University of Virginia Library

Verse 5. When baleful Eris , &c.] With what a wonderful Sublimity does the Poet begin this Book? He awakens the Reader's Curiosity, and sounds an Alarm to the approaching Battel. With what Magnificence does he usher in the Deeds of Agamemnon: He seems for a while to have lost all view of the main Battel, and lets the whole Action of the Po'em stand still, to attend the Motions of this single Hero. Instead of an Herald, he brings down a Goddess to inflame the Army; instead of a Trumpet or such warlike Musick, Juno and Minerva thunder over the Field of Battel: Jove rains down Drops of Blood, and averts his Eyes from such a Scene of Horrors.

By the Goddess Erïs is meant that Ardour and Impatience for the Battel which now inspir'd the Grecian Army: They who just before were almost in Despair, now burn for the Fight, and breath nothing but War. Eustathius.

Verse 14. Orthian Song.] This is a kind of an Odaic Song, invented and sung on purpose to fire the Soul to noble Deeds in War. Such was that of Timotheus before Alexander the Great, which had such an Influence upon him, that he leap'd from his Seat and laid hold on his Arms. Eustathius.

Verse 26. King Cinyras .] 'Tis probable this Passage of Cinyras King of Cyprus alludes to a true History; and what makes it the more so, is that this Island was famous for its Mines of several Metals. Eustathius.

Verse 35. Arching bow'd. &c.] Eustathius observes, that the Poet intended to represent the bending Figure of these Serpents, as well as their Colour, by comparing them to Rainbows. Dacier observes here how close a Parallel this Passage of Homer bears to that in Genesis, where God tells Noah, I have set my Bow in the Clouds, that it may be for a Sign of the Covenant between me and the Earth.

Verse 63. The Foot, and those who wield The lighter Arms, rush forward.] Here we see the Order of Battel is inverted, and opposite to that which Nestor proposed in the fourth Book: For it is the Cavalry which is there sustain'd by the Infantry; here the Infantry by the Cavalry. But to deliver my Opinion, I believe it was the Nearness of the Enemy that obliged Agamemnon to change the Disposition of the Battel: He would break their Battalions with his Infantry, and complete their Defeat by his Cavalry, which should fall upon the Flyers. Dacier.

Verse 70. Red Drops of Blood.] These Prodigies with which Homer embellishes his Poetry, are the same with those which History relates not as Ornaments, but as Truths. Nothing is more common in History than Showers of Blood, and Philosophy gives us the Reason of them: The two Battels which had been fought on the Plains of Troy, had so drench'd them with Blood, that a great Quantity of it might be exhal'd in Vapours and carry'd into the Air, and being there condens'd, fall down again in Dews and Drops of the same Colour. Eustathius.

Verse 83. As the red Star.] We have just seen at full length the Picture of the General of the Greeks: Here we see Hector beautifully drawn in Miniature. This proceeded from the great Judgment of the Poet: 'twas necessary to speak fully of Agamemnon, who was to be the chief Hero of this Battel, and briefly of Hector, who had so often been spoken of at large before. This is an Instance that the Poet well knew when to be concise, and when to be copious. It is impossible that any thing should be more happily imagin'd than this Similitude: It is so lively, that we see Hector sometimes shining in Arms at the Head of his Troops: and then immediately lose Sight of him, while he retires in the Ranks of the Army. Eustathius.

Verse 89. As sweating Reapers.] 'Twill be necessary for the understanding of this Similitude, to explain the Method of Mowing in Homer's Days: They mowed in the same manner as they plowed, beginning at the Extremes of the Field, which was equally divided, and proceeding till they met in the middle of it. By this means they rais'd an Emulation between both Parties, which should finish their Share first. If we consider this Custom, we shall find it a very happy Comparison to the two Armies advancing against each other, together with an exact Resemblance in every Circumstance the Poet intended to illustrate.

Verse 119. What time in some sequester'd Vale The weary Woodman, &c.] One may gather from hence, that in Homer's Time they did not measure the Day by Hours, but by the Progression of the Sun; and distinguish'd the Parts of it by the most noted Employments; as in the 12 of the Odysseis, V. 439. from the rising of the Judges, and here from the dining of the Labourer.

It may perhaps be entertaining to the Reader to see a general Account of the Mensuration of Time among the Ancients, which I shall take from Spondanus. At the beginning of the World it is certain there was no Distinction of Time but by the Light and Darkness, and the whole Day was included in the general Terms of the Evening and the Morning. Munster makes a pretty Observation upon this Custom: Our long-liv'd Forefathers (says he) had not so much occasion to be exact Observers how the Day pass'd, as their frailer Sons, whose Shortness of Life makes it necessary to distinguish every Part of Time, and suffer none of it to slip away without their Observation.

It is not improbable but that the Chaldæans, many Ages after the Flood, were the first who divided the Day into Hours; they being the first who applied themselves with any Success to Astrology. The most ancient Sun-dial we read of is that of Achaz, mention'd in the second Book of Kings, Ch. 20. about the Time of the building of Rome: But as these were of no use on clouded Days and in the Night, there was another Invention of measuring the Parts of Time by Water; but that not being sufficiently exact, they laid it aside for another by Sand.

'Tis certain the Use of Dials was earlier among the Greeks than the Romans; 'twas above three hundred Years after the building of Rome before they knew any thing of them: But yet they had divided the Day and Night into twenty four Hours, as appears from Varro and Macrobius, tho' they did not count the Hours as we do, numerically, but from Midnight to Midnight, and distinguish'd them by particular Names, as by the Cock crowing, the Dawn, the Midday, &c. The first Sun-dial we read of among the Romans which divided the Day into Hours, is mention'd by Pliny, lib. 1. cap. 20. fixt upon the Temple of Quirinus by L. Papyrius the Censor, about the 12th Year of the Wars with Pyrrhus. But the first that was of any Use to the Publick was set up near the Rostra in the Forum by Valerius Messala the Consul, after the taking of Catana in Sicily; from whence it was brought thirty Years after the first had been set up by Papyrius; but this was still an imperfect one, the Lines of it not exactly corresponding with the several Hours. Yet they made use of it many Years, till Q. Marcius Philippus placed another by it greatly improved: but these had still one common Defect of being useless in the Night, and when the Skies were overcast. All these Inventions being thus ineffectual, Scipio Nasica some Years afterwards measur'd the Day and Night into Hours from the dropping of Water.

Yet near this time, it may be gather'd that Sun-dials were very frequent in Rome, from a Fragment preserv'd by Aulus Gellius and ascrib'd to Plautus: The Lines are so beautiful, that I cannot deny the Reader the Satisfaction of seeing them. They are supposed to be spoken by an hungry Parasite, upon a Sight of one of these Dials.

We find frequent mention of the Hours in the Course of this Poem; but to prevent any Mistake, it may not be improper to take notice, that they must always be understood to mean the Seasons, and not the Division of the Day by Hours.

Verse 125. The Greeks impulsive Might.] We had just before seen that all the Gods were withdrawn from the Battel; that Jupiter was resolv'd even against the Inclinations of them all to honour the Trojans. Yet we here see the Greeks breaking thro' them: The Love the Poet bears to his Countrymen makes him aggrandize their Valour, and over-rule even the Decrees of Fate. To vary his Battels, he supposes the Gods to be absent this Day; and they are no sooner gone, but the Courage of the Greeks prevails, even against the Determination of Jupiter. Eustathius.

Verse 135. Naked to the Sky.] Eustathius refines upon this Place, and believes that Homer intended, by particularizing the Whiteness of the Limbs, to ridicule the effeminate Education of these unhappy Youths. But as such an Interpretation may be thought below the Majesty of an Epic Poem, and a kind of Barbarity to insult the unfortunate, I thought it better to give the Passage an Air of Compassion. As the Words are equally capable of either meaning, I imagin'd the Reader would be more pleas'd with the Humanity of the one, than with the Satyr of the other.

Verse 143. These on the Mountains once Achilles found.] Homer, says Eustathius, never lets any Opportunity pass of mentioning the Hero of his Poem, Achilles: He gives here an Instance of his former Resentment, and at once varies his Poetry, and exalts his Character. Nor does he mention him cursorily; he seems unwilling to leave him; and when he pursues the Thread of the Story in a few Lines, takes occasion to speak again of him. This is a very artful Conduct, by mentioning him so frequently, he takes care that the Reader should not forget him, and shews the Importance of that Hero, whose Anger is the Subject of his Poem. Eustathius.

Verse 182. Antimachus, who once in Council stood To shed Ulysses and my Brother's Blood.] 'Tis observable that Homer with a great deal of Art interweaves the true History of the Trojan War in his Poem: He here gives a Circumstance that carries us back from the tenth Year of the War to the very beginning of it. So that altho' the Action of the Poem takes up but a small Part of the last Year of the War, yet by such Incidents as these we are taught a great many Particulars that happen thro' the whole Series of it. Eustathius.

Verse 188. Lopp'd his Hands away.] I think one cannot but compassionate the Fate of these Brothers, who suffer for the Sins of their Father, notwithstanding the Justice which the Commentators find in this Action of Agamemnon. And I can much less imagine that his cutting off their Hands was meant for an express Example against Bribery, in Revenge for the Gold which Antimachus had received from Paris. Eustathius is very refining upon this Point; but the grave Spondanus out-does them all, who has found there was an excellent Conceit in cutting off the Hands and Head of the Son; the first, because the Father had been for laying Hands on the Grecian Embassadors; and the second, because it was from his Head that the Advice proceeded of detaining Helena.

Verse 193. Now by the Foot the flying Foot, &c.] After Homer with a poetical Justice has punish'd the Sons of Antimachus for the Crimes of the Father; he carries on the Narration, and presents all the Terrors of the Battel to our view: We see in the lively Description the Men and Chariots overthrown, and hear the Tramplings of the Horses Feet. Thus the Poet very artfully by such sudden Alarms awakens the Attention of the Reader, that is apt to be tired and grow remiss by a plain and more cool Narration.

Verse 197. The Brass-hoof'd Steeds.] Eustathius observes that the Custom of shoeing Horses was in use in Homer's Time, and calls the Shoes σεληναια from the Figure of an Half-Moon.

Verse 212. More grateful, now, to Vulturs than their Wives.] This is a Reflection of the Poet, and such an one as arises from a Sentiment of Compassion; and indeed there is nothing more moving than to see those Heroes, who were the Love and Delight of their Spouses, reduc'd suddenly to such a Condition of Horror, that their very Wives dare not look upon them. I was very much surprized to find a Remark of Eustathius upon this, which seems very wrong and unjust: He would have it that there is in this Place an Ellipsis, which comprehends a severe Raillery: “For, says he, Homer would imply that those dead Warriors were now more agreeable to Vulturs, than they had ever been in all their Days to their Wives. This is very ridiculous; to suppose that these unhappy Women did not love their Husbands, is to insult them barbarously in their Affliction; and every Body can see that such a Thought in this Place would have appear'd mean, frigid, and out of Season. Homer always endeavours to excite Compassion by the Grief of the Wives, whose Husbands are kill'd in the Battel. Dacier.

Verse 217. Now past the Tomb where ancient Ilus, lay.] By the Exactness of Homer's Description we see as in a Landscape the very Place where this Battel was fought. Agamemnon drives the Trojans from the Tomb of Ilus, where they encamp'd all the Night; that Tomb stood in the middle of the Plain: From thence he pursues them by the wild Fig-Tree to the Beech-Tree, and from thence to the very Scæan Gate. Thus the Scene of Action is fix'd, and we see the very Rout through which the one retreats and the other advances. Eustathius.

'Verse 241. Iris with haste thy golden Wings display.] Tis evident that some such Contrivance as this was necessary; The Trojans, we learn from the beginning of this Book, were to be victorious this Day: But if Jupiter had not now interpos'd, they had been driven even within the Walls of Troy. By this means also the Poet consults both for the Honour of Hector and that of Agamemnon. Agamemnon has time enough to shew the Greatness of his Valour, and it is no Disgrace to Hector not to encounter him when Jupiter interposes.

Eustathius observes, that the Poet gives us here a Sketch of what is drawn out at large in the Story of this whole Book: This he does to raise the Curiosity of the Reader, and make him impatient to hear those great Actions which must be perform'd before Agamemnon can retire, and Hector be victorious.

Verse 281. Ye sacred Nine!] The Poet to win the Attention of the Reader, and seeming himself to be struck with the Exploits of Agamemnon while he recites them, (who when the Battel was rekindled, rushes out to engage his Enemies) invokes not one Muse as he did in the beginning of the Poem; but as if he intended to warn us that he was about to relate something surprizing, he invokes the whole Nine; and then as if he had received their Inspiration, goes on to deliver what they suggested to him. By means of this Apostrophe, the Imagination of the Reader is so fill'd, that he seems not only present, but active in the Scene to which the Skill of the Poet has transported him. Eustathius.

Verse 283. Iphidamas the bold and young.] Homer here gives us the History of this Iphidamas, his Parentage, the Place of his Birth, and many Circumstances of his private Life. This he does to diversify his Poetry, and to soften with some amiable Embellishments the continual Horrors that must of Necessity strike the Imagination in an uninterrupted Narration of Blood and Slaughter. Eustathius.

290. Theano's Sister.] That the Reader may not be shock'd at the Marriage of Iphidamas with his Mother's Sister, it may not be amiss to observe from Eustathius, that Consanguinity was no Impediment in Greece in the Days of Homer: Nor is Iphidamas singular in this kind of Marriage, for Diomed was married to his own Aunt as well as he.

Verse 349. The fierce Ilythiæ .] These Ilythiæ are the Goddesses that Homer supposes to preside over Child-Birth: He arms their Hands with a kind of an Instrument, from which a pointed Dart is shot into the distressed Mother, as an Arrow is from a Bow: So that as Eris has her Torch and Jupiter his Thunder, these Goddesses have their Darts which they shoot into Women in Travail. He calls them the Daughters of Juno, because she presides over the Marriage-Bed. Eustathius. Here (says Dacier) we find the Style of the holy Scripture, which to express a severe Pain, usually compares it to that of Women in Labour. Thus David, Pain came upon them as upon a Woman in Travail; and Isaiah, They shall grieve as a Woman in Travail; and all the Prophets are full of the like Expressions.

Verse 358. Lo angry Jove forbids your Chief to stay.] Eustathius remarks upon the Behaviour of Agamemnon in his present Distress: Homer describes him as rack'd with almost intolerable Pains, yet he does not complain of the Anguish he suffers, but that he is obliged to retire from the Fight.

This indeed as it prov'd his undaunted Spirit, so did it likewise his Wisdom: Had he shew'd any unmanly Dejection, it would have dispirited the Army; but his Intrepidity makes them believe his Wound less dangerous, and renders them not so highly concern'd for the Absence of their General.

Verse 388. Say, Muse, when Jove the Trojan's Glory crown'd.] The Poet just before has given us an Invocation of the Muses, to make us attentive to the great Exploits of Agamemnon. Here we have one with regard to Hector, but this last may perhaps be more easily accounted for than the other. For in that, after so solemn an Invocation, we might reasonably have expected Wonders from the Hero: whereas in Reality he kills but one Man before he himself is wounded; and what he does afterwards seems to proceed from a frantic Valour, arising from the Smart of the Wound: We do not find by the Text that he kills one Man, but overthrows several in his Fury, and then retreats: So that one would imagine he invoked the Muses only to describe his Retreat.

But upon a nearer view, we shall find that Homer shews a commendable Partiality to his own Countryman and Hero Agamemnon: He seems to detract from the Greatness of Hector's Actions, by ascribing them to Jupiter; whereas Agamemnon conquers by the Dint of Bravery: And that this is a just Observation, will appear by what follows. Those Greeks that fall by the Sword of Hector, he passes over as if they were all vulgar Men: He says nothing of them but that they dy'd; and only briefly mentions their Names, as if he endeavour'd to conceal the Overthrow of the Greeks. But when he speaks of his favourite General Agamemnon, he expatiates and dwells upon his Actions; and shews us, that those that fell by his Hand were all Men of Distinction, such as were the Sons of Priam, of Antenor, and Antimachus. 'Tis true, Hector kill'd as many Leaders of the Greeks as Agamemnon of the Trojans, and more of the common Soldiers; but by particularizing the Deaths of the Chiefs of Troy, he sets the Deeds of Agamemnon in the strongest Point of Light, and by his Silence in respect to the Leaders whom Hector slew, he casts a Shade over the Greatness of the Action, and consequently it appears less conspicuous.

Verse 406. But wise Ulysses call'd Tydides forth.] There is something instructive in the most seemingly common Passages of Homer, who by making the wise Ulysses direct the brave Diomed in all the Enterprizes of the last Book, and by maintaining the same Conduct in this, intended to shew this Moral, that Valour should always be under the Guidance of Wisdom: Thus in the eighth Book when Diomed could scarce be restrain'd by the Thunder of Jupiter, Nestor is at hand to moderate his Courage; and this Hero seems to have made a very good use of those Instructions; his Valour no longer runs out into Rashness, tho' he is too brave to decline the Fight, yet he is too wise to fight against Jupiter.

Verse 448. Great Diomed himself was seiz'd with Fear.] There seems to be some Difficulty in these Words: This brave Warrior, who has frequently met Hector in the Battel, and offer'd himself for the single Combat, is here said to be seiz'd with Fear at the very Sight of him: This may be thought not to agree with his usual Behaviour, and to derogate from the general Character of his Intrepidity: But we must remember, that Diomed himself has but just told us, that Jupiter fought against the Grecians; and that all the Endeavours of himself and Ulysses would be in vain: This Fear therefore of Diomed is far from being dishonourable: it is not Hector, but Jupiter of whom he is afraid. Eustathius.

Verse 477. Illis' Monument.] I thought it necessary just to put the Reader in mind that the Battel still continues near the Tomb of Ilus: By a just Observation of that, we may with Pleasure see the various Turns of the Fight, and how every Step of Ground is won or lost as the Armies are repuls'd or victorious.

Verse 480.

]

One would think that the Poet at all times endeavour'd to condemn the Practice of stripping the Dead, during the Heat of Action: He frequently describes the Victor wounded, while he is so employ'd about the Bodies of the slain: Thus in the present Book we see Agamemnon, Diomed, Ulysses, Elephenor, and Eurypylus, all suffer as they strip the Men they slew; and in the sixth Book he brings in the wise Nestor directly forbidding it. Eustathius.

Verse 483. But pierc'd his Foot.] It cannot but be a Satisfaction to the Reader to see the Poet smitten with the Love of his Country, and at all times consulting its Honour: This Day was to be glorious to Troy, but Homer takes care to remove with Honour most of the bravest Greeks from the Field of Battel, before the Trojans can conquer. Thus Agamemnon, Diomed, and Ulysses must bleed, before the Poet can allow his Countrymen to retreat. Eusthathius.

Verse 484. The laughing Trojan .] Eustathius is of Opinion that the Poet intended to satyrize in this Place the unwarlike Behaviour of Paris: Such an effeminate Laugh and Gesture is unbecoming a brave Warrior, but agrees very well with the Character of Paris: He is before said to be more delighted with the soft amorous Lyre, than with the warlike Sound of the Battel: Nor do I remember that in the whole Iliad any one Person is describ'd in such an indecent Transport, tho' upon a much more glorious or successful Action. He concludes his ludicrous Insult with a Circumstance very much to the Honour of Diomed, and very much to the Disadvantage of his own Character, who reveals to an Enemy the Fears of Troy, and compares the Greeks to Lions, and the Trojans to Sheep. Diomed is the very reverse of him; he despises and lessens the Wound he receiv'd, and in the midst of his Pain, would not gratify his Enemy with the little Joy he might give him by letting him know it.

Verse 513. And questions thus his own unconquer'd Soul.] This is a Passage which very much strikes me: We have here a brave Hero making a noble Soliloquy, or rather calling a Council within himself, when he was singly to encounter an Army: 'Tis impossible for the Reader not to be in Pain for so gallant a Man in such an imminent Danger; he must be impatient for the Event, and his whole Curiosity must be awaken'd till he knows the Fate of Ulysses, who scorn'd to fly, tho' encompass'd by an Army.

Verse 550. By Pallas' Care.] It is a just Observation, that there is no Moral so evident, or so constantly carry'd on through the Iliad, as the Necessity Mankind at all times has of divine Assistance. Nothing is perform'd with Success, without particular mention of this; Hector is not sav'd from a Dart without Apollo, or Ulysses without Minerva. Homer is perpetually acknowledging the Hand of God in all Events, and ascribing to that only all the Victories, Triumphs, Rewards, or Punishments of Men. Thus the grand Moral he laid down at the Entrance of his Poem, Διος δ' ετελειετο βουλη, The Will of God was fulfill'd, runs thro' his whole Work, and is with a most remarkable Care and Conduct put into the Mouths of his greatest and wisest Persons on every Occasion.

Homer generally makes some peculiar God attend on each Hero: For the Ancients believ'd that every Man had his particular Tutelary Deity; these in succeeding Times were called Dæmons or Genii, who (as they thought) were given to Men at the Hour of their Birth, and directed the whole Course of their Lives. See Cebes's Tablet. Menander, as he is cited by Ammianus Marcellinus, styles them μυσταγωγοι βιου, the invisible Guides of Life.

Verse 566. Fam'd Son of Hippasus .] Homer has been blam'd by some late Censurers for making his Heroes address Discourses to the Dead. Passion (says Dacier) dictates these Speeches, and it is generally to the dying, not to the dead, that they are address'd. However, one may say, that they are often rather Reflections than Insults. Were it otherwise, Homer deserves not to be censured for feigning what Histories have reported as Truth. We find in Plutarch that Mark Antony upon Sight of the dead Body of Brutus, stopp'd and reproach'd him with the Death of his Brother Caius, whom Brutus had kill'd in Macedonia in Revenge for the Murder of Cicero. I must confess I am not altogether pleas'd with the Railleries he sometimes uses to a vanquish'd Warrior, which Inhumanities if spoken to the dying, would I think be yet worse than after they were dead.

Verse 572. And hov'ring Vulturs scream around their Prey.] This is not literally translated, what the Poet says gives us the most lively Picture imaginable of the Vulturs in the Act of tearing their Prey with their Bills: They beat the Body with their Wings as they rend it, which is a very natural Circumstance, but scarce possible to be copy'd by a Translator without losing the Beauty of it.

Verse 573. Me Greece shall honour when I meet my Doom, With solemn Funerals.—] We may see from such Passages as these that Honours paid to the Ashes of the dead have been greatly valued in all Ages: This posthumous Honour was paid as a publick Acknowledgment that the Person deceas'd had deserv'd well of his Country, and consequently was an Incitement to the living to imitate his Actions: In this view there is no Man but would be ambitious of them, not as they are Testimonies of Titles or Riches, but of distinguish'd Merit.

Verse 592. Great Ajax like the God of War attends.] The Silence of other Heroes on many Occasions is very beautiful in Homer, but peculiarly so in Ajax, who is a gallant rough Soldier, and readier to act than to speak: The present Necessity of Ulysses requir'd such a Behaviour, for the least Delay might have been fatal to him: Ajax therefore complying both with his own Inclinations, and the urgent Condition of Ulysses, makes no Reply to Menelaus, but immediately hastens to his Relief. The Reader will observe how justly the Poet maintains this Character of Ajax throughout the whole Iliad, who is often silent when he has an Opportunity to speak, and when he speaks, 'tis like a Soldier, with a martial Air, and always with Brevity. Eustathius.

Verse 637. A wise Physician.] The Poet passes a very signal Commendation upon Physicians: The Army had seen several of the bravest of their Heroes wounded, yet were not so much dispirited for them all, as they were at the single Danger of Machaon: But the Person whom he calls a Physician, seems rather to be a Surgeon. The cutting out of Arrows, and applying Anodynes being the Province of the latter: However (as Eustathius says) we must conclude that Machaon was both a Physician and Surgeon, and that those two Professions were practised by one Person.

It is reasonable to think from the Frequency of their Wars, that the Profession in those Days was chiefly Chirurgical: Celsus says expressly that the Diætetic was long after invented; but that Botany was in great Esteem and Practice, appears from the Stories of Medea, Circe, &c. We often find mention among the most ancient Writers, of Women eminent in that Art; as of Agamede in this very Book, V. 740. who is said (like Solomon) to have known the Virtues of every Plant that grew on the Earth, and of Polydamne in the fourth Book of the Odysseis, V. 227, &c.

Homer, I believe, knew all that was known in his Time of the Practice of these Arts. His Methods of extracting of Arrows, stanching of Blood by the bitter Root, fomenting of Wounds with warm Water, applying proper Bandages and Remedies, are all according to the true Precepts of Art. There are likewise several Passages in his Works that shew his Knowledge of the Virtues of Plants, even of those Qualities which are commonly (tho 'perhaps erroneously) ascribed to them, as of the Moly against Enchantments, the Willow which causes Barrenness, the Nepenthe, &c.

Verse 669. But partial Jove , &c.] The Address of Homer in bringing off Ajax with Decency is admirable: He makes Hector afraid to approach him: He brings down Jupiter himself to terrify him; so that he retreats not from a Mortal, but a God.

This whole Passage is inimitably just and beautiful, we see Ajax drawn in the most bold and strong Colours, and in a manner alive in the Description. Wee see him slowly and sullenly retreat between two Armies, and even with a Look repulsing the one, and protecting the other: There is not one Line but what resembles Ajax; the Character of a stubborn but undaunted Warrior is perfectly maintain'd, and must strike the Reader at the first view. He compares him first to the Lion for his Undauntedness in Fighting, and then to the Ass for his stubborn Slowness in retreating; tho' in the latter Comparison there are many other Points of Likeness that enliven the Image: The Havock he makes in the Field is represented by the tearing and trampling down the Harvests; and we see the Bulk, Strength, and Obstinacy of the Hero, when the Trojans in respect to him are compared but to Troops of Boys that impotently endeavour to drive him away.

Eustathius is silent as to those Objections which have been rais'd against this last Simile, for a pretended Want of Delicacy: This alone is Conviction to me that they are all of a later Date: For else he would not have fail'd to have vindicated his favourite Poet in a Passage that had been applauded many hundreds of Years, and stood the Test of Ages.

But Monsieur Dacier has done it very well in his Remarks upon Aristotle. “In the time of Homer (says that Author) an Ass was not in such Circumstances of Contempt as in ours: The Name of that Animal was not then converted into a Term of Reproach, but it was a Beast upon which Kings and Princes might be seen with Dignity. And it will not be very discreet to ridicule this Comparison, which the holy Scripture has put into the Mouth of Jacob, who says in the Benediction of his Children, Issachar shall be as a strong Ass. Monsieur de la Motte gives up this Point, and excuses Homer for his Choice of this Animal, but is unhappily disgusted at the Circumstance of the Boys, and the obstinate Gluttony of the Ass, which he says are Images too mean to represent the determin'd Valour of Ajax, and the Fury of his Enemies. It is answer'd by Madam Dacier, that what Homer here images is not the Gluttony; but the Patience, the Obstinacy, and Strength of the Ass (as Eustathius had before observ'd.) To judge rightly of Comparisons, we are not to examine if the Subject from whence they are deriv'd be great or little, noble or familiar; but we are principally to consider if the Image produc'd be clear and lively, if the Poet has the Skill to dignify it by poetical Words, and if it perfectly paints the thing it is intended to represent. A Company of Boys whipping a Top is very far from a great and noble Subject, yet Virgil has not scrupled to draw from it a Similitude which admirably expresses a Princess in the Violence of her Passion.

However, upon the whole, a Translator owes so much to the Taste of the Age in which he lives, as not to make too great a Complement to a former; and this induced me to omit the mention of the word Ass in the Translation. I believe the Reader will pardon me, if on this Occasion I transcribe a Passage from Mr. Boileau's Notes on Longinus.

“There is nothing (says he) that more disgraces a Composition than the Use of mean and vulgar Words; insomuch that (generally speaking) a mean Thought express'd in noble Terms, is more tolerable than a noble Thought express'd in mean ones. The Reason whereof is, that all the World are not capable to judge of the Justness and Force of a Thought; but there's scarce any Man who cannot, especially in a living Language, perceive the least Meanness of Words. Nevertheless very few Writers are free from this Vice: Longinus accuses Herodotus, the most polite of all the Greek Historians, of this Defect; and Livy, Salust, and Virgil have not escaped the same Censure. Is it not then very surprizing, that no Reproach on this Account has been ever cast upon Homer? tho' he has compos'd two Poems each more voluminous than the Æneid; and tho' no Author whatever has descended more frequently than he into a Detail of little Particularities. Yet he never uses Terms which are not noble, or if he uses humble Words or Phrases, it is with so much Art and Industry, that, as Dionysius observes, they become noble and harmonious. Undoubtedly if there had been any Cause to charge him with this Fault, Longinus had spared him no more than Herodotus. We may learn from hence the Ignorance of those modern Criticks, who resolving to judge of the Greek without the Knowledge of it, and never reading Homer but in low and inelegant Translations, impute the Meannesses of his Translators to the Poet himself; and ridiculously blame a Man who spoke in one Language, for speaking what is not elegant in another. They ought to know that the Words of different Languages are not always exactly correspondent; and it may often happen that a Word which is very noble in Greek, cannot be render'd in another Tongue but by one which is very mean. Thus the word Asinus in Latin, and Ass in English, are the vilest imaginable, but that which signifies the same Animal in Greek and Hebrew, is of Dignity enough to be employed on the most magnificent Occasions. In like manner the Terms of a Hogherd and Cowkeeper in our Language are insufferable, but those which answer to them in Greek, συβωτης and βουκολος, are graceful and harmonious: and Virgil who in his own Tongue entitled his Eclogs Bucolica, would have been ashamed to have called them in ours, the Dialogues of Cowkeepers.

Verse 713. Back to the Lines the wounded Greek retires.] We see here almost all the Chiefs of the Grecian Army withdrawn: Nestor and Ulysses, the two great Counsellors; Agamemnon, Diomed, and Eurypylus, the bravest Warriors; all retreated: So that now in this Necessity of the Greeks, there was occasion for the Poet to open a new Scene of Action, or else the Trojans had been victorious, and the Grecians driven from the Shores of Troy. To shew the Distress of the Greeks at this Period, from which the Poem takes a new Turn, 'twill be convenient to cast a View on the Posture of their Affairs: All human Aid is cut off by the Wounds of their Heroes, and all Assistance from the Gods forbid by Jupiter: Whereas the Trojans see their General at their Head, and Jupiter himself fights on their side. Upon this Hinge turns the whole Poem; the Distress of the Greeks occasions first the Assistance of Patroclus, and then the Death of that Hero draws on the Return of Achilles. It is with great Art that the Poet conducts all these Incidents: He lets Achilles have the Pleasure of seeing that the Greeks were no longer able to carry on the War without his Assistance: and upon this depends the great Catastrophe of the Poem. Eustathius.

Verse 731. That Hour Achilles , &c.] Tho' the Resentment of Achilles would not permit him to be an Actor in the Battel, yet his Love of War inclines him to be a Spectator: And as the Poet did not intend to draw the Character of a perfect Man in Achilles, he makes him delighted with the Destruction of the Greeks, because it conspired with his Revenge: That Resentment which is the Subject of the Poem, still prevails over all his other Passions, even the Love of his Country; for tho' he begins now to pity his Countrymen, yet his Anger stifles those tender Emotions, and he seems pleas'd with their Distress, because he judges it will contribute to his Glory. Eustathius.

Verse 735. His friend Machaon , &c.] It may be ask'd why Machaon is the only Person whom Achilles pities? Eustathius answers, that it was either because he was his Countryman, a Thessalian; or because Æsculapius, the Father of Machaon, presided over Physick, the Profession of his Preceptor Chiron. But perhaps it may be a better Reason to say that a Physician is a publick Good, and was valued by the whole Army; and it is not improbable but he might have cured Achilles of a Wound during the Course of the Trojan Wars.

Verse 747. Now at my Knees the Greeks shall pour their Moan.] The Poet by putting these Words into the Mouth of Achilles, leaves room for a second Embassy, and (since Achilles himself mentions it) one may think it would not have been unsuccessful: But the Poet, by a more happy Management, makes his Friend Patroclus the Advocate of the Greeks, and by that means his Return becomes his own Choice. This Conduct admirably maintains the Character of Achilles, who does not assist the Greeks thro' his Kindness to them, but from a Desire of Revenge upon the Trojans: His present Anger for the Death of his Friend, blots out the former one for the Injury of Agamemnon; and as he separated from the Army in a Rage, so he joins it again in the like Disposition. Eustathius.

Verse 764. And took their Seats beneath the shady Tent.] The Poet here steals away the Reader from the Battel, and relieves him by the Description of Nestor's Entertainment. I hope to be pardon'd for having more than once repeated this Observation, which extends to several Passages of Homer. Without this Piece of Conduct, the Frequency and Length of his Battels might fatigue the Reader, who could not so long be delighted with continued Scenes of Blood.

Verse 774. A Goblet sacred to the Pylian Kings.] There are some who can find out a Mystery in the plainest things; they can see what the Author never meant, and explain him into the greatest Obscurities. Eustathius here gives us a very extraordinary Instance of this Nature: The Bowl by an Allegory figures the World; the spherical Form of it represents its Roundness; the Greek word which signifies the Doves being spell'd almost like the Pleiades, is said to mean that Constellation; and because the Poet tells us the Bowl was studded with Gold, those Studs must needs imply the Stars.

Verse 779. Yet heav'd with ease by him.] There has ever been a great Dispute about this Passage; nor is it apparent for what Reason the Poet should tell us that Nestor even in his old Age could more easily lift this Bowl than any other Man. This has drawn a great deal of Raillery upon the old Man, as if he had learnt to lift it by frequent Use, an Insinuation that Nestor was no Enemy to Wine. Others with more Justice to his Character have put another Construction upon the Words, which solves the Improbability very naturally. According to this Opinion the word which is usually supposed to signify another Man, is render'd another old Man, meaning Machaon, whose Wound made him incapable to lift it. This would have taken away the Difficulty without any Violence to the Construction. But Eustathius tells us, the Propriety of Speech would require the word to be, not αλλος but ετερος, when spoken but of two. But why then may it not signify any other old Men?

Verse 782. Pours a large Potion.] The Potion which Hecamede here prepares for Machaon, has been thought a very extraordinary one in the Case of a wounded Person, and by some Criticks held in the same Degree of Repute with the Balsam of Fierabras in Don Quizot. But it is rightly observed by the Commentators, that Machaon was not so dangerously hurt, as to be obliged to a different Regimen from what he might use at another time. Homer had just told us that he stay'd on the Sea-side to refresh himself, and he now enters into a long Conversation with Nestor; neither of which would have been done by a Man in any great Pain or Danger: His Loss of Blood and Spirits might make him not so much in fear of a Feaver, as in want of a Cordial; and accordingly this Potion is rather alimentary than medicinal. If it had been directly improper in this Case, I cannot help fancying that Homer would not have fail'd to tell us of Machaon's rejecting it. Yet after all, some Answer may be made even to the grand Objection, that Wine was too inflammatory for a wounded Man. Hippocrates allows Wine in acute Cases, and even without Water in Cases of Indigestion. He says indeed in his Book of ancient Medicine, that the Ancients were ignorant both of the good and bad Qualities of Wine: and yet the Potion here prescrib'd will not be allow'd by Physicians to be an Instance that they were so; for Wine might be proper for Machaon not only as a Cordial, but as an Opiate. Asclepiades, a Physician who flourish'd at Rome in the Time of Pompey, prescribed Wine in Feavers, and even in Phrenzies to cause Sleep. Cælius Aurelianus, lib. 4. c. 14.

Verse 801. Can then the Sons of Greece , &c.] It is customary with those who translate or comment on an Author, to use him as they do their Mistress; they can see no Faults, or rather convert his very Faults into Beauties; but I cannot be so partial to Homer, as to imagine that this Speech of Nestor's is not greatly blameable for being too long: He crouds Incident upon Incident, and when he speaks of himself, he expatiates upon his own great Actions, very naturally indeed to old Age, but unseasonably in the present Juncture. When he comes to speak of his killing the Son of Augeas, he is so pleas'd with himself, that he forgets the Distress of the Army, and cannot leave his favourite Subject till he has given us the Pedigree of his Relations, his Wife's Name, her Excellence, the Command he bore, and the Fury with which he assaulted him. These and many other Circumstances, as they have no visible Allusion to the Design of the Speech, seem to be unfortunately introduc'd. In short, I think they are not so valuable upon any other Account, as because they preserve a Piece of ancient History, which had otherwise been lost.

What tends yet farther to make this Story seem absurd, is what Patroclus said at the beginning of the Speech, that he had not leisure even to sit down; so that Nestor detains him in the Tent standing, during the whole Narration.

They that are of the contrary Opinion observe, that there is a great deal of Art in some Branches of the Discourse; that when Nestor tells Patroclus how he had himself disobey'd his Father's Commands for the sake of his Country, he says it to make Achilles reflect that he disobeys his Father by the contrary Behaviour: That what he did himself was to retaliate a small Injury, but Achilles by fighting may save the Grecian Army. He mentions the Wound of Agamemnon at the very beginning, with an Intent to give Achilles a little Revenge, and that he may know how much his greatest Enemy has suffer'd by his Absence. There are many other Arguments brought in the Defence of particular Parts; and it may not be from the Purpose to observe, that Nestor might designedly protract the Speech, that Patroclus might himself behold the Distress of the Army: Thus every Moment he detain'd him, enforced his Arguments, by the growing Misfortunes of the Greeks. Whether this was the Intention or not, it must be allowed that the Stay of Patroclus was very happy for the Greeks; for by this means he met Eurypylus wounded, who confirm'd him into a Certainty that their Affairs were desperate, without Achilles's Aid.

As for Nestor's second Story, it is much easier to be defended; it tends directly to the Matter in hand, and is told in such a manner as to affect both Patroclus and Achilles; the Circumstances are well adapted to the Person to whom they are spoken, and by repeating their Father's Instructions, he as it were brings them in, seconding his Admonitions.

Verse 819. The Bulls of Elis in glad Triumph led.] Elis is the whole Southern Part of Peloponnesus, between Achaia and Messenia; it was originally divided into several Districts or Principalities, afterwards it was reduc'd to two; the one of the Elians, who were the same with the Epeians, the other of Nestor. This Remark is necessary for the understanding what follows. In Homer's Time the City Elis was not built. Dacier.

Verse 839. At the publick Course Detain'd his Chariot.] 'Tis said that these were particuliar Games, which Augeas had establish'd in his own State; and that the Olympic Games cannot be here understood, because Hercules did not institute them till he had kill'd this King, and deliver'd his Kingdom to Phyleus, whom his Father Augeas had banish'd. The Prizes of these Games of Augeas were Prizes of Wealth, as golden Tripods, &c. whereas the Prizes of the Olympic Games were only plain Chaplets of Leaves or Branches: Besides, 'tis probable Homer knew nothing of these Chaplets given at the Games, nor of the triumphal Crowns, nor of the Garlands wore at Feasts; if he had, he would some where or other have mentioned them. Eustathius.

Verse 845. The Sons of Actor .] These are the same whom Homer calls the two Molions, namely, Eurytus and Cteatus. Thryoëssa in the Lines following is the same Town which he calls Thryon in the Catalogue. The River Minyas is the same with Anygrus, about half way between Pylos and Thryoëssa, call'd Minyas from the Minyans who liv'd on the Banks of it. It appears from what the Poet says of the Time of their March, that it is half a Day's March between Pylos and Thryoëssa. Eustathius. Strabo, lib. 8.

Verse 895. There to high Jove were publick Thanks assign'd As first of Gods, to Nestor, of Mankind.] There is a Resemblance between this Passage and one in the sacred Scripture, where all the Congregation blessed the Lord God of their Fathers, and bowed down their Heads, and worshipped the Lord, and the King. 1 Chron. 29. 20.

Verse 916. Peleus said only this,—“My Son, be brave.] The Conciseness of this Advice is very beautiful; Achilles being hasty, active, and young, might not have burthen'd his Memory with a long Discourse: Therefore Peleus comprehends all his Instructions in one Sentence. But Menœtius speaks more largely to Patroclus, he being more advanc'd in Years, and mature in Judgment; and we see by the manner of the Expression, that he was sent with Achilles, not only as a Companion but as a Monitor, of which Nestor puts him in mind, to shew that it is rather his Duty to give good Advice to Achilles, than to follow his Caprice, and espouse his Resentment. Eustathius.

Verse 923. Ah try the utmost, &c.] It may not be ungrateful to the Reader to see at one view the Aim and Design of Nestor's Speech. By putting Patroclus in mind of his Father's Injunctions, he provokes him to obey him by a like Zeal for his Country: By the mention of the Sacrifice, he reprimands him for a Breach of those Engagements to which the Gods were Witnesses: By saying that the very Arms of Achilles would restore the Fortunes of Greece, he makes a high Complement to that Hero, and offers a powerful Insinuation to Patroclus at the same time, by giving him to understand, that he may personate Achilles. Eustathius.

Verse 928. If ought from Heav'n with—hold his saving Arm.] Nestor says this upon account of what Achilles himself spoke in the ninth Book; and it is very much to the Purpose, for nothing could sooner move Achilles than to make him think it was the general Report in the Army, that he shut himself up in his Tent for no other reason, but to escape Death, with which his Mother had threaten'd him in discovering to him the Decrees of the Destinies. Dacier.

Verse 969. Of two fam'd Surgeons.] Tho' Podalirius is mention'd first for the sake of the Verse, both here and in the Catalogue, Machaon seems to be the Person of the greatest Character upon many Accounts: Besides, it is to him that Homer attributes the Cure of Philoctetes, who was lame by having let an Arrow dipt in the Gall of the Hydra of Lerna fall upon his Foot; a plain Mark that Machaon was an abler Physician than Chiron the Centaure, who could not cure himself of such a Wound. Podalirius had a Son named Hypolochus, from whom the famous Hippocrates was descended.

Verse 977. But this Distress this Instant claims Relief.] Eustathius remarks, that Homer draws a great Advantage for the Conduct of his Poem from this Incident of the Stay of Patroclus; for while he is employ'd in the friendly Task of taking Care of Eurypylus, he becomes an Eye-witness of the Attack upon the Entrenchments, and finds the Necessity of using his utmost Efforts to move Achilles.