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.
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 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 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 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 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 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.
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 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.
See the Collection of
Goltzius, &c.
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 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.
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.
St.
Jerome
tells us, it was an old Custom in
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.
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.
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 465
th
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 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.
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:
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.
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.
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;
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,
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;
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;
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.
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.
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.
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.
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,
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.
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.
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;
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.
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;
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,
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.
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.
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,
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;
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,
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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,
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.
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.
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;
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.
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.
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.
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.
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,
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;
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.
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,
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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
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!
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,
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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 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 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 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. 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 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, 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.
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—
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
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.
]
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 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 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,
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.
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.
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.
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, 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 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
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 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.
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.
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 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.
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 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 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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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,
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 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.
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.
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 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.
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 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 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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
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;
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;
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,
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;
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.
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.
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,
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.
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.
(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.
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.
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.
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,
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
(
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.
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!
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.
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!
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.
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.
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,
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!
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.
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 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 18
th
and 19
th
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 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 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!
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 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 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 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 26
th
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 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.
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
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
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
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
,
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.
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 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
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.
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.]
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.
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.
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 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 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 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 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 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 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.
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 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 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 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.
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 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 4
th
and 11
th
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.
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;
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:
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.
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.
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,
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;
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
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,
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,
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.
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,
"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.
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;
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.
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.
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!
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:
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;
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,
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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 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 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.
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 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 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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, 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.
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 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 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
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.
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, 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
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 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 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.
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.
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.
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;
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!
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.
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,
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.
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?
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.
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;
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?
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;
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:
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:
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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;
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;
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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;
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.
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.
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,
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.
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.
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 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 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 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 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
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
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.
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 18
th
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 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 20
th
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.
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 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 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.
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 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
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
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.
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.
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 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.
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 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.
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
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.