the sake of an easier enunciation.-And this was the state of the work after the revisal given it about seven years since.

Between that revisal and the present a considerable time intervened, and the effect of long discontinuance was, that I became more dissatisfied with it myself, than the most difficult to be pleased of all my judges. Not for the sake of a few uneven lines or unwonted pauses, but for reasons far more substantial. The diction seemed to me in many passages either not sufficiently elevated, or deficient in the grace of ease, and in others I found the sense of the original either not adequately expressed or misapprehended. Many elisions still remained unsoftened; the compound epithets I found not always happily combined, and the same sometimes too frequently repeated.

There is no end of passages in Homer, which must creep unless they are lifted; yet in such, all embellishment is out of the question. The hero puts on his clothes, or refreshes himself with food and wine, or he yokes his steed, takes a journey, and in the evening preparation is made for his repose. To give relief to subjects prosaic as these without seeming unseasonably tumid, is extremely difficult. Mr. Pope much abridges some of them, and others he omits; but neither of these liberties was compatible with the nature of my undertaking. These, therefore, and many similar to these, have been new-modeled; somewhat to their advantage I hope, but not even now entirely to my satisfaction. The lines have a more natural movement, the pauses are fewer and less stately, the expression as easy as I could make it without meanness, and these were all the improvements that I could give them.

The elisions, I believe, are all cured, with only one exception. An alternative proposes itself to a modern versifier, from which there is no escape, which occurs perpetually, and which, chuse as he may, presents him always with an evil. I mean in the instance of the particle (the). When this particle precedes a vowel, shall he melt it into the substantive, or leave the hiatus open? Both

The

practices are offensive to a delicate ear. particle absorbed occasions harshness, and the open vowel a vacuity equally inconvenient. Sometimes, therefore, to leave it open, and sometimes to ingraft it into its adjunct, seems most adviseable; this course Mr. Pope has taken, whose authority recommended it to me; though of the two evils I have most frequently chosen the elision as the least. Compound epithets have obtained so long in the poetical language of our country, that I employed them without fear or scruple. To have abstained from them in a blank verse translation of Homer, who abounds with them, and from whom our poets probably first adopted them, would have been strange indeed. But though the genius of our language favours the formation of such words almost as much as that of the Greek, it happens sometimes, that a Greecian compound either cannot be rendered in English at all, or, at best, but awkwardly. For this reason, and because I found that some readers much disliked them, I have expunged many; retaining, according to my best judgment, the most eligible only, and making less frequent the repetitions even of these.

I know not that I can add anything material on the subject of this last revisal, unless it be proper to give the reason why the Iliad, though greatly altered, has undergone much fewer_alterations than the Odyssey. The true reason I believe is this. The Iliad demanded my utmost possible exertions; it seemed to meet me like an ascent almost perpendicular, which could not be surmounted at less cost than of all the labour that I could bestow on it. The Odyssey on the contrary seemed to resemble an open and level country, through which I might travel at my ease. The latter, therefore, betrayed me into some negligence, which, though little conscious of it at the time, on an accurate search, I found had left many disagreeable effects behind it.

I now leave the work to its fate. Another may labour hereafter in an attempt of the same kind with more success; but more industriously, I believe, none ever will.

BOOK I.

ARGUMENT.

He spake, the old priest trembled and obey'd. Forlorn he roam'd the ocean's sounding shore, And, solitary, with much prayer his king

prevailed in the Greecian camp, and the cause of it is assigned. A council is called, in which fierce altercation takes place between Agamemnon and Achilles. The latter solemnly renounces the field. Agamemnon by his heralds demands Briseis, and Achilles resigns her. He makes his complaint to Thetis, who undertakes to plead his cause with Jupiter. She pleads it, and prevails. The book concludes with an account of what passed in heaven on that occasion.

The English reader will be pleased to observe, that by Achaians, Argives, Danaï, are signified Greecians. Homer himself having found these various appellatives both graceful and convenient, it seemed unreasonable that a Translator of him should be denied the same advantage.

ACHILLES Sing, O Goddess! Peleus' son;
His wrath pernicious, who ten thousand woes
Caused to Achaia's host, sent many a soul
Illustrious into Ades premature,

And heroes gave (so stood the will of Jove)
To dogs and to all ravening fowls a prey,
When fierce dispute had separated once
The noble chief Achilles from the son
Of Atreus, Agamemnon, king of men.

Who them to strife impell'd? What power divine?
Latona's son and Jove's. For He, incensed
Against the king, a foul contagion raised
In all the host, and multitudes destroy'd,
For that the son of Atreus had his priest
Dishonour'd, Chryses. To the fleet he came
Bearing rich ransom glorious to redeem
His daughter, and his hands charged with the wreath
And golden sceptre of the God shaft-arm'd.

His supplication was at large to all
The host of Greece, but most of all to two,
The sons of Atreus, highest in command.

Ye gallant chiefs, and ye their gallant host,
(So may the gods who in Olympus dwell
Give Priam's treasures to you for a spoil,
And ye return in safety) take my gifts
And loose my child, in honour of the son
Of Jove, Apollo, archer of the skies.

At once the voice of all was to respect
The priest, and to accept the bounteous price;
But so it pleased not Atreus' mighty son, [miss'd.
Who with rude threatenings stern him thence dis-
Beware, old man! that at these hollow barks
I find thee not now lingering, or henceforth
Returning, lest the garland of thy god
And his bright sceptre should avail thee nought.
I will not loose thy daughter, till old age
Steal on her. From her native country far,
In Argos, in my palace, she shall ply

The loom, and shall be partner of my bed. [mays't. Move me no more. Begone; hence while thou

God of the silver bow, who with thy power
Encirclest Chrysa, and who reign❜st supreme
In Tenedos and Cilla the divine,
Sminthian' Apollo! If I e'er adorn'd
Thy beauteous fane, or on thy altar burn'd
The fat acceptable of bulls or goats,
Grant my petition. With thy shafts avenge
On the Achaian host thy servant's tears.

Such prayer he made, and it was heard. The god,
Down from Olympus with his radiant bow
And his full quiver o'er his shoulder slung,
March'd in his anger; shaken as he moved
His rattling arrows told of his approach.
Gloomy he came as night; sat from the ships
Apart, and sent an arrow. Clang'd the cord
2 Dread-sounding, bounding on the silver bow.
Mules first and dogs he struck, but at themselves
Dispatching soon his bitter arrows keen,
Smote them. Death-piles on all sides always blazed.
Nine days throughout the camp his arrows flew ;
The tenth, Achilles from all parts convened
The host in council. Juno the white-armed,
Moved at the sight of Greecians all around
Dying, imparted to his mind the thought.
The full assembly, therefore, now convened,
Uprose Achilles ardent, and began.

Atrides! Now, it seems, no course remains For us, but that the seas roaming again, We hence return; at least if we survive; But haste, consult we quick some prophet here Or priest, or even interpreter of dreams, (For dreams are also of Jove) that we may learn By what crime we have thus incensed Apollo, What broken vow, what hecatomb unpaid He charges on us, and if soothed with steam Of lambs or goats unblemish'd, he may yet Be won to spare us, and avert the plague.

He spake and sat, when Thestor's son arose, Calchas, an augur foremost in his art, Who all things, present, past, and future knew, And whom his skill in prophecy, a gift Conferr'd by Phoebus on him, had advanced To be conductor of the fleet to Troy; He, prudent, them admonishing, replied.

[me

Jove-loved Achilles! Would'st thou learn from What cause hath moved Apollo to this wrath, The shaft-arm'd King? I shall divulge the cause.

1 So called on account of his having saved the people of Troas from a plague of mice, sminthos in their language meaning a mouse.

2 For this singular line the Translator begs to apologize, by pleading the strong desire he felt to produce an English line, if possible, somewhat resembling in its effect the famous original one:

Δεινὴ δὲ κλαγγὴ γένετ ̓ ἀργυρέοιο βίδιο.

But thou, swear first and covenant on thy part
That speaking, acting, thou wilt stand prepared
To give me succour; for I judge amiss,
Or he who rules the Argives, the supreme
O'er all Achaia's host, will be incensed.
Woe to the man who shall provoke the king!
For if, to-day, he smother close his wrath,
He harbours still the vengeance, and in time
Performs it. Answer, therefore, wilt thou save me?
To whom Achilles, swiftest of the swift.
What thou hast learn'd in secret from the God,
That speak, and boldly. By the son of Jove,
Apollo, whom thou, Calchas seek'st in prayer
Made for the Danaï, and who thy soul
Fills with futurity, in all the host

The Greecian lives not, who while I shall breathe,
And see the light of day, shall in this camp
Oppress thee; no, not even if thou name
Him, Agamemnon, sovereign o'er us all.

Then was the seer embolden'd, and he spake.
Nor vow nor hecatomb unpaid on us
He charges, but the wrong done to his priest
Whom Agamemnon slighted when he sought
His daughter's freedom, and his gifts refused.
He is the cause. Apollo for his sake
Afflicts and will afflict us, neither end
Nor intermission of his heavy scourge
Granting, till unredeem'd, no price required,
The black-eyed maid be to her father sent,
And a whole hecatomb in Chrysa bleed.
Then, not before, the God may be appeased.

He spake and sat; when Atreus' son arose,
The hero Agamemnon, throned supreme.
Tempests of black resentment overcharged
His heart, and indignation fired his eyes.
On Calchas louring, him he first address'd.
Prophet of mischief! from whose tongue no note
Of grateful sound to me, was ever heard;
Ill tidings are thy joy, and tidings glad
Thou tell'st not, or thy words come not to pass.
And now among the Danaï thy dreams
Divulging, thou pretend'st the archer-god
For his priest's sake, our enemy, because
I scorn'd his offer'd ransom of the maid
Chryseis, more desirous far to bear

Her to my home, for that she charms me more
Than Clytemnestra, my own first espoused,
With whom, in disposition, feature, form,
Accomplishments, she may be well compared.
Yet, being such, I will return her hence
If that she go be best. Perish myself,—
But let the people of my charge be saved!
Prepare ye, therefore, a reward for me,
And seek it instant. It were much unmeet
That I alone of all the Argive host

Should want due recompense, whose former prize
Is elsewhere destined, as ye all perceive.

To whom Achilles, matchless in the race. Atrides, glorious above all in rank, And as intent on gain as thou art great, Whence shall the Greecians give a prize to thee? The general stock is poor; the spoil of towns Which we have taken, hath already pass'd In distribution, and it were unjust To gather it from all the Greeks again. But send thou back this virgin to her god, And when Jove's favour shall have given us Troy, A threefold, fourfold share shall then be thine. To whom the sovereign of the host replied. Godlike Achilles, valiant as thou art,

Would'st thou be subtle too? But me no fraud
Shall overreach, or art persuade, of thine.
Would'st thou, that thou be recompensed, and I
Sit meekly down defrauded of my due?
And did'st thou bid me yield her? Let the bold
Achaians give me competent amends,
Such as may please me, and it shall be well.
Else, if they give me none, I will command
Thy prize, the prize of Ajax, or the prize
It may be of Ulysses to my tent,

And let the loser chafe. But this concern
Shall be adjusted at convenient time.
Come,-Launch we now into the sacred deep
A bark with lusty rowers well supplied;
Then put on board Chryseis, and with her
The sacrifice required. Go also one
High in authority, some counsellor,
Idomeneus, or Ajax, or thyself,
Thou most untractable of all mankind;
And seek by rites of sacrifice and prayer
To appease Apollo on our host's behalf.

Achilles eyed him with a frown, and spake.
Ah! cloath'd with impudence as with a cloak,
And full of subtlety, who, thinkest thou -
What Greecian here will serve thee, or for thee
Wage covert war, or open? Me thou know'st,
Troy never wrong'd; I came not to avenge
Harm done to me; no Trojan ever drove
My pastures, steeds or oxen took of mine,
Or plunder'd of their fruits the golden fields
Of Phthia the deep-soil'd. She lies remote,
And obstacles are numerous interposed,
Vale-darkening mountains, and the dashing sea.
No, 'shameless wolf! For thy good pleasure sake
We came, and, 2face of flint! to avenge the wrongs
By Menelaus and thyself sustain'd,
On the offending Trojan-service kind,
But lost on thee, regardless of it all.
And now-What now? Thy threatening is to seize
Thyself, the just requital of my toils,

My prize hard-earn'd, by common suffrage mine.
I never gain, what Trojan town soe'er
We ransack, half thy booty. The swift march
And furious onset,-these I largely reap,
But, distribution made, thy lot exceeds
Mine far; while I, with any pittance pleased,
Bear to my ships the little that I win
After long battle, and account it much.
But I am gone, I and my sable barks
(My wiser course) to Phthia, and I judge,
Scorn'd as I am, that thou shalt hardly glean
Without me, more than thou shalt soon consume.
He ceased, and Agamemnon thus replied.
Fly, and fly now; if in thy soul thou feel
Such ardour of desire to go-begone!
I woo thee not to stay; stay not an hour
On my behalf, for I have others here
Who will respect me more, and above all
All-judging Jove. There is not in the host
King or commander whom I hate as thee,
For all thy pleasure is in strife and blood,
And at all times; yet valour is no ground
Whereon to boast, it is the gift of heaven.
Go, get ye back to Phthia, thou and thine!
There rule thy Myrmidons. I need not thee,
Nor heed thy wrath a jot. But this I say,
Sure as Apollo takes my lovely prize
Chrysëis, and I shall return her home

In mine own bark, and with my proper crew,
So sure the fair Briseis shall be mine.
I shall demand her even at thy tent.
So shalt thou well be taught, how high in power
I soar above thy pitch, and none shall dare
Attempt, thenceforth, comparison with me.
He ended, and the big disdainful heart
Throbb'd of Achilles; racking doubt ensued
And sore perplex'd him, whether forcing wide
A passage through them, with his blade unsheath'd
To lay Atrides breathless at his foot,
Or to command his stormy spirit down.
So doubted he, and undecided yet

Stood drawing forth his falchion huge; when lo!
Down sent by Juno, to whom both alike

Were dear, and who alike watch'd over both,
Pallas descended. At his back she stood
To none apparent, save himself alone,

And seized his golden locks. Startled, he turned,
And instant knew Minerva. Flash'd her eyes
Terrific; whom with accents on the wing
Of haste, incontinent he question'd thus.
Daughter of Jove, why comest thou? that thyself
May'st witness these affronts which I endure
From Agamemnon? Surely as I speak,
This moment, for his arrogance, he dies.

To whom the blue-eyed deity. From heaven
Mine errand is, to sooth, if thou wilt hear,
Thine anger. Juno the white-arm'd, alike
To him and thee propitious, bade me down:
Restrain thy wrath. Draw not thy faulchion forth.
Retort, and sharply, and let that suffice.
For I foretel thee true. Thou shalt receive,
Some future day, thrice told, thy present loss
For this day's wrong. Cease, therefore, and be still.
To whom Achilles. Goddess, although much
Exasperate, I dare not disregard
Thy word, which to obey is always best.
Who hears the gods, the gods hear also him.
He said; and on his silver hilt the force
Of his broad hand impressing, sent the blade
Home to its rest, nor would the counsel scorn
Of Pallas. She to heaven well-pleased return'd,
And in the mansion of Jove ægis'-arm'd
Arriving, mingled with her kindred gods.
But though from violence, yet not from words
Abstain'd Achilles, but with bitter taunt
Opprobrious, his antagonist reproach'd.

Oh charged with wine, in stedfastness of face Dog unabash'd, and yet at heart a deer! Thou never, when the troops have taken arms, Hast dared to take thine also; never thou Associate with Achaia's chiefs, to form The secret ambush. No. The sound of war Is as the voice of destiny to thee. Doubtless the course is safer far, to range Our numerous host, and if a man have dared Dispute thy will, to rob him of his prize. King! over whom? Women and spiritlessWhom therefore thou devourest; else themselves Would stop that mouth that it should scoff no more. But hearken. I shall swear a solemn oath. By this same sceptre, which shall never bud, Nor boughs bring forth as once, which having left Its stock on the high mountains, at what time The woodman's axe lopp'd off its foliage green, And stript its bark, shall never grow again;

1 The shield of Jupiter, made by Vulcan, and so called from its covering, which was the skin of the goat that suckled him.

Which now the judges of Achaia bear,
Who under Jove, stand guardians of the laws,
By this I swear, (mark thou the sacred oath)
Time shall be, when Achilles shall be miss'd;
When all shall want him, and thyself the power
To help the Achaians, whatsoe'er thy will;
When Hector at your heels shall mow you down;
The hero-slaughtering Hector! Then thy soul,
Vexation-stung, shall tear thee with remorse,
That thou hast scorn'd, as he were nothing worth,
A chief, the soul and bulwark of your cause.

So saying, he cast his sceptre on the ground
Studded with gold, and sat. On the other side
The son of Atreus all impassion'd stood,
When the harmonious orator arose
Nestor, the Pylian oracle, whose lips
Dropp'd eloquence-the honey not so sweet.
Two generations past of mortals born
In Pylus, coëtaneous with himself,
He govern'd now the third-amid them all v
He stood, and thus, benevolent, began.

Ah! what calamity hath fallen on Greece!
Now Priam and his sons may well exult,
Now all in Ilium shall have joy of heart
Abundant, hearing of this broil, the prime
Of Greece between, in council and in arms.
But be persuaded; ye are younger both
Than I, and I was conversant of old
With princes your superiors, yet from them
No disrespect at any time received.
Their equals saw I never; never shall;
Exadius, Coeneus, and the god-like son
Of Egeus, mighty Theseus; men renown'd
For force superior to the race of man. [fought,
Brave chiefs they were, and with brave foes they
With the rude dwellers on the mountain-heights
The Centaurs, whom with havock such as fame
Shall never cease to celebrate, they slew.
With these men I consorted erst, what time
From Pylus, though a land from theirs remote,
They call'd me forth, and such as was my strength,
With all that strength I served them. Who is he?
What prince or chief of the degenerate race
Now seen on earth who might with these compare?
Yet even these would listen and conform
To my advice in consultation given,
Which hear ye also; for compliance proves
Oft-times the safer and the manlier course.
Thou Agamemnon! valiant as thou art,
Seize not the maid, his portion from the Greeks,
But leave her his; nor thou, Achilles, strive
With our imperial chief; for never king,
Had equal honour at the hands of Jove
With Agamemnon, or was throned so high.
Say thou art stronger, and art goddess-born,
How then? His territory passes thine,
And he is lord of thousands more than thou.
Cease, therefore, Agamemnon; calm thy wrath;
And it shall be mine office to entreat
Achilles also to a calm, whose might
The chief munition is of all our host.

To whom the sovereign of the Greeks replied, The son of Atreus. Thou hast spoken well, Old chief, and wisely. But this wrangler hereNought will suffice him but the highest place; He must controul us all, reign over all, Dictate to all; but he shall find at least One here, disposed to question his commands. If the eternal gods have made him brave, Derives he thence a privilege to rail?