Observations on the poems of Homer and Virgil a discourse representing the excellencies of those works; and the perfections in general, of all heroick action. Out of the French, by John Davies of Kidwelly.
         Comparaison des poèmes d'Homere et de Virgile. English. 1672.
         Rapin, René, 1621-1687.
      
       
         
           1672
        
      
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             Observations on the poems of Homer and Virgil a discourse representing the excellencies of those works; and the perfections in general, of all heroick action. Out of the French, by John Davies of Kidwelly.
             Comparaison des poèmes d'Homere et de Virgile. English. 1672.
             Rapin, René, 1621-1687.
             Davies, John, 1625-1693.
          
           [6], 128 p.
           
             printed by S.G. and B.G. and are to be sold by Dorman Newman at the Kings-Arms in the Poultrey, and Jonathan Edwin at the three Roses in Ludgate Street,
             London :
             1672.
          
           
             A translation, by John Davies, of the Rapin, René. Comparaison des poèmes d'Homere et de Virgile.
             Running title reads: Observations upon Homer and Virgil.
             Reproduction of the original in the British Library.
          
        
      
    
     
       
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         eng
      
       
         
           Homer -- Criticism and interpretation -- Early works to 1800.
           Virgil -- Criticism and interpretation -- Early works to 1800.
           Epic poetry, Classical -- Early works to 1800.
        
      
    
     
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           OBSERVATIONS
           On
           the
           POEMS
           OF
           HOMER
           AND
           VIRGIL
           A
           discourse
           representing
           the
           Excellencies
           of
           those
           Works
           ;
           and
           the
           perfections
           in
           general
           ,
           of
           all
           
             Heroick
             Action
          
           .
           Out
           of
           the
           French
           ,
           By
           
             JOHN
             DAVIES
          
           of
           KIDWELLY
        
         
           LONDON
           ▪
           Printed
           by
           
             S.
             G.
          
           and
           
             B.
             G.
          
           and
           are
           to
           be
           sold
           by
           
             Dorman
             Newman
          
           at
           the
           Kings-Arms
           in
           the
           Poultrey
           ,
           and
           
             Jonathan
             Edwin
          
           at
           the
           three
           Roses
           in
           
             Ludgate
             Street
          
           .
           1672.
           
        
      
       
         
         
         
           There
           is
           in
           the
           press
           and
           ready
           to
           be
           published
           .
        
         
           The
           comparison
           of
           Plato
           with
           Aristotle
           ,
           with
           the
           opinions
           of
           the
           Fathers
           on
           their
           Doctrine
           ,
           and
           some
           Christian
           Reflections
           .
        
         
           Judgment
           upon
           Alexander
           and
           Caesar
           as
           also
           ●pon
           
             Sen●ca
             ,
             Plutarch
          
           ,
           and
           Petronius
           .
        
         
           And
           are
           to
           be
           sold
           by
           
             Jonathan
             Edwin
          
           at
           the
           three
           Roses
           in
           Ludgate-Street
           .
        
         
         
         
      
       
         
         
           To
           the
           Honourable
           Sir
           JOHN
           BERKENH●A●
           Master
           of
           Requests
           
             to
             his
             Majesty
          
           ,
           Master
           of
           the
           Faculties
           ,
           and
           one
           of
           the
           Members
           of
           the
           Honourable
           House
           of
           Commons
           .
        
         
           
             SIR
             ,
          
        
         
           I
           Here
           present
           you
           with
           a
           Discourse
           on
           the
           Poems
           of
           Homer
           and
           Virgil
           ,
           the
           most
           accomplish'd
           productions
           of
           Mans's
           wit
           in
           their
           kind
           ,
           their
           excellency
           being
           such
           ,
           that
           
           they
           have
           been
           the
           delight
           and
           admiration
           of
           all
           after-ages
           ,
           and
           the
           Models
           of
           all
           those
           who
           have
           since
           written
           upon
           the
           subject
           of
           
             Heroick
             Action
          
           .
        
         
           As
           to
           the
           former
           ,
           you
           know
           ,
           Sir
           ,
           what
           was
           said
           of
           him
           by
           Alexander
           the
           Great
           ,
           that
           Kings
           gave
           their
           votes
           for
           him
           ,
           when
           Hesiod
           had
           only
           those
           of
           the
           Pesantry
           :
           not
           to
           urge
           that
           Horace's
           eloge
           of
           him
           ,
           when
           he
           said
           
             —
             Nil
             molitur
             ineptè
             ,
          
           was
           certainly
           the
           greatest
           could
           be
           given
           an
           Author
           .
        
         
           And
           as
           to
           Virgil
           ,
           what
           can
           be
           imagin'd
           more
           remarkable
           ,
           
           than
           that
           the
           Romans
           ,
           a
           People
           so
           intelligent
           ,
           &
           such
           as
           numbred
           crowned
           Heads
           amongst
           their
           Subjects
           ,
           should
           render
           him
           ,
           one
           day
           ,
           in
           the
           Theatre
           ,
           the
           same
           honours
           which
           they
           were
           wont
           to
           render
           Augustus
           ;
           making
           thereby
           a
           publick
           acknowledgement
           of
           such
           a
           grandeur
           of
           Genius
           ,
           in
           that
           admirable
           Person
           ,
           as
           they
           thought
           worthy
           the
           respects
           due
           to
           Scepters
           and
           Diadems
           ?
        
         
           How
           intimately
           Sir
           ,
           you
           ,
           are
           acquainted
           with
           these
           transcendent
           Poets
           ,
           all
           know
           that
           know
           you
           especially
           théy
           who
           reflect
           on
           
           your
           recesses
           during
           the
           late
           unparallel'd
           Usurpations
           ,
           when
           the
           envy'd
           ingenious
           had
           no
           other
           consolations
           ,
           than
           those
           of
           Poesy
           and
           Philosophy
           .
           These
           observations
           of
           my
           Author
           will
           haply
           recal
           to
           your
           mind
           some
           your self
           had
           made
           on
           this
           subject
           ,
           which
           ,
           had
           not
           the
           distractions
           of
           those
           times
           smother'd
           them
           ,
           might
           have
           prevented
           the
           present
           Addresse
           of
           these
           to
           you
           ,
           from
           ,
        
         
           
             SIR
             ,
          
           
             
               Your
               most
               ●●●ble
               and
               ●●●h
               obl●●e●
               Servant
               ,
            
             JO.
             DAVIES
          
        
      
    
     
       
         
         OBSERVATIONS
         UPON
         HOMER
         AND
         VIRGIL
         .
      
       
         
           OBSERVATION
           I
           ▪
           Of
           the
           value
           of
           their
           several
           Works
           .
        
         
           OF
           all
           the
           productions
           Man
           's
           mind
           is
           capable
           of
           ,
           the
           
             Epick
             Poem
          
           is
           doubtless
           the
           most
           accomplished
           ,
           in
           regard
           it
           involves
           all
           the
           perfections
           of
           the
           others
           .
           This
           is
           the
           general
           sentiment
           of
           all
           the
           ‖
           Learned
           ,
           though
           Aristotle
           attributes
           the
           advantage
           to
           Tragedy
           ,
           as
           to
           the
           quantity
           ,
           in
           as
           much
           as
           its
           parts
           being
           of
           less
           
           extent
           ,
           and
           bearing
           a
           more
           equal
           and
           timited
           proportion
           ,
           it
           is
           more
           proper
           to
           excite
           a
           less
           wearisome
           &
           less
           languishing
           divertisement
           .
           Yet
           may
           it
           be
           affirm'd
           ,
           that
           the
           other
           advantages
           ,
           which
           the
           Heroick
           Poem
           hath
           over
           the
           Dramatick
           ,
           are
           so
           considerable
           ,
           nay
           so
           much
           acknowledg'd
           such
           ,
           that
           all
           allow
           it
           to
           be
           the
           most
           excellent
           and
           most
           transcendent
           of
           all
           humane
           productions
           .
           So
           that
           the
           Poems
           of
           Homer
           and
           Virgil
           being
           ,
           by
           the
           consent
           of
           all
           ages
           ,
           the
           most
           perfect
           modells
           that
           ever
           appear'd
           in
           that
           kind
           of
           writing
           ;
           to
           judge
           which
           of
           them
           ought
           to
           be
           preferr'd
           before
           the
           other
           ,
           is
           ,
           in
           my
           opinion
           ,
           to
           decide
           the
           most
           important
           question
           that
           can
           be
           advanc'd
           in
           matter
           of
           literature
           ,
           and
           peremptorily
           to
           define
           upon
           the
           point
           of
           their
           highest
           grandeur
           and
           perfection
           .
           For
           never
           any
           equall'd
           the
           sublimity
           and
           loftiness
           of
           Genius
           of
           those
           two
           great
           Persons
           .
        
         
           This
           is
           the
           sentiment
           of
           ‖
           one
           of
           the
           
           ablest
           Criticks
           of
           the
           later
           ages
           ,
           who
           calls
           these
           two
           Authors
           the
           two
           Chiefs
           and
           Soveraigns
           of
           all
           the
           Sciences
           :
           not
           to
           insist
           on
           the
           suffrage
           of
           two
           of
           the
           most
           learned
           and
           most
           judicious
           Princes
           that
           ever
           were
           .
           For
           ‖
           Alexander
           ,
           having
           found
           Homer's
           Iliads
           in
           a
           Cabinet
           of
           Darius
           ,
           after
           his
           defeat
           ,
           call'd
           it
           the
           richest
           and
           most
           exquisite
           work
           of
           mans
           wit
           :
           And
           Augustus
           made
           it
           sufficiently
           appear
           that
           he
           had
           not
           ever
           esteem'd
           any
           thing
           comparable
           to
           the
           Aeneids
           .
           by
           the
           impatience
           he
           was
           in
           to
           see
           it
           during
           Virgil's
           life
           ,
           and
           the
           care
           he
           took
           of
           it
           after
           his
           death
           .
           But
           not
           insisting
           ,
           I
           say
           ,
           on
           the
           Authority
           of
           these
           two
           great
           and
           so
           intelligent
           Princes
           ,
           it
           may
           be
           said
           ,
           that
           there
           never
           was
           any
           merit
           more
           universally
           celebrated
           then
           that
           of
           those
           great
           Genii
           ,
           nor
           any
           more
           unanimously
           acknowledg'd
           :
           *
           And
           there
           hath
           not
           risen
           up
           any
           one
           during
           the
           whole
           process
           of
           time
           since
           ,
           
           that
           durst
           dispute
           it
           ,
           without
           dishonouring
           himself
           ,
           and
           ,
           by
           so
           irrational
           a
           presumption
           ,
           betraying
           his
           insufficiency
           and
           the
           weaknesse
           of
           his
           endowments
           .
        
      
       
         
           OBSERV
           .
           II.
           How
           these
           two
           Poems
           are
           to
           be
           consider'd
           in
           order
           to
           a
           Right
           judgement
           of
           them
           .
        
         
           Among
           the
           Learned
           of
           the
           latter
           ages
           ,
           who
           have
           pretended
           to
           give
           their
           opinions
           of
           the
           Poems
           of
           Homer
           and
           Virgil
           ,
           and
           to
           make
           a
           parallel
           between
           them
           ,
           the
           most
           considerable
           are
           
             Macrobius
             ,
             Julius
             Scaliger
          
           ,
           and
           
             Fulvius
             Vrsinus
          
           .
           But
           as
           they
           have
           examin'd
           those
           works
           meerly
           as
           Grammarians
           ,
           so
           have
           they
           not
           judg'd
           rightly
           of
           them
           ,
           having
           only
           apply'd
           their
           reflections
           to
           the
           externall
           and
           superficial
           part
           thereof
           ,
           and
           sparing
           themselves
           the
           trouble
           of
           penetrating
           to
           the
           bottome
           .
           This
           defect
           hath
           hindred
           in
           a
           manner
           all
           
           the
           Learned
           from
           judging
           rightly
           of
           them
           ;
           and
           the
           prepossession
           they
           had
           for
           Homer
           hath
           dazled
           all
           those
           who
           pretended
           to
           the
           glory
           of
           being
           thought
           learned
           .
           For
           it
           is
           known
           ,
           that
           they
           who
           affect
           the
           repute
           of
           being
           thought
           learned
           men
           imagine
           themselves
           the
           more
           considerable
           ,
           I
           account
           it
           an
           honour
           to
           declare
           their
           judgment
           in
           favour
           of
           Homer
           ,
           and
           to
           give
           him
           the
           advantage
           over
           Virgil.
           And
           they
           are
           of
           opinion
           ,
           that
           it
           argues
           a
           certain
           discovery
           of
           greater
           sufficiency
           ,
           to
           declare
           in
           favour
           of
           merit
           ,
           which
           requires
           more
           capacity
           and
           attentive
           application
           to
           be
           known
           .
           And
           indeed
           as
           there
           is
           a
           greater
           depth
           of
           Learning
           requisite
           to
           judge
           of
           Homer
           then
           of
           Virgil
           ;
           so
           men
           think
           themselves
           much
           distinguish'd
           from
           the
           common
           sort
           ,
           in
           preferring
           the
           former
           before
           the
           latter
           ,
           and
           ,
           by
           that
           means
           ,
           that
           they
           acquire
           a
           reputation
           of
           superiority
           in
           point
           of
           abilities
           ,
           which
           highly
           satisfies
           the
           slight
           vanity
           of
           those
           who
           make
           ostentation
           of
           Science
           .
        
         
         
           This
           is
           a
           prejudgment
           ,
           which
           a
           man
           would
           do
           well
           to
           rid
           himselfe
           of
           ,
           how
           great
           soever
           his
           ability
           may
           be
           .
           For
           one
           is
           many
           times
           more
           capable
           of
           judging
           when
           he
           thinks
           himselfe
           not
           to
           be
           so
           ;
           nay
           sometimes
           it
           is
           a
           certain
           assumption
           of
           authority
           for
           a
           man
           not
           to
           take
           it
           upon
           him
           ,
           in
           as
           much
           as
           presumption
           ordinarily
           deprives
           the
           mind
           of
           the
           liberty
           of
           judging
           with
           absolute
           indifference
           ,
           which
           is
           requisite
           for
           the
           well
           doing
           of
           it
           .
           This
           is
           the
           party
           it
           is
           my
           design
           to
           take
           ,
           that
           so
           I
           may
           not
           expose
           my selfe
           to
           prepossession
           ,
           if
           while
           I
           am
           desirous
           to
           examine
           things
           ,
           I
           took
           the
           liberty
           to
           judge
           of
           them
           :
           but
           I
           declare
           that
           I
           only
           intend
           to
           propose
           my
           Observations
           and
           Scruples
           ,
           upon
           the
           works
           of
           these
           two
           Authors
           ,
           yet
           so
           as
           to
           leave
           it
           to
           those
           who
           are
           more
           excellently
           qualify'd
           than
           I
           am
           ,
           to
           make
           what
           decision
           they
           please
           upon
           my
           Remarks
           .
        
         
           But
           to
           enter
           upon
           the
           discussion
           of
           the
           question
           ,
           I
           shall
           not
           stick
           to
           make
           a
           previous
           acknowledgment
           ,
           that
           Homer
           
           has
           a
           much
           larger
           Ground-work
           to
           build
           upon
           ,
           than
           Virgil
           ;
           that
           he
           hath
           a
           greater
           extent
           of
           characters
           ,
           that
           he
           deciphers
           things
           much
           better
           ;
           that
           his
           representations
           are
           more
           accurate
           ;
           that
           his
           reflections
           are
           more
           moral
           and
           sententious
           ;
           that
           his
           imagination
           is
           more
           pregnant
           ;
           that
           he
           hath
           a
           more
           universal
           fancy
           ;
           that
           he
           is
           of
           all
           professions
           ,
           Poet
           ,
           Orator
           ,
           Mathematician
           ,
           Philosopher
           ,
           Astronomer
           ,
           Artizan
           ,
           when
           he
           pleases
           ;
           that
           he
           has
           more
           variety
           in
           the
           disposition
           of
           his
           Fable
           ;
           that
           he
           discovers
           more
           of
           that
           impetuosity
           ,
           which
           makes
           the
           elevation
           of
           the
           Genius
           ;
           that
           his
           expression
           is
           more
           pathetical
           ;
           that
           he
           is
           more
           fortunate
           as
           to
           his
           natural
           inclination
           ;
           that
           he
           is
           a
           Poet
           upon
           the
           account
           of
           his
           temperament
           ;
           that
           his
           Verses
           are
           fuller
           of
           pomp
           and
           magnificence
           ;
           that
           they
           more
           delightfully
           fill
           the
           ear
           by
           their
           number
           and
           cadence
           ,
           to
           such
           as
           know
           the
           beauty
           of
           versifying
           .
           But
           after
           all
           this
           consider'd
           ,
           it
           were
           only
           to
           judge
           of
           Homer
           and
           Virgil
           ,
           only
           by
           what
           is
           most
           superficial
           in
           them
           ,
           as
           the
           
           Grammarians
           do
           ,
           if
           one
           should
           frame
           his
           judgement
           on
           those
           considerations
           ,
           since
           there
           are
           other
           more
           essential
           things
           in
           their
           works
           to
           be
           examined
           .
        
         
           To
           come
           then
           to
           a
           regular
           judgement
           of
           them
           ,
           we
           must
           begin
           with
           an
           enquiry
           ,
           what
           an
           
             Epick
             Poem
          
           is
           ,
           what
           is
           its
           matter
           ,
           its
           form
           ,
           its
           end
           ,
           and
           its
           other
           parts
           .
        
         
           The
           Epopoea
           ,
           saith
           ‖
           Aristotle
           ,
           is
           an
           imitation
           ,
           or
           a
           draught
           or
           portraiture
           of
           an
           illustrious
           action
           .
           It
           has
           that
           common
           with
           Tragedy
           ;
           yet
           with
           this
           difference
           ,
           that
           the
           latter
           imitates
           by
           representation
           ,
           and
           the
           former
           by
           narration
           .
           So
           that
           its
           matter
           is
           
             Heroick
             action
          
           ;
           its
           form
           ,
           Fable
           ;
           its
           end
           ,
           the
           instruction
           of
           Princes
           and
           Grandees
           .
        
         
           Let
           us
           now
           examine
           the
           Poems
           of
           Homer
           and
           Virgil
           ,
           according
           to
           these
           rules
           and
           principles
           ;
           and
           that
           we
           may
           
           not
           be
           mistaken
           ,
           let
           us
           not
           look
           on
           those
           great
           works
           by
           fragments
           ;
           Let
           us
           not
           examine
           those
           two
           Authors
           ,
           by
           their
           Descriptions
           ,
           Similitudes
           and
           Epithetes
           :
           That
           is
           onely
           the
           superficial
           part
           of
           them
           ;
           let
           us
           search
           into
           what
           is
           essential
           therein
           ,
           as
           to
           the
           design
           and
           execution
           .
           To
           do
           it
           methodically
           ,
           let
           us
           reflect
           on
           the
           order
           of
           the
           parts
           of
           the
           
             Epick
             Poem
          
           ,
           which
           ‖
           Aristotle
           gives
           us
           some
           account
           of
           ,
           to
           wit
           ,
           
             Fable
             ,
             Manners
             ,
             Sentiments
          
           ,
           and
           Words
           ,
           Let
           us
           compare
           Homer
           and
           Virgil
           by
           those
           Rules
           ,
           and
           according
           to
           that
           order
           .
        
      
       
         
           OBSERV
           .
           III.
           The
           Fables
           of
           the
           Iliad
           and
           the
           Aeneid
           compar'd
           .
        
         
           LEt
           us
           begin
           with
           Fable
           ,
           which
           is
           the
           first
           of
           the
           parts
           of
           the
           
             Epick
             Poem
          
           ,
           and
           consider
           that
           of
           the
           Iliad
           ,
           and
           that
           of
           the
           Aeneid
           ,
           as
           they
           both
           ly
           naked
           without
           the
           Episodes
           or
           Digressions
           thereof
           .
        
         
         
           The
           Fable
           of
           the
           Iliad
           is
           ,
           that
           one
           of
           the
           Chieftains
           of
           the
           Grecian
           Army
           being
           malecontent
           and
           disgusted
           by
           the
           General
           ,
           retires
           from
           the
           Camp
           ,
           without
           hearkning
           to
           his
           Duty
           ,
           Reason
           ,
           or
           Friends
           ;
           deserts
           the
           publick
           interest
           and
           that
           of
           the
           State
           ,
           to
           comply
           with
           the
           impetuosity
           of
           his
           resentment
           ;
           he
           abandons
           himself
           to
           grief
           in
           a
           solitary
           retirement
           .
           His
           Enemies
           make
           their
           advantage
           of
           his
           absence
           ,
           and
           grow
           too
           powerful
           for
           his
           Party
           ;
           they
           kill
           his
           best
           Friend
           ;
           he
           takes
           up
           Arms
           again
           to
           revenge
           his
           Death
           ;
           and
           Passion
           makes
           him
           do
           what
           Reason
           had
           not
           been
           able
           to
           get
           from
           him
           ;
           and
           in
           fine
           ,
           he
           kills
           the
           Head
           of
           the
           adverse
           party
           .
           This
           is
           the
           Fable
           of
           the
           Iliad
           ,
           abstracting
           the
           Episodes
           ,
           and
           despoil'd
           of
           all
           its
           Ornaments
           .
        
         
           That
           of
           the
           Aeneid
           is
           this
           .
           A
           Prince
           forc'd
           to
           fly
           by
           reason
           of
           the
           Ruine
           of
           his
           Country
           ,
           comes
           to
           seek
           up
           and
           down
           the
           World
           for
           another
           establishment
           ;
           He
           makes
           his
           Gods
           and
           his
           Father
           the
           Companions
           of
           his
           flight
           .
           The
           
           Gods
           ,
           moved
           with
           that
           Piety
           of
           his
           ,
           concern
           themselves
           to
           establish
           him
           in
           the
           noblest
           Country
           in
           the
           world
           ;
           and
           he
           becomes
           the
           Founder
           of
           the
           most
           flourishing
           Empire
           that
           ever
           was
           .
        
         
           Let
           us
           make
           a
           comparison
           between
           these
           two
           Fables
           ,
           and
           compute
           the
           Grandeur
           of
           the
           two
           Heroes
           by
           that
           of
           their
           actions
           .
           The
           action
           of
           Achilles
           is
           ‖
           pernicious
           to
           his
           Country
           ,
           and
           his
           own
           Party
           ,
           as
           Homer
           himself
           acknowledges
           :
           that
           of
           Aeneas
           is
           advantageous
           and
           glorious
           :
           the
           motive
           of
           the
           former
           is
           a
           Passion
           ,
           that
           of
           the
           latter
           ,
           a
           vertue
           :
           The
           action
           of
           Achilles
           is
           the
           occasion
           of
           the
           death
           of
           Patroclus
           ,
           his
           best
           Friend
           ;
           the
           action
           of
           Aeneas
           is
           the
           occasion
           of
           the
           liberty
           of
           his
           Gods
           ,
           and
           that
           of
           his
           Father
           ,
           and
           of
           the
           safety
           of
           those
           who
           were
           with
           him
           :
           The
           one
           is
           Heroick
           ,
           that
           is
           ,
           above
           the
           ordinary
           vertue
           of
           Man
           (
           so
           ‖
           Aristotle
           defines
           Heroick
           Vertue
           ,
           in
           his
           Ethicks
           )
           :
           The
           other
           is
           not
           so
           much
           as
           rational
           ,
           and
           implies
           in
           it
           
           self
           a
           character
           of
           ferocity
           ,
           which
           ,
           according
           to
           the
           same
           Aristotle
           ,
           is
           the
           vice
           opposite
           to
           Heroisme
           ,
           if
           we
           may
           use
           that
           term
           .
           For
           as
           Heroisme
           is
           above
           Man
           ,
           so
           its
           contrary
           is
           below
           him
           .
        
         
           The
           action
           of
           Aeneas
           has
           a
           more
           perfect
           end
           than
           that
           of
           Achilles
           ;
           it
           puts
           a
           period
           to
           affairs
           by
           the
           death
           of
           Turnus
           ;
           that
           of
           Achilles
           puts
           no
           period
           to
           them
           .
           The
           Siege
           of
           Troy
           lasts
           a
           whole
           year
           after
           Hectors
           death
           ;
           which
           occasioned
           
             Quintus
             Calaber
          
           ,
           and
           an
           Egyptian
           named
           Tryphiodorus
           ,
           Authors
           of
           no
           mean
           note
           ,
           to
           observe
           ,
           that
           the
           Iliad
           is
           imperfect
           ,
           because
           they
           are
           not
           terminated
           by
           Hector's
           death
           ,
           but
           his
           death
           made
           an
           obstacle
           to
           that
           termination
           ;
           and
           consequently
           ,
           which
           way
           soever
           we
           look
           on
           the
           Aeneid
           ,
           we
           find
           ,
           that
           its
           end
           is
           much
           more
           fortunate
           and
           fully
           compleat
           than
           that
           of
           the
           Iliad
           .
        
         
           But
           if
           we
           be
           at
           the
           trouble
           to
           consider
           
           how
           much
           Conduct
           ,
           Invention
           ,
           Perspicacity
           ,
           and
           Wit
           ,
           must
           club
           together
           ,
           in
           the
           choice
           of
           a
           subject
           that
           derives
           the
           Romans
           from
           the
           blood
           of
           the
           Gods
           ,
           particularly
           Augustus
           ,
           who
           reign'd
           during
           the
           Poets
           Life
           ,
           and
           whom
           he
           so
           delightfully
           flatters
           with
           the
           promise
           of
           an
           Empire
           that
           was
           to
           be
           eternal
           ;
           what
           beauty
           ,
           what
           grandeur
           ,
           what
           an
           insinuation
           of
           divertisement
           ,
           what
           excellency
           do
           we
           not
           find
           in
           the
           admirable
           choice
           with
           Virgil
           has
           made
           ?
           And
           what
           is
           there
           to
           be
           found
           comparable
           thereto
           in
           that
           of
           Homer
           ?
           For
           as
           never
           any
           Author
           more
           honour'd
           his
           Country
           by
           his
           works
           than
           Virgil
           has
           done
           his
           ,
           by
           attributing
           to
           the
           Romans
           a
           divine
           extraction
           ,
           and
           an
           eternal
           posterity
           according
           to
           the
           decrees
           of
           the
           destinies
           ;
           so
           it
           may
           be
           said
           of
           Homer
           ,
           that
           he
           has
           disgraced
           his
           Country
           ,
           in
           taking
           for
           his
           Hero
           ,
           a
           person
           who
           occasioned
           the
           ‖
           destruction
           of
           so
           many
           Heroes
           ,
           whom
           he
           sacrificed
           to
           his
           grief
           and
           discontent
           .
           Which
           gave
           Plato
           occasion
           so
           much
           to
           blame
           
           hat
           Anger
           of
           Achilles
           ,
           the
           consequences
           whereof
           were
           so
           prejudicial
           to
           the
           
             Greeks
             :
             L'
             ira
             di
          
           Achille
           ,
           
             fù
             con
             amaritudine
             ripresa
             da
          
           Platone
           :
           
             The
             anger
             of
          
           Achilles
           
             was
             sharply
             reproved
             by
          
           Plato
           ,
           as
           Tasso
           hath
           observ'd
           after
           him
           in
           his
           Opuscula
           .
        
         
           Yet
           to
           excuse
           Homer
           ,
           for
           his
           having
           made
           that
           Passion
           the
           subject
           of
           his
           Poem
           ,
           it
           may
           be
           urg'd
           ,
           that
           the
           animosities
           of
           the
           ancient
           Heroes
           ,
           before
           the
           affability
           and
           meekness
           of
           Christianity
           had
           been
           preach'd
           ,
           was
           not
           either
           a
           weakness
           or
           defect
           ,
           as
           Tasso
           seems
           to
           insinuate
           ,
           in
           his
           Dialogue
           of
           vertue
           ;
           
             Il
             souverchio
             dell
             '
             ira
             fù
             attribuito
             a
          
           Hercole
           ,
           Achille
           ,
           Aiace
           ,
           
             &
             altri
             Heroi
             .
             Et
          
           Alessandro
           
             per
             ammaestramento
             filosofico
             ,
             non
             pote
             tener
             laa
             freno
             ,
             quantunche
             alcuna
             volta
             vincesse
             il
             piacere
             come
             dimostro
             doppo
             la
             morte
             di
          
           Dario
           ,
           
             nel
             respetto
             portato
             a
             la
             moglie
             ,
             e
             a
             la
             madre
             :
             A
             certain
             transcendency
             of
          
           Anger
           
             was
             attributed
             to
          
           Hercules
           ,
           Achilles
           ,
           Ajax
           ,
           
             and
             other
          
           Heroes
           .
           And
           Alexander
           
             himself
             ,
             notwithstanding
             all
             his
             
             documents
             of
             Philosophy
             ,
             could
             not
             bridle
             that
             passion
             ,
             though
             sometimes
             he
             master'd
             his
             concupiscence
             ,
             as
             he
             shewed
             upon
             the
             death
             of
          
           Darius
           ,
           
             in
             the
             respect
             he
             bore
             to
             his
             Wife
             and
             Mother
             .
          
           But
           as
           the
           same
           Plato
           tells
           us
           ,
           that
           Anger
           is
           not
           vertuous
           ,
           but
           when
           it
           takes
           up
           Arms
           for
           the
           defence
           of
           Reason
           ,
           so
           is
           it
           to
           be
           inferr'd
           ,
           that
           that
           of
           Achilles
           was
           not
           upon
           any
           account
           a
           vertue
           ,
           since
           it
           was
           far
           from
           being
           rational
           ,
           as
           Tasso
           sayes
           in
           the
           second
           Book
           of
           his
           
             Opuscula
             :
             Pare
             che
          
           Homero
           
             con
             la
             persona
             di
          
           Agamemnone
           
             ci
             metta
             inanzi
             a
             li
             occhi
             una
             figura
             della
             ragione
             depra●ata
             :
             e
             con
             quella
             d'
          
           Achille
           
             l'
             imagine
             dell
             '
             ira
             smoderata
             ,
             &
             trapassante
             ●termini
             presscritti
             della
             ragione
             :
             It
             ap●ears
             ,
             that
          
           Homer
           ,
           
             in
             the
             Person
             of
          
           Agamemnon
           
             sets
             before
             our
             eyes
             an
             image
             of
             deprav'd
             reason
             ;
             and
             in
             that
             of
          
           Achilles
           
             that
             of
             an
             excessive
             Anger
             ,
             and
             such
             as
             ●ranscends
             the
             prescribed
             bounds
             of
             reason
             .
          
        
         
           Thus
           is
           the
           Matter
           or
           Subject
           of
           
           Virgil's
           Poem
           more
           happy
           ,
           nay
           ,
           and
           
           more
           advantageous
           ,
           both
           to
           himself
           and
           his
           Country
           ,
           and
           consequently
           his
           choice
           more
           prudent
           and
           judicious
           than
           that
           of
           Homer
           .
        
      
       
         
           OBSERV
           .
           IV.
           A
           comparison
           made
           between
           the
           two
           Heroes
           :
           Achilles
           and
           Aeneas
           .
        
         
           THe
           action
           of
           Achilles
           importing
           somewhat
           more
           of
           marvellous
           ,
           than
           that
           of
           Aeneas
           ,
           in
           regard
           it
           is
           managed
           by
           him
           himself
           ,
           without
           any
           assistance
           or
           company
           ,
           and
           that
           his
           presence
           in
           ,
           or
           absence
           from
           the
           army
           occasions
           all
           the
           advantages
           and
           disadvantages
           of
           his
           party
           ,
           every
           one
           wil●
           be
           apt
           at
           the
           first
           sight
           to
           give
           it
           the
           preference
           .
           But
           it
           will
           not
           be
           so
           when
           a
           man
           takes
           the
           leasure
           to
           look
           into
           things
           more
           narrowly
           ,
           and
           more
           strictly
           examines
           these
           two
           great
           Heroes
           ▪
           The
           first
           observation
           to
           be
           made
           i●
           order
           to
           the
           clearing
           of
           the
           point
           ,
           is
           that
           it
           is
           likely
           it
           was
           not
           Homer
           
           intention
           to
           give
           us
           ,
           in
           his
           Hero
           ,
           the
           idea
           of
           a
           great
           Captain
           ,
           or
           an
           accomplish'd
           Prince
           ;
           but
           to
           shew
           how
           prejudicial
           discord
           is
           in
           any
           party
           ,
           and
           so
           to
           make
           a
           draught
           of
           an
           action
           at
           the
           same
           time
           ,
           both
           dreadful
           and
           miraculous
           .
           This
           is
           the
           opinion
           of
           Tasso
           in
           his
           Opuscula
           :
           
             Per
             ció
             fare
             l'idea
             di
             una
             terribile
             et
             mara●igliosa
             attione
             .
          
        
         
           Wherein
           he
           did
           not
           as
           Xenophon
           did
           ,
           who
           ,
           describing
           his
           Prince
           ,
           the
           Grand
           Cyrus
           ,
           to
           make
           an
           absolutely
           accomplish'd
           person
           ,
           confin'd
           himself
           not
           to
           the
           truth
           of
           things
           ,
           but
           to
           the
           idea
           in
           general
           ,
           of
           a
           compleat
           Prince
           ,
           according
           to
           ‖
           Aristotle's
           precept
           ,
           who
           would
           have
           the
           Poet
           ,
           in
           the
           representation
           and
           descriptions
           he
           makes
           ,
           imitate
           ,
           not
           such
           as
           are
           like
           ,
           nor
           yet
           such
           as
           have
           any
           imperfections
           ,
           but
           the
           most
           perfect
           in
           their
           kinds
           .
           And
           *
           Plato
           teaches
           that
           imitation
           is
           not
           to
           be
           made
           ,
           but
           from
           the
           things
           that
           are
           most
           accomplish'd
           .
           Besides
           as
           the
           image
           ,
           in
           a
           just
           and
           regular
           imitation
           ,
           ought
           to
           be
           like
           the
           original
           ;
           
           so
           ought
           not
           this
           original
           to
           be
           any
           one
           man
           or
           Prince
           in
           particular
           ,
           but
           the
           idea
           of
           a
           Prince
           or
           accomplish'd
           Person
           in
           general
           .
           According
           to
           this
           model
           hath
           Plato
           describ'd
           the
           perfect
           idea
           of
           a
           just
           man
           ;
           Xenophon
           ,
           that
           of
           a
           Prince
           ;
           and
           Cicero
           ,
           that
           of
           an
           Orator
           ;
           by
           attributing
           to
           each
           what
           was
           most
           transcendent
           and
           accomplish'd
           in
           the
           idea
           which
           he
           fram'd
           to
           himself
           thereof
           .
        
         
           And
           hence
           it
           is
           apparent
           ,
           not
           only
           that
           Homer
           followed
           not
           that
           maxime
           in
           framing
           his
           Hero
           ,
           since
           he
           has
           made
           him
           subject
           to
           great
           weaknesses
           and
           notorious
           imperfections
           ,
           instead
           of
           inserting
           into
           the
           idea
           ,
           which
           he
           pretends
           to
           give
           of
           him
           ,
           the
           consummation
           of
           all
           the
           Vertues
           ,
           according
           to
           the
           advertisement
           of
           
             Paul
             Beni
          
           in
           his
           
             Academicall
             Discourses
             :
             Nel
             poema
             Heroico
             conviene
             esprimer
             l'idea
             di
             perfettissimo
             Capitano
             :
             ò
             vero
             formar
             Heroe
             in
             cui
             sia
             il
             colmo
             di
             tutte
             le
             vertù
             militari
             e
             ciuili
             .
             In
             an
             Heroick
             Poem
             ,
             t
             is
             requisite
             to
             expresse
             the
             idea
             of
             a
             most
             perfect
             Captain
             ,
             
             or
             to
             forme
             such
             an
             Hero
             in
             whom
             should
             be
             the
             height
             of
             all
             vertues
             military
             &
             civil
             .
          
        
         
           And
           this
           is
           a
           very
           considerable
           advantage
           that
           Virgil
           had
           over
           Homer
           .
           For
           whereas
           the
           latter
           had
           not
           ,
           for
           the
           making
           up
           of
           his
           Hero
           ,
           any
           other
           idea
           then
           that
           of
           the
           Vertue
           of
           
             Hercules
             ,
             Theseus
          
           ,
           or
           some
           other
           person
           of
           the
           primitive
           times
           ,
           who
           were
           celebrated
           only
           for
           their
           strength
           and
           vigour
           ,
           it
           is
           no
           wonder
           if
           there
           be
           such
           a
           defect
           of
           Morality
           in
           the
           Hero
           he
           hath
           given
           us
           ,
           considering
           the
           time
           wherein
           he
           fram'd
           him
           :
           there
           being
           not
           then
           either
           in
           History
           or
           Books
           any
           idea
           of
           moral
           Vertue
           .
           And
           whereas
           men
           knew
           not
           of
           any
           greater
           enemies
           to
           oppose
           ,
           than
           Monsters
           and
           Wild-Beasts
           ,
           there
           needed
           only
           bodies
           and
           armes
           to
           pretend
           to
           the
           title
           of
           Hero.
           They
           knew
           not
           then
           that
           there
           were
           some
           dangerous
           and
           terrible
           enemies
           ,
           to
           wit
           ,
           their
           passions
           and
           their
           own
           desires
           ,
           and
           moderation
           and
           justice
           were
           not
           as
           yet
           vertues
           much
           known
           in
           the
           world
           .
        
         
         
           Thus
           Virgil
           ,
           besides
           the
           advantage
           he
           had
           of
           framing
           his
           Heros
           out
           of
           the
           two
           Heroes
           of
           Homer
           ,
           that
           is
           ,
           the
           valour
           of
           Achilles
           ,
           and
           the
           prudence
           of
           Vlysses
           ,
           had
           also
           the
           opportunity
           to
           adde
           thereto
           the
           Gallantry
           of
           Ajax
           ,
           the
           wisedome
           of
           Nestor
           ,
           the
           indefatigable
           patience
           of
           Diomedes
           ,
           and
           the
           other
           vertues
           ,
           whereof
           Homer
           sets
           down
           the
           characters
           in
           his
           two
           Poems
           :
           to
           all
           which
           reuniting
           yet
           further
           the
           other
           vertues
           which
           he
           had
           observed
           in
           all
           other
           illustrious
           men
           ,
           as
           
             Themistocles
             ,
             Epaminondas
             ,
             Alexander
             ,
             Hannibal
             ,
             Ingurth
             ,
          
           and
           a
           thousand
           other
           forreigners
           ,
           as
           also
           in
           
             Horatius
             Camillus
             ,
             Scipio
             ,
             Sertorius
             ,
             Pompey
             ,
             Caesar
             ,
          
           and
           a
           great
           number
           of
           others
           of
           his
           own
           Country
           .
           Had
           he
           not
           a
           ground-work
           infinitely
           greater
           to
           fancy
           to
           himself
           an
           accomplish'd
           Hero
           than
           Homer
           had
           ?
           Thus
           did
           the
           Painter
           Zeuxis
           finish
           that
           famous
           Picture
           of
           Helena
           ,
           which
           he
           had
           undertaken
           ,
           and
           was
           the
           admiration
           of
           his
           age
           ,
           much
           more
           happily
           ,
           and
           after
           a
           more
           compleat
           manner
           ,
           than
           Apelles
           did
           that
           of
           Venus
           ;
           inasmuch
           as
           Zeuxis
           fram'd
           his
           idea
           from
           all
           the
           perfections
           
           he
           had
           found
           in
           the
           rarest
           Beauties
           of
           his
           time
           ,
           whereas
           Apelles
           would
           frame
           his
           only
           from
           his
           own
           pure
           imagination
           ,
           which
           he
           found
           to
           fall
           short
           in
           the
           execution
           ;
           so
           that
           he
           was
           forc'd
           to
           leave
           his
           piece
           imperfect
           ,
           as
           being
           of
           opinion
           ,
           that
           he
           was
           not
           able
           to
           finish
           it
           as
           he
           had
           begun
           it
           .
        
         
           This
           inequality
           in
           the
           subject
           whereof
           I
           treat
           will
           appear
           yet
           much
           more
           evident
           ,
           if
           we
           but
           take
           the
           pains
           to
           compare
           the
           pourtraicture
           which
           Horace
           hath
           left
           us
           of
           Achilles
           ,
           with
           that
           which
           Virgil
           makes
           of
           
             Aeneas
             .
             Achilles
          
           is
           a
           Bravo
           ,
           but
           withal
           a
           hasty
           ,
           impetuous
           ,
           furious
           ,
           passionate
           ,
           violent
           ,
           unjust
           ,
           inexorable
           one
           ,
           a
           contemner
           of
           Lawes
           ,
           and
           one
           that
           places
           all
           his
           reason
           in
           the
           sword
           he
           wears
           by
           his
           side
           ;
        
         
           ‖
           Impiger
           ,
           iracundus
           ,
           inexorabilis
           ,
           acer
           ,
           Jura
           negat
           sibi
           nata
           ,
           nihil
           non
           arrogat
           armis
           .
        
         
         
           Besides
           those
           excellent
           qualities
           ,
           which
           certainly
           are
           not
           very
           Heroick
           ,
           he
           is
           cruel
           towards
           the
           body
           of
           Hector
           ,
           so
           far
           as
           to
           take
           a
           pleasure
           in
           exercising
           his
           vengeance
           upon
           it
           ,
           and
           out
           of
           an
           un●xampled
           avarice
           he
           sells
           to
           the
           afflicted
           Father
           ,
           the
           body
           of
           his
           son
           .
           I
           shall
           not
           say
           any
           thing
           of
           his
           quitting
           (
           with
           a
           lightnesse
           not
           to
           be
           pardon'd
           )
           that
           great
           and
           generous
           enterprise
           made
           by
           a
           general
           combination
           of
           all
           Greece
           ,
           upon
           the
           occasion
           of
           a
           she
           slave
           ,
           for
           whom
           he
           abandons
           himselfe
           to
           tears
           and
           complaints
           ,
           with
           so
           many
           discoveries
           of
           weaknesse
           .
           In
           fine
           ,
           this
           Hero
           of
           Homer
           ,
           whose
           repute
           is
           so
           great
           ,
           and
           so
           highly
           celebrated
           through
           all
           ages
           ,
           is
           but
           an
           epitome
           of
           imperfections
           and
           vices
           .
        
         
           But
           on
           the
           contrary
           ,
           Virgil
           makes
           a
           conjunction
           ,
           of
           all
           the
           vertues
           to
           frame
           his
           :
           he
           gives
           him
           Religion
           towards
           the
           Gods
           ;
           piety
           ,
           towards
           his
           Country
           ;
           tendernesse
           and
           friendship
           for
           his
           Relations
           and
           equity
           and
           justice
           ,
           towards
           all
           .
           He
           is
           undaunted
           in
           danger
           ,
           
           patient
           in
           labours
           ,
           courageous
           when
           occasion
           requires
           ,
           prudent
           in
           the
           management
           of
           assaires
           .
           In
           sine
           he
           is
           a
           good
           peaceful
           ,
           liberal
           ,
           eloquent
           ,
           gentile
           ,
           civill
           person
           ;
           his
           very
           aire
           makes
           a
           certain
           discovery
           of
           grandeur
           and
           and
           majesty
           ;
           and
           that
           he
           may
           not
           be
           destitute
           of
           any
           one
           of
           those
           qualifications
           which
           might
           contribute
           to
           the
           accomplishment
           of
           a
           great
           Person
           ,
           he
           is
           fortunate
           .
           Ilioneus
           gives
           Dido
           a
           character
           of
           him
           in
           these
           two
           Verses
           ,
           which
           may
           be
           confronted
           to
           those
           two
           of
           Horace
           ,
           wherein
           Achilles
           is
           describ'd
           ;
           
             
               Rex
               erat
               Aeneas
               nobis
               ,
               quo
               justior
               alter
            
             
               Nec
               pieiate
               fuit
               ,
               nec
               bello
               major
               &
               armis
               .
            
          
           These
           are
           the
           three
           soveraign
           qualities
           which
           make
           up
           his
           essentiall
           character
           ,
           Religion
           ,
           Iustice
           ,
           and
           Valour
           ,
           and
           which
           were
           those
           of
           Augustus
           ,
           whose
           pourtraicture
           ,
           Virgil
           drew
           in
           the
           Heroes
           he
           dedicated
           to
           him
           ,
           as
           Monsieur
           
             de
             Segrais
          
           hath
           well
           observ'd
           in
           the
           learned
           Preface
           to
           his
           Traduction
           of
           the
           
           Aeneid
           :
           which
           is
           one
           of
           the
           most
           subtle
           and
           ingenious
           flateries
           that
           ever
           were
           :
           wherein
           happen'd
           to
           him
           ,
           what
           ‖
           Pliny
           said
           somtime
           after
           with
           so
           much
           smartnesse
           in
           his
           Panegyrick
           to
           the
           Emperor
           Trajan
           :
           For
           Ovid
           tells
           us
           that
           Piety
           was
           one
           of
           the
           eminent
           qualities
           of
           Augustus
           ,
           who
           made
           it
           so
           much
           his
           care
           to
           reestablish
           the
           Temples
           at
           Rome
           :
           
             
               †
               Sub
               quo
               delubris
               sentitur
               nulla
               senectus
               ,
            
             
               Nec
               satis
               est
               homines
               ,
               obligat
               ille
               Deos.
               
            
          
           So
           that
           out
           of
           the
           vertues
           of
           Augustus
           ,
           and
           an
           infinite
           number
           of
           perfections
           distributed
           and
           scattered
           among
           divers
           other
           Heroes
           ,
           Virgil
           fram'd
           his
           ;
           in
           as
           much
           as
           the
           true
           Heroick
           vertue
           is
           a
           combination
           of
           all
           the
           vertues
           ,
           as
           Aristotle
           affirmes
           in
           his
           Ethicks
           .
           And
           indeed
           ,
           if
           the
           Pythagoreans
           would
           have
           a
           Soveraigne
           ,
           that
           he
           might
           deserve
           the
           preheminence
           over
           others
           ,
           not
           only
           to
           be
           without
           any
           defect
           ,
           but
           also
           absolutely
           accomplish'd
           in
           and
           possess'd
           
           of
           all
           the
           Vertues
           ;
           with
           much
           more
           reason
           should
           a
           Hero
           ,
           who
           is
           the
           model
           according
           to
           which
           Kings
           ought
           to
           regulate
           themselves
           ,
           be
           a
           person
           of
           transcendent
           and
           consummate
           vertue
           .
        
      
       
         
           OBSERV
           .
           V.
           Which
           of
           the
           two
           Heroes
           was
           most
           eminent
           ,
           as
           to
           Gallantry
           and
           Valour
           .
        
         
           Yet
           may
           we
           allow
           all
           these
           Observations
           ,
           without
           giving
           the
           preheminence
           to
           Aeneas
           For
           the
           character
           of
           Valiant
           ,
           which
           Homer
           gives
           Achilles
           ,
           which
           of
           all
           the
           characters
           implies
           most
           of
           the
           Heroick
           humour
           ,
           makes
           a
           great
           show
           ,
           and
           is
           infinitely
           more
           accomplish'd
           than
           that
           which
           Virgil
           gives
           Aeneas
           ,
           and
           denotes
           and
           distinguishes
           him
           much
           better
           from
           all
           those
           of
           his
           party
           ,
           though
           all
           valiant
           .
           For
           there
           is
           nothing
           done
           without
           him
           ,
           and
           he
           alone
           occasions
           the
           good
           and
           bad
           fortunes
           of
           his
           Army
           .
        
         
         
           I
           must
           confesse
           the
           valour
           of
           Achilles
           makes
           a
           greater
           noise
           and
           show
           then
           that
           of
           Aeneas
           ,
           in
           regard
           it
           is
           the
           only
           Heroick
           quality
           Homer
           gives
           him
           ,
           and
           by
           which
           he
           distinguishes
           him
           ;
           and
           so
           itis
           the
           more
           remarkable
           ,
           being
           alone
           :
           and
           in
           Aeneas
           ,
           being
           attended
           by
           many
           others
           ,
           it
           is
           so
           much
           the
           lesse
           observable
           ,
           inasmuch
           as
           the
           lustre
           of
           it
           is
           confounded
           with
           that
           of
           all
           his
           other
           qualities
           .
           We
           find
           in
           Achilles
           only
           the
           Hero
           of
           Homer
           ,
           but
           in
           that
           of
           Virgil
           ,
           we
           have
           
             Menelaus
             ,
             Agamemnon
             ,
             Vlysses
             ,
             Ajax
             Nestor
             ,
             Diomedes
             ,
          
           and
           Achilles
           himself
           ,
           if
           we
           follow
           Virgil
           but
           any
           thing
           closely
           through
           all
           the
           transactions
           he
           makes
           him
           go
           through
           in
           the
           second
           book
           of
           Aeneids
        
         
           Nay
           it
           may
           be
           affirm'd
           ,
           that
           if
           we
           can
           exactly
           distinguish
           between
           true
           Valour
           and
           Temerity
           ,
           and
           shall
           have
           well
           observed
           the
           circumference
           which
           Aristotle
           ,
           in
           the
           Ethicks
           attributes
           to
           the
           magnanimous
           person
           ,
           we
           shall
           find
           that
           Virgil
           exalts
           the
           Valour
           he
           attributes
           to
           Aeneas
           as
           far
           as
           it
           ought
           to
           
           go
           ;
           but
           we
           must
           take
           the
           leisure
           to
           make
           an
           attentive
           reflection
           thereon
           ,
           to
           find
           that
           character
           in
           him
           ,
           and
           ought
           not
           to
           suffer
           any
           of
           all
           the
           circumstances
           ,
           wherewith
           he
           endeavours
           to
           prepossesse
           our
           minds
           ,
           to
           escape
           our
           observance
           .
        
         
           In
           the
           first
           place
           he
           brings
           in
           Aeneas
           advertis'd
           by
           Hector
           ,
           who
           appears
           to
           him
           after
           his
           death
           ,
           that
           the
           Greeks
           have
           supriz'd
           Troy
           ,
           that
           they
           are
           Masters
           of
           it
           ,
           and
           that
           its
           destiny
           is
           to
           be
           destroy'd
           .
           This
           advertisement
           coming
           from
           a
           deceas'd
           person
           ,
           Religion
           renders
           his
           testimony
           sacred
           ;
           and
           to
           take
           him
           off
           from
           all
           endeavours
           to
           defend
           it
           ,
           he
           assures
           him
           ,
           that
           he
           had
           done
           the
           utmost
           he
           could
           by
           his
           courage
           ;
           
             Sat
             patriae
             Priamoque
             datum
             est
             —
          
           He
           might
           have
           contented
           himself
           with
           ●hat
           ,
           being
           inform'd
           by
           so
           sacred
           a
           ●estimony
           of
           the
           will
           of
           the
           Gods
           ;
           but
           ●waken'd
           by
           the
           noise
           of
           the
           sacking
           of
           the
           City
           ,
           and
           the
           conflagration
           of
           
           the
           neighbouring
           houses
           ;
           he
           goes
           up
           himselfe
           to
           the
           top
           of
           his
           house
           to
           discover
           the
           cause
           of
           that
           noise
           and
           disorder
           ;
           and
           his
           apprehensions
           prompt
           him
           to
           take
           armes
           ,
           and
           die
           for
           his
           Country
           ;
           
             —
             Pulchrumque
             mori
             succurrit
             in
             armis
             .
          
           The
           danger
           startles
           him
           not
           ,
           though
           he
           were
           alone
           at
           his
           going
           forth
           arm'd
           out
           of
           his
           house
           .
           Without
           consulting
           his
           own
           people
           he
           runs
           to
           the
           place
           where
           the
           tumult
           was
           ,
           the
           confusion
           of
           a
           surpriz'd
           City
           ,
           and
           the
           most
           pressing
           exigency
           ,
           that
           could
           be
           ,
           call
           him
           away
           ;
           
             In
             flammas
             &
             in
             arma
             feror
             —
          
           Having
           in
           his
           way
           met
           with
           
             Choroebus
             ,
             Dymas
          
           ,
           and
           Hypanis
           ,
           with
           some
           others
           whom
           he
           knew
           ,
           he
           leads
           them
           on
           ,
           and
           animates
           them
           by
           his
           example
           ;
           
             Moriamur
             &
             in
             media
             arma
             ruamus
             —
          
           
           He
           with
           his
           own
           hands
           kills
           Androgeos
           ,
           one
           of
           the
           most
           forward
           of
           the
           enemies
           Commanders
           ;
           he
           makes
           a
           great
           slaughter
           of
           the
           Greeks
           ,
           with
           a
           handful
           of
           his
           own
           people
           ;
           he
           and
           they
           take
           up
           the
           arms
           of
           the
           slain
           to
           disguise
           themselves
           ;
           which
           proved
           so
           successeful
           ,
           that
           he
           forc'd
           some
           out
           of
           the
           City
           ,
           and
           pursues
           them
           flying
           ,
           quite
           to
           their
           ships
           ;
           
             
               Diffugiunt
               alii
               ad
               naves
               ,
               &
               littora
               cursu
            
             
               Fida
               petunt
               —
            
          
           But
           orepress'd
           by
           number
           ,
           
             Dymas
             ,
             Hypanis
          
           ,
           and
           his
           other
           friends
           ,
           being
           killed
           by
           his
           sides
           ,
           he
           runs
           to
           the
           Palace
           ,
           where
           the
           danger
           was
           greatest
           ,
           and
           attaques
           it
           with
           all
           his
           might
           ,
           in
           hopes
           to
           rescue
           the
           King
           and
           all
           of
           the
           Royal
           Family
           ;
           
             Instaurati
             animi
             Regis
             succurere
             tectis
             .
          
           He
           comes
           thither
           too
           late
           ,
           the
           Greeks
           had
           put
           all
           within
           it
           to
           the
           sword
           ,
           and
           ,
           being
           the
           only
           person
           left
           of
           his
           party
           
             
             Jamque
             adeo
             super
             unus
             erami
             —
          
           and
           finding
           himself
           deserted
           by
           all
           ,
           there
           being
           not
           any
           thing
           left
           in
           the
           Palace
           ,
           that
           might
           occasion
           his
           stay
           ,
           after
           he
           had
           seen
           the
           King
           ,
           the
           Queen
           ,
           and
           her
           Daughters
           slaughter'd
           ,
           he
           runs
           to
           his
           own
           house
           ,
           to
           spend
           his
           own
           life
           ,
           in
           defending
           that
           of
           his
           Father
           .
           But
           his
           mother
           Venus
           stops
           him
           in
           his
           way
           ,
           and
           opens
           his
           eyes
           to
           let
           him
           see
           ,
           that
           it
           is
           against
           the
           Gods
           he
           thinks
           to
           fight
           ,
           and
           that
           they
           are
           the
           destroyers
           of
           Troy
           ,
           and
           not
           only
           the
           Greeks
           ;
        
         
           
             —
             Mixtoque
             undantem
             pulvere
             fumum
          
           
             Neptunus
             muros
             ,
             magnoque
             emota
             tridenti
          
           
             Fundamenta
             quatit
             ;
             totamque
             a
             sedibus
             urbē
          
           
             Eruit
             .
             Hic
             Juno
             Scaeas
             saevissima
             portas
          
           
             Prima
             tenet
             ,
             sociumque
             vocans
             a
             navibus
             agmen
             .
          
           
             Ferro
             accincta
             vocat
             —
             &c.
             
          
        
         
           Jupiter
           and
           Pallas
           are
           also
           against
           him
           .
           So
           that
           Aeneas
           ,
           who
           saw
           them
           ,
           might
           have
           contented
           himself
           ,
           without
           
           pursuing
           things
           any
           further
           ;
           it
           had
           been
           an
           impiety
           ,
           and
           not
           a
           mark
           of
           valour
           to
           stand
           out
           longer
           against
           so
           many
           Gods
           combin'd
           together
           .
           Yet
           being
           come
           to
           his
           house
           ,
           which
           he
           did
           only
           in
           order
           to
           the
           defence
           of
           his
           Fathers
           life
           ,
           though
           with
           the
           loss
           of
           his
           own
           ,
           and
           perceiving
           he
           would
           not
           survive
           the
           destruction
           of
           his
           Country
           ,
           he
           arms
           once
           more
           at
           least
           ,
           to
           go
           and
           court
           a
           glorious
           death
           ;
           
             Hic
             ferro
             accingor
             rursus
             —
          
        
         
           And
           there
           must
           be
           Prodigies
           from
           Heaven
           ,
           and
           advertisements
           from
           the
           Gods
           themselves
           ,
           ere
           he
           will
           be
           diverted
           ;
           
             
               —
               Subitoque
               fragore
            
             
               Intonuit
               laevum
               ,
               &c.
               —
            
          
           Anchises
           himself
           is
           the
           interpreter
           of
           them
           ,
           and
           Aeneas
           could
           not
           submit
           to
           any
           thing
           but
           that
           ;
           
             Cessi
             ,
             &
             sublato
             montem
             genitore
             petivi
             ,
          
           
           T
           is
           not
           to
           Men
           ,
           but
           to
           the
           Gods
           only
           that
           he
           yeilds
           ;
           I
           am
           in
           doubt
           ,
           whether
           Gallantry
           can
           be
           advanc'd
           any
           higher
           ;
           and
           yet
           this
           is
           but
           the
           beginning
           ,
           and
           the
           first
           essay
           of
           that
           of
           Aeneas
           :
           all
           the
           courageous
           actions
           he
           performs
           in
           the
           sequel
           of
           the
           Aeneid
           bear
           the
           character
           of
           his
           valour
           :
           which
           will
           appear
           miraculous
           even
           in
           these
           times
           ,
           wherein
           that
           excellent
           name
           is
           without
           any
           distinction
           bestowed
           on
           the
           most
           temerarious
           sallies
           and
           eruptions
           of
           fury
           and
           brutality
           .
        
         
           From
           these
           observations
           it
           will
           be
           no
           hard
           matter
           to
           judge
           ,
           which
           of
           the
           two
           Heroes
           ,
           Achilles
           and
           Aeneas
           is
           the
           most
           compleat
           and
           accomplish'd
           ;
           which
           is
           one
           of
           the
           most
           essential
           parts
           of
           the
           Poem
           .
           I
           come
           to
           the
           second
           ,
           which
           is
           the
           disposition
           of
           the
           Fable
           .
        
      
       
         
         
           OBSERVATION
           VI.
           Of
           the
           disposition
           of
           the
           fabulous
           part
           of
           the
           two
           Poems
           .
        
         
           THe
           disposition
           or
           distribution
           of
           the
           Fable
           consists
           in
           three
           things
           ,
           to
           wit
           ,
           the
           natural
           deduction
           or
           consequence
           of
           the
           principal
           action
           ,
           and
           all
           the
           matters
           which
           compose
           it
           ;
           an
           exact
           intermixture
           of
           what
           is
           probable
           and
           what
           miraculous
           ;
           and
           the
           marshalling
           and
           correspondence
           of
           the
           Episodes
           or
           Digressions
           ,
           with
           the
           principal
           action
           .
           These
           three
           qualities
           ,
           which
           comprehend
           the
           distribution
           of
           the
           Fable
           ,
           by
           Aristotle
           ,
           called
           the
           ‖
           
             Constitution
             of
             the
             things
          
           are
           so
           essential
           to
           the
           Poem
           ,
           that
           it
           cannot
           be
           absolutely
           compleat
           without
           them
           .
        
         
           The
           first
           is
           the
           Action
           ,
           which
           ought
           to
           be
           entire
           ,
           and
           perfect
           ,
           according
           to
           the
           advice
           of
           Aristotle
           :
           that
           is
           to
           
           say
           ,
           as
           he
           explains
           it
           ,
           such
           as
           hath
           a
           beginning
           ,
           a
           middle
           ,
           and
           an
           end
           .
           Horace
           would
           have
           these
           parts
           to
           have
           a
           certain
           proportion
           and
           connexion
           among
           themselves
           ;
           
             Primo
             nè
             nedium
             ,
             medio
             ne
             discrepet
             imum
          
           And
           these
           are
           the
           observations
           which
           may
           be
           made
           upon
           our
           Poems
           as
           to
           this
           point
           .
           If
           the
           action
           and
           principal
           subject
           of
           the
           Iliad
           be
           the
           war
           of
           Troy
           ,
           according
           to
           the
           sentiment
           of
           ‖
           Horace
           ,
           a
           great
           Master
           in
           that
           Art
           ,
           who
           calls
           
             Homer
             Trojani
             belli
             Scriptorem
          
           ,
           and
           that
           of
           many
           others
           ;
           that
           action
           is
           defective
           and
           imperfect
           ,
           for
           that
           war
           has
           not
           ,
           in
           the
           Iliad
           ,
           either
           beginning
           or
           end
           ;
           and
           it
           would
           be
           as
           it
           were
           a
           Statue
           which
           should
           have
           neither
           head
           nor
           foot
           .
           So
           that
           we
           might
           apply
           to
           that
           work
           this
           verse
           of
           Horace
           ;
           
             
               †
               Infelix
               operis
               summâ
               ,
               qui
               ponere
               totum
            
             
               Nesciat
               —
            
          
           
           But
           if
           it
           be
           the
           anger
           of
           Achilles
           ,
           as
           it
           is
           more
           likely
           ,
           and
           as
           Homer
           himself
           acknowledges
           by
           his
           proposition
           ;
           that
           anger
           has
           indeed
           a
           beginning
           ;
           but
           it
           has
           neither
           end
           ,
           nor
           middle
           :
           for
           it
           is
           thrust
           out
           of
           doors
           by
           another
           animosity
           of
           the
           same
           person
           against
           Hector
           for
           the
           death
           of
           Patroclus
           .
           So
           that
           there
           are
           two
           angers
           ,
           one
           upon
           the
           losse
           of
           his
           Friend
           ,
           the
           other
           upon
           their
           taking
           away
           of
           his
           Mistresse
           .
           But
           the
           greatest
           defect
           is
           ,
           that
           the
           rest
           of
           the
           Poem
           has
           no
           connection
           with
           that
           anger
           ;
           and
           Homer
           ,
           during
           the
           space
           of
           eighteen
           books
           ,
           thinks
           no
           more
           of
           it
           ,
           as
           if
           he
           had
           clearly
           forgot
           his
           proposition
           and
           designe
           ,
           which
           like
           a
           starre
           should
           regulate
           the
           course
           of
           it
           ,
           or
           be
           as
           it
           were
           a
           Compasse
           which
           a
           man
           cannot
           have
           out
           of
           his
           sight
           but
           he
           must
           deviate
           .
           During
           that
           long
           intervall
           he
           speaks
           only
           of
           sieges
           ,
           battells
           ,
           surprises
           ,
           consultations
           of
           the
           Gods
           ,
           and
           all
           relates
           to
           the
           siege
           of
           Troy.
           Which
           occasion'd
           Horace's
           being
           of
           opinion
           ,
           that
           the
           subject
           of
           the
           Iliad
           is
           the
           war
           of
           Troy
           ,
           according
           
           to
           the
           very
           name
           it
           goes
           under
           .
           And
           so
           which
           way
           soever
           we
           look
           on
           that
           Poem
           ,
           it
           will
           appeare
           defective
           in
           that
           part
        
         
           Nor
           is
           the
           Odyssey
           an
           action
           ,
           any
           way
           more
           perfect
           than
           that
           of
           the
           Iliad
           .
           It
           begins
           with
           the
           voyages
           of
           Telemachus
           and
           ends
           with
           those
           of
           Vlysses
           .
           All
           is
           made
           for
           Telemachus
           in
           the
           four
           first
           books
           ;
           
             Menelaus
             ,
             Nestor
          
           and
           the
           other
           Grecian
           Princes
           relate
           to
           him
           the
           adventures
           of
           Troy
           ;
           all
           relate
           to
           that
           ,
           there
           's
           no
           thought
           at
           all
           of
           Vlysses
           ;
           which
           made
           
             Paul
             Beni
          
           affirme
           in
           his
           
             Academical
             Discourses
          
           upon
           Homer
           and
           Virgil
           ,
           that
           the
           Fable
           of
           the
           Odysses
           is
           clearly
           double
           ;
           
             E
             chiaramente
             provato
             che
             l'Odisse
             a
             contenga
             due
             peregrinationi
             ,
             e
             in
             somma
             sia
             di
             doppia
             favola
             .
          
           Not
           that
           I
           absolutely
           allow
           it
           to
           be
           so
           ;
           yet
           I
           stick
           not
           to
           pretend
           ,
           that
           it
           is
           hard
           to
           find
           therein
           the
           principal
           action
           very
           regularly
           carried
           on
           ,
           and
           according
           to
           the
           proportions
           requir'd
           by
           Horace
           ,
           in
           the
           forementioned
           precept
           for
           the
           natural
           connection
           of
           the
           
           parts
           .
           Nay
           this
           very
           voyage
           of
           Telemachus
           bears
           not
           any
           proportion
           to
           that
           of
           Vlysses
           ,
           which
           is
           the
           principal
           action
           .
           It
           contributes
           nothing
           at
           all
           ,
           nay
           not
           so
           much
           as
           to
           minister
           any
           occasion
           for
           his
           returne
           ,
           which
           is
           brought
           about
           by
           the
           disposition
           of
           Iupiter
           and
           the
           assistance
           of
           the
           Phenicians
           .
           Which
           made
           Beni
           say
           ,
           that
           the
           four
           first
           books
           of
           the
           Odyssey
           are
           neither
           Episode
           nor
           part
           of
           action
           ,
           nor
           have
           any
           connection
           with
           the
           rest
           of
           the
           work
           .
           Take
           them
           as
           they
           are
           ,
           one
           knows
           not
           what
           to
           make
           of
           them
           .
        
         
           The
           Aeneid
           ,
           methinks
           ,
           is
           not
           chargeable
           with
           that
           defect
           .
           Aeneas
           leaves
           Phrygia
           ,
           makes
           his
           voyages
           ,
           and
           settles
           himself
           in
           Italy
           ;
           all
           is
           consequent
           in
           that
           designe
           ,
           and
           all
           relates
           to
           the
           establishment
           of
           a
           new
           Empire
           ,
           which
           is
           the
           true
           subject
           of
           the
           Poem
           .
           And
           Virgil
           prosecutes
           it
           to
           the
           design'd
           mark
           without
           digressing
           to
           what
           hath
           no
           relation
           thereto
           .
        
         
           
             Semper
             ad
             eventum
             festinat
             ,
             &
             in
             me
             diasres
          
           
           
             Non
             secus
             ac
             notas
             auditorem
             rapit
             —
             Hor.
             
          
        
         
           He
           is
           also
           more
           happy
           than
           Homer
           in
           the
           distribution
           of
           the
           particular
           matters
           and
           occurrences
           which
           relate
           to
           the
           general
           Disposition
           of
           his
           Poem
           .
        
         
           And
           it
           is
           this
           distribution
           and
           this
           disposition
           of
           things
           which
           makes
           that
           admirable
           regularity
           ,
           and
           that
           proportion
           ;
           wherein
           alone
           consists
           the
           perfection
           of
           a
           great
           work
           ,
           which
           is
           neither
           beautiful
           nor
           compleat
           any
           further
           then
           there
           is
           that
           correspondence
           between
           its
           parts
           .
           Which
           occasion'd
           Beni's
           observation
           in
           his
           
             Academical
             discourses
          
           ,
           That
           the
           perfection
           of
           a
           Poem
           ought
           not
           to
           be
           computed
           by
           the
           beauty
           of
           one
           ,
           or
           several
           parts
           ,
           but
           by
           all
           together
           :
           
             Non
             dee
             stimarsi
             l'
             excellenza
             del
             Poema
             da
             una
             sola
             circostanza
             o
             parle
             ,
             ma
             da
             tutte
             insieme
             .
          
        
         
           This
           regular
           proportion
           of
           the
           parts
           ,
           and
           the
           exact
           rapport
           there
           ought
           to
           be
           between
           them
           ,
           seems
           to
           be
           incomparably
           
           better
           observ'd
           in
           the
           Aeneid
           ,
           than
           the
           Iliad
           ;
           for
           there
           ,
           every
           thing
           is
           introduc'd
           in
           its
           order
           and
           place
           ,
           and
           no
           man
           ever
           better
           follow'd
           that
           distribution
           of
           matters
           ,
           and
           that
           series
           of
           events
           then
           Virgil
           has
           done
           .
           Thence
           Horace
           recommends
           it
           above
           all
           things
           to
           the
           poet
           ,
           
             ‖
             Vt
             jam
             nunc
             dicat
             ,
             jam
             nunc
             debētia
             dici
             .
          
           insinuating
           that
           all
           the
           excellency
           and
           perfection
           of
           a
           work
           consists
           in
           that
           order
           ;
           adding
           
             *
             Ordinis
             haec
             virtus
             erit
             ,
             &
             venus
             —
          
           in
           regard
           the
           grace
           and
           divertive
           satisfaction
           in
           a
           work
           cannot
           proceed
           from
           any
           thing
           but
           that
           distribution
           .
        
         
           And
           not
           to
           dilate
           here
           ,
           upon
           what
           may
           be
           particularly
           and
           minutely
           observ'd
           therein
           ,
           I
           shall
           only
           make
           a
           transient
           comparison
           between
           the
           games
           or
           divertisements
           ,
           which
           Achilles
           makes
           in
           the
           23.
           book
           of
           the
           Iliads
           upon
           
           the
           death
           of
           Patroclus
           ,
           and
           those
           which
           Aeneas
           makes
           for
           the
           Apotheosis
           of
           Anchises
           in
           the
           5.
           of
           the
           Aeneids
           .
        
         
           Games
           may
           be
           numbred
           among
           those
           actions
           which
           may
           occurre
           in
           the
           lives
           of
           Heroes
           ,
           and
           be
           so
           introduc'd
           into
           the
           matters
           of
           the
           Heroick
           Poem
           ,
           in
           regard
           they
           are
           occasions
           of
           magnificence
           ,
           which
           is
           one
           of
           the
           qualities
           that
           make
           up
           the
           Hero.
           Virgil
           makes
           his
           in
           the
           V.
           of
           his
           Aeneids
           ,
           first
           to
           divert
           the
           imagination
           of
           his
           Reader
           from
           the
           mournfull
           object
           of
           Dido's
           death
           ,
           which
           he
           had
           represented
           in
           the
           fourth
           book
           ,
           and
           which
           had
           something
           of
           savagenesse
           in
           it
           ;
           secondly
           to
           divert
           himself
           by
           the
           diverting
           of
           his
           Hero
           ;
           and
           these
           are
           of
           those
           sorts
           of
           pleasures
           ,
           which
           ,
           to
           be
           receiv'd
           well
           ought
           to
           come
           in
           ,
           in
           their
           place
           .
        
         
           
             ‖
             Ne
             spissae
             risum
             tollant
             impunè
             coronae
             .
          
           If
           Virgil
           had
           not
           plac'd
           his
           Games
           well
           in
           the
           second
           or
           third
           book
           ;
           it
           had
           
           been
           to
           take
           breath
           too
           soon
           ,
           as
           Homer
           does
           it
           too
           late
           in
           the
           23.
           of
           the
           Iliad
           .
           The
           time
           is
           elaps'd
           ;
           't
           is
           unseasonable
           ;
           people
           are
           quite
           tir'd
           out
           ;
           he
           should
           not
           have
           amus'd
           himself
           being
           so
           neer
           the
           cloze
           of
           it
           .
           'T
           were
           much
           at
           one
           ,
           as
           if
           a
           Traveller
           earnestly
           desirous
           to
           returne
           from
           the
           Indies
           to
           Paris
           ,
           after
           he
           had
           spent
           two
           years
           in
           his
           voyage
           ,
           should
           trifle
           away
           a
           whole
           month
           at
           Dieppe
           ,
           in
           playing
           at
           tick-tack
           ,
           or
           seeing
           playes
           .
           This
           would
           argue
           a
           strange
           want
           of
           judgment
           .
           And
           this
           we
           must
           seriously
           say
           of
           Homer
           ,
           that
           he
           might
           have
           been
           more
           serious
           towards
           the
           end
           of
           his
           work
           ,
           and
           in
           all
           likelihood
           he
           ought
           to
           have
           been
           a
           little
           weary
           ,
           and
           not
           have
           diverted
           from
           making
           up
           to
           his
           final
           stage
           ,
           being
           got
           so
           neer
           it
           .
           There
           are
           abundance
           of
           things
           utterly
           incredible
           in
           the
           representation
           of
           those
           Games
           .
           The
           Surveyors
           or
           Judges
           make
           discourses
           in
           them
           ,
           which
           tire
           out
           and
           exhaust
           the
           patience
           of
           the
           Readers
           .
        
         
           The
           second
           part
           of
           the
           Disposition
           
           which
           is
           the
           just
           intermixture
           and
           attemperation
           of
           what
           is
           miraculous
           with
           what
           is
           probable
           ,
           is
           also
           essentiall
           to
           the
           Epick
           Poem
           ,
           which
           ought
           to
           have
           somewhat
           admirable
           in
           it
           ,
           to
           move
           the
           hearts
           of
           Grandees
           for
           whom
           it
           is
           writ
           ,
           that
           they
           may
           be
           animated
           to
           great
           things
           :
           but
           with
           this
           caution
           ,
           that
           it
           ought
           also
           to
           be
           probable
           ,
           so
           to
           avoid
           giving
           an
           absolute
           check
           to
           their
           emulation
           ,
           and
           in
           fine
           running
           them
           into
           despair
           .
           Truth
           it self
           which
           the
           Historian
           ought
           strictly
           to
           enquire
           into
           ,
           being
           sometimes
           too
           strong
           to
           be
           imitated
           ,
           is
           not
           alwayes
           so
           convenient
           to
           be
           the
           matter
           of
           the
           Epick
           Poem
           ,
           as
           Probability
           ,
           which
           has
           a
           greater
           proportion
           to
           things
           than
           men
           are
           wont
           to
           make
           .
           For
           example
           the
           action
           of
           Sampson
           ,
           who
           defeated
           the
           Philistins
           with
           the
           jaw
           bone
           of
           an
           asse
           ,
           is
           an
           Heroick
           action
           ;
           yet
           can
           it
           not
           be
           the
           subject
           of
           an
           Epick
           Poem
           .
           For
           though
           it
           bee
           true
           ,
           yet
           is
           it
           not
           likely
           to
           be
           so
           ;
           and
           consequently
           it
           is
           too
           miraculous
           to
           be
           propos'd
           for
           imitation
           ;
           we
           are
           therefore
           to
           avoid
           
           that
           excesse
           by
           a
           just
           attemperation
           of
           probability
           ,
           without
           which
           all
           becomes
           fabulous
           and
           incredible
           ,
           and
           makes
           no
           impression
           on
           mens
           hearts
           ,
           which
           cannot
           endure
           to
           be
           mov'd
           at
           any
           thing
           but
           what
           seems
           possible
           to
           them
           .
        
         
           Let
           us
           see
           whether
           Homer
           hath
           been
           more
           fortunate
           in
           the
           observance
           of
           this
           Rule
           ,
           than
           of
           that
           I
           spoke
           of
           last
           .
           He
           insists
           ▪
           so
           little
           on
           the
           probable
           part
           ,
           and
           so
           far
           expatiates
           in
           the
           miraculous
           ,
           out
           of
           an
           excessive
           earnestnesse
           to
           be
           alwayes
           thought
           admirable
           and
           to
           hurry
           mens
           minds
           along
           with
           him
           ,
           that
           he
           does
           not
           leave
           any
           thing
           to
           be
           done
           by
           reason
           ,
           or
           passion
           ,
           nor
           indeed
           by
           nature
           ;
           all
           is
           done
           by
           machines
           and
           engines
           .
           If
           Priamus
           hath
           lost
           Hector
           ,
           there
           is
           a
           necessity
           of
           Jupiter's
           sending
           the
           Goddesse
           Iris
           ,
           his
           Messenger
           ,
           to
           give
           him
           an
           advertisement
           that
           he
           should
           take
           a
           care
           of
           his
           Sons
           body
           ,
           and
           redeem
           it
           from
           Achilles
           .
           Could
           not
           his
           Father
           ,
           who
           had
           so
           great
           a
           tenderness
           for
           his
           Son
           ,
           and
           was
           so
           superstitious
           to
           observe
           the
           ceremonies
           perform'd
           
           at
           funeralls
           ,
           and
           was
           so
           loath
           that
           precious
           depositum
           should
           be
           left
           to
           the
           mercy
           of
           the
           birds
           ,
           think
           of
           it
           himself
           ?
           There
           must
           be
           a
           machine
           to
           put
           him
           in
           mind
           that
           he
           is
           a
           Father
           .
        
         
           If
           Telemachus
           in
           the
           Odyssey
           go
           to
           find
           out
           Vlysses
           in
           the
           Courtes
           of
           Greece
           he
           cannot
           stir
           a
           foot
           forwards
           without
           the
           assistance
           of
           Minerva
           ,
           she
           is
           his
           guide
           wherever
           he
           goes
           ,
           his
           remembrancer
           of
           all
           things
           ;
           he
           does
           not
           do
           or
           think
           of
           any
           thing
           himself
           ,
           he
           is
           a
           great
           child
           ,
           whom
           a
           Governesse
           leads
           up
           and
           down
           ,
           by
           the
           sleeves
           .
           Should
           not
           honour
           ,
           duty
           ,
           nature
           have
           mov'd
           his
           heart
           ,
           and
           have
           rais'd
           a
           litle
           disquiet
           in
           him
           for
           an
           absent
           Father
           ,
           and
           that
           near
           the
           space
           of
           eighteen
           years
           ,
           but
           there
           must
           be
           a
           necessity
           of
           another's
           help
           and
           a
           recourse
           to
           the
           machine
           ?
           Nay
           this
           very
           machine
           hath
           not
           any
           appearance
           of
           probability
           ,
           in
           as
           much
           as
           Minerva
           conducts
           Telemachus
           to
           seek
           for
           Vlysses
           all
           over
           Greece
           ,
           save
           only
           to
           the
           place
           where
           he
           is
           ,
           which
           she
           ought
           not
           to
           have
           been
           ignorant
           of
           ,
           
           upon
           the
           score
           of
           her
           Divinity
           ,
           from
           which
           nothing
           should
           be
           conceald
           .
        
         
           And
           yet
           this
           is
           
           Homer's
           method
           ,
           who
           to
           be
           alwayes
           vaulting
           and
           jumping
           ,
           that
           he
           might
           be
           every
           where
           the
           more
           wondred
           at
           ,
           would
           do
           all
           things
           by
           extraordinary
           waies
           .
           It
           may
           be
           said
           ,
           that
           he
           makes
           his
           Gods
           such
           as
           are
           to
           be
           daily
           Employ'd
           ,
           and
           orders
           them
           ,
           as
           those
           among
           the
           Comedians
           who
           are
           to
           act
           any
           part
           .
           Mercury
           becomes
           Coachman
           to
           Priamus
           ,
           to
           carry
           him
           to
           Achilles
           ,
           to
           demand
           the
           body
           of
           his
           Son
           ;
           and
           least
           he
           should
           be
           expos'd
           to
           the
           Scouts
           in
           his
           way
           to
           the
           Grecian
           campe
           ,
           Iupiter
           makes
           use
           of
           the
           same
           Mercury
           ,
           and
           his
           Ministery
           ,
           to
           set
           them
           asleep
           :
           and
           to
           prepare
           Achilles's
           heart
           by
           some
           sentiment
           of
           compassion
           ,
           Thetis
           ,
           his
           mother
           ,
           must
           go
           and
           prevent
           him
           ,
           and
           dispose
           him
           thereto
           by
           
           Jupiter's
           order
           .
           In
           fine
           the
           ‖
           Gods
           are
           employ'd
           to
           do
           all
           things
           ;
           there
           's
           no
           regard
           had
           of
           their
           rank
           ,
           nor
           the
           peace
           and
           tranquillity
           of
           
           heir
           condition
           .
           They
           are
           so
           many
           Galley-slaves
           to
           be
           put
           upon
           any
           work
           .
        
         
           This
           is
           not
           the
           aire
           of
           Virgil
           ,
           who
           so
           religiously
           observes
           what
           Horace
           hath
           since
           advis'd
           ,
           that
           the
           Gods
           be
           not
           brought
           into
           the
           action
           ,
           if
           the
           thing
           do
           not
           deserve
           it
           .
        
         
           
             Nec
             Deus
             intersit
             ,
             nisi
             dignus
             vindice
             nodus
          
           
             Incide●it
             —
          
        
         
           And
           thus
           does
           that
           judicious
           Poet
           introduce
           Mercury
           in
           the
           fourth
           of
           the
           Aeneids
           ,
           to
           satisfy
           Aeneas
           ,
           who
           was
           in
           a
           terrible
           perplexity
           .
           The
           promise
           he
           had
           made
           to
           Dido
           detains
           him
           at
           Carthage
           ;
           the
           destinie
           of
           his
           Son
           ,
           and
           that
           Empire
           of
           the
           whole
           world
           promis'd
           by
           the
           Gods
           ,
           presse
           his
           departure
           thence
           .
           He
           is
           troubled
           on
           the
           one
           side
           to
           be
           chargeable
           with
           a
           defect
           of
           fidelity
           towards
           Dido
           ,
           and
           on
           the
           other
           ,
           of
           submission
           to
           the
           Gods.
           There
           must
           come
           another
           from
           above
           and
           it
           must
           ‖
           
           be
           some
           superiour
           power
           to
           deliver
           him
           out
           of
           so
           strange
           a
           trouble
           .
           There
           is
           a
           necessity
           that
           a
           God
           should
           speak
           to
           surmount
           his
           difficulty
           and
           break
           that
           engagement
           .
           Mercury
           does
           it
        
         
           The
           same
           may
           be
           said
           of
           the
           adventure
           of
           Aeneas
           in
           the
           first
           of
           the
           Aeneids
           .
           'T
           is
           not
           a
           shepherd
           or
           a
           huntsman
           that
           serves
           him
           for
           a
           guide
           ,
           in
           the
           wandring
           condition
           he
           was
           in
           ,
           which
           was
           naturall
           enough
           ;
           but
           Venus
           appears
           to
           him
           ,
           acquaints
           him
           what
           Country
           he
           is
           in
           ,
           and
           with
           the
           adventure
           of
           his
           companions
           ,
           whom
           he
           thought
           lost
           ,
           and
           shews
           him
           the
           wayes
           .
           For
           such
           was
           the
           conjuncture
           of
           things
           then
           ,
           that
           it
           was
           necessary
           it
           should
           be
           a
           Divinity
           to
           raise
           up
           Aeneas's
           courage
           who
           had
           suffer'd
           extreamly
           in
           a
           dreadful
           tempest
           ,
           who
           had
           seen
           some
           ships
           of
           his
           Fleet
           cast
           away
           ,
           and
           had
           been
           forc'd
           by
           the
           storm
           upon
           a
           desert
           shore
           ,
           destitute
           of
           all
           humane
           relief
           and
           reduc'd
           almost
           to
           despair
           .
           It
           was
           fit
           the
           Poet
           should
           not
           leave
           him
           in
           that
           extremity
           :
           nay
           it
           was
           likely
           the
           Gods
           
           ought
           in
           some
           measure
           to
           concerne
           themselves
           for
           him
           ,
           since
           his
           piety
           made
           him
           so
           careful
           of
           their
           interest
           ,
           and
           since
           they
           were
           the
           companions
           of
           his
           exile
           and
           flight
           ;
           and
           decorum
           requir'd
           that
           it
           should
           be
           his
           Mother
           who
           appear'd
           in
           it
           ,
           and
           should
           make
           it
           her
           businesse
           to
           encourage
           him
           ,
           especially
           after
           she
           had
           been
           inform'd
           by
           Iupiter
           of
           his
           destiny
           .
        
         
           Moreover
           ,
           besides
           that
           all
           these
           machines
           and
           contrivances
           of
           Virgil
           are
           more
           grounded
           in
           reason
           and
           likelihood
           than
           those
           of
           Homer
           ;
           you
           will
           find
           them
           lesse
           frequent
           ,
           and
           lesse
           forc'd
           ,
           if
           you
           take
           the
           leasure
           to
           examine
           them
           one
           after
           another
           .
           Nay
           the
           very
           management
           of
           the
           Ministery
           of
           the
           Gods
           is
           much
           more
           suitable
           to
           their
           rank
           and
           condition
           ,
           and
           incomparably
           more
           judicious
           in
           Virgil
           then
           in
           Homer
           ,
           whom
           for
           that
           reason
           ,
           
             Dion
             Chrysostome
          
           calls
           the
           ‖
           
             greatest
             impostor
             in
             the
             world
             ,
             and
             that
             in
             the
             things
             most
             hard
             to
             believe
             .
          
        
         
         
           We
           may
           adde
           further
           ,
           according
           to
           Tasso's
           remark
           in
           his
           Opuscula
           ,
           that
           Virgil
           had
           the
           happiness
           to
           embellish
           his
           Poem
           with
           a
           kind
           of
           the
           miraculous
           part
           ,
           which
           Homer
           notwithstanding
           all
           his
           affectation
           to
           find
           out
           such
           matter
           ,
           never
           thought
           of
           :
           which
           is
           to
           bestow
           valor
           on
           Women
           ,
           and
           to
           make
           them
           fight
           ,
           as
           Camilla
           does
           in
           the
           eleaventh
           book
           ,
           and
           that
           so
           effectually
           ,
           which
           is
           a
           very
           great
           ornament
           of
           the
           Aeneid
           .
           Thus
           speaks
           Tasso
           of
           it
           :
           
             Niuna
             cosapar
             pui
             maravigliosa
             della
             fortezza
             feminile
             :
             Virgilio
             occupo
             questa
             parte
             ,
             della
             quale
             Homero
             .
             s'era
             dimenticato
             .
             Nothing
             seems
             more
             admirable
             than
             feminine
             fortitude
          
           ;
           Virgil
           
             was
             master
             of
             this
             part
             ,
             wherein
          
           Homer
           
             was
             wanting
          
           :
           after
           the
           observation
           of
           
             Dion
             Chrysostome
          
           ,
           who
           had
           observ'd
           it
           in
           his
           Discourse
           of
           the
           affaires
           of
           Troy.
           
        
         
           The
           third
           part
           of
           of
           the
           
           Disposition
           is
           the
           intermixture
           of
           the
           Episodes
           with
           the
           principall
           Action
           .
           The
           Episode
           
           is
           a
           kind
           of
           Digression
           from
           the
           Subject
           ;
           and
           consequently
           it
           ought
           ‖
           not
           to
           be
           long
           ,
           if
           there
           be
           a
           right
           observance
           of
           the
           proportions
           .
           It
           ought
           not
           to
           be
           forc'd
           ,
           violently
           brought
           in
           ,
           nor
           drawn
           from
           far
           ,
           and
           so
           betray
           its
           disaffinity
           to
           the
           subject
           ;
           in
           fine
           it
           ought
           not
           to
           be
           too
           frequent
           ,
           that
           it
           may
           not
           occasion
           a
           confusion
           of
           matters
           .
           Homer
           begins
           his
           Odyssey
           ,
           which
           is
           his
           more
           perfect
           Poem
           ,
           by
           an
           Episode
           of
           four
           Books
           ;
           he
           recedes
           from
           his
           subject
           e're
           he
           was
           well
           gotten
           into
           it
           ,
           and
           to
           make
           a
           regular
           structure
           he
           begins
           with
           a
           piece
           not
           suitable
           to
           the
           workes
           ,
           according
           to
           the
           observation
           I
           have
           already
           made
           of
           it
           .
        
         
           Has
           Virgil
           any
           such
           thing
           in
           his
           Episodes
           ,
           which
           are
           so
           admirably
           proportionable
           to
           the
           subject
           ,
           as
           is
           that
           of
           Pallas
           and
           Evander
           ,
           that
           of
           Nisus
           and
           Euryalus
           ,
           that
           of
           Camilla
           and
           others
           ?
           Nay
           that
           of
           Dido
           which
           is
           the
           greatest
           and
           largest
           of
           them
           all
           ,
           never
           excludes
           the
           person
           of
           the
           Hero
           
           but
           it
           is
           he
           that
           spakes
           ,
           and
           relates
           his
           own
           adventures
           :
           if
           he
           recedes
           ought
           from
           his
           subject
           ,
           he
           still
           makes
           frequent
           returns
           upon
           himself
           ;
           a
           thing
           not
           to
           be
           found
           in
           the
           Illiad
           or
           
             Odyssey
             .
             Achilles
          
           and
           Vlysses
           ,
           who
           are
           the
           Heroes
           celebrated
           in
           them
           ,
           are
           quite
           out
           of
           sight
           for
           the
           space
           of
           several
           books
           ,
           and
           a
           man
           may
           travel
           a
           great
           way
           ere
           he
           can
           meet
           with
           them
           .
        
         
           I
           leave
           it
           to
           those
           who
           can
           better
           spare
           leisure
           ,
           to
           examine
           ,
           whether
           the
           Episodes
           of
           Homer
           are
           not
           more
           forc'd
           and
           lesse
           natural
           than
           those
           of
           Virgil.
           What
           reference
           has
           the
           wound
           which
           Mars
           received
           from
           Diomedes
           to
           the
           anger
           of
           
             Achilles
             ?
             Homer
          
           expatiates
           upon
           that
           adventure
           in
           the
           fifth
           of
           the
           IliMars
           crying
           like
           a
           child
           and
           makes
           his
           complaint
           to
           Jupiter
           ,
           who
           unkindly
           entertains
           him
           with
           bitter
           railleries
           .
           However
           ,
           to
           try
           all
           wayes
           ,
           they
           think
           fit
           to
           send
           for
           Paeon
           ,
           the
           Physician
           of
           the
           Gods
           to
           cure
           him
           :
           The
           God
           ,
           dess
           Hebe
           concernes
           her selfe
           for
           him
           .
           The
           poet
           ,
           who
           thinks
           the
           passage
           
           Pleasant
           ,
           prosecutes
           it
           with
           might
           and
           maine
           .
           He
           descends
           to
           obscenity
           ,
           and
           would
           bee
           pittied
           ,
           were
           it
           not
           for
           the
           respect
           wherewith
           men
           are
           possess'd
           for
           the
           grandeur
           of
           his
           Genius
           .
        
         
           But
           to
           forbeare
           being
           too
           particular
           ,
           which
           would
           be
           an
           endlessework
           we
           may
           say
           Virgil
           never
           recedes
           from
           his
           subject
           ,
           Homer
           is
           for
           the
           most
           part
           at
           a
           distance
           from
           his
           ;
           and
           by
           the
           multiplicity
           and
           great
           traine
           of
           his
           Episodes
           ,
           he
           is
           continually
           hurried
           away
           with
           the
           impetuosity
           and
           intemperance
           of
           his
           imaginations
           ,
           which
           he
           followes
           without
           any
           discretion
           or
           choice
           .
           He
           may
           be
           compar'd
           to
           those
           Travellors
           ,
           who
           have
           a
           great
           journey
           to
           go
           ,
           yet
           every
           thing
           stops
           and
           amuses
           them
           .
           There
           is
           not
           a
           good
           blow
           given
           with
           a
           sword
           in
           the
           heat
           of
           an
           engagement
           .
           ,
           but
           he
           must
           take
           occasion
           thence
           to
           tell
           stories
           and
           derive
           genealogies
           .
        
      
       
         
         
           OBSERV
           .
           VII
           .
           Of
           Manners
        
         
           MOrality
           ,
           or
           Maners
           ,
           ought
           to
           follow
           the
           Disposition
           of
           the
           Fable
           ,
           according
           to
           Aristotles
           design
           .
           It
           is
           the
           third
           quality
           of
           the
           Poem
           ,
           and
           it
           is
           not
           so
           much
           the
           morality
           of
           the
           Poet
           himself
           that
           is
           to
           be
           understood
           by
           these
           Manners
           ,
           as
           that
           of
           the
           Actors
           and
           Persons
           who
           are
           to
           enter
           into
           the
           action
           .
           What
           a
           vast
           difference
           shall
           we
           find
           ,
           as
           to
           this
           point
           '
           between
           our
           two
           admirable
           Poets
           ?
           In
           Homer
           ,
           Kings
           and
           Princes
           speak
           as
           scurrilously
           one
           of
           another
           as
           Porters
           would
           do
           .
           Agamemnon
           ,
           in
           the
           Iliad
           ,
           treats
           Chryses
           the
           high
           Priest
           ,
           as
           an
           extravagant
           and
           impious
           person
           ,
           when
           he
           only
           demands
           ,
           with
           much
           respect
           ,
           nay
           with
           presents
           ,
           his
           own
           Daughter
           ,
           which
           he
           had
           taken
           away
           from
           him
           .
           He
           told
           him
           ,
           that
           he
           had
           no
           regard
           at
           all
           to
           the
           external
           marks
           of
           his
           Priestood
           ,
           whereby
           he
           ought
           to
           have
           gain'd
           his
           respect
           .
           Nor
           
           does
           that
           priest
           speake
           afterwards
           like
           a
           good
           and
           vertuous
           man
           in
           the
           prayer
           he
           makes
           to
           Apollo
           ,
           wherein
           he
           desires
           him
           to
           destroy
           the
           Greeks
           ,
           that
           his
           resentment
           might
           be
           reveng●d
           .
           That
           is
           somewhat
           uncharitable
           ,
           litle
           beseeming
           him
           ,
           whose
           office
           it
           was
           to
           pray
           for
           the
           people
           ,
           and
           the
           preservation
           of
           the
           state
           ,
           according
           to
           his
           function
           of
           high-Priest
           .
        
         
           Achilles
           ,
           in
           the
           nineteenth
           of
           the
           Iliads
           goes
           to
           his
           Mother
           Thetis
           ,
           to
           make
           her
           sensible
           of
           the
           fear
           he
           was
           in
           ,
           that
           the
           flies
           might
           injure
           the
           body
           of
           his
           friend
           Patroclus
           ,
           then
           newly
           kill'd
           ,
           and
           enter
           into
           his
           wounds
           ,
           which
           might
           breed
           corruption
           ,
           such
           as
           might
           render
           the
           body
           most
           deformed
           .
           Is
           the
           same
           zeal
           against
           the
           flies
           a
           thing
           beseeming
           a
           Hero
           ?
           And
           is
           he
           not
           an
           excellent
           Poet
           who
           employes
           a
           Divinity
           to
           drive
           them
           away
           ?
        
         
           Vlysses
           ,
           whom
           Homer
           proposes
           as
           an
           exemplar
           of
           wisdome
           ,
           suffers
           himself
           to
           be
           made
           drunk
           by
           the
           Pheacians
           ,
           
           for
           which
           Aristotle
           and
           Philostratus
           blame
           that
           Poet.
           But
           what
           extravagance
           was
           it
           in
           that
           accomplish'd
           Sage
           ,
           so
           soon
           to
           forget
           his
           wife
           ,
           a
           women
           so
           vertuous
           as
           she
           was
           ,
           and
           his
           Son
           who
           was
           so
           dear
           to
           him
           ,
           to
           squander
           away
           so
           long
           a
           time
           in
           the
           dalliances
           of
           his
           Prostitute
           Calypso
           ,
           and
           to
           run
           after
           the
           famous
           Sorceres
           Circe
           ,
           and
           being
           a
           King
           ,
           as
           he
           was
           ,
           to
           abase
           himselfe
           so
           far
           as
           to
           go
           to
           fifty-cuffes
           with
           a
           pitiful
           raskally
           beggar
           named
           
             Irus
             ?
             Priamus
          
           ,
           in
           the
           24
           of
           the
           Iliad
           ,
           does
           not
           speak
           like
           a
           Father
           at
           all
           ;
           he
           cruelly
           all
           treats
           his
           other
           children
           ,
           to
           expresse
           his
           griefe
           for
           the
           death
           of
           Hector
           .
           He
           wishes
           them
           all
           dead
           ,
           so
           Hector
           were
           but
           alive
           again
           .
           His
           affliction
           might
           have
           been
           express'd
           some
           other
           way
           .
        
         
           I
           say
           nothing
           of
           the
           inhumanity
           of
           Achilles
           upon
           the
           body
           Hector
           ,
           after
           his
           death
           ,
           but
           only
           cite
           what
           Cicero
           sayes
           of
           it
           
             Trahit
             Hectorem
             ad
             currum
             religatum
             Achilles
             lacerari
             eum
             et
             sentire
             ,
             credo
             ,
             putat
             ,
             et
             ulciscitur
             ,
          
           ‖
           
             ut
             sibi
             
             videtur
             .
             Achilles
             ,
          
           saith
           he
           ,
           
             drags
             Hector
             being
             fasten'd
             to
             a
             chariot
             ,
             I
             suppose
             he
             conceives
             that
             he
             was
             torn
             and
             sensible
             of
             that
             treatment
             ,
             and
             thinks
             that
             he
             is
             thereby
             reveng'd
             .
          
           This
           pleasure
           is
           not
           very
           Heroick
           .
           The
           accidentall
           interview
           between
           Vlysses
           and
           the
           daughter
           of
           Alcinous
           in
           the
           6.
           of
           Odysseys
           is
           clearly
           against
           the
           rules
           of
           deceny
           ;
           and
           that
           Princesse
           forgets
           her
           own
           modesty
           to
           give
           too
           long
           an
           audience
           to
           his
           compassion
           or
           curiosity
           .
        
         
           In
           fine
           there
           is
           but
           litle
           observance
           of
           Decorum
           in
           Homers
           poems
           :
           Fathers
           are
           therein
           harsh
           and
           cruell
           ,
           the
           Heroes
           weak
           and
           passionate
           ,
           the
           Gods
           subject
           to
           miseries
           ,
           unquiet
           ,
           quarrellsome
           ,
           and
           not
           enduring
           one
           another
           ;
           there
           being
           not
           yet
           any
           thing
           of
           that
           Stoick
           Philosophy
           ,
           which
           Zeno
           and
           his
           followers
           taught
           men
           since
           ,
           to
           make
           them
           more
           rationall
           and
           perfect
           than
           the
           Gods
           of
           the
           Iliads
           and
           Odysseys
           :
           whereas
           in
           Virgil
           ,
           every
           thing
           observes
           its
           proper
           character
           .
           Drances
           and
           Turnus
           quarrel
           there
           ,
           but
           as
           persons
           of
           
           quality
           .
           The
           passion
           between
           Aeneas
           and
           Dido
           is
           indeed
           pursu'd
           to
           the
           greatest
           extremity
           ;
           yet
           is
           there
           not
           any
           violation
           of
           modesty
           ,
           or
           of
           the
           rules
           of
           external
           decorum
           :
           nay
           the
           Gods
           themselues
           are
           people
           of
           quality
           and
           good
           repute
           ;
           and
           whatever
           is
           essential
           as
           to
           devoir
           or
           decency
           is
           therein
           most
           religiously
           observ'd
           .
           For
           Virgil
           had
           follow'd
           that
           admirable
           model
           which
           he
           had
           found
           in
           Terence
           ,
           of
           whom
           ‖
           Varro
           saies
           ,
           that
           he
           had
           ,
           as
           to
           morality
           and
           good
           manners
           ,
           borne
           the
           advantage
           over
           Cecilius
           and
           Plautus
           who
           had
           bee
           eminent
           for
           other
           talents
           .
        
         
           But
           we
           must
           pardon
           this
           weaknesse
           in
           Homer
           ,
           who
           writ
           in
           a
           time
           when
           Morality
           was
           hardly
           come
           to
           any
           perfection
           ;
           the
           world
           was
           yet
           too
           young
           to
           be
           imbu'd
           with
           principles
           of
           modesty
           and
           decorum
           .
           Morality
           was
           more
           accomplish'd
           and
           better
           known
           in
           Virgils
           time
           ,
           in
           whom
           it
           was
           much
           more
           cultivated
           than
           in
           
           Homer's
           .
           For
           Virgil
           could
           
           not
           himself
           smother
           his
           sentiment
           as
           to
           the
           injustice
           of
           the
           civil
           war
           ;
           though
           it
           had
           occasion'd
           the
           establishment
           of
           the
           Empire
           ,
           and
           that
           of
           Augustus
           fortune
           .
           He
           could
           not
           approve
           it
           ,
           and
           as
           if
           his
           heart
           had
           been
           republicane
           even
           in
           Monarchy
           ,
           he
           condemnes
           it
           ,
           but
           with
           the
           greatest
           caution
           and
           tendernesse
           imaginable
           ,
           by
           cajolling
           even
           Caesar
           himselfe
           ,
           who
           was
           the
           Author
           thereof
           ;
           
             
               Tuque
               prior
               ,
               Tu
               parce
               ,
               genus
               qui
               ducis
               Olympo
            
             
               Projice
               tela
               manu
               sanguis
               mens
               !
               —
            
          
           So
           full
           was
           his
           Morality
           of
           honour
           and
           uprightnesse
           ,
           and
           so
           opposite
           to
           that
           spirit
           of
           flattery
           ,
           which
           that
           of
           Monarchy
           began
           to
           countenance
           .
        
      
       
         
           OBSERV
           .
           VIII
           .
           Of
           Sentiments
           .
        
         
           THe
           Sentiments
           ,
           which
           are
           the
           fourth
           qualification
           of
           the
           Poem
           ,
           have
           so
           great
           a
           reference
           to
           Manners
           that
           the
           principles
           of
           the
           one
           are
           those
           also
           of
           
           the
           other
           .
           Nay
           it
           may
           be
           said
           ,
           that
           the
           sentiments
           are
           in
           effect
           ,
           but
           only
           the
           expressions
           of
           the
           Manners
           .
           It
           is
           not
           therfore
           to
           be
           admir'd
           ,
           if
           Virgil
           have
           that
           advantage
           over
           Homer
           ,
           since
           he
           had
           ,
           after
           so
           singular
           a
           manner
           ,
           that
           of
           the
           Manners
           .
           He
           has
           that
           obligation
           to
           the
           age
           wherein
           he
           writ
           ,
           the
           spirit
           and
           humour
           whereof
           was
           much
           more
           just
           and
           polite
           than
           that
           of
           Homer
           ,
           who
           made
           it
           not
           so
           much
           his
           businesse
           to
           think
           well
           ,
           as
           to
           speak
           well
           :
           for
           his
           sentiments
           are
           never
           so
           excellent
           as
           his
           discourses
           .
           And
           therefore
           I
           shall
           not
           stand
           to
           make
           a
           long
           parallel
           between
           them
           ,
           but
           only
           a
           particular
           observation
           of
           some
           of
           the
           sentiments
           which
           Homer
           attributes
           to
           his
           Heroes
           ,
           whence
           a
           judgement
           may
           be
           fram'd
           of
           the
           rest
           .
           Agamemnon
           ,
           in
           the
           first
           of
           the
           Iliads
           ,
           saies
           ,
           that
           the
           reason
           obliging
           him
           to
           retaine
           Chryseis
           ,
           is
           ,
           that
           he
           has
           a
           greater
           affection
           and
           esteem
           for
           her
           than
           for
           Clytemnestra
           .
           A
           very
           kind
           Husband
           !
           to
           preferre
           a
           stranger
           before
           a
           Princesse
           ,
           who
           was
           his
           Wife
           ,
           and
           a
           well
           deserving
           person
           .
        
         
         
           Nestor
           ,
           in
           the
           9
           of
           the
           Iliads
           ,
           tells
           Agamemnon
           ,
           who
           desires
           his
           advice
           upon
           the
           distraction
           of
           affaires
           ,
           by
           reason
           of
           the
           absence
           of
           Achilles
           ,
           that
           he
           will
           give
           him
           an
           incomparable
           counsell
           ,
           and
           that
           never
           any
           person
           since
           the
           beginning
           of
           the
           world
           ,
           hath
           given
           any
           that
           was
           more
           prudent
           and
           more
           excellent
           .
           The
           good
           man
           reads
           a
           lecture
           full
           of
           ostentation
           upon
           the
           chapter
           of
           Prudence
           ;
           and
           indeed
           considering
           his
           reputation
           of
           being
           so
           wise
           a
           man
           ,
           he
           might
           have
           been
           more
           modest
           and
           reserv'd
           .
           Yet
           is
           not
           the
           counsell
           he
           gives
           him
           of
           so
           great
           account
           ,
           since
           it
           amounted
           only
           to
           this
           ,
           that
           Achilles
           should
           be
           appeas'd
           ,
           satisfy'd
           ,
           and
           by
           plausible
           insinuations
           ,
           oblig'd
           to
           return
           to
           the
           Army
           .
           This
           argu'd
           not
           any
           great
           reach
           of
           policy
           ;
           a
           person
           of
           ordinary
           endowments
           might
           have
           given
           that
           counsel
           .
        
         
           Antilochus
           ,
           his
           Son
           ,
           in
           the
           23.
           of
           the
           Iliads
           ,
           speaks
           to
           his
           Horses
           ,
           enters
           into
           a
           formal
           discourse
           with
           them
           ,
           and
           conjures
           them
           to
           do
           their
           utmost
           to
           get
           the
           
           better
           of
           Menclaus
           and
           Diomedes
           ,
           in
           the
           course
           which
           was
           to
           be
           run
           at
           the
           Games
           ,
           celebrated
           upon
           occasion
           of
           the
           death
           of
           Patroclus
           .
           He
           excites
           them
           with
           the
           most
           pressing
           earnestnesse
           of
           discourse
           imaginable
           ;
           yet
           with
           very
           childish
           reasons
           ,
           telling
           them
           that
           his
           Father
           ,
           Nestor
           ,
           will
           turne
           them
           out
           of
           his
           service
           ,
           or
           get
           their
           throats
           cut
           ,
           if
           they
           do
           not
           as
           they
           should
           do
           :
           in
           fine
           ,
           he
           becomes
           a
           pathetick
           Orator
           to
           brute
           beasts
           .
        
         
           True
           it
           is
           ,
           that
           Plutarch
           ,
           in
           the
           discourse
           he
           made
           upon
           Homer
           ,
           excuses
           him
           for
           the
           liberty
           he
           took
           to
           make
           Antilochus
           ,
           in
           that
           passage
           ,
           as
           also
           Hector
           in
           another
           ,
           speak
           to
           their
           horses
           ,
           upon
           the
           score
           of
           his
           opinion
           of
           the
           transmigration
           of
           soules
           ,
           which
           he
           had
           taken
           from
           Phythagoras
           ;
           But
           I
           referre
           my self
           to
           that
           philosophy
           ,
           whether
           it
           renders
           beasts
           lesse
           beasts
           than
           they
           were
           ,
           and
           more
           capable
           of
           hearkening
           to
           reason
           .
        
         
           Jupiter
           tells
           Mars
           ,
           in
           the
           fifth
           of
           the
           
           Iliads
           ,
           after
           Diomedes
           had
           wounded
           him
           ,
           that
           he
           could
           not
           endure
           him
           ,
           that
           he
           deserv'd
           the
           misfortune
           which
           had
           happen'd
           to
           him
           ,
           for
           haveing
           comply'd
           too
           far
           with
           the
           counsells
           of
           his
           Mother
           Iuno
           ,
           whose
           humour
           was
           intractable
           .
           What
           kindnesses
           were
           these
           in
           the
           Prince
           of
           the
           Gods
           ,
           towards
           his
           wife
           ?
           What
           consolation
           to
           his
           Son
           Mars
           who
           was
           then
           newly
           wounded
           ?
           We
           should
           never
           come
           to
           an
           end
           ,
           if
           we
           minutely
           remark'd
           all
           .
           Besides
           that
           ,
           Virgil
           is
           not
           subject
           to
           those
           weaknesses
           ,
           he
           is
           alwayes
           serious
           ,
           alwayes
           great
           ,
           alwayes
           soaring
           on
           high
           ,
           to
           keep
           up
           the
           Heroick
           Character
           :
           He
           does
           not
           abase
           himself
           to
           act
           the
           pleasant
           droll
           ,
           nor
           fall
           down
           to
           a
           childish
           familiarity
           ,
           contrary
           to
           the
           decorum
           of
           his
           rank
           ,
           from
           which
           Homer
           many
           times
           degrades
           himself
           .
           This
           latter
           puts
           off
           that
           air
           of
           Majesty
           ,
           which
           ought
           to
           be
           annex'd
           to
           his
           character
           ;
           he
           ever
           and
           anon
           falls
           into
           foolish
           freaks
           ,
           by
           degenerating
           to
           the
           familiar
           way
           of
           talking
           ,
           and
           turning
           things
           to
           an
           aire
           of
           divertisment
           :
           as
           when
           ,
           in
           the
           8.
           of
           
           Odysseys
           .
           he
           entertains
           the
           Gods
           at
           a
           Comedy
           ,
           some
           of
           whom
           he
           makes
           Bouffoons
           ,
           by
           introducing
           Mars
           and
           Venus
           surpriz'd
           in
           the
           nets
           lay'd
           for
           them
           by
           Vulcan
           .
           The
           battell
           between
           Irus
           and
           Vlisses
           ,
           in
           the
           18.
           book
           savours
           strongly
           of
           the
           Burlesque
           humour
           ,
           as
           do
           also
           the
           character
           of
           Thersitis
           ,
           and
           the
           wounding
           of
           Venus
           in
           the
           Iliad
           .
           But
           to
           do
           Homer
           all
           the
           right
           he
           deserves
           ,
           we
           may
           justly
           affirm
           ,
           that
           that
           weaknesse
           is
           not
           so
           much
           to
           be
           attributed
           to
           him
           ,
           as
           to
           the
           age
           he
           liv'd
           in
           ,
           which
           was
           not
           capable
           of
           any
           greater
           politenesse
        
      
       
         
           OBSERV
           .
           IX
           .
           Of
           Words
           .
        
         
           THe
           sentiments
           are
           the
           expression
           of
           the
           words
           ,
           and
           the
           words
           that
           of
           the
           Manners
           .
           In
           this
           part
           ,
           which
           is
           the
           fifth
           ,
           according
           to
           Aristotle's
           order
           ,
           Homer
           triumphs
           ,
           and
           is
           most
           accomplish'd
           There
           is
           no
           contesting
           with
           him
           as
           
           to
           this
           advantage
           ,
           which
           he
           has
           over
           all
           the
           other
           Poets
           ,
           in
           such
           a
           manner
           as
           cannot
           sufficiently
           be
           express'd
           .
           T
           was
           also
           this
           admirable
           talent
           of
           wording
           well
           ,
           that
           made
           Sophocles
           ,
           who
           passes
           for
           the
           model
           of
           Tragedy
           ,
           his
           perpetuall
           admirer
           and
           most
           exact
           imitator
           :
           which
           gave
           the
           Critickes
           occasion
           to
           call
           him
           ‖
           
             The
             great
             Lover
             of
             Homer
             .
             Plato
             ,
          
           for
           the
           same
           reason
           ,
           in
           the
           10.
           book
           of
           his
           Republick
           ,
           calls
           him
           the
           Prince
           of
           Heroick
           Poets
           .
           Pindar
           ,
           in
           the
           7.
           
           Ode
           of
           the
           Nemaean
           Games
           ,
           does
           not
           commend
           and
           admire
           him
           ,
           upon
           any
           other
           account
           ,
           than
           that
           of
           the
           loftinesse
           of
           his
           discourse
           .
           And
           Longinus
           proposes
           him
           in
           his
           †
           Treatise
           ,
           as
           the
           most
           accomplish'd
           idea
           of
           a
           majestick
           stile
           .
        
         
           In
           fine
           it
           may
           be
           said
           ,
           that
           it
           is
           upon
           this
           qualification
           he
           hath
           imposed
           upon
           all
           Antiquity
           ;
           and
           that
           the
           elegance
           and
           excellency
           of
           his
           words
           and
           expressions
           was
           the
           charme
           and
           enchantment
           ,
           whereby
           he
           merited
           the
           
           dmiration
           of
           all
           those
           who
           have
           had
           any
           acquaintance
           with
           literature
           ,
           and
           that
           he
           hath
           engross'd
           to
           himselfe
           the
           esteem
           and
           consideration
           of
           all
           the
           Learned
           .
           For
           whereas
           the
           diversion
           and
           lustre
           of
           Poesy
           consists
           only
           in
           its
           expression
           ,
           which
           is
           alwayes
           in
           a
           manner
           the
           most
           remarkable
           part
           of
           its
           beauty
           ,
           Homer
           ,
           who
           hath
           excelled
           all
           Poets
           in
           the
           riches
           ,
           elegance
           ,
           and
           grandeure
           of
           his
           ,
           hath
           thereby
           merited
           ,
           among
           the
           ablest
           persons
           ,
           that
           admiration
           which
           all
           ages
           have
           had
           for
           him
           .
           T
           was
           this
           that
           put
           Pindar
           ,
           whom
           Horace
           proposes
           to
           himself
           for
           a
           model
           ,
           and
           all
           the
           Greek
           Lyricks
           ,
           into
           a
           despaire
           of
           ever
           attaining
           the
           majesty
           of
           Homer's
           verses
           ;
           
             Pindarus
             novemque
             Lyrici
             Homericis
             versibus
             canere
             timnerunt
             .
          
           And
           Paterculus
           hath
           this
           commendation
           of
           him
           in
           the
           first
           book
           of
           his
           History
           ,
           
             Fulgore
             carminum
             solus
             Poeta
             appellari
             meruit
          
           ;
           and
           a
           litle
           after
           ,
           
             mollissimâ
             dulcedine
             carminum
             memorabilis
          
           .
        
         
           T
           was
           for
           this
           admirable
           advantage
           ,
           
           that
           Lycurgus
           made
           so
           great
           ostentation
           of
           his
           Poesy
           ,
           in
           the
           Oration
           he
           made
           against
           Leocrates
           ;
           That
           Aeschylus
           saies
           ,
           in
           Plutarch
           and
           Athenaeus
           ,
           that
           his
           Tragedies
           are
           but
           the
           crums
           of
           Homer's
           great
           banquets
           ;
           That
           Plato
           affirms
           him
           to
           be
           the
           most
           accomplish'd
           and
           most
           divine
           of
           all
           the
           Poets
           ;
           That
           Aristides
           saies
           in
           the
           third
           Tome
           of
           his
           Orations
           ,
           that
           no
           man
           ever
           spoke
           better
           ;
           That
           Aristotle
           ,
           in
           his
           Treatise
           of
           Poesy
           said
           ,
           that
           he
           transcends
           all
           other
           in
           the
           height
           and
           grandeur
           of
           his
           expressions
           .
           Socrates
           ,
           in
           one
           of
           his
           Epistles
           to
           
             Xenopon
             ;
             Xenophon
          
           himself
           ,
           in
           his
           
             Banquet
             ;
             Democritus
          
           in
           
             Dion
             Chrysostome
             ,
             Aristophanes
          
           ,
           in
           the
           
             Froggs
             ;
             Hierocles
          
           ,
           in
           his
           Fragments
           preserv'd
           by
           Stobaeus-Hermogenes
           ,
           in
           his
           Ideas
           ;
           Philostratus
           ,
           in
           his
           Heroick
           Images
           ,
           Theocritus
           ,
           in
           his
           16.
           
           Idyll
           ;
           Moschus
           ,
           in
           his
           third
           ;
           Plutarch
           ,
           in
           the
           Discourse
           he
           made
           upon
           
             Homer
             ;
             Dionysius
             Halicarnassaeus
          
           ,
           in
           the
           Construction
           of
           names
           ;
           Iamblichus
           ,
           in
           the
           life
           of
           
             Pythagoras
             ;
             Origen
          
           against
           Celsus
           ,
           lib.
           7.
           
           Thucydides
           ,
           in
           the
           funeral
           Oration
           of
           
             Pericles
             ;
             Maximus
             
             Tyrius
          
           ,
           in
           his
           16.
           
           Dissertation
           ;
           Lucian
           ,
           in
           the
           elogy
           of
           
             Demosthenes
             ;
             Themistius
          
           ,
           in
           his
           16.
           
           Oration
           ;
           Theodoret
           in
           the
           second
           Book
           
             de
             curandis
             affectibus
             Graec.
          
           and
           abundance
           of
           others
           do
           all
           affirme
           the
           same
           thing
           .
        
         
           But
           all
           these
           great
           persons
           ,
           whom
           I
           have
           named
           ,
           gave
           Homer
           these
           eloges
           ,
           only
           upon
           the
           score
           of
           the
           beauty
           and
           luster
           of
           his
           Discourse
           ,
           for
           which
           he
           cannot
           be
           sufficiently
           commended
           .
           And
           it
           must
           be
           acknowledg'd
           ,
           that
           ,
           upon
           this
           advantage
           ,
           which
           he
           hath
           in
           an
           eminent
           manner
           ,
           he
           deserves
           to
           be
           preferrd
           before
           Virgil
           ;
           though
           Virgil
           be
           the
           most
           prudent
           ,
           the
           most
           discreet
           ,
           and
           the
           most
           judicious
           of
           all
           those
           that
           ever
           writ
           .
        
      
       
         
         
           OBSERV
           .
           X.
           Reflections
           upon
           the
           Expression
           of
           Homer
           and
           Virgil.
           
        
         
           YEt
           is
           there
           still
           somewhat
           to
           be
           further
           remark'd
           upon
           this
           expression
           of
           Homer
           ,
           the
           luster
           whereof
           hath
           so
           highly
           merited
           the
           esteem
           and
           applause
           even
           of
           all
           Antiquity
           .
        
         
           Transitions
           ,
           which
           ,
           upon
           the
           account
           of
           their
           character
           ,
           ought
           to
           be
           very
           much
           varied
           ,
           for
           the
           greater
           divertisement
           of
           the
           Reader
           ,
           are
           much
           alike
           ,
           in
           the
           greatest
           part
           of
           his
           work
           .
           We
           cannot
           reckon
           up
           above
           twenty
           or
           thirty
           sorts
           in
           the
           whole
           extent
           of
           neere
           thirty
           thousand
           verses
           :
           and
           consequently
           one
           and
           the
           same
           connection
           ,
           presenting
           it selfe
           ordinarily
           ,
           is
           very
           apt
           to
           give
           disgust
           ,
           by
           so
           frequent
           a
           repetition
           :
           which
           gave
           Martial
           occasion
           to
           make
           a
           little
           sport
           at
           the
           
             〈◊〉
             〈◊〉
             〈◊〉
             〈◊〉
             〈◊〉
          
           and
           to
           say
           ,
           that
           the
           Latine
           
           Muses
           are
           not
           so
           light
           and
           such
           libertines
           us
           the
           Grecian
           ;
           
             Qui
             Musas
             colimus
             severiores
             .
          
        
         
           The
           comparisons
           ,
           in
           the
           same
           work
           ,
           are
           flat
           ,
           forc'd
           ,
           not
           very
           natural
           in
           some
           passages
           ,
           never
           very
           excellent
           ,
           though
           ,
           in
           so
           great
           a
           number
           as
           there
           are
           of
           them
           ,
           it
           is
           impossible
           but
           there
           should
           be
           some
           pertinent
           and
           suitable
           enough
           .
           I
           shall
           say
           nothing
           of
           that
           which
           is
           grown
           so
           famous
           for
           its
           bluntnesse
           ,
           its
           undecency
           ,
           and
           its
           meannesse
           ,
           which
           is
           generally
           known
           to
           all
           ,
           of
           the
           Asse
           feeding
           in
           a
           wheat
           field
           ,
           and
           which
           the
           children
           would
           drive
           out
           thence
           with
           poles
           and
           staves
           compar'd
           to
           Ajax
           in
           the
           midst
           of
           an
           engagement
           orewhelm'd
           with
           a
           haile-shower
           of
           blowes
           by
           the
           enemies
           .
           I
           leave
           it
           to
           be
           imagin'd
           what
           a
           noble
           effect
           that
           should
           have
           in
           a
           production
           so
           grave
           and
           serious
           as
           that
           of
           the
           Iliad
           ;
           and
           whether
           the
           draught
           and
           colours
           of
           this
           Comparison
           afford
           a
           prospect
           any
           thing
           pleasant
           ,
           whatever
           
           light
           it
           be
           turn'd
           to
           .
           For
           these
           are
           some
           Grammarians
           ,
           who
           set
           their
           wits
           on
           the
           rack
           to
           find
           some
           delicacy
           in
           it
           .
           Yet
           shall
           not
           stick
           to
           acknowledge
           ,
           that
           there
           are
           in
           this
           Poet
           ,
           some
           admirable
           comparisons
           ,
           but
           very
           seldome
           to
           be
           met
           withall
           ,
           wherein
           he
           exposes
           all
           that
           is
           imaginable
           of
           graces
           and
           beauty
           in
           the
           discourse
           and
           expression
           ,
           and
           whereof
           Virgil
           hath
           so
           admirably
           made
           his
           advantage
           ,
           and
           which
           he
           hath
           so
           well
           plac'd
           in
           his
           Work
           by
           assigning
           them
           his
           own
           air
           and
           light
           .
        
         
           Descriptions
           ,
           which
           are
           to
           be
           accounted
           ,
           what
           is
           most
           childish
           and
           of
           least
           force
           in
           Eloquence
           ,
           are
           over-frequent
           in
           Homers
           Works
           ,
           and
           spun
           out
           too
           much
           ;
           and
           they
           carry
           with
           them
           a
           certain
           air
           of
           affectation
           .
           The
           description
           of
           
           Alcinous's
           Garden
           in
           the
           seventh
           ,
           and
           that
           of
           the
           Port
           of
           Ithaca
           in
           the
           thi●teenth
           of
           the
           Odyssyes
           ,
           are
           of
           that
           sort
           .
           The
           description
           of
           the
           Port
           ,
           and
           that
           of
           the
           Grot
           inhabited
           by
           the
           Nymphs
           ,
           takes
           up
           eighteen
           verses
           ,
           upon
           which
           Porphyrius
           hath
           certain
           Commentaries
           .
           
           That
           of
           Virgil
           ,
           where
           he
           describes
           Mount
           Aetna
           ,
           in
           the
           third
           ,
           consists
           only
           of
           three
           verses
           ,
           though
           it
           might
           have
           given
           him
           so
           fair
           an
           occasion
           of
           dilating
           .
           True
           it
           is
           ,
           the
           description
           of
           the
           Port
           of
           Lybia
           amounts
           to
           ten
           verses
           ,
           and
           that
           of
           Fame
           ,
           in
           the
           fourth
           ,
           to
           much
           more
           :
           but
           the
           former
           is
           pardonable
           ,
           in
           regard
           it
           was
           requisite
           to
           give
           the
           Readers
           mind
           some
           breathing-time
           ,
           after
           that
           of
           the
           Tempest
           ;
           and
           it
           is
           the
           greatest
           description
           of
           any
           place
           in
           the
           whole
           Aeneid
           .
           And
           the
           second
           ,
           which
           is
           the
           description
           of
           Fame
           ,
           is
           not
           the
           noblest
           part
           in
           that
           Author
           .
           For
           he
           is
           reserv'd
           every
           where
           else
           ,
           and
           does
           not
           fall
           into
           those
           childishnesses
           ,
           which
           Horace
           ,
           in
           his
           Art
           of
           Poetry
           treats
           as
           insupportable
           in
           very
           serious
           matters
           .
        
         
           
             —
             Cum
             lucus
             &
             ara
             Dianae
          
           
             Et
             properantis
             aquae
             per
             amaenos
             ambitus
             agros
             .
          
           
             Aut
             flumen
             Rhenum
             ,
             aut
             pluvius
             describitur
             arcus
             .
          
        
         
         
           These
           descriptions
           of
           Woods
           ,
           Temples
           Rivulets
           ,
           the
           Rain-bow
           ,
           and
           other
           pleasant
           things
           ,
           have
           a
           smack
           of
           puerility
           ,
           sayes
           that
           great
           man
           ,
           and
           are
           no
           more
           suitable
           to
           great
           subjects
           ,
           than
           a
           very
           rich
           and
           glittering
           stuffe
           ,
           to
           another
           that
           is
           very
           simple
           and
           modest
           .
        
         
           
             Incaeptis
             gravibus
             plerunque
             &
             magna
             professis
          
           
             Purpureus
             latè
             qui
             splendeat
             unus
             &
             alter
          
           
             Assuitur
             pannus
             —
          
        
         
           These
           far-fetch'd
           beauties
           never
           do
           well
           ,
           in
           as
           much
           ,
           as
           wherever
           they
           are
           plac'd
           ,
           they
           cannot
           have
           any
           rapport
           to
           the
           rest
           ,
           by
           the
           reason
           of
           their
           being
           too
           glittering
           ;
           
             Non
             erat
             his
             locus
             —
          
           It
           must
           also
           be
           acknowledg'd
           ,
           that
           Homer
           is
           more
           admirable
           than
           Virgil
           ,
           in
           Epithets
           and
           Adverbs
           .
           This
           indeed
           is
           his
           Master-piece
           never
           was
           there
           any
           imagination
           richer
           ,
           or
           more
           happy
           ,
           
           and
           it
           is
           but
           a
           raillery
           ,
           to
           pretend
           that
           he
           repeats
           the
           
             〈◊〉
             〈◊〉
             〈◊〉
             〈◊〉
             〈◊〉
          
           .
           There
           is
           no
           such
           thing
           ,
           he
           is
           impos'd
           upon
           ;
           I
           have
           counted
           above
           twenty
           sorts
           of
           other
           Epithets
           in
           the
           Iliad
           ,
           for
           Achilles
           alone
           .
           Virgil
           ,
           in
           comparison
           ,
           is
           poore
           as
           to
           those
           kind
           of
           ornamants
           ,
           which
           proceed
           from
           the
           rich
           and
           fruitfull
           treasury
           of
           the
           Greek
           Tongue
           ,
           which
           the
           Latine
           has
           not
           .
           Yet
           may
           it
           be
           said
           of
           this
           exteriour
           dress
           ,
           what
           a
           certain
           person
           said
           ,
           sometime
           since
           of
           a
           great
           Courtier
           ,
           who
           was
           a
           very
           handsome
           person
           ,
           that
           ,
           if
           his
           ranting
           sleeves
           and
           Periwig
           ,
           were
           taken
           off
           ,
           he
           would
           be
           but
           as
           another
           man.
           For
           if
           we
           strip
           Homer
           of
           his
           Adverbs
           and
           Epithets
           ,
           he
           would
           come
           into
           the
           rank
           of
           ordinary
           Poets
           .
           And
           that
           doubtless
           is
           the
           most
           ornamental
           part
           of
           him
           ,
           and
           what
           makes
           up
           one
           of
           his
           greatest
           beauties
           .
        
         
           But
           it
           were
           not
           amiss
           ,
           after
           all
           ,
           to
           observe
           ,
           that
           these
           Epithets
           ,
           which
           so
           much
           adorn
           him
           ,
           are
           very
           simple
           ,
           obvious
           ,
           and
           ordinary
           .
           For
           without
           any
           more
           ado
           ,
           he
           calls
           snow
           white
           ;
           milk
           
           sweet
           ;
           fire
           burning
           .
           He
           does
           seek
           so
           much
           delicacy
           therein
           as
           our
           young
           Authors
           ,
           who
           do
           not
           allow
           any
           epithets
           supportable
           ,
           if
           they
           have
           not
           a
           kind
           of
           contrary
           or
           counter-signification
           to
           the
           words
           join'd
           with
           them
           ,
           to
           give
           a
           more
           extraordinary
           aire
           to
           the
           discourse
           ,
           and
           to
           make
           it
           glitter
           and
           sparkle
           by
           that
           opposition
           ,
           of
           which
           the
           depraved
           taste
           makes
           a
           delicacy
           .
           For
           there
           are
           some
           who
           think
           it
           the
           pleasantest
           thing
           in
           the
           world
           to
           see
           those
           words
           join'd
           together
           ,
           which
           cannot
           endure
           one
           the
           other
           .
           Ovid
           ,
           in
           his
           Metamorphoses
           and
           
             Heroick
             Epistles
          
           ,
           and
           
             Velleius
             Paterculus
          
           were
           the
           first
           that
           gave
           that
           false
           gusto
           to
           their
           age
           ,
           which
           was
           so
           much
           a
           lover
           of
           simplicity
           .
           Seneca
           would
           needs
           imitate
           them
           ,
           with
           all
           the
           writers
           of
           Declamations
           ,
           the
           fragments
           of
           whom
           we
           read
           in
           his
           Controversies
           ;
           but
           they
           did
           it
           without
           that
           distinctive
           precaution
           ,
           which
           is
           observable
           in
           Ovid
           and
           Paterculus
           ,
           who
           knew
           how
           to
           be
           thrifty
           in
           the
           disposal
           of
           those
           counterfeit
           pearles
           ,
           Lucan
           and
           
           Tacitus
           made
           that
           character
           their
           particular
           study
           ,
           and
           made
           an
           art
           of
           clinching
           or
           quibbling
           ,
           which
           for
           the
           most
           part
           is
           only
           a
           game
           consisting
           of
           words
           opposite
           among
           themselves
           ,
           such
           as
           superficial
           witts
           are
           so
           much
           enamour'd
           of
           .
           And
           in
           fine
           ,
           't
           was
           consequently
           to
           the
           propagation
           of
           this
           universal
           debauche
           ,
           that
           the
           Epigrams
           of
           Martial
           ,
           and
           the
           Panegyricks
           of
           
             Pliny
             ,
             Pacatus
          
           ,
           and
           Mamertinus
           came
           into
           play
           .
           Not
           but
           that
           this
           kind
           of
           writing
           has
           its
           beauties
           ,
           but
           they
           are
           like
           those
           of
           women
           who
           paint
           ,
           and
           are
           forc'd
           to
           seek
           out
           exteriour
           and
           artificial
           ornaments
           ,
           because
           they
           have
           not
           any
           naturall
           or
           reall
           ones
           .
        
         
           Nor
           is
           it
           to
           be
           argu'd
           hence
           ,
           but
           that
           an
           Epithet
           which
           is
           smart
           ,
           brisk
           ,
           and
           well
           plac'd
           ,
           is
           a
           marvailous
           ornament
           in
           a
           discourse
           ,
           as
           that
           us'd
           by
           Dido
           in
           her
           Epistle
           to
           Aeneas
           ,
           
             Exerces
             preciosa
             odia
             —
          
           in
           the
           
             Heroick
             Epistles
          
           of
           Ovid
           ,
           which
           
           alwayes
           call
           the
           most
           glittering
           par●
           in
           those
           works
           that
           are
           the
           pure
           productions
           of
           the
           mind
           ,
           and
           whereto
           our
           Poets
           will
           never
           attain
           ;
           And
           that
           which
           
             Velleius
             Paterculus
          
           gives
           to
           
             L.
             Domitius
          
           ,
           when
           he
           calls
           him
           
             eminentissimae
             simplicitatis
             virum
          
           ,
           and
           abundance
           of
           others
           which
           may
           be
           found
           in
           those
           two
           Authors
           .
           But
           whereas
           those
           kinds
           of
           expressions
           betray
           a
           certain
           luster
           ,
           it
           happens
           ,
           that
           some
           have
           not
           the
           moderation
           requisite
           in
           the
           cautious
           husbanding
           of
           them
           which
           they
           had
           .
           For
           the
           ordinary
           imperfection
           of
           those
           persons
           who
           have
           the
           talent
           of
           expressing
           themselves
           in
           a
           pleasant
           and
           facetious
           way
           ,
           is
           that
           they
           are
           apt
           to
           speak
           too
           much
           ,
           in
           regard
           they
           suffer
           themselves
           to
           be
           transported
           with
           the
           success
           they
           meet
           withal
           ,
           accustome
           themselves
           thereto
           ,
           and
           at
           length
           become
           disgustful
           and
           importunate
           ,
           through
           an
           excessive
           passion
           they
           have
           to
           be
           alwayes
           divertive
           in
           their
           discourse
           .
           So
           that
           it
           were
           much
           better
           ,
           in
           order
           to
           the
           preventing
           of
           this
           imperfection
           ,
           and
           the
           more
           to
           keep
           themselves
           within
           
           the
           limits
           of
           sound
           sence
           ,
           especially
           in
           a
           continued
           discourse
           ,
           which
           ought
           to
           discover
           a
           certain
           character
           of
           grandeur
           and
           elevation
           ,
           to
           forbear
           the
           use
           of
           those
           so
           far
           fetch'd
           Epithets
           ,
           and
           such
           as
           have
           a
           certain
           aire
           of
           mystery
           .
           Those
           which
           are
           the
           most
           obvious
           and
           common
           ,
           and
           which
           best
           expresse
           the
           nature
           of
           the
           things
           ,
           are
           alwayes
           the
           most
           pertinent
           ,
           such
           as
           are
           those
           used
           by
           Homer
           .
           I
           must
           acknowledge
           that
           to
           do
           this
           ,
           there
           is
           requisite
           a
           greater
           stock
           of
           prudence
           and
           discernment
           ,
           than
           of
           wit
           and
           fancy
           but
           men
           never
           speak
           well
           ,
           but
           when
           they
           think
           wisely
           ,
           and
           such
           as
           do
           so
           ,
           are
           never
           short
           of
           their
           reckoning
           ,
           as
           the
           Critick
           hath
           observed
           ;
           
             Adeo
             nihil
             commodius
             est
             quam
             semper
             ●um
             sapientiâ
             loqui
             .
          
           Which
           is
           to
           be
           understood
           ,
           as
           much
           of
           the
           nature
           of
           ●he
           discourse
           ,
           as
           of
           its
           morality
           .
        
      
       
         
         
           OBSERVATION
           XI
           .
           How
           the
           character
           of
           Homer
           is
           to
           be
           distinguish'd
           from
           that
           of
           Virgil.
           
        
         
           WHoever
           is
           desirous
           to
           judge
           with
           any
           kind
           of
           certainty
           of
           these
           two
           incomparable
           Authors
           ,
           must
           be
           very
           exact
           in
           discerning
           between
           their
           several
           characters
           ,
           which
           are
           extreamly
           opposite
           .
           For
           if
           Homer
           be
           observable
           in
           the
           inclination
           he
           has
           to
           speak
           much
           ,
           Virgil
           is
           remarkable
           for
           his
           inclination
           to
           be
           silent
           :
           and
           it
           is
           from
           this
           difference
           ,
           that
           we
           may
           make
           an
           exact
           computation
           of
           the
           singularity
           of
           their
           
           Genius's
           ,
           and
           of
           the
           essential
           mark
           of
           their
           character
           .
           There
           are
           many
           persons
           guilty
           of
           a
           great
           affectation
           to
           be
           thought
           Criticks
           ,
           and
           make
           it
           their
           business
           to
           judge
           of
           Virgil
           by
           profound
           reflections
           ,
           without
           having
           ever
           observ'd
           in
           what
           the
           eminent
           quality
           of
           the
           fancy
           and
           judgement
           of
           that
           Poet
           ,
           whereby
           he
           is
           distinguish'd
           from
           
           all
           the
           rest
           ,
           does
           consist
           .
           For
           my
           own
           part
           ,
           who
           admire
           nothing
           so
           much
           in
           his
           way
           of
           writing
           ,
           as
           the
           admirable
           reservednesse
           and
           moderation
           he
           is
           master
           of
           in
           expressing
           things
           ,
           and
           in
           not
           expressing
           any
           more
           then
           what
           is
           requisite
           ,
           I
           have
           ever
           been
           of
           opinion
           ,
           that
           he
           might
           be
           distinguish'd
           by
           them
           .
           A
           man
           must
           be
           very
           attentive
           in
           the
           perusall
           of
           him
           ;
           to
           find
           out
           that
           his
           reservednesse
           and
           silence
           in
           certain
           passages
           ,
           speakes
           much
           ,
           and
           argues
           an
           exquisite
           discretion
           ;
           and
           when
           he
           has
           discover'd
           the
           secret
           of
           being
           well
           assur'd
           of
           his
           meaning
           ,
           he
           finds
           him
           sometimes
           as
           admirable
           in
           what
           he
           saies
           not
           ,
           as
           in
           what
           he
           sayes
           .
        
         
           And
           for
           my
           part
           ,
           I
           do
           not
           know
           any
           Author
           but
           Virgil
           that
           has
           a
           talent
           of
           prudence
           great
           enough
           to
           keep
           in
           the
           whole
           stock
           of
           his
           moderation
           and
           stayednesse
           of
           iudgement
           ,
           amidst
           the
           ardour
           and
           excitations
           of
           an
           imagination
           enflam'd
           by
           the
           genius
           of
           Poesy
           ,
           and
           that
           the
           most
           inspire'd
           of
           any
           that
           ever
           was
           ,
           Lucan
           ,
           in
           comparison
           
           of
           him
           ,
           is
           an
           inconsiderate
           writer
           ;
           and
           Statius
           ,
           a
           furious
           one
           .
           Nor
           could
           Ovid
           ever
           arrive
           to
           that
           excellency
           ,
           till
           towards
           his
           latter
           dayes
           ,
           when
           he
           writ
           his
           Fasti
           ,
           which
           is
           the
           only
           part
           of
           his
           works
           ,
           wherein
           he
           is
           moderate
           and
           discreet
           :
           in
           all
           the
           rest
           he
           discovers
           his
           youthfullnesse
           .
           Nor
           do
           his
           inductions
           of
           examples
           and
           comparisons
           in
           his
           books
           
             De
             Tristibus
          
           ,
           and
           his
           other
           Elegies
           ,
           come
           neer
           that
           character
           ;
           and
           his
           
             Heroick
             Epistles
          
           ,
           which
           I
           call
           the
           flower
           of
           the
           Roman
           wit
           ,
           have
           not
           any
           thing
           of
           that
           maturity
           of
           judgement
           ,
           which
           is
           the
           transcendent
           perfection
           of
           Virgil.
           As
           to
           which
           perticular
           I
           compare
           him
           to
           those
           Generalls
           of
           Armies
           ,
           who
           carry
           along
           with
           them
           into
           the
           midst
           of
           a
           fight
           all
           the
           flegme
           and
           tranquillity
           of
           there
           Closet
           Counsells
           ,
           and
           who
           in
           the
           greatest
           heat
           of
           action
           ,
           amidst
           the
           noise
           of
           Canons
           ,
           Drums
           ,
           and
           Trumpets
           ,
           and
           the
           general
           distraction
           and
           tumult
           of
           an
           Engagement
           ,
           are
           not
           attentive
           to
           any
           thing
           but
           what
           their
           own
           prudence
           and
           moderation
           dictates
           
           to
           them
           ,
           inducing
           them
           to
           consult
           only
           thier
           own
           reason
           .
           And
           this
           is
           a
           character
           not
           to
           be
           imagin'd
           in
           any
           but
           great
           Soules
           ,
           and
           such
           as
           dare
           pretend
           to
           a
           consummate
           wisdome
           ,
           as
           was
           that
           o
           Virgil
           ,
           who
           in
           the
           heat
           of
           his
           poetica
           fury
           ,
           saies
           no
           more
           then
           is
           requisite
           to
           be
           said
           ,
           and
           alwayes
           leaves
           more
           to
           be
           thought
           of
           ,
           then
           he
           saies
           of
           a
           thing
           .
        
         
           This
           is
           a
           commendation
           much
           like
           that
           which
           Pliny
           gives
           the
           admirable
           Painter
           named
           Timantes
           ,
           whose
           elogy
           he
           makes
           in
           the
           10.
           chap.
           of
           the
           35.
           book
           of
           his
           History
           :
           
             Timanti
             plurimum
             adfuit
             ingenii
             ,
             in
             omnibus
             operibus
             ejus
             intelligitur
             plus
             semper
             quam
             pingitur
             .
          
           And
           a
           litle
           lower
           he
           addes
           ,
           the
           better
           to
           expresse
           his
           reflection
           ;
           
             Rarum
             in
             successu
             artis
             ,
             ut
             ostendat
             etiam
             quae
             occultat
          
           :
           And
           which
           was
           that
           miraculous
           eloquence
           whereof
           Cicero
           speaks
           to
           his
           Friend
           :
           ‖
           
             Sumpsi
             aliquid
             hoc
             loco
             de
             tuâ
             eloquentiâ
             ,
             nam
             tacui
             .
          
           And
           it
           is
           my
           judgement
           ,
           that
           in
           this
           exact
           circumspection
           ,
           and
           this
           admirable
           
           parsimony
           of
           discourse
           ,
           we
           are
           to
           find
           the
           true
           character
           of
           Virgil
           ,
           who
           slightly
           passes
           over
           things
           ,
           as
           a
           Traveller
           that
           is
           in
           great
           haste
           ,
           without
           insisting
           too
           long
           upon
           them
           :
           he
           generously
           prunes
           &
           cuts
           off
           all
           the
           superfluities
           ,
           that
           he
           may
           retaine
           but
           what
           is
           purely
           necessary
           .
           And
           indeed
           in
           that
           anatomy
           of
           things
           consists
           the
           excellency
           of
           a
           work
           ,
           which
           is
           never
           more
           perfect
           ,
           than
           when
           there
           cannot
           be
           any
           thing
           cut
           off
           from
           it
           .
        
         
           It
           was
           also
           in
           this
           perfection
           that
           that
           exquisitenesse
           of
           sound
           sence
           consisted
           ,
           which
           reign'd
           at
           Rome
           in
           the
           time
           of
           Augustus
           ,
           and
           which
           was
           the
           character
           of
           all
           the
           excellent
           witts
           that
           writ
           then
           ,
           and
           whom
           we
           look
           on
           as
           the
           only
           modells
           of
           the
           purity
           of
           discourse
           ,
           sobriety
           of
           expressions
           ,
           and
           that
           admirable
           aire
           of
           writing
           which
           is
           in
           vogue
           at
           this
           day
           .
        
         
           Of
           this
           we
           have
           a
           proofe
           in
           the
           order
           which
           Augustus
           gave
           Tacca
           and
           Varius
           ,
           to
           review
           the
           Aeneid
           ,
           which
           the
           Author
           would
           have
           suppress'd
           ,
           as
           
           not
           thinking
           is
           compleat
           .
           He
           permitted
           them
           to
           cut
           off
           those
           parts
           of
           it
           ,
           which
           might
           be
           taken
           away
           without
           injury
           to
           the
           work
           ;
           but
           he
           forbad
           them
           to
           doe
           any
           thing
           thereto
           ,
           nay
           not
           so
           much
           as
           to
           compleat
           the
           Verses
           which
           were
           imperfect
           .
           T
           was
           the
           humour
           and
           gusto
           of
           that
           happy
           time
           to
           cut
           off
           what
           they
           could
           in
           discourse
           ,
           to
           be
           sober
           and
           frugal
           therein
           ,
           and
           to
           speak
           little
           .
           Lucretius
           ,
           who
           is
           so
           pure
           and
           so
           polite
           had
           not
           yet
           attai'd
           that
           perfection
           .
           And
           Catullus
           ,
           who
           was
           the
           first
           among
           the
           Romanes
           ,
           that
           began
           to
           improve
           and
           heighten
           the
           Language
           wtih
           the
           advantages
           of
           elegance
           ,
           had
           not
           as
           yet
           learnt
           that
           great
           precept
           which
           Horace
           has
           since
           so
           much
           inculcated
           to
           the
           Pisone●s
           ;
           
             —
             Prudens
             versus
             reprehendet
             inertes
             Ambitiosa
             recidet
             ornamenta
             ;
             Luxuriantia
             compescat
             :
          
           He
           does
           not
           repeat
           any
           thing
           else
           ,
           in
           his
           Satyr
           upon
           Lucilius
           :
           
             
             —
             Currat
             sententia
             ,
             neu
             se
             Impediat
             verbis
             lassas
             onerantibus
             aures
             .
          
           And
           a
           litle
           lower
           ,
           speaking
           of
           the
           same
           Lucilius
           ,
           hee
           saies
           ,
           that
           if
           he
           had
           florish'd
           in
           his
           time
           ,
           he
           would
           have
           known
           how
           to
           have
           contracted
           himself
           ,
           and
           no
           doubt
           would
           have
           dash'd
           out
           many
           things
           out
           of
           his
           verses
           ;
           
             Detereret
             sibi
             multa
             ,
             recideret
             omne
             quod
             ultra
             Perfectum
             traheretur
             —
          
           This
           was
           their
           course
           in
           that
           time
           ,
           which
           they
           had
           learnt
           from
           the
           dictates
           of
           sound
           sence
           ,
           then
           in
           its
           Empire
           ,
           which
           Virgil
           hath
           so
           well
           practis'd
           ,
           and
           whereof
           he
           makes
           his
           essentiall
           character
           .
        
         
           On
           the
           contrary
           ,
           that
           of
           Homer
           is
           observable
           for
           his
           tediousnesse
           in
           speaking
           and
           relating
           things
           .
           He
           is
           the
           greatest
           talker
           of
           all
           .
           Antiquity
           ,
           insomuch
           that
           the
           Greeks
           themselves
           ,
           though
           chargeable
           with
           excessive
           discoursing
           above
           all
           others
           ,
           have
           reprehended
           Homer
           for
           that
           intemperance
           of
           words
           ,
           
           as
           a
           considerable
           miscarriage
           in
           discourse
           ,
           which
           they
           call'd
           
             〈◊〉
             〈◊〉
             〈◊〉
             〈◊〉
             〈◊〉
          
           .
           He
           is
           ever
           in
           his
           rehearsalls
           ,
           not
           only
           as
           to
           the
           same
           words
           ,
           but
           also
           to
           the
           same
           things
           ;
           and
           so
           he
           is
           in
           a
           perpetual
           circulation
           of
           repetitions
           .
           That
           flux
           of
           the
           tongue
           ,
           and
           that
           ebullition
           of
           fancy
           make
           him
           carry
           things
           much
           beyond
           the
           mark
           they
           ought
           to
           have
           been
           levell'd
           at
           ;
           and
           thence
           it
           comes
           ,
           that
           the
           draughts
           he
           makes
           of
           things
           are
           for
           the
           most
           part
           too
           accurate
           ;
           and
           by
           that
           means
           he
           leaves
           nothing
           to
           be
           done
           by
           the
           imagination
           of
           the
           Reader
           ,
           who
           ,
           in
           order
           to
           his
           particular
           satifaction
           ,
           ought
           regularly
           to
           be
           as
           much
           taken
           up
           with
           what
           he
           thinks
           of
           ,
           as
           what
           he
           reads
           .
        
         
           Vpon
           this
           account
           is
           it
           that
           Virgil
           never
           burthens
           his
           thoughts
           with
           the
           whole
           matter
           lying
           before
           him
           ,
           that
           so
           he
           may
           leave
           some
           part
           of
           it
           expos'd
           to
           the
           reflections
           of
           those
           who
           read
           him
           .
           Young
           Authors
           ,
           who
           are
           all
           apt
           to
           be
           impertinently
           zealous
           in
           what
           they
           do
           ,
           and
           to
           run
           into
           
           the
           character
           that
           has
           a
           smock
           of
           puerility
           ;
           and
           all
           those
           who
           are
           lesse
           fortify'd
           with
           judgment
           ,
           then
           fancy
           ,
           are
           not
           able
           to
           comprehend
           this
           maxime
           :
           for
           ,
           out
           of
           a
           defect
           of
           experience
           ,
           they
           follow
           their
           natural
           inclination
           ,
           and
           as
           by
           an
           excess
           of
           discourse
           and
           verbosity
           they
           carry
           things
           beyond
           their
           proper
           limits
           ,
           so
           they
           ordinarily
           give
           ideas
           for
           true
           objects
           ,
           by
           making
           too
           too
           accurate
           representations
           of
           all
           the
           matter
           they
           handle
           .
           This
           is
           an
           imperfection
           which
           Apelles
           reprehended
           in
           the
           Painters
           of
           his
           time
           ,
           as
           Cicero
           observes
           ,
           
             Pictores
             eos
             errare
             dicebat
             ,
             qui
             non
             sentirent
             ,
             quid
             esset
             satis
             .
          
        
         
           Yet
           are
           we
           further
           to
           observe
           ,
           that
           this
           defect
           relates
           only
           to
           the
           expression
           and
           the
           words
           .
           For
           it
           is
           a
           very
           great
           perfection
           for
           any
           one
           to
           give
           the
           most
           compleat
           images
           he
           can
           of
           things
           ,
           and
           alwaies
           to
           raise
           his
           superstructures
           upon
           the
           ground-work
           of
           the
           greatest
           ideas
           .
        
      
       
         
         
           OBSERV
           .
           XII
           .
           Of
           the
           unity
           of
           the
           Subject
           and
           Time
           of
           the
           two
           Poems
           .
        
         
           YEt
           is
           it
           to
           be
           acknowledg'd
           ,
           that
           there
           cannot
           be
           any
           thing
           more
           advantageously
           said
           of
           Homer
           ,
           than
           what
           Aristotle
           ,
           the
           wisest
           and
           most
           judicious
           of
           all
           the
           Criticks
           ,
           hath
           said
           of
           him
           .
           He
           proposes
           him
           in
           his
           Books
           of
           Poesy
           for
           the
           model
           of
           the
           Epick
           Poem
           ,
           and
           he
           derives
           all
           his
           precepts
           from
           the
           Iliad
           and
           the
           Odyssey
           .
           But
           it
           may
           also
           be
           urg'd
           on
           the
           other
           side
           ,
           that
           Aristotle
           having
           not
           met
           with
           ,
           in
           his
           time
           ,
           but
           only
           two
           inconsiderable
           Poems
           ,
           one
           upon
           Hercules
           .
           and
           the
           other
           upon
           Theseus
           ,
           whereof
           he
           speaks
           in
           his
           Poeticks
           ,
           which
           might
           come
           into
           any
           contest
           with
           the
           Iliad
           and
           the
           Odyssey
           ,
           it
           is
           not
           to
           be
           wondred
           at
           ,
           that
           he
           takes
           these
           for
           a
           model
           ,
           since
           the
           two
           others
           are
           rather
           the
           Lives
           
           of
           Hercules
           and
           Thesius
           ,
           than
           the
           subject
           of
           an
           Epick
           action
           .
        
         
           And
           that
           was
           it
           made
           Horace
           speak
           so
           earnestly
           against
           those
           Poets
           ,
           whom
           he
           calls
           Cyclick
           Authors
           ,
           by
           reason
           of
           the
           pure
           natural
           and
           historical
           representation
           they
           gave
           of
           things
           ,
           multiplying
           matters
           clearly
           against
           the
           simplicity
           and
           the
           unity
           of
           action
           ,
           which
           is
           essential
           to
           the
           Epopaea
           :
           upon
           which
           score
           we
           are
           yet
           further
           to
           examine
           Homer
           and
           Virgil
           ,
           that
           so
           we
           may
           not
           omit
           any
           thing
           requir'd
           in
           an
           exact
           comparison
           .
        
         
           I
           grant
           ,
           that
           as
           to
           the
           unity
           of
           the
           time
           ,
           the
           Iliad
           and
           the
           Odyssey
           have
           the
           preheminence
           over
           the
           Aeneid
           :
           for
           the
           action
           of
           the
           Odyssey
           ,
           from
           Vlysses's
           leaving
           Calypso
           to
           his
           being
           discover'd
           ,
           lasts
           but
           forty
           five
           days
           ;
           and
           the
           action
           of
           the
           Iliad
           takes
           up
           but
           eight
           or
           nine
           months
           at
           most
           :
           and
           the
           Aeneid
           takes
           up
           a
           whole
           year
           and
           somewhat
           more
           .
        
         
         
           Nay
           some
           pretend
           that
           the
           unity
           of
           action
           is
           more
           perfect
           in
           the
           two
           Poems
           of
           Homer
           ,
           than
           it
           is
           in
           that
           of
           Virgil
           ;
           inasmuch
           as
           not
           only
           the
           action
           of
           both
           of
           them
           is
           one
           and
           the
           same
           ,
           but
           also
           of
           one
           single
           person
           .
           For
           Achilles
           does
           all
           things
           himself
           ;
           the
           same
           thing
           is
           to
           be
           said
           of
           Vlysses
           ,
           (
           as
           Aristotle
           affirms
           )
           who
           reestablishes
           himself
           without
           the
           assistance
           of
           any
           other
           :
           and
           that
           seems
           to
           argue
           a
           certain
           hint
           of
           grandeur
           .
           Aeneas
           does
           not
           any
           thing
           but
           with
           the
           assistance
           of
           his
           people
           ;
           which
           is
           not
           so
           much
           to
           be
           wondred
           at
           .
           And
           
             Paul
             Beni
          
           observes
           in
           the
           second
           of
           his
           
             Academical
             Discourses
          
           ,
           that
           the
           Apologist
           of
           Dante
           pretends
           that
           his
           Poem
           is
           more
           perfect
           in
           regard
           it
           is
           the
           action
           of
           one
           single
           person
           :
           
             Costui
             Poema
             ,
             oltre
             esser
             Heroico
             e
             fatto
             anco
             di
             attione
             ,
             di
             uno
             assolutamente
             solo
             .
             E
             ciò
             ad
             essempio
             ,
             non
             gia
             de
             l
             Aeneide
             ,
             ove
             con
             assercito
             opra
             Enea
             :
             ma
             ●en
             dell
             Iliade
             e
             Odissea
             ;
             dove
             al
             fin
             e
             Achille
             e
             Vlisse
             solo
             fa
             Heroiche
             imprese
             :
             perciò
             conclude
             che
             il
             Poema
             di
             Dante
             sia
             eccelentemente
             maraviglioso
             e
             
             This
             Poem
             ,
             besides
             that
             it
             is
             Heroick
             ,
             is
             also
             compos'd
             of
             action
             ,
             and
             that
             of
             one
             person
             only
             :
             And
             this
             according
             to
             the
             example
             ,
             not
             only
             of
             the
             Aeneid
             ,
             wherein
             Aeneas
             acts
             with
             an
             Army
             ;
             but
             also
             of
             the
             Iliad
             and
             Odyssey
             ,
             where
             in
             fine
             both
          
           Achilles
           and
           Ulysses
           
             perform
             alone
             all
             the
             heroick
             actions
             :
             whence
             he
             concludes
             ,
             that
          
           Dante
           's
           
             Poem
             is
             excellently
             marvellous
             and
             illustrious
             .
          
        
         
           To
           this
           it
           may
           be
           answer'd
           ,
           that
           the
           unity
           of
           the
           person
           is
           sufficiently
           preserv'd
           by
           that
           of
           his
           Character
           and
           condition
           ;
           That
           the
           Epick
           Poem
           ought
           to
           present
           the
           perfect
           Idea
           of
           a
           great
           Captain
           and
           General
           of
           an
           Army
           ,
           and
           and
           not
           of
           a
           Knight-Errant
           ,
           who
           most
           commonly
           is
           but
           a
           phantasm
           and
           a
           Romantick
           Palladine
           :
           and
           it
           frames
           a
           greater
           character
           of
           a
           Hero
           ,
           and
           it
           attributes
           to
           him
           a
           much
           more
           noble
           aire
           of
           dignity
           ,
           to
           make
           him
           a
           Soveraign
           and
           the
           head
           of
           a
           people
           ,
           as
           Beni
           observes
           in
           the
           same
           place
           :
           
             L'
             attione
             Heroica
             debbe
             esse
             una
             d'un
             solo
             ,
             ma
             però
             Prencipe
             &
             capo
             di
             molti
             :
          
           in
           regard
           
           that
           ,
           as
           he
           saies
           ,
           great
           enterprises
           ,
           such
           as
           the
           conquest
           of
           Countries
           and
           Kingdoms
           ,
           the
           sieges
           of
           Cities
           ,
           and
           Battels
           ,
           ought
           to
           be
           carry'd
           on
           by
           Armies
           ,
           managed
           by
           the
           conduct
           and
           designes
           of
           one
           person
           ,
           which
           is
           as
           much
           as
           is
           requisite
           for
           the
           unity
           of
           the
           action
           .
           Besides
           ,
           there
           is
           always
           a
           defectiveness
           as
           to
           matter
           of
           probability
           in
           those
           actions
           of
           Knight-Errants
           and
           solitary
           Worthies
           ,
           such
           as
           Hercules
           was
           ,
           and
           however
           they
           are
           dress'd
           up
           ,
           they
           still
           smell
           strong
           of
           the
           Romance
           and
           Fable
           .
        
         
           Nay
           we
           may
           further
           add
           ,
           that
           the
           unity
           of
           action
           ,
           so
           it
           be
           rightly
           taken
           ,
           is
           more
           perfectly
           serv'd
           in
           the
           Aeneid
           ,
           than
           in
           the
           Iliad
           ,
           where
           after
           the
           death
           of
           Hector
           ,
           which
           ought
           to
           have
           clos'd
           the
           action
           ,
           there
           are
           still
           two
           Books
           to
           come
           ;
           the
           23.
           which
           comprehends
           the
           Exercises
           celebrated
           for
           the
           death
           of
           Patroclus
           ,
           and
           which
           contribute
           nothing
           to
           the
           principal
           action
           ;
           and
           the
           24.
           which
           contains
           the
           Lamentations
           of
           the
           Trojans
           ,
           and
           the
           
           ransoming
           of
           Hector's
           body
           ,
           which
           have
           no
           connection
           to
           the
           principal
           action
           ,
           that
           being
           compleat
           without
           it
           .
        
         
           There
           is
           yet
           this
           further
           fault
           to
           be
           noted
           ,
           that
           a
           Poem
           ,
           which
           had
           no
           other
           design
           then
           to
           celebrate
           the
           honour
           of
           the
           Greeks
           ,
           should
           be
           clos'd
           with
           that
           which
           is
           done
           to
           Hector
           ,
           the
           chiefest
           of
           their
           Enemies
           ,
           where
           the
           Poet
           employes
           a
           whole
           Book
           ,
           to
           give
           the
           description
           of
           his
           funeral
           solemnities
           ;
           which
           procedure
           seems
           to
           be
           in
           some
           manner
           defective
           ;
           and
           it
           is
           of
           such
           a
           work
           we
           may
           cite
           that
           passage
           of
           Horace
           ,
           which
           few
           understand
           as
           it
           ought
           to
           be
           understood
           ;
        
         
           ‖
           —
           Amphora
           caepit
           Institui
           ,
           currente
           rotâ
           cur
           urceus
           exit
           ?
        
         
           Homer
           takes
           his
           beginning
           the
           best
           in
           the
           world
           ,
           for
           the
           honour
           of
           the
           Greeks
           :
           their
           glory
           is
           the
           only
           thing
           he
           prosecutes
           in
           all
           his
           work
           ;
           and
           he
           
           makes
           an
           end
           by
           that
           of
           Hector
           ,
           whose
           loss
           he
           brings
           in
           lamented
           with
           so
           much
           magnificence
           .
           Was
           it
           not
           a
           little
           mistake
           in
           him
           to
           forget
           the
           design
           he
           had
           proposed
           to
           himself
           ?
           Does
           not
           the
           Aeneid
           take
           its
           period
           much
           better
           by
           the
           death
           of
           Turnus
           ,
           which
           closes
           the
           action
           ?
           Virgil
           does
           not
           carry
           on
           things
           any
           farther
           ;
           he
           knew
           well
           enough
           ,
           that
           he
           had
           committed
           a
           fault
           if
           he
           had
           not
           stop'd
           there
           .
        
         
           Abundance
           of
           other
           observations
           might
           be
           made
           upon
           a
           minute
           examination
           of
           those
           two
           works
           ;
           and
           particularly
           upon
           the
           delicacy
           wherewith
           Virgil
           reflects
           on
           things
           ,
           wherein
           he
           hath
           still
           a
           great
           advantage
           over
           Homer
           ,
           whose
           thoughts
           are
           not
           delicate
           upon
           any
           subject
           .
           For
           what
           more
           insinuating
           ,
           what
           more
           surprising
           can
           there
           be
           imagin'd
           then
           that
           of
           the
           Apotheosis
           of
           Anchises
           ,
           in
           the
           fift
           of
           the
           Aeneid
           ,
           which
           so
           highly
           flatters
           Augustus
           and
           the
           Romans
           ,
           with
           an
           extraction
           whereof
           he
           so
           ingeniously
           establishes
           the
           Divinity
           ?
           Not
           to
           make
           any
           mention
           of
           the
           most
           illustrious
           Roman
           Families
           
           allegorically
           decipher'd
           in
           the
           combats
           describ'd
           in
           the
           same
           Book
           ,
           the
           mystery
           and
           application
           whereof
           
             Paul
             Beni
          
           explicates
           in
           his
           Commentaries
           upon
           Virgil.
           
        
         
           What
           is
           there
           to
           be
           found
           in
           Homer
           any
           way
           comparable
           to
           that
           passage
           ,
           which
           I
           have
           ever
           look'd
           upon
           as
           of
           exquisite
           delicacy
           ,
           in
           the
           sixt
           of
           the
           Aeneids
           ,
           where
           Virgil
           is
           content
           to
           attribute
           to
           the
           Greeks
           ,
           the
           glory
           of
           being
           ingenious
           ,
           reserving
           to
           the
           Romans
           that
           of
           Authority
           and
           jurisdiction
           ?
        
         
           
             Excudent
             alii
             spirantia
             molliùs
             aera
             ,
          
           
             Orabunt
             causas
             meliùs
             ,
             &c.
             —
          
           
             Tu
             regere
             imperio
             populos
             ,
             Romāe
             ,
             memēto
             .
          
        
         
           What
           shall
           I
           say
           of
           the
           
             Littora
             littoribus
             contraria
             —
          
           in
           the
           fourth
           Book
           ,
           which
           works
           so
           admirable
           an
           effect
           in
           order
           to
           the
           war
           between
           Rome
           and
           Carthage
           ?
           Of
           
           Dido's
           imprecation
           ,
           by
           the
           expression
           of
           so
           passionate
           a
           revenge
           ?
           
             Exoriare
             aliquis
             nostris
             ex
             ossibus
             ultor
             ,
             &c.
             
          
           which
           ,
           in
           the
           obscurity
           of
           future
           events
           does
           so
           delicatly
           point
           at
           the
           great
           Hannibal
           ,
           the
           most
           illustrious
           enemy
           of
           the
           Common
           wealth
           ,
           and
           with
           whom
           Rome
           was
           so
           long
           disputing
           the
           Empire
           of
           the
           world
           .
           The
           death
           of
           Marcellus
           in
           the
           sixt
           is
           of
           the
           same
           force
           ,
           nay
           hath
           somewhat
           that
           is
           more
           insinuating
           and
           more
           exquisite
           ,
           as
           it
           appear'd
           by
           the
           impression
           which
           that
           passa●e
           on
           the
           spirit
           of
           Augustus
           ,
           and
           much
           more
           upon
           the
           heart
           of
           Octavia
           his
           Mother
           ,
           who
           fell
           into
           a
           swound
           at
           the
           very
           recitation
           ,
           ●
           which
           Virgil
           made
           of
           it
           in
           the
           Emperors
           presence
           .
        
         
           shall
           say
           nothing
           of
           all
           the
           complants
           of
           Dido
           in
           the
           fourth
           ,
           which
           ma●e
           Saint
           Augustine
           weep
           so
           often
           as
           ,
           he
           himself
           acknowledges
           in
           his
           ‖
           Confessions
           .
           
           
           He
           is
           far
           enough
           from
           haveing
           that
           tenderness
           for
           Homer
           whom
           he
           complements
           no
           better
           ,
           then
           to
           call
           him
           
             dulcissimè
             vanus
          
           .
        
         
           In
           a
           word
           ,
           Virgil
           is
           much
           more
           solid
           ,
           his
           expressions
           have
           somewhat
           in
           them
           that
           is
           more
           real
           ;
           He
           does
           not
           speak
           so
           much
           at
           randome
           ,
           nay
           his
           very
           discourses
           of
           greatest
           tendernesse
           and
           passion
           ,
           which
           in
           any
           other
           would
           discover
           a
           certain
           character
           of
           lightness
           ,
           have
           not
           in
           his
           work
           any
           thing
           that
           is
           frivolous
           and
           chimericall
           ;
           there
           is
           no●
           any
           thing
           ,
           but
           has
           some
           ground
           ,
           and
           his
           words
           are
           so
           many
           things
           ;
           which
           renders
           him
           more
           affective
           and
           more
           patheticall
        
         
           There
           are
           yet
           a
           thousand
           other
           passages
           ,
           which
           I
           shall
           not
           stand
           to
           insis●
           upon
           ,
           as
           that
           of
           the
           second
           of
           the
           Aeneid
           ;
        
         
           
             Iliaci
             cineres
             ,
             et
             flamma
             extrema
             meoru●
          
           which
           alone
           destroys
           all
           the
           objectios
           that
           may
           be
           made
           against
           Aeneas
           ,
           of
           
           his
           defect
           in
           point
           of
           valour
           .
           The
           death
           of
           Dido
           ,
           touch'd
           over
           with
           an
           aire
           so
           pathetick
           ,
           which
           begins
           with
           this
           Verse
           
             At
             trepida
             et
             caeptis
             immanibus
             ;
             —
          
           The
           abbridgement
           of
           the
           Romane
           History
           grav'd
           upon
           the
           Buckler
           in
           the
           eight
           ,
           the
           explication
           of
           the
           destinies
           of
           the
           Romane
           Empire
           by
           Jupiter
           ,
           in
           the
           first
           ,
           the
           Conquests
           of
           Augustus
           ,
           to
           whom
           he
           dedicates
           his
           work
           in
           the
           sixt
           which
           make
           an
           admirable
           elogy
           of
           that
           Emperour
           ,
           
             Hic
             vir
             hic
             est
             &c.
             
          
           and
           all
           those
           admirable
           insinuations
           ,
           whereof
           he
           does
           with
           so
           much
           artifice
           make
           his
           advantage
           ,
           to
           force
           his
           way
           into
           mens
           apprehensions
           ,
           and
           to
           inspire
           them
           with
           his
           inclinations
           and
           affections
           ,
           which
           every
           where
           beare
           the
           expression
           of
           his
           genius
           ,
           which
           are
           are
           so
           many
           miracles
           of
           art
           ,
           and
           cannot
           be
           perceiv'd
           but
           only
           by
           such
           as
           are
           intimately
           acquainted
           with
           him
           ,
           and
           accordingly
           able
           to
           judge
           of
           him
           .
           For
           there
           is
           a
           greater
           
           penetration
           and
           perspicacity
           of
           apprehension
           requisite
           ,
           to
           discover
           what
           is
           good
           and
           excellent
           in
           a
           work
           ,
           than
           to
           find
           in
           it
           what
           is
           defective
           :
           inasmuch
           as
           the
           defects
           are
           more
           remarkable
           than
           the
           true
           beauties
           ,
           which
           easily
           elude
           the
           reflections
           of
           persons
           of
           an
           ordinary
           rate
           of
           understanding
           ,
           and
           discover
           themselves
           only
           to
           the
           more
           intelligent
           .
        
         
           But
           whereas
           the
           noblest
           passage
           of
           Virgil
           ,
           and
           his
           reall
           Master-piece
           ,
           is
           the
           passion
           of
           Dido
           ,
           I
           cannot
           let
           it
           pass
           without
           allowing
           it
           a
           stricter
           reflection
           than
           any
           of
           the
           rest
           .
           True
           it
           is
           ,
           that
           Eloquence
           never
           employ'd
           all
           its
           advantages
           of
           artifice
           and
           ornaments
           in
           any
           Work
           with
           so
           great
           success
           as
           in
           that
           .
           All
           the
           degrees
           of
           that
           passion
           ,
           all
           the
           renovations
           of
           that
           growing
           affection
           ,
           and
           that
           well
           known
           frailty
           of
           the
           sexe
           ,
           are
           there
           discover'd
           in
           such
           a
           manner
           as
           raises
           admiration
           in
           the
           best
           able
           to
           judge
           of
           them
           ;
           and
           the
           greater
           their
           abilities
           are
           ,
           the
           more
           will
           they
           be
           dispos'd
           to
           discover
           the
           excellency
           of
           that
           passage
           ,
           and
           to
           admire
           
           all
           the
           parts
           of
           it
           .
           All
           is
           neat
           ,
           delicate
           and
           highly
           passionate
           in
           the
           description
           of
           that
           adventure
           ,
           and
           the
           world
           is
           not
           likely
           ever
           to
           see
           any
           thing
           that
           shall
           surpasse
           it
           .
        
         
           Tasso
           indeed
           may
           haply
           afford
           us
           some
           passages
           which
           seem
           to
           have
           a
           greater
           eye
           of
           lustre
           ,
           as
           that
           of
           the
           adventure
           of
           Tancrede
           and
           Clorinda
           :
           but
           if
           we
           look
           on
           him
           of
           all
           sides
           ,
           we
           shall
           find
           ,
           that
           all
           the
           proportions
           and
           correspondencies
           with
           the
           principal
           action
           ,
           do
           not
           seem
           to
           be
           so
           exactly
           observ'd
           there
           ,
           as
           they
           are
           in
           that
           of
           Dido
           .
        
         
           Yet
           is
           there
           one
           great
           reproach
           made
           to
           Virgil
           ,
           to
           wit
           ,
           that
           he
           has
           put
           a
           filthy
           slur
           on
           that
           Lady
           ,
           by
           attributing
           so
           great
           a
           passion
           to
           her
           ,
           contrary
           to
           her
           true
           character
           .
           For
           History
           makes
           her
           a
           woman
           of
           good
           repute
           .
           But
           this
           is
           an
           artifice
           ,
           and
           that
           the
           most
           delicate
           and
           subtle
           of
           any
           observable
           in
           Virgil
           ,
           who
           to
           excite
           a
           certain
           contempt
           for
           a
           Nation
           which
           was
           afterwards
           to
           be
           so
           detestable
           
           to
           the
           Romans
           ,
           conceiv'd
           himself
           oblig'd
           ,
           not
           to
           celebrate
           any
           vertue
           in
           her
           ,
           who
           should
           be
           the
           foundress
           of
           it
           ,
           imagining
           he
           might
           ,
           without
           any
           disparagement
           to
           himself
           ,
           sacrifice
           her
           ,
           the
           better
           to
           flatter
           his
           own
           Country
           ,
           which
           no
           doubt
           ,
           would
           have
           boggled
           at
           the
           reputation
           History
           gave
           that
           Princess
           .
           And
           whereas
           this
           artifice
           was
           advanc'd
           only
           to
           humour
           the
           Romans
           ,
           and
           that
           the
           Poet
           himself
           look'd
           on
           them
           as
           Masters
           of
           the
           world
           ,
           with
           whose
           sentiments
           all
           other
           Nations
           ought
           to
           comply
           ,
           or
           at
           least
           to
           conform
           thereto
           ,
           yet
           he
           thought
           himself
           concern'd
           to
           use
           all
           precautions
           ,
           to
           prepossess
           their
           minds
           ,
           upon
           that
           disguising
           of
           the
           truth
           .
           To
           that
           purpose
           he
           cunningly
           brings
           the
           Gods
           into
           the
           plot
           ,
           to
           put
           a
           better
           gloss
           upon
           the
           sacrificing
           of
           her
           .
           Venus
           and
           Cupid
           make
           it
           their
           business
           .
           Nay
           he
           makes
           them
           use
           all
           their
           art
           to
           smother
           the
           good
           repute
           which
           common
           fame
           gave
           that
           Queen
           .
           This
           is
           the
           subject
           of
           Juno's
           complaint
           to
           Venus
           ,
           which
           serves
           only
           to
           make
           a
           
           fuller
           discovery
           of
           the
           earnest
           sollicitation
           of
           those
           two
           Divinities
           to
           surprise
           ,
           and
           ,
           in
           the
           end
           ,
           to
           seduce
           Dido
           ;
        
         
           Egregiam
           verò
           laudem
           ,
           &
           spolia
           ampla
           refertis
           Tup
           ;
           puerque
           tuus
           ,
           &c.
           
        
         
           The
           Characters
           of
           Sinon
           in
           the
           second
           of
           the
           Aeneid
           ,
           and
           that
           of
           Mezentius
           ,
           in
           the
           eighth
           and
           tenth
           ,
           are
           also
           of
           the
           highest
           pitch
           of
           accomplishment
           .
           Homer
           indeed
           has
           many
           more
           of
           that
           kind
           ,
           and
           a
           greater
           variety
           of
           them
           :
           but
           those
           on
           which
           Virgil
           thought
           fit
           to
           bestow
           a
           particular
           draught
           ,
           are
           better
           prosecuted
           than
           those
           of
           Homer
           ,
           and
           he
           has
           found
           the
           secret
           to
           express
           them
           with
           a
           greater
           liveliness
           .
        
         
           Yet
           must
           it
           be
           acknowledg'd
           that
           Homer
           has
           a
           better
           stor'd
           and
           more
           sumptuous
           stock
           of
           invention
           ,
           and
           greater
           varieties
           ;
           a
           more
           delicate
           and
           and
           divertive
           cast
           of
           versification
           ;
           a
           
           more
           sparkling
           air
           of
           expressing
           things
           ,
           nay
           a
           smarter
           and
           more
           peircing
           sound
           of
           words
           ,
           more
           suitable
           to
           Poesy
           ,
           and
           such
           as
           much
           more
           fills
           the
           ear
           ;
           for
           the
           defect
           whereof
           ‖
           :
           Cicero
           found
           fault
           with
           
             Demosthenes
             :
             Vsque
             eò
             difficiles
             ac
             morosi
             sumus
             ,
             ut
             nobis
             non
             satisfaciat
             ipse
             Demosthenes
             ,
             non
             semper
             implet
             aures
             meas
             ,
             ita
             sunt
             avidae
             &
             capaces
             ,
             &
             semper
             aliquid
             immensum
             infinitumque
             desiderant
             .
          
        
         
           This
           indeed
           Homer
           has
           much
           beyond
           Virgil
           ,
           and
           the
           eare
           is
           much
           more
           satisfy'd
           with
           the
           currency
           ,
           the
           harmony
           ,
           and
           the
           whole
           air
           of
           his
           versification
           ;
           because
           the
           Greek
           Tongue
           has
           all
           those
           advantages
           over
           the
           Latine
           ,
           which
           is
           more
           modest
           ,
           more
           grave
           ,
           and
           more
           serious
           .
           True
           it
           is
           also
           ,
           that
           he
           has
           a
           greater
           extent
           of
           matters
           ,
           and
           affords
           his
           Readers
           a
           larger
           prospect
           ;
           but
           his
           fancy
           ever
           and
           anon
           hurries
           him
           from
           one
           place
           to
           another
           ;
           he
           is
           not
           so
           much
           master
           of
           it
           ,
           as
           Virgil
           is
           of
           his
           .
           
           T
           was
           this
           defect
           
           that
           made
           him
           commit
           that
           so
           essential
           an
           oversight
           of
           adding
           the
           two
           books
           of
           the
           Iliad
           after
           the
           close
           of
           the
           action
           ;
           one
           ,
           of
           the
           death
           of
           Hector
           the
           other
           ,
           of
           the
           Games
           for
           that
           of
           Patroclus
           ;
           and
           one
           other
           after
           that
           of
           the
           Odyssey
           ,
           which
           is
           the
           mutual
           discovery
           ,
           of
           one
           to
           the
           other
           ,
           of
           Vlysses
           and
           Penelope
           .
           For
           as
           every
           Poem
           ,
           as
           well
           Epick
           as
           Dramatick
           ,
           ought
           to
           take
           its
           period
           with
           the
           close
           of
           the
           principal
           action
           ,
           so
           after
           the
           said
           close
           ,
           which
           ought
           to
           put
           an
           end
           to
           things
           ,
           a
           man
           cannot
           make
           any
           addition
           thereto
           ,
           without
           committing
           an
           extravagance
           .
        
         
           I
           find
           few
           passages
           in
           Homer
           ,
           such
           as
           may
           be
           oppos'd
           to
           those
           of
           Virgil.
           Yet
           can
           I
           not
           forbear
           having
           a
           kindness
           for
           that
           of
           the
           sixt
           book
           of
           the
           Iliad
           ,
           where
           Andromache
           ,
           who
           was
           so
           honest
           and
           vertuous
           a
           woman
           ,
           bids
           adieu
           to
           her
           Husband
           Hector
           ,
           then
           going
           to
           his
           last
           combat
           with
           Achilles
           .
           In
           a
           word
           ,
           t
           is
           impossible
           to
           imagine
           any
           thing
           of
           greater
           tenderness
           than
           that
           a
           ?
           ?
           ?
           dieu
           ,
           wherein
           that
           Princess
           ,
           by
           
           a
           presentiment
           of
           something
           disastrous
           ,
           let
           fall
           some
           tears
           ,
           a
           thing
           she
           was
           not
           wont
           to
           do
           ,
           for
           she
           was
           not
           subject
           to
           any
           weakness
           ,
           and
           the
           Poet
           saies
           delicately
           enough
           ,
           that
           she
           began
           
             to
             lament
             with
             her
             women
             ,
             the
             death
             of
          
           Hector
           ,
           
             who
             was
             yet
             alive
          
           .
        
         
           
             〈◊〉
             〈◊〉
             〈◊〉
             〈◊〉
             〈◊〉
          
           ▪
        
         
           True
           it
           is
           ,
           that
           in
           regard
           people
           do
           bewayl
           only
           dead
           persons
           ,
           and
           that
           she
           bewayls
           a
           man
           that
           is
           alive
           ,
           that
           expression
           is
           tender
           and
           well
           imagin'd
           ;
           there
           are
           but
           few
           such
           in
           Homer
           ;
           for
           though
           the
           expressions
           are
           still
           kept
           up
           in
           him
           ,
           and
           are
           not
           ever
           neglected
           ,
           yet
           the
           things
           he
           saies
           do
           as
           it
           were
           lagg
           and
           languish
           .
           Of
           this
           rank
           is
           the
           numbring
           of
           the
           Graecian
           Fleet
           in
           the
           second
           of
           the
           Iliad
           :
           all
           there
           is
           at
           the
           same
           rate
           ,
           and
           the
           squadrons
           are
           all
           for
           the
           most
           part
           terminated
           by
           one
           and
           the
           same
           Verse
           :
           
             —
             
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
            
             .
          
           
           And
           all
           the
           banquets
           of
           the
           Iliad
           are
           serv'd
           up
           in
           the
           same
           fashion
           ,
           without
           any
           variety
           .
        
         
           Nay
           Vlysses's
           being
           known
           by
           his
           wife
           Penelope
           ,
           in
           the
           23.
           of
           the
           Odyssey
           ,
           which
           was
           the
           most
           favourable
           passage
           in
           the
           world
           to
           set
           all
           the
           subtleties
           of
           art
           on
           work
           ,
           has
           nothing
           but
           flat
           and
           simple
           surprises
           ,
           cold
           and
           heavy
           astonishments
           ,
           and
           very
           litle
           delicacy
           of
           sentiment
           and
           real
           tendernesse
           .
           Penelope
           is
           too
           long
           obstinate
           ,
           in
           opposing
           the
           reasons
           they
           alledge
           to
           persuade
           her
           ,
           that
           he
           is
           her
           husband
           ,
           who
           contributes
           nothing
           himself
           to
           his
           own
           discovery
           ;
           He
           suffers
           his
           wife
           to
           hearken
           too
           long
           to
           her
           distrust
           and
           circumspection
           ;
           the
           formalities
           she
           observes
           to
           be
           assur'd
           of
           all
           things
           ,
           are
           there
           set
           down
           by
           tale
           and
           measure
           ,
           least
           there
           might
           be
           any
           mistake
           ,
           which
           methinks
           has
           somewhat
           that
           is
           mournfull
           and
           languishing
           ,
           in
           a
           place
           which
           requir'd
           so
           much
           fire
           and
           vivacity
           .
           Ought
           not
           the
           secret
           instinct
           of
           her
           Love
           to
           have
           inspir'd
           her
           with
           other
           thoughts
           ?
           And
           
           should
           not
           her
           heart
           have
           told
           her
           what
           her
           eies
           did
           not
           tell
           her
           ?
           For
           Love
           is
           illuminated
           and
           inspir'd
           ;
           he
           has
           a
           secret
           and
           mysterious
           voice
           ,
           which
           explicates
           his
           meaning
           better
           than
           the
           senses
           .
           But
           Homer
           was
           not
           skill'd
           in
           that
           Philosophy
           ,
           which
           the
           Italians
           have
           since
           so
           much
           taught
           ;
           and
           Virgil
           ,
           who
           makes
           Dido
           foresee
           the
           designe
           Aeneas
           had
           to
           forsake
           her
           ,
           before
           she
           had
           notice
           brought
           her
           of
           it
           ,
           would
           have
           made
           a
           better
           advantage
           of
           that
           occasion
           .
        
      
       
         
           OBSERV
           .
           XIII
           .
           That
           there
           is
           in
           Homer
           a
           greater
           air
           of
           Morality
           and
           sententiousness
           ,
           than
           in
           Virgil.
           
        
         
           WE
           must
           not
           also
           dispute
           this
           advantage
           with
           Homer
           ;
           for
           this
           is
           so
           true
           ,
           that
           Macrobius
           lib.
           5.
           c.
           6.
           of
           his
           Questions
           ,
           saies
           that
           Homer
           has
           stuff'd
           his
           Poems
           with
           sentences
           ,
           and
           that
           his
           pleasant
           sayings
           were
           quoted
           
           by
           the
           People
           as
           Proverbs
           .
           
             Homerus
             omnem
             Poesim
             suam
             ita
             sententiis
             farsit
             ,
             ut
             singula
             ejus
             apophthegmata
             vicem
             proverbiorumin
             civium
             ore
             fungantur
             .
          
           And
           an
           English
           Author
           hath
           lately
           given
           us
           a
           considerable
           volume
           of
           sentences
           collected
           out
           of
           Homer
           ,
           upon
           all
           the
           matters
           of
           Morality
           ,
           which
           he
           has
           reduc'd
           into
           common
           places
           .
        
         
           But
           I
           pretend
           with
           Heinsius
           .
           in
           his
           Poetical
           tract
           upon
           Aristotle
           ,
           that
           those
           sententious
           reflections
           of
           Morality
           are
           rather
           design'd
           for
           the
           Theatre
           ,
           and
           of
           the
           Dramatick
           kind
           ,
           than
           of
           the
           Heroick
           ,
           the
           essential
           character
           whereof
           is
           Narration
           ,
           which
           ought
           to
           be
           of
           a
           continued
           thread
           ,
           and
           simple
           ,
           without
           affectation
           of
           figures
           ,
           and
           without
           all
           that
           tackle
           of
           reflections
           ,
           which
           despoil
           a
           discourse
           of
           its
           natural
           colour
           and
           force
           :
           a
           fault
           wherewith
           that
           excellent
           Author
           of
           the
           Satyricon
           does
           so
           earnestly
           reproach
           the
           declamators
           of
           his
           time
           ,
           
             Inanibus
             sonis
             ludibria
             quaedam
             excitando
             effecistis
             ,
             ut
             corpus
             Orationis
             enervaretur
             ,
             &
             caderet
             .
             By
             gingling
             and
             rediculous
             discourses
             ,
             
             you
             have
             enervated
             the
             body
             of
             the
             Oration
             ,
             and
             brought
             it
             to
             the
             ground
             .
          
        
         
           In
           a
           word
           ,
           that
           force
           which
           some
           pretend
           ordinarlily
           to
           summe
           up
           in
           a
           small
           compasle
           of
           words
           to
           make
           up
           a
           sentence
           ,
           is
           wont
           to
           exhaust
           ,
           and
           extreamly
           weaken
           the
           rest
           of
           the
           discourse
           ,
           by
           depriving
           it
           of
           its
           natural
           simplicity
           ,
           and
           giving
           it
           a
           forc'd
           aire
           .
           For
           this
           reason
           is
           Livy
           a
           much
           more
           accomplish'd
           Historian
           than
           Tacitus
           ,
           in
           regard
           he
           has
           lesse
           reflections
           ,
           which
           are
           more
           proper
           for
           the
           Theatre
           ,
           than
           for
           History
           ,
           and
           Narration
           .
           ‖
           Cicero
           is
           also
           of
           that
           judgment
           in
           one
           of
           his
           Books
           of
           
             Rhetorick
             :
             Sententias
             interponi
             rarò
             convenit
             ;
             ut
             rei
             actores
             ,
             non
             vivendi
             praeceptores
             esse
             videamur
             .
          
           So
           that
           Sentences
           and
           morall
           reflections
           are
           a
           beauty
           not
           sit
           for
           the
           Epick
           Poem
           ,
           in
           regard
           they
           are
           not
           suitable
           to
           Narration
           ,
           which
           is
           the
           principal
           and
           essentiall
           character
           thereof
           .
           Yet
           may
           the
           Poet
           bring
           in
           to
           it
           some
           sentences
           or
           reflections
           ,
           when
           he
           makes
           the
           Actors
           
           speak
           whom
           he
           introduces
           ;
           but
           he
           ought
           not
           to
           do
           it
           ,
           when
           he
           speakes
           himself
           ,
           unlesse
           it
           be
           very
           seldome
           ;
           and
           then
           too
           it
           must
           not
           seem
           to
           have
           been
           sought
           for
           .
        
         
           As
           to
           this
           we
           may
           safely
           imitate
           Livy
           who
           in
           the
           body
           of
           his
           History
           puts
           in
           very
           litle
           of
           that
           kind
           ,
           but
           reserves
           it
           to
           be
           said
           by
           those
           whom
           he
           makes
           to
           speak
           .
           So
           that
           the
           Poet
           is
           to
           let
           them
           slip
           by
           ,
           without
           affecting
           to
           be
           the
           utterer
           of
           them
           ,
           much
           less
           to
           scatter
           and
           strew
           them
           up
           and
           down
           as
           Homer
           does
           :
           and
           it
           is
           a
           mistake
           for
           any
           to
           think
           to
           esteem
           him
           upon
           that
           account
           ,
           inasmuch
           as
           that
           affectation
           is
           certainly
           an
           imperfection
           ,
           which
           Virgil
           found
           out
           a
           way
           to
           avoid
           ;
           reflecting
           that
           there
           was
           not
           any
           thing
           more
           opposite
           to
           that
           simple
           and
           continu'd
           air
           ,
           which
           he
           professed
           to
           observe
           ,
           than
           those
           glittering
           words
           and
           fancies
           ,
           which
           seem
           Independent
           from
           the
           discourse
           ,
           and
           jutting
           out
           of
           the
           structure
           ,
           in
           regard
           they
           are
           not
           well
           proportion'd
           thereto
           ,
           and
           serve
           only
           to
           magnify
           
           the
           Object
           ,
           and
           make
           a
           noise
           ;
           
             Rerum
             tumore
             &
             sententiarum
             vanissimo
             strepitu
             .
          
        
         
           And
           this
           has
           some
           reference
           to
           that
           great
           precept
           of
           natural
           reason
           ,
           for
           those
           who
           make
           it
           their
           business
           to
           write
           ;
           which
           one
           of
           the
           most
           expert
           and
           subtle
           Criticks
           of
           all
           Antiquity
           gave
           heretofore
           ,
           and
           which
           is
           not
           sufficiently
           understood
           :
           
             Curandum
             ne
             sententiae
             emineant
             extra
             corpus
             orationis
             expressae
             ;
             sed
             intexto
             vestibus
             colore
             niteant
          
           :
           which
           passage
           I
           translate
           not
           ,
           that
           all
           may
           be
           at
           liberty
           to
           render
           it
           ,
           according
           to
           their
           several
           abilities
           .
           It
           suffices
           ,
           as
           to
           what
           I
           pretend
           ,
           that
           it
           appears
           ,
           that
           Author
           ,
           does
           in
           that
           place
           condemn
           the
           fancies
           which
           a
           too
           strong
           and
           too
           brisk
           expression
           ,
           makes
           ,
           in
           some
           sort
           ,
           distinguishable
           from
           the
           body
           of
           the
           Discourse
           ;
           he
           would
           have
           nothing
           over
           exquisite
           ,
           or
           too
           far
           ?
           ?
           ?
           fetc'd
           ,
           and
           that
           all
           the
           lustre
           be
           as
           natural
           to
           it
           ,
           as
           colour
           is
           to
           garments
           .
           These
           sorts
           of
           simple
           and
           natural
           words
           ,
           saith
           he
           ,
           did
           natural
           reason
           dictate
           to
           Sophocles
           and
           Euripides
           ,
           and
           which
           they
           saw
           it
           necessary
           
           to
           use
           in
           speech
           ,
           before
           men
           bethought
           themselves
           of
           shutting
           up
           youth
           in
           Schools
           ,
           and
           to
           limit
           all
           the
           exercises
           of
           the
           mind
           to
           pure
           Declamations
           .
           
             Nondum
             Juvenes
             declamationibus
             continebantur
             ,
             cum
          
           Sophocles
           &
           Euripides
           
             invenerunt
             verba
             quibus
             deberent
             loqui
          
           .
           In
           a
           word
           ,
           all
           these
           ornaments
           of
           words
           and
           brisk
           fancies
           so
           far-fetc'd
           and
           so
           frequent
           ,
           deprive
           the
           discourse
           of
           its
           natural
           beauty
           and
           true
           dignity
           :
           ‖
           
             Gravitas
             minuitur
             exornationibus
             frequenter
             collocatis
             ,
             quod
             est
             in
             his
             lepos
             &
             festivitas
             ,
             non
             dignitas
             neque
             pulchritudo
             ,
          
           And
           this
           principal
           is
           general
           for
           all
           great
           things
           ,
           whose
           grandeur
           attended
           by
           a
           regular
           simplicity
           ,
           makes
           all
           the
           excellence
           and
           dignity
           of
           them
           ;
           as
           we
           see
           in
           Painting
           and
           Architecture
           ,
           where
           great
           fancies
           are
           kept
           up
           much
           less
           by
           the
           multitude
           of
           ornaments
           ,
           than
           by
           that
           simple
           and
           even
           ,
           but
           regular
           air
           ,
           which
           gives
           them
           their
           grandeur
           and
           Majesty
           .
        
      
       
         
         
           OBSERV
           .
           XIV
           .
           Shewing
           how
           Homer
           has
           the
           glory
           of
           invention
           over
           Virgil.
           
        
         
           INvention
           ,
           one
           of
           the
           qualities
           most
           essential
           to
           the
           Poet
           ,
           is
           one
           of
           the
           advantages
           of
           Homer
           wherein
           he
           deserves
           preference
           before
           Virgil.
           For
           he
           is
           the
           Model
           ,
           and
           original
           ,
           which
           Virgil
           propos'd
           to
           himself
           .
           But
           it
           is
           to
           be
           observ'd
           ,
           that
           as
           ‖
           Aristotle
           makes
           mention
           of
           a
           small
           Iliad
           ,
           attributed
           by
           Suidas
           to
           one
           named
           Antimachus
           ,
           which
           was
           the
           abbridgment
           of
           a
           greater
           ,
           upon
           which
           there
           is
           some
           likelyhood
           that
           Homer
           fram'd
           his
           work
           ;
           so
           it
           may
           be
           conjectur'd
           thence
           ,
           that
           the
           glory
           of
           the
           invention
           was
           not
           wholy
           due
           to
           him
           .
        
         
           Besides
           ,
           we
           read
           in
           ‖
           Athenaeus
           ,
           that
           one
           Hegesianax
           had
           writ
           ,
           in
           verse
           ,
           before
           Homer
           ,
           what
           had
           pass'd
           at
           the
           Siege
           
           of
           
             Troy.
             Cicero
          
           also
           makes
           mention
           of
           one
           Callisthenes
           ,
           who
           had
           written
           upon
           the
           same
           subject
           .
           T
           is
           true
           that
           he
           liv'd
           in
           the
           time
           of
           Alexander
           ,
           that
           is
           to
           say
           ,
           some
           ages
           after
           Homer
           :
           but
           it
           is
           to
           be
           conceiv'd
           ,
           that
           he
           had
           other
           collections
           different
           from
           those
           of
           Homer
           ,
           since
           he
           gave
           a
           different
           account
           of
           that
           expedition
           ,
           then
           he
           has
           done
           .
        
         
           Suidas
           affirms
           ,
           that
           one
           Corinnus
           ,
           a
           Disciple
           of
           Palamedes
           ,
           had
           also
           written
           an
           Iliad
           in
           Verse
           ,
           about
           the
           time
           that
           Troy
           was
           taken
           :
           and
           that
           another
           Poet
           ,
           contemporary
           to
           Homer
           ,
           named
           
             Syagrus
             ▪
          
           has
           also
           written
           upon
           that
           subject
           :
           That
           all
           those
           works
           were
           suppress'd
           by
           the
           endeavours
           of
           Homer
           ,
           who
           was
           not
           so
           blind
           ,
           (
           as
           some
           have
           imagin'd
           )
           as
           not
           to
           make
           it
           his
           business
           to
           transmit
           his
           own
           labours
           only
           to
           posterity
           ,
           and
           so
           to
           be
           accounted
           the
           first
           Author
           of
           the
           Iliad
           .
           And
           as
           the
           others
           were
           his
           model
           ,
           as
           he
           was
           that
           of
           Virgil
           ,
           so
           it
           were
           to
           be
           wish'd
           ,
           that
           we
           knew
           ,
           whether
           he
           has
           been
           as
           happy
           in
           the
           coppying
           of
           others
           ,
           as
           Virgil
           has
           been
           in
           imitating
           him
           .
        
         
         
           But
           we
           are
           to
           make
           a
           great
           abatement
           of
           the
           esteem
           which
           all
           Antiquity
           hath
           had
           for
           Homer
           ,
           if
           we
           credit
           what
           Aelian
           saies
           in
           his
           ‖
           History
           .
           He
           pretends
           ,
           that
           the
           opinion
           of
           the
           Learned
           of
           his
           time
           was
           ,
           that
           Homer
           had
           not
           compos'd
           the
           Iliad
           and
           Odyssey
           ,
           but
           only
           by
           fragments
           ,
           not
           proposing
           to
           himself
           any
           continu'd
           design
           ;
           and
           that
           he
           had
           not
           given
           any
           other
           title
           to
           those
           diverse
           parts
           ,
           which
           he
           had
           compos'd
           in
           the
           heat
           of
           his
           fancy
           &
           the
           impetuosity
           of
           his
           Genius
           ,
           without
           any
           order
           ,
           save
           only
           that
           of
           the
           subject
           and
           matter
           whereof
           he
           treated
           ,
           as
           
             The
             valour
             and
             prowess
             of
             Agamemnon
             .
             The
             exercises
             instituted
             for
             the
             funeral
             solemnity
             of
             Patroclus
             ;
             The
             engagement
             neer
             the
             Ships
             ,
             their
             Number
          
           ;
           and
           so
           of
           the
           rest
           ;
           That
           he
           had
           done
           the
           like
           for
           the
           Odyssey
           That
           Lycurgus
           was
           the
           first
           that
           brought
           from
           Jonia
           to
           Athens
           ,
           those
           several
           parts
           ,
           distinct
           one
           from
           the
           other
           ,
           and
           without
           any
           connection
           ;
           And
           that
           Pisistratus
           was
           the
           person
           who
           dispos'd
           them
           into
           some
           order
           ,
           and
           ,
           of
           them
           ,
           made
           up
           the
           two
           Poems
           of
           the
           Iliad
           and
           the
           Odyssey
           ,
           
           which
           we
           now
           have
           :
           And
           from
           thence
           ,
           as
           some
           pretend
           ,
           is
           derived
           the
           name
           of
           Rarpsodies
           ,
           which
           hath
           since
           been
           given
           to
           those
           two
           Poems
           .
        
         
           But
           I
           find
           in
           my self
           a
           backwardness
           to
           assent
           to
           this
           story
           ;
           for
           it
           were
           to
           deprive
           Homer
           of
           his
           greatest
           glory
           ,
           to
           take
           away
           from
           him
           the
           disposition
           of
           his
           Poems
           :
           That
           were
           a
           weakness
           ,
           which
           I
           cannot
           allow
           that
           great
           man
           to
           be
           chargeable
           withal
           ,
           especially
           considering
           that
           Aristotle
           hath
           authorised
           the
           belief
           establish'd
           since
           in
           all
           ages
           ,
           to
           wit
           ,
           that
           he
           is
           the
           true
           Author
           of
           those
           Poems
           ,
           though
           Josephus
           in
           his
           first
           book
           against
           Apion
           ,
           seems
           to
           be
           of
           the
           same
           opinion
           with
           Aelian
           ,
           and
           Plutarch
           ,
           in
           the
           life
           of
           Lycurgus
           ,
           and
           Cicero
           in
           his
           third
           book
           
             de
             Oratore
          
           ,
           give
           some
           occasion
           to
           believe
           it
           .
           But
           this
           opinion
           would
           so
           highly
           contribute
           to
           the
           absolute
           destruction
           of
           Homers
           merit
           ,
           that
           it
           were
           better
           to
           give
           Aelian
           the
           character
           of
           a
           collector
           of
           trivial
           stories
           .
           As
           for
           the
           other
           three
           ,
           who
           countenance
           his
           sentiment
           ,
           as
           they
           do
           not
           so
           peremptorily
           
           stand
           upon
           the
           affirmative
           ,
           so
           we
           may
           well
           adhere
           to
           the
           common
           opinion
           ,
           and
           be
           favourable
           to
           the
           reputation
           of
           Homer
           ,
           which
           ,
           as
           to
           this
           point
           ,
           is
           too
           strongly
           establish'd
           ,
           to
           admit
           of
           any
           contest
           .
        
      
       
         
           OBSERV
           .
           XV.
           Of
           the
           Exordiums
           of
           Homer
           and
           Virgil's
           Poems
           .
        
         
           IT
           were
           to
           be
           further
           wish'd
           ,
           in
           order
           to
           the
           fuller
           satisfaction
           we
           might
           derive
           from
           an
           exact
           comparison
           of
           these
           two
           great
           men
           ,
           that
           a
           parallel
           should
           be
           made
           ,
           between
           the
           beginings
           of
           the
           Iliad
           and
           Odyssey
           ,
           and
           that
           of
           the
           Aeneid
           ,
           which
           is
           the
           first
           touch
           towards
           the
           execution
           of
           those
           excellent
           Poems
           .
           For
           though
           the
           beginings
           of
           great
           works
           ought
           to
           be
           simple
           and
           modest
           ,
           as
           ‖
           Cicero
           advises
           ;
           
             Principia
             verecunda
             ,
             non
             elatis
             intensa
             verbis
             ,
          
           and
           that
           Horace
           so
           highly
           blames
           him
           who
           begins
           with
           so
           much
           pomp
           and
           ostentation
           
             
             Fortunam
             Príami
             cantabo
             ,
             &c.
             
          
           yet
           were
           it
           not
           amiss
           to
           to
           take
           a
           fair
           start
           ,
           and
           to
           begin
           well
           .
           The
           beginning
           of
           the
           Iliad
           ,
           as
           I
           translate
           it
           ,
           runs
           thus
           .
           
             Sing
             ,
             O
             my
             Muse
             ,
             of
             the
             wrath
             of
          
           Achilles
           
             the
             son
             of
          
           Peleus
           ,
           
             that
             wrath
             which
             prov'd
             so
             pernicious
             to
             his
             own
             party
             ,
             by
             abundance
             of
             misfortunes
             which
             itbrought
             upon
             them
             ;
             it
             occasion'd
             the
             death
             of
             many
             Heroes
             .
          
           He
           takes
           a
           pleasure
           in
           aggravating
           that
           wrath
           by
           its
           causes
           and
           effects
           ;
           he
           advances
           things
           with
           a
           too-confident
           ,
           too
           violent
           ,
           and
           too
           hyperbolical
           expression
           ,
           for
           a
           begining
           :
           ‖
           
             That
             wrath
          
           ,
           saith
           he
           ,
           
             made
             a
             bloody
             slaughter
             of
             the
             bodies
             of
             the
             Heroes
             .
          
           Thus
           Didimus
           ,
           one
           of
           Homers
           most
           exact
           Interpreters
           explicates
           him
           .
           He
           does
           not
           reflect
           ,
           that
           it
           is
           his
           Heroe
           ,
           of
           whom
           he
           speaks
           ,
           whose
           passion
           he
           aggravates
           ,
           and
           that
           he
           seeks
           out
           extraordinary
           terms
           ,
           to
           express
           the
           distraction
           it
           made
           in
           the
           Army
           whereof
           he
           was
           a
           great
           commander
           .
           
           He
           might
           have
           said
           things
           more
           in
           general
           ,
           in
           a
           proposition
           which
           ought
           to
           be
           simple
           ;
           there
           was
           no
           necessity
           of
           running
           it
           over
           again
           ,
           't
           was
           enough
           that
           he
           had
           call'd
           that
           passion
           pernicious
           ;
           there
           is
           a
           certain
           affectation
           in
           the
           repetition
           of
           it
           so
           often
           ;
           and
           he
           takes
           a
           pleasure
           in
           amplifying
           what
           he
           ought
           to
           have
           conceal'd
           ,
           or
           at
           least
           alleviated
           .
           He
           prosecutes
           things
           yet
           farther
           ,
           saying
           ,
           that
           that
           implacable
           wrath
           
             made
             the
             bodies
             of
             those
             Heroes
             a
             prey
             to
             all
             the
             dogs
             and
             birds
             .
          
           Nay
           so
           far
           was
           he
           possess'd
           by
           that
           spirit
           of
           exaggeration
           ,
           that
           he
           imposes
           upon
           him
           ;
           for
           of
           that
           number
           of
           Heroes
           ,
           whom
           the
           wrath
           of
           Achilles
           brought
           to
           destruction
           ,
           we
           cannot
           in
           reason
           allow
           any
           to
           deserve
           that
           name
           but
           Patroclus
           ;
           and
           I
           much
           question
           whether
           there
           were
           many
           among
           those
           that
           perish'd
           who
           might
           deserve
           it
           ,
           or
           had
           a
           good
           title
           thereto
           ,
           A
           man
           should
           never
           descend
           to
           that
           particularity
           in
           a
           proposition
           intermixt
           with
           invocation
           ;
           but
           what
           this
           Poet
           adds
           compleats
           his
           miscarriage
           ,
           and
           makes
           an
           enormous
           contrariety
           ;
           
             
             —
             
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
            
             ,
          
           'T
           was
           the
           will
           of
           
             Jupiter
             it
             should
             be
             so
          
           .
           He
           forgets
           that
           he
           is
           speaking
           to
           his
           Muse
           ,
           which
           is
           a
           Divinity
           ,
           that
           knows
           all
           things
           and
           ought
           not
           to
           have
           forgotten
           any
           thing
           of
           what
           it
           knowes
           :
           He
           takes
           occasion
           to
           inform
           it
           ,
           that
           it
           was
           the
           will
           of
           God
           ▪
           that
           things
           should
           happen
           so
           .
           It
           was
           the
           part
           of
           Homers
           Muse
           to
           acquaint
           him
           with
           the
           secrets
           of
           the
           divine
           will
           ,
           and
           what
           passes
           in
           the
           order
           of
           its
           Decrees
           ,
           and
           not
           Homers
           to
           tell
           that
           to
           his
           Muse
           ,
           the
           Daughter
           of
           Mnemosyne
           and
           Jupiter
           ,
           that
           is
           to
           say
           ,
           of
           the
           Understanding
           and
           memory
           .
           It
           is
           yet
           much
           more
           strange
           in
           him
           to
           add
           those
           words
           to
           amplify
           the
           excess
           of
           the
           destruction
           ,
           which
           that
           wrath
           had
           caused
           the
           Greeks
           ,
           since
           it
           had
           oblig'd
           the
           Gods
           to
           concern
           themselves
           in
           the
           resentment
           of
           that
           passion
           ,
           and
           that
           it
           was
           their
           pleasure
           ,
           it
           should
           occasion
           that
           destruction
           of
           all
           the
           people
           of
           good
           repute
           in
           that
           Army
           .
           And
           it
           is
           to
           carry
           on
           the
           dreadful
           effects
           of
           that
           wrath
           to
           the
           utmost
           extremities
           ,
           to
           authorise
           by
           the
           will
           of
           
           the
           Gods
           ,
           the
           defeat
           of
           the
           Grecian
           Army
           ,
           whose
           loss
           was
           the
           accomplishment
           of
           the
           good
           pleasure
           of
           Jupiter
           ,
           who
           has
           the
           character
           of
           shewing
           kindness
           .
           Upon
           that
           benignity
           his
           very
           name
           is
           grounded
           ,
           which
           is
           the
           same
           as
           
             Juvans
             pater
          
           .
        
         
           It
           would
           be
           a
           hard
           matter
           to
           tell
           where
           this
           invocation
           ends
           :
           the
           two
           subsequent
           verses
           are
           part
           of
           it
           ,
           and
           it
           is
           confounded
           with
           the
           Narration
           ,
           if
           we
           look
           narrowly
           upon
           it
           :
           besides
           ,
           to
           say
           the
           truth
           ,
           what
           construction
           soever
           be
           made
           of
           those
           words
           ,
           we
           shall
           find
           a
           certain
           affectation
           in
           them
           :
           he
           has
           a
           mind
           to
           fall
           a
           moralizing
           too
           soon
           ,
           when
           he
           does
           it
           at
           the
           very
           entrance
           of
           a
           work
           ,
           which
           is
           not
           moral
           ,
           and
           that
           at
           the
           fourth
           verse
           of
           it
           .
           The
           Readers
           mind
           is
           not
           yet
           prepar'd
           for
           reflections
           :
           it
           ought
           to
           have
           been
           instructed
           ,
           prepossess'd
           ,
           and
           a
           little
           inflam'd
           before-hand
           .
        
         
           The
           Exordium
           of
           the
           Odyssey
           is
           this
           ,
           I
           know
           not
           whether
           it
           appear
           any
           thing
           
           more
           rational
           .
           
             Give
             me
             an
             account
             ,
             O
             my
             Muse
             ,
             of
             that
             subtle
             and
             expert
             man
             ,
             who
             travell
             d
             through
             so
             many
             Countries
             ,
             and
             cross'd
             so
             many
             Seas
             ;
             He
             suffered
             much
             indeed
             ;
             but
             still
             he
             was
             extreamly
             careful
             to
             preserve
             himself
             .
             He
             also
             took
             some
             care
             for
             the
             preservation
             and
             return
             of
             his
             companions
             :
             but
             he
             brought
             not
             one
             home
             ,
             they
             all
             perished
             .
          
           An
           admirable
           Hero
           !
           whose
           essential
           character
           is
           to
           be
           subtle
           ,
           crafty
           ,
           and
           circumspect
           ,
           yet
           the
           interpreters
           allay
           the
           signification
           of
           
             〈◊〉
             〈◊〉
             〈◊〉
             〈◊〉
             〈◊〉
          
           ,
           to
           excuse
           Homer
           .
           Put
           I
           do
           not
           see
           what
           allay
           can
           be
           allow'd
           it
           ;
           besides
           that
           in
           the
           whole
           prosecution
           of
           the
           story
           ,
           the
           conduct
           of
           Vlysses
           bears
           no
           other
           quality
           in
           particular
           then
           that
           of
           craft
           ,
           which
           is
           many
           times
           manag'd
           by
           impostures
           and
           lies
           ,
           which
           is
           in
           no
           wise
           Heroick
           ;
           and
           Minerva
           her self
           ,
           however
           she
           may
           be
           favourable
           to
           him
           ,
           cannot
           forbear
           reproaching
           him
           therewith
           .
        
         
           And
           if
           it
           be
           urged
           that
           that
           craft
           is
           a
           dexterity
           and
           readiness
           of
           wit
           ,
           why
           does
           he
           not
           make
           use
           of
           it
           for
           the
           safety
           
           of
           his
           Companions
           ,
           but
           imploy
           all
           his
           subtlety
           to
           preserve
           himself
           ?
           
             But
             they
             all
             perished
             through
             their
             own
             fault
             .
          
           Ought
           not
           this
           Heroe
           ,
           a
           person
           so
           wise
           ,
           and
           of
           such
           extraordinary
           prudence
           ,
           to
           have
           had
           conduct
           enough
           to
           secure
           them
           from
           that
           misfortune
           ?
           Nay
           the
           very
           reason
           of
           their
           destruction
           is
           ridiculous
           and
           fabulous
           ;
           
             They
             were
             destroyed
             for
             their
             having
             eaten
             the
             Sunnes
             Oxen
             ,
          
           This
           is
           a
           far-fetch'd
           destruction
           ;
           the
           Heroe
           ,
           or
           the
           Poet
           was
           willing
           to
           be
           rid
           of
           them
           ;
           and
           if
           Vlysses's
           providence
           had
           not
           been
           great
           enough
           to
           save
           his
           Companions
           who
           ran
           the
           same
           fortune
           with
           him
           ,
           ought
           not
           the
           Poet
           at
           least
           to
           have
           dissembled
           it
           ?
           Who
           obliges
           him
           to
           begin
           with
           that
           ,
           and
           to
           advance
           that
           weakness
           of
           his
           Heroe
           in
           the
           Frontispiece
           of
           his
           Poem
           ,
           and
           the
           most
           obvious
           part
           of
           it
           ,
           and
           to
           implore
           his
           Muse
           to
           celebrate
           the
           fame
           of
           that
           so
           subtle
           Heroe
           ,
           who
           made
           a
           shift
           to
           save
           himself
           ,
           and
           suffer'd
           all
           that
           were
           with
           him
           to
           be
           destroyed
           ?
           Is
           there
           any
           thing
           in
           the
           world
           less
           Heroick
           ,
           more
           weak
           and
           more
           despicable
           than
           this
           ?
           Tasso
           ,
           in
           
           the
           proposition
           of
           his
           Poem
           ,
           makes
           a
           good
           advantage
           of
           that
           fault
           ,
           for
           the
           accomplishment
           of
           his
           Hero
           ,
           of
           whom
           he
           saies
           ,
        
         
           
             —
             e
             sotto
             i
             santi
          
           
             Segni
             ridusse
             i
             suoi
             compagni
             erranti
             .
          
        
         
           The
           beginning
           of
           the
           Aeneid
           is
           more
           simple
           and
           more
           natural
           ,
           and
           its
           proposition
           is
           without
           any
           difficulty
           .
           
             I
             sing
          
           ,
           saies
           Virgil
           ,
           
             the
             arms
             and
             valour
             of
             that
             Man
             ,
             who
             having
             retreated
             from
             the
             ruines
             of
             Troy
             ,
             was
             the
             first
             that
             came
             into
             Italy
             .
             He
             had
             much
             to
             suffer
             ,
             through
             the
             persecutions
             of
             the
             Gods
             ,
             and
             the
             animosity
             of
             Juno
             .
          
           An
           enemy
           of
           that
           consequence
           renders
           him
           the
           more
           considerable
           .
           
             But
             after
             all
             that
             ,
             he
             builds
             a
             great
             City
             ,
             which
             is
             to
             be
             the
             seat
             of
             the
             Worlds
             Empire
             ,
             and
             the
             Metropolis
             of
             the
             Vniverse
             .
          
           According
           to
           this
           model
           of
           comparison
           ,
           all
           the
           rest
           may
           be
           compar'd
           at
           leisure
           .
        
      
       
         
         
           OBSERV
           .
           XVI
           .
           The
           Conclusion
           of
           the
           Discourse
           .
        
         
           I
           Leave
           it
           to
           the
           decision
           of
           the
           Learned
           ,
           what
           judgement
           ought
           to
           be
           made
           of
           both
           these
           admirable
           Poets
           ,
           when
           they
           shall
           have
           taken
           the
           pains
           to
           inform
           themselves
           of
           the
           truth
           of
           these
           Observations
           ,
           and
           have
           perticularly
           reflected
           ,
           that
           all
           the
           Grammarians
           ,
           who
           are
           the
           true
           Criticks
           of
           State
           having
           not
           been
           able
           to
           endure
           the
           lustre
           of
           Homers
           manner
           of
           expression
           ,
           and
           the
           magnificence
           of
           his
           way
           of
           versifying
           ,
           which
           doubtless
           ,
           is
           more
           brisk
           and
           glittering
           than
           that
           of
           Virgil
           ,
           have
           suffer'd
           themselves
           to
           be
           dazled
           thereby
           ,
           and
           without
           penetrating
           to
           the
           ground
           of
           both
           their
           works
           ,
           have
           for
           the
           most
           part
           attributed
           the
           advantage
           to
           Homer
           .
           But
           they
           all
           judge
           of
           of
           them
           as
           Grammarians
           ,
           without
           considering
           the
           observations
           I
           have
           made
           .
        
         
         
           Nay
           Plutarch
           himself
           ,
           in
           a
           discourse
           expressly
           writ
           by
           him
           upon
           Homer
           ,
           expatiates
           much
           upon
           his
           great
           Learning
           ,
           and
           the
           universal
           knowledge
           he
           had
           of
           all
           the
           sciences
           ;
           and
           he
           sufficiently
           denotes
           the
           vast
           extent
           of
           that
           great
           Genius
           by
           the
           Idea
           he
           gives
           of
           his
           character
           ,
           without
           insisting
           upon
           what
           is
           essential
           to
           the
           Poem
           .
           Accordingly
           ,
           all
           the
           learned
           ,
           who
           fix
           their
           reflections
           upon
           the
           expression
           of
           Homer
           ,
           and
           the
           exteriour
           part
           of
           his
           works
           ,
           are
           not
           competent
           judges
           .
           To
           judge
           aright
           of
           them
           ,
           they
           must
           take
           in
           the
           knowledg
           of
           what
           is
           essential
           ,
           compute
           all
           the
           proportions
           thereof
           ,
           consider
           whether
           the
           beauties
           are
           well
           plac'd
           therein
           ,
           whether
           the
           intertexture
           of
           the
           probable
           part
           with
           the
           miraculous
           ,
           be
           therein
           judiciously
           observ'd
           ,
           whether
           the
           licences
           ,
           which
           poesy
           permits
           ,
           be
           not
           over
           confident
           ,
           or
           violent
           ,
           whether
           all
           the
           decorums
           ,
           as
           to
           manners
           and
           sentiments
           be
           therein
           exactly
           prosecuted
           ,
           whether
           the
           expressions
           be
           smart
           &
           passionate
           ,
           whether
           every
           thing
           keeps
           its
           proper
           rank
           ,
           and
           bears
           its
           true
           
           character
           ,
           whether
           soundness
           of
           sence
           and
           reason
           spread
           through
           the
           whole
           production
           ,
           and
           whether
           things
           are
           all
           as
           they
           ought
           to
           be
           :
           for
           nothing
           can
           please
           ,
           if
           it
           be
           not
           so
           ,
           according
           to
           the
           great
           precept
           of
           
             Quintilian
             ;
             Nihil
             potest
             placere
             quod
             non
             decet
             .
          
           In
           a
           word
           ,
           they
           are
           to
           judge
           of
           these
           great
           works
           ,
           as
           they
           would
           do
           of
           a
           Palace
           or
           sumptuous
           structure
           ,
           whose
           chief
           beauty
           consists
           in
           the
           proportion
           there
           is
           between
           the
           design
           in
           general
           and
           its
           parts
           ,
           and
           their
           mutual
           rapport
           :
           this
           is
           that
           which
           such
           as
           are
           well
           skill'd
           consider
           in
           them
           ,
           without
           fixing
           their
           thoughts
           on
           the
           exteriour
           ornaments
           ,
           which
           take
           up
           the
           survey
           of
           the
           ignorant
           .
        
         
           To
           conclude
           there
           is
           among
           the
           Catalects
           of
           the
           ancient
           Poets
           ,
           the
           fragment
           of
           an
           Epigram
           of
           an
           uncertain
           Authors
           ,
           which
           may
           contribute
           somewhat
           to
           the
           judgment
           ,
           which
           ought
           tobe
           made
           of
           Homer
           and
           Virgil's
           Poems
           .
           This
           fragment
           saies
           ,
           that
           the
           former
           is
           more
           ample
           ,
           the
           latter
           more
           regular
           and
           compleat
           .
           
           Virgil
           himself
           is
           the
           Epigrammatist
           .
        
         
           
             Maeonium
             quisquis
             Romanus
             nescit
             Homerum
             ,
          
           
             Me
             legat
             ,
             &
             lectum
             credat
             utrumque
             sibi
             :
          
           
             Illius
             immensos
             miratur
             Graecia
             campos
             ,
          
           
             At
             minor
             est
             nobis
             ,
             sed
             benè
             cultus
             ager
             .
          
        
         
           The
           lesser
           works
           are
           indeed
           ever
           more
           compleat
           than
           the
           great
           ones
           ,
           in
           regard
           the
           Authors
           may
           bestow
           more
           time
           and
           leasure
           in
           the
           polishing
           and
           perfecting
           of
           them
           .
        
         
           But
           in
           fine
           ,
           to
           avoid
           being
           tedious
           by
           insisting
           on
           any
           further
           perticulars
           ,
           which
           to
           do
           ,
           we
           should
           be
           oblig'd
           to
           borrow
           matter
           from
           Eustathius
           ,
           and
           Servius
           ,
           the
           most
           eminent
           and
           exact
           commentators
           of
           those
           two
           great
           men
           ;
           methinks
           ,
           I
           may
           say
           ,
           without
           deciding
           any
           thing
           ,
           as
           I
           have
           always
           pretended
           ,
           that
           ,
           according
           to
           the
           observations
           I
           have
           made
           ,
           things
           may
           be
           thus
           divided
           :
           that
           Homer
           has
           more
           fancy
           ,
           Virgil
           more
           discretion
           and
           judgment
           ;
           
           and
           that
           if
           I
           should
           choose
           rather
           to
           have
           been
           Homer
           ,
           then
           Virgil
           ,
           I
           should
           also
           much
           rather
           wish
           that
           I
           had
           writ
           the
           Aeneid
           ,
           then
           the
           Iliad
           and
           Odyssey
           .
           In
           which
           I
           have
           the
           approbation
           of
           Propertius
           ,
           as
           it
           appears
           by
           his
           suffrage
           ,
           which
           he
           bestows
           on
           Virgil
           ,
           in
           so
           disinteressed
           a
           manner
           ,
           For
           though
           his
           reputation
           were
           much
           more
           established
           than
           that
           of
           Virgil
           ,
           and
           though
           the
           jealousy
           of
           the
           mind
           ,
           which
           is
           the
           true
           self-love
           ,
           be
           incomparably
           greater
           than
           that
           of
           the
           heart
           ,
           yet
           does
           he
           not
           stick
           to
           take
           off
           the
           Crown
           from
           his
           own
           head
           ,
           to
           place
           it
           upon
           Virgils
           ,
           and
           to
           acknowledge
           ,
           that
           all
           ought
           to
           give
           him
           place
           ,
           nay
           even
           Homer
           himself
           .
        
         
           
             Cedite
             Romani
             Scriptores
             ,
             cedite
             Graii
             ,
          
           
             Nescio
             quid
             majus
             nascitur
             Aeneide
             ,
          
        
         
           FINIS
           .
        
         
      
    
     
       
         Notes, typically marginal, from the original text
         
           Notes for div A58062-e620
           
             ‖
             Poet
             ,
             c.
             26.
             
          
           
             ‖
             
               Duo
               illi
               omnis
               doctrinae
               apices
            
             Homerus
             &
             Virgilius
             .
             Casaub
             .
             Praes
             .
             in
             Pers
             .
          
           
             ‖
             
               Pretiosissimum
               opus
               animi
               humani
            
             .
             Plin.
             lib.
             7.
             c.
             9.
             
          
           
             *
             Qui
             Homerum
             
               contemnunt
               vix
               illis
               optari
               quioquam
               pejus
               potest
               ,
               quàm
               ut
               fatuitate
               suâ
               fruantur
               .
            
             Casaub
             ,
             Dissert
             .
             de
             Homero
             .
          
        
         
           Notes for div A58062-e870
           
             ‖
             
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
            
             .
             
               Poet.
               c.
            
             5.
             
          
           
             ‖
             
               Poet.
               cap.
            
             5.
             
          
        
         
           Notes for div A58062-e1300
           
             ‖
             
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
            
             Iliad
             .
             1.
             
          
           
             ‖
             
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
            
             .
          
           
             ‖
             
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
            
             .
          
        
         
           Notes for div A58062-e2150
           
             ‖
             Poetic●
             
          
           
             *
             Leg.
             l.
             5.
             
          
           
             ‖
             De
             Art
             Poetic
             .
          
           
             ‖
             Fingenti
             formantique
             Principem
             voto
             concipe●e
             succur●i●
             similem
             huic
             qu●m
             videmus
             .
          
           
             †
             
               Fast
               .
               l
            
             2.
             
          
        
         
           Notes for div A58062-e3740
           
             ‖
             
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
            
             .
          
           
             ‖
             
               Ad
               Loll.
               l.
            
             I.
             Ep.
             II.
             
          
           
             †
             Ad
             Pison
             .
          
           
             ‖
             Ad
             Pison
             .
          
           
             *
             Ibid.
             
          
           
             ‖
             Horat.
             ad
             Pison
             .
          
           
             ‖
             Per
             ambages
             Deorumque
             ministeria
             .
          
           
             ‖
             Art.
             Poet.
             
          
           
             ‖
             
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
            
             .
          
           
             
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
            
             ,
             Pollux
             .
          
           
             ‖
             
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
            
             .
             Suidas
             .
          
        
         
           Notes for div A58062-e5780
           
             ‖
             Tusc
             .
             Qu●st
             .
             l.
             1.
             
          
           
             ‖
             In
             argumentis
             Cacilius
             pa●m●m
             poscit
             ,
             in
             sermonibu
             .
             Plautus
             ,
             in
             moribus
             Ter●n●ius
             .
          
        
         
           Notes for div A58062-e6850
           
             ‖
             
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
            
             .
          
           
             †
             
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
            
             .
          
        
         
           Notes for div A58062-e8240
           
             ‖
             Epist
             .
             ad
             .
             Att.
             lib.
             13.
             
          
        
         
           Notes for div A58062-e8820
           
             ‖
             Art.
             Poet.
             
          
           
             Lib.
             1.
             c.
             14.
             
          
           
             In
             Bruto
             .
          
        
         
           Notes for div A58062-e10730
           
             ‖
             Ad
             ●●●en
             l
             ▪
             4.
             
          
           
             ‖
             Cic
             ad
             Heren
             .
             lib
             ▪
             4.
             
          
        
         
           Notes for div A58062-e11170
           
             ‖
             Poet.
             c.
             23.
             
          
           
             ‖
             Lib.
             3.
             
          
           
             ‖
             lib.
             13.
             c.
             14.
             
          
        
         
           Notes for div A58062-e11830
           
             ‖
             Orat.
             
          
           
             ‖
             
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
               〈◊〉
            
             .