And the place, which they quote for a proof that | Tells how it began, and who suffer'd the first, it did, Is one that will prove them expressly forbid. I appeal to the Hebrew, and for the Greek word, To the twenty-third Iliad, where once it occur'd; And where the old prince of the classics one sees, Never once thought of insects, but branches of As the context evinces; tho' all to a man, [trees, Translators adopt the locustical plan: How the Latin locustæ should get a wrong sense Is their business to prove who object the pretence. But the classical Greek, tho' it often confirm, Cannot always explain, a New Testament term, Any more than an Old one; and therefore to pass All authorities by of a paganish class, Let them ask the Greek fathers, who full as well knew [is true? Their own tongue, and the gospel, which meaning But for insects to find a plain proof in their Greek Will cut a librariau out work for a week. For herbs here is one, which unless it is match'd, Ought to carry this question as fairly dispatch'd; Isidorus, Greek father of critical fame, Has a letter concerning this very Greek name, "God forbid," says the father, "a thing so absurd! The summits of plants is the sense of the word." Such an ancient decision, so quite a propos, Disperses at once all the classical show Of a learning, that builds upon Africa's east, And the traunts, how wild people were fabl'd to feast Upon fancied huge locusts, which never appear, Of food for his purpose, could never have want: THREE EPISTLES TO G. LLOYD, ES2. ON THE FOLLOWING PASSAGE IN HOMER. Ουρίας μεν πρωτον επώχετο, και κυνας αργός, Αυταρ επειτ' αυτοίσι βέλος εχεπευχες εφίεις Βαλλ', αιει δη πυραι νεκύων καίοντο θαμειαι. Iliad. A. lin. 50. EPISTLE I. THUS Homer, describing the pestilent lot When his ill-treated priest the whole army had curs'd: Or rather that suffer'd; for custom computes That Apollo's first shafts fell amongst the poor brutes; Instructing both critics to construe, and schools, Κυνας agy s the dogs and as the mules. Now, observing old Homer's poetical features, I would put in one word for the guiltless dumb creatures. And the famous blind bard; for, as far as I see, The learn'd, in this case, are much blinder than he: At the mules, and the dogs, in his versify'd Greek, Nor Phoebus, nor priest, had conceiv'd any pique; And I doubt, notwithstanding the common consent, That the meaning is mist which Mæonides meant. Why the brutes were first plagu'd, an Eustathius, and others, [pothers, Have made a great rout with their physical Of the nature, and causes, and progress of plague; And all, to the purpose, quite foreign and vague: But be medical symptoms whatever they will, Such matters I leave to friend Heberden's skill, And propose a plain fact to all cunninger kenThat the mules and the dogs, in this passage, are men. Just then, as they rise, to explain my ideasLet the lexicon tell what is meant by In plain, common sense, without physical routs, The Grecian outguards, the custodes, or scouts: The word may be mules too, for aught that I know, For my scapula says, 'tis, Ionice, so; And refers to the lines above quoted from Homer, Where mules, I conceive, is an arrant misnomer. If a word has two meanings, to critical test, That which makes the sense better is certainly The plague is here plainly describ'd to begin [best; In the skirts of the camp, then to enter within; To rage, and occasion, what Iliad styles, Incessantly burning their funeral piles; [fools Which the Greeks, I conjecture, were hardly such As to burn or erect for the dogs and the mules. The common Greek word, the Homerical too, For mules is, where it will do; [coerce And there was, as it happened, no cause to Its use in this place, for it suited the verse: Whereas a plain reason oblig'd to discard, If this was the point to be shown by the bard, That first to the parties about the main camp Apollo dispatch'd the vindicative damp. Thus much for 85-the meaning of xuve Is attended, I own, with a little more newness; For the sense, in this place, will oblige us to plant A meaning for xuves, which lexicons want: And if that be a reason for some to reject, [pect; "Tis no more than correction, tho' just, may exBut if it be just, the true critics will add, 'Tis a meaning that lexicons ought to have had. Both canes in Latin, and xʊves in Greek, And the Hebrew word for them, if critics would seek, Should be rendered sometimes in prose writers or bards, By slaves or by servants, attendants, or guards: Ours and nuts have here, in my thought, Where the wise commentators confess in their [tion. One mov'd, or patroll'd; while the other kept sta- lows That he shot at no horses, bulls, oxen, or cows; The mules and the dogs, being shot at, coheres No better with sense, than the bulls and the bears: To exculpate old Homer, my worthy friend, Lloyd, Some sort of correction should here be employ'd; And, for languages sake, in which matters are spread Of a greater concern, if old writers are read, Where it seems to be wanting, the critics should To make out fair English for Latin or Greek. [seek If the words have a meaning both human and brute, Where Homer describes his Apollo to shoot, EPISTLE 11. YOUR consent, I made bold to suppose, in my You'll draw the conclusion, so fair, and so just, Have slipt my remembrance, and cannot be quoted; From Homer himself it may chance to appear, Alluding to Rawthmel's coffee-house, where several members of the Royal Society usually spent their evenings. Plain sense, as I take it, if once it is shown That Homer opposes to-being aloneHaving two xuviç ɑgyu along with an hero, Will call 'em companions, not dogs, in Homero: Turn then to his Odyssey, Beta, line ten, Where dogs, as they call 'em, are certainly men; Attended by whom (he will second who seeks) Telemachus went to a council of Greeks. With his sword buckl'd on, and a spear in his He went (having summon'd) to meet the whole Not alone to enhance the description of song,* That Apollo had sav'd from the general rout! One can but reflect how we live in an age That scruples the sense of all sensible page; Any kind of old nonsense more pleas'd to admit, If in Homer, or Virgil, or Horace, 'tis writ; But yet, to do justice to these, and the rest That time, and transcribing, and critical note Of the poor pagan poets, it must be confest, Have father'd much on them, which they never wrote. This place is a proof how the critics made bold To foist their own sense into verses of old; For instead of two Greeks here, attending their master, And footing a pace neither slower nor faster; They have made in some places, to follow his track, Of their swift-footed dogs, an indefinite pack; Ox 15 x for master and dame, Thus Achilles-8% 10-Omega rehearses, Penelope thus, in first Odyssey strain, How they stood to attend her, on either side one. Had aμpino signify'd cats in the Greek, [seek? Would not sense have oblig'd us new meaning to And two dogs as unfit as two cats, you will own, To describe man, or woman-not being alone. To close the plain reasons, that rise in one's mind, Take an instance from Virgil of similar kiud; Where, in fair imitation of Homer, no doubt, And discern, by the help of his Mantuan pen, Nec non et gemini custodes limine ab alto Procedunt, gressumque canes comitantur herilem. Kuves agya in Homer were then in his view, When Virgil, in Latin, thus painted the two; And the canes in him are the very custodes, Most aptly repeated, dignissime sodes: Did ever verse yet, or prose ever, record Any literal dogs, that kept pace with their lord? Proceeding attending-how plain the suggestion That dogs, in the case, are quite out of the ques tion! Were guards and piquets, as verse sought to I'll refresh your attention-Achilles, know then, And prepare proper wood, for a pile to be rear'd, For the purpose of burning, as custom instill'd, The remains of Patroclus, whom Hector had kill'd. When the Morning appear'd, with her rosyfy'd fingers, Agamemnon obey'd; and exhorted the bringers, The mules and the men;-as translation presents Exhorted them all to come out of their tents: So the men and the mules lay amongst one another, If this be the case, in some hammocs or other; And the men, taking with 'em ropes, hatchets, and tools, [mules. Were conducted, it seems, to the wood by the For the mules went before 'em-the Latinists say [way: Which, a man may presume, was to show 'em the Or, since there was danger, the mules going first Might, perhaps, be because the men none of 'em durst; For they all were to pass, in their present employ, To the woods of mount Ida, belonging to Troy; And if Trojans fell on them, for stealing their fire, The men in the rear might the sooner retire. However, both mulish, and well booted folks Came safe to the mountain, and cut down its oaks; And, with more bulky pieces of timber cut out, They loaded such mules, as were mules without doubt: When you found in the Latin, so certain a place, Where the loading description show'd mules in the case, Your eyes to the left, I saw rolling, to seek in Greek, And had they discover'd that really it was, Conjecture had come to more difficult pass; But since it was not, since 'niorov came, What else but the meaning could vary the name? Why should Homer, so fond, as you very well [quoted, noted, Of repeating the words which his Muse had once Make so awkward a change, without any pretence Of a reason suggested by metre, or sense? Hovo, mules, tho' a masculine ender, Is always in Greek of the feminine gender; But nes, you'll find, let it mean what it will, Never is of that gender, but masculine still; How ridiculous then, that κρηες the Hees, Should become, by their loading 'novo, Shees? In a Latin description would poetry pass, That should call 'em mulos, and then load 'em mulas ? Both the word, and the sense, which is really Show the masculine mules to be certainly guards: The Trojans met Priam at one of their gates, With the corps of his Hector-Omega relatesWhom they would have lamented there, all the day long, Had not Priam, addressing himself to the throng, Made a speech-" Let me pass with the mules”— and so on[upon: For mules drew the hearse which the corps lay Now the words that he said, at the entrance of Were-Ουρευσι διελθέμεν είξατε μοι. [Troy, Priam said to the people, still hurrying down, "Let me pass thro' the guards"-(to go into the town). This is much better sense, by the leave of the schools, Than for Priam to say," Let me pass with the mules." For Idæus directed the mulish machine, Who thought of no mules, but of reaching the dome, [home. Where they all might lament over Hector, at The mules had been nam'd very often before, In the very same book, times a dozen, or more; And the proper term for 'em had always occurr'd; It is only this once that we meet with this word: That it signifies guards, it is granted, sometimes, As I instanc'd, you know, in the Baguley rhymes; And will critics suppose that the poet would make Variation for mere ambiguity's sake? That Apollo should plague, Agamemnon exhort, These irrational creatures is stupid, in short; Where no metamorphosis, fable, or fiction, Can defend such abuse of plain, narrative diction. Perchance, as a doctor, you'll think me unwise, For poring on Homer, with present sore eyes; But a glance, the most transient, may see in his That a mule is a mule, and a man is a man. [plan, So then you think Acrisius really sold No, sir, her father, here, was rich enough; Passage from Virgil, which you here select us, Show money's force on subjects that are vicious; Of Homer's heav'n to hire the man to die. Except in those of your inventing fashion Now I would have a short-hand son of mine But, while I'm rhyming to you what comes next, You make Acrisius to have been the guard, The dear joy Horace must provoke one's laughter; A golden shower, they knew, would break his oath, A hundred cups Mæcenas drink! Where must he put them all d'ye think? "Not that I know has any one If that was all the poet meant, "Nay, why so monst'rous? Is it told Thy drank all night: if small the glass, Small as you will, if 'twas a bumper, "Not in that ode-in this they might A desperate long night! my friend, "Was it no bout, because no noise Sober or drunk is not the case, "Yes to be sure; he might rehearse Doubtless he would; and that's the word, For which a centum so absurd 1 Hor. lib. 3. ode 19. v. 14. Has been inserted, by mistake Of his transcribers, scarce awake; Which, all the critics, when they keep, Are, quoad hoc, quite fast asleep. "For that's the word"-" What word d'ƒb mean? For song does centum intervene? Song would be-O, I take your hint, Can have no sense with such a pause." Pause then at sospitis, nor strike The three cæsuras all alike; One cup of Helicon but quaff, The point is plain as a pike-staff; The wine, the song, the lustre's lightThe verse, the pause, the sense is right. "Stay, let me read the Sapphic out Both ways, and then resolve the doubt" Amongst other rules, which your Horace has To make his young Piso for poetry fit, [writ, He tells him, that verses should not be pursu'd, When the Muse (or Minerva) was not in the mood; That whate'er he should write, "he should let it descend To the ears of his father, his master, his friend';" And let it lie by him now prick up your ears➡➡➡ Nonumque prematur in annum-nine years. Nine years! I repeat-for the sound is enough, With the help of plain sense, to discover the stuff. If the rule had been new, what a figure would nine Have made with your Pisos, ye masters of mine? Must a youth of quick parts, for his verse's perfection, [rection? Let it lie for nine years-in the House of Cor 1-In Mettii descendat judicis aures, Et patris et nostras. |