrymen by an unworthy Compariſon: Tho' he is obliged to repreſent them flying, he makes them fly like Lions, and as they fly, turn frequently back upon their Purſuer; ſo that it is hard to ſay if they, or he, be in the greater Danger. On the contrary, when any of the Grecian Heroes purſue the Trojans, it is He that is the Lion, and the Flyers are but Sheep or trembling Deer.

XXXVII.

[300]

‘VERSE 438. The ſtubborn God, inflexible and hard.]’ It muſt be owned that this Speech of Minerva againſt Jupiter, ſhocks the Allegory more than perhaps any in the Poem. Unleſs the Deities may ſometimes be thought to mean no more than Beings that preſided over thoſe Parts of Nature, or thoſe Paſſions and Faculties of the Mind. Thus as Venus ſuggeſts unlawful as well as lawful Deſires, ſo Minerva may be deſcribed as the Goddeſs not only of Wiſdom but of Craft, that is, both of true and falſe Wiſdom. So the Moral of Minerva's ſpeaking raſhly of Jupiter may be, that the wiſeſt of finite Beings is liable to Paſſion and Indiſcretion, as the Commentators have already obſerv'd.

XXXVIII.

‘VERSE 460. What mighty Trojan then, on yonder Shore.]’ She means Hector, whoſe Death the Poet makes her foreſee is ſuch a lively manner as if the Image of the Hero lay bleeding before her. This Picture is noble, and agreeable to the Obſervation we formerly made of Homer's Method of Prophecying in the Spirit of Poetry.

XXXIX.

‘VERSE 468. Floats in rich Waves.]’ The Greek word is [...], pours the Veil on the Pavement. I muſt juſt take Notice that here is a Repetition of the ſame beautiful Verſes which the Author had uſed in the fifth Book.

XL.

‘VERSE 477. Smooth glides the Chariot, &c.]’ One would almoſt think Homer made his Gods and Goddeſſes deſcend from Olympus, only to mount again, and mount only to deſcend again, he is ſo remarkably delighted with the Deſcriptions [301] of their Horſes, and their manner of Flight. We have no leſs than three of theſe in the preſent Book.

XLI.

‘VERSE 500. For Juno headſtrong and imperious ſtill, She claims, &c.]’ Euſtathius obſerves here, if a good Man does us a Wrong, we are juſtly angry at it, but if it proceeds from a bad one, it is no more than we expected, we are not at all ſurprized, and we bear it with Patience.

There are many ſuch Paſſages as theſe in Homer which glance obliquely at the Fair Sex, and Jupiter is here forced to take upon himſelf the ſevere Husband, to teach Juno the Duty of a Wife.

XLII.

‘VERSE 522. But thee what deſp'rate Inſolence.]’ It is obſervable that Homer generally makes his Meſſengers, divine as well as human, very punctual in delivering their Meſſages in the very Words of the Perſons who commiſſion'd them. Iris however in the Cloſe of her Speech has ventur'd to go beyond her Inſtructions and all Rules of Decorum, by adding theſe Expreſſions of bitter Reproach to a Goddeſs of ſuperior Rank. The Words of the Original, [...], are too groſs to be literally tranſlated.

XLIII.

‘VERSE 524. Juno her Rage reſign'd.]’ Homer never intended to give us the Picture of a good Wife in the Deſcription of Juno: She obeys Jupiter, but it is a forced Obedience: She ſubmits rather to the Governor than to the Huſband, and is more afraid of his Lightning than his Commands.

Her Behaviour in this Place is very natural to a Perſon under a Diſappointment: She had ſet her Heart upon preferring the Greeks, but failing in that Point, ſhe aſſumes an Air of Indifference, and ſays, whether they live or die, ſhe is unconcern'd.

XLIV.

[302]

‘VERSE 530. They breathe or periſh as the Fates ordain.]’ The Tranſlator has turn'd this Line in Compliance to an old Obſervation upon Homer, which Macrobius has written, and ſeveral others have ſince fallen into: They ſay he was ſo great a Fataliſt, as not ſo much as to name the word Fortune in all his Works, but conſtantly Fate inſtead of it. This Remark ſeems curious enough, and indeed does agree with the general Tenor and Doctrine of this Poet; but unluckily it is not true, the Word which they have proſcribed being imply'd in the Original of this ℣. 430. [...].

XLV.

‘VERSE 545. And fix the Car on its immortal Baſe.]’ It is remark'd by Euſtathius that the word [...] ſignifies not only Altars, but Pedeſtals or Baſes, of Statues, &c. I think our Language will bear this literally, tho' M. Dacier durſt not venture it in the French. The Solemnity with which this Chariot of Jupiter is ſet up, by the Hands of a God, and cover'd with a fine Veil, makes it eaſy enough to imagine that this Diſtinction alſo might be ſhewn it.

XLVI.

‘VERSE 569. Juno and Pallas.]’ In the beginning of this Book Juno was ſilent, and Minerva reply'd: Here, ſays Euſtathius, Homer makes Juno reply with great Propriety to both their Characters. Minerva reſents the Uſage of Jupiter, but the Reverence ſhe bears to her Father, and her King, keeps her ſilent; ſhe has not leſs Anger than Juno, but more Reaſon. Minerva there ſpoke with all the Submiſſion and Deference that was owing from a Child to a Father, or from a Subject to a King; but Juno is more free with her Husband, ſhe is angry, and lets him know it by the firſt word ſhe utters.

Juno here repeats the ſame Words which had been us'd by [303] Minerva to Jupiter near the beginning of this Book. What is there utter'd by Wiſdom herſelf, and approv'd by him, is here ſpoken by a Goddeſs who (as Homer tells us at this very time) imprudently manifeſted her Paſſion, and whom Jupiter anſwers with Anger. To deal fairly, I cannot defend this in my Author, any more than ſome other of his Repetitions; as when Ajax in the fifteenth Iliad, ℣. 561. uſes the ſame Speech word for word to encourage the Greeks, which Agamemnon had made in the fifth, ℣. 529. I think it equally an Extreme, to vindicate all the Repetitions of Homer, and to excuſe none. However Euſtathius very ingeniouſly excuſes this, by ſaying that the ſame Speeches become entirely different by the different manner of introducing them. Minerva addreſs'd herſelf to Jupiter with Words full of Reſpect, but Juno with Terms of Reſentment. This, ſays he, ſhews the Effect of opening our Speeches with Art: It prejudices the Audience in our favour, and makes us ſpeak to Friends: whereas the Auditor naturally denies that Favour, which the Orator does not ſeem to ask; ſo that what he delivers, tho' it has equal Merit, labours under this Diſadvantage, that his Judges are his Enemies.

XLVII.

‘VERSE 590. Nor ſhall great Hector ceaſe, &c.]’ Here, ſays Euſtathius, the Poet prepares the Reader for what is to ſucceed: he gives us the Outlines of his Piece, which he is to fill up in the Progreſs of the Poem. This is ſo far from cloying the Reader's Appetite, that it raiſes it, and makes him deſirous to ſee the Picture drawn in its full length.

XLVIII.

‘VERSE 620. Ye valiant Trojans, &c.]’ Euſtathius obſerves that Hector here ſpeaks like a Soldier: He bears a Spear, not a Sceptre in his Hand; he harangues like a Warrior, but like a Victor; he ſeems to be too much pleaſed with himſelf, and in this Vein of Self-flattery, he promiſes a compleat Conqueſt over the Greeks.

XLIX.

[304]

‘VERSE 647. And let the Matrons.]’ I have been more obſervant of the Decorum in this Line than my Author himſelf. He calls the Women [...], an Epithet of ſcandalous Import, upon which Porphyry and the Greek Scholiaſt have ſaid but too much. I know no Man that has yet had the Impudence to tranſlate that Remark, in regard of which it is Politeneſs to imitate the Barbarians, and ſay, Graecum eſt, non legitur. For my part, I leave it as a Motive to ſome very curious Perſons of both Sexes to ſtudy the Greek Language.

L.

‘VERSE 679. Full Hecatombs, &c.]’ The ſix Lines that follow being a Tranſlation of four in the Original, are added from the Authority of Plato in Mr. Barnes his Edition: That Author cites them in his ſecond Alcibiades. There is no doubt of their being genuine, but the Queſtion is only whether they are rightly placed here? I ſhall not pretend to decide upon a Point which will doubtleſs be the Speculation of future Criticks.

LI.

‘VERSE 687. As when the Moon, &c.]’ This Compariſon is inferior to none in Homer. It is the moſt beautiful Nightpiece that can be found in Poetry. He preſents you with a Proſpect of the Heavens, the Seas, and the Earth: The Stars ſhine, the Air is ſerene, the World enlighten'd, and the Moon mounted in Glory. Euſtathius remarks that [...] does not ſignify the Moon at full, for then the Light of the Stars is diminiſh'd or loſt in the greater Brightneſs of the Moon. And others correct the word [...], to [...], for [...], but this Criticiſm is forced, and I ſee no Neceſſity why the Moon may not be ſaid to be bright, tho' it is not in the full. A Poet is not obliged to ſpeak with the Exactneſs of Philoſophy, but with the Liberty of Poetry.

LII.

[305]

‘VERSE 702. A thouſand Piles.]’ Homer in his Catalogue of the Grecian Ships, tho' he does not recount expreſly the Number of the Greeks, has given ſome Hints from whence the Sum of their Army may be collected. But in the ſame Book where he gives an Account of the Trojan Army, and relates the Names of the Leaders and Nations of the Auxiliaries, he ſays nothing by which we may infer the Number of the Army of the beſieged. To ſupply therefore that Omiſſion, he has taken occaſion by this Piece of Poetical Arithmetick, to inform his Reader, that the Trojan Army amounted to fifty thouſand. That the Aſſiſtant Nations are to be included herein, appears from what Dolon ſays in l. 10. that the Auxiliaries were encamped that Night with the Trojans.

This Paſſage gives me occaſion to animadvert upon a Miſtake of a modern Writer, and another of my own. The Abbè Teraſſon in a late Treatiſe againſt Homer, is under a grievous Error, in ſaying that all the Forces of Troy and the Auxiliaries cannot be reaſonably ſuppos'd from Homer to be above ten thouſand Men. He had entirely overlook'd this Place, which ſays there were a thouſand Fires, and fifty Men at each of them. See my Obſervation on the ſecond Book, where theſe Fires by a ſlip of my Memory are called Funeral Piles: I ſhould be glad it were the greateſt Error I have committed in theſe Notes.

LIII.

‘VERSE 706. The Courſers o'er their Heaps of Corn.]’ I durſt not take the ſame Liberty with M. Dacier, who has omitted this Circumſtance, and does not mention the Horſes at all. In the following Line, the laſt of the Book, Homer has given to the Morning the Epithet fair-haired, or bright-throned, [...]. I have already taken notice in the Preface of the Method of tranſlating the Epithets of Homer, and muſt add here, that it is often only the Uncertainty the Moderns lie under, of the true genuine Signification of an [306] ancient word, which cauſes the many various Conſtructions of it. So that it is probable the Author's own Words, at the time he uſed them, never meant half ſo many things as we tranſlate them into. Madam Dacier generally obſerves one Practice as to theſe throughout her Verſion: She renders almoſt every ſuch Epithet in Greek by two or three in French, from a fear of loſing the leaſt part of its Significance. This perhaps may be excuſable in Proſe; tho' at beſt it makes the whole much more verboſe and tedious, and is rather like writing a Dictionary than rendring an Author: But in Verſe, every Reader knows ſuch a Redoubling of Epithets would not be tolerable. A Poet has therefore only to chuſe that, which moſt agrees with the Tenor and main Intent of the particular Paſſage, or with the Genius of Poetry itſelf.

It is plain that too ſcrupulous an Adherence to many of theſe, gives the Tranſlation an exotic, pedantic, and whimſical Air, which it is not to be imagined the Original ever had. To call a Hero the great Artificer of Flight, the ſwift of Foot, or the Horſe-tamer, theſe give us Ideas of little Peculiarities, when in the Author's Time they were Epithets uſed only in general to ſignify Alacrity, Agility, and Vigor. A common Reader would imagine from theſe ſervile Verſions, that Diomed and Achilles were Foot-Racers, and Hector a Horſe-Courſer, rather than that any of them were Heroes. A Man ſhall be call'd a faithful Tranſlator for rendring [...] in Engliſh, ſwift-footed; but laugh'd at if he ſhould tranſlate our Engliſh word dext'rous into any other Language, right-handed.

Appendix A ERRATA.

[]
  • PREFACE.] Pag. 4. line 18. for ſupply this Characters, read ſupply his Characters. Pag. 8. line 25. for ſelf-conſidering Valour, read ſelf-confiding. Pag. 28. line 5. for praiſe the Superſtructure, read raiſe the Superſtructure. Pag. 25. line 10. for with read with.
  • Eſſay.] Pag. 15. line 34. for brings him, read brings it. Pag. 17. in the References at bottom, for [...], read [...]. Pag. 36. in the Citation from Horace at the bottom, for Argue read Arguet.
  • Book 1.] Verſe 517. for The undaunted, read Th' undaunted.
  • Obſervations on Book 1.] Obſ. 35. line 10. inſtead of Centaurs fell out fifty five or ſixty Years, read fifty five or fifty ſix Years. And the third line after, inſtead of It was then fifty five or ſixty five, read It was then ſixty five or ſixty ſix. This Error totally deſtroys the Senſe.
  • Book 2.] Verſe 77. for Ill ſuits a Chief, read Ill fits a Chief. ℣. 666. for martial Armies, read marſhal Armies.
  • Obſervations on Book 2.] Obſ. 9. toward the end, for a thouſand funeral Piles, read a thouſand Fires. Obſ. 23. toward the end, for another Criticiſm upon the 290th Verſe of this Book, read another Criticiſm upon the 290th Verſe of the Catalogue. Obſ. 32. in the laſt lines, place the Stops thus; the Deſcription of her Preparation for Death and her Behaviour in it, can never be enough admired.
  • Book 3.] Verſe 43. for high Chariot, read proud Chariot. ℣. 444. read the whole Line thus: Eludes the Death and diſappoints his Foe. ℣. the laſt but one of the Book, for juſt Applauſes, read loud Applauſes.
  • Obſervations on Book 3.] Obſ. 7. at the end, for Nireus's Prophecy, read Nereus's Prophecy.
  • Obſervations on Book 4.] Obſ. 36. the laſt line but two, for Concluſion, read Confuſion.

Appendix B

NOTE, Wherever there are References in the Obſervations, to any particular Verſes cited from Homer, it is conſtantly to be underſtood of the Number of that Verſe in the Original, and not in the English.

Notes
*
See the Collection of Goltzius, &c.
*
Mos eſt in Urbibus Paleſtinae, & uſque hodie per omnem Judaeam vetus conſuetudo ſervatur, ut in viculis, oppidis, & caſtellis rotundi ponantur lapides graviſſimi ponderis, ad quos juvenes exercere ſe ſolent, & eos pro varietate virium ſublevare, alii ad genua, alii ad umbilicum, alii ad humeros, ad caput, non nulli ſuper verticem, rectis junctiſque manibus, magnitudinem virium demonſtrantes, pondus attollunt.
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TextGrid Repository (2020). TEI. 4375 The Iliad of Homer Translated by Mr Pope pt 2. University of Oxford Text Archive. . https://hdl.handle.net/21.T11991/0000-001A-5D8E-D