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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 Ægyptians: 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 Dæmon of Discord is cast out of Heaven in the nineteenth. Virgil has translated a part of these Lines into the sixth Æneid.

And Milton in his first Book,

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.

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 Æther, the golden Chain the Sun: If the Æther 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, ημερας αιωνος, 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 Æther (which the Ancients call'd the Soul of all Things) still remains unchanged.

Plato in his Theætetus 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 Ægyptians 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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 found light. And Proverbs, Ch. 16. V. 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 Æschylus (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 Æneid.

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.

So that there was less reason for weighing his Fate with that of Æneas 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. Hæc & 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 præcipue usus Archetypo. Acriter enim in Homerum oculos intendit, ut æmularetur ejus non modo magnitudinem sed & simplicitatem, & præsentiam orationis, & tacitam majestatem. Hinc diversarum inter Heroas suos personarum varia magnificatio, hinc Deorum interpositso, 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.

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.

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 Æneid,

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.

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

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

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

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.

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 παρηιξεν, 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.

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 Δορυ μαινεται, 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.

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.

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.

Verse 194. The solid Skies.] Homer sometimes calls the Heavens Brazen, Ουρανον παλυχαλκον, Jupiter's Palace, χαλκοβατες δω. 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.

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.

Verse 226. Now Xanthus, Æthon , &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 Æneid 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.

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.

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.

Verse 245. Yet Ægæ, 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 Πανομφαιος (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 Æther, 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, Æn. 12.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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,

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.

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.

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.

Verse 393. There, where the Junture 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.

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.

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.

Verse 460. What mighty Trojan then, on yonder Shore.] She means Hector, whose Death the Poet makes her foresee in 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.

Verse 468. Floats in rich Waves..] The Greek word is κατεχευεν, 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.

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.

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.

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, Κυον αδδεες, are too gross to be literally translated.

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.

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 V. 430. Ος κε τυχη.

Verse 545. And fix the Car on its immortal Base.] It is remark'd by Eustathius that the word βωμοι 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.

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, V. 561. uses the same Speech word for word to encourage the Greeks, which Agamemnon had made in the fifth, V. 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.

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.

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.

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 Θηλυτεραι, 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, Græcum 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.

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.

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 φαεινην 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 φαιεινην, to φαει νην, for φαει νεην, 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.

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.

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-sphear'd, or bright-throned, ευθρονον ηω. 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 ποδας ωκυς in English, swift-footed; but laugh'd at if he should translate our English word dext'rous into any other Language, right-handed.