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assurance to itself, than it may be able to communicate to others. For the perception of harmonious grandeur, in a poem, is a matter of taste more than demonstration. And persons of the highest philological authority in the question may sometimes be the most dead to this species of evidence. Mere erudition will no more insure the power of appreciating harmonious poetical design, than botanical skill will enable obtuse senses to enjoy the flavor of a fruit, or the smell of a flower.'

The poetry of Homer is not to be regarded merely as the overflowing of an exuberant fancy (says Wieland); nor is the personal genius of the author alone to be admired in the Iliad and Odyssey. He is, to us at least, the representative of his Age.*

In the brief abstract here given, from that part of the Odyssey which describes the reception of Ulysses at the court of Phæacia, it will readily be perceived, no attempt has been made to transfuse into the simple prose relation of the adventures, recorded by the poet, the beauty and harmonious flow of diction, which constitutes the peculiar charm of Homeric poetry. The embarrassments, to which translators have been subjected from a consciousness of their inability to do justice to the original, presents no obstacle to a right comprehension of the manners and sentiments that characterized the heroic ages, which is the main object we have in view.

* Edinburgh Review for July 1830.

We would however remark, that, whatever embellishment the incidents related may have received from the glowing imagery and pleasing epithets of Homer, all must feel gratified with the piety, kindness, and urbanity, which prevailed in the social intercourse of this primitive people; and with the hospitality, generosity, and courtesy, manifested for an unfortunate individual who, naked and defenceless, had been cast on their coast.

Every incident in this little drama excites anew our sensibilities. In the mild, paternal sway of Alcinous there is much, which commands respect and admiration. The skill and industry which prevailed, with the order, harmony, and abundance, so apparently resulting from the freedom and prosperity of the subjects, afford irrefragable proof that the science of government was well understood in this ancient community.

Nothing can be more gratifying to an ingenuous mind, than to find so much true piety, and submission to the decrees of One Supreme Omniscient Being, the maker and sustainer of the universe; and to feel assured that this Almighty Being, from the beginning, has ever been the chief object of grateful veneration, whatever homage may have been paid to inferior powers. The answer of Eumæus to Ulysses, who, in the disguise of a mendicant, solicits his assistance, is an instance of this. The swineherd, after having given him the most humane and friendly assistance, thus addresses his unknown master :—

Eat, noble stranger! and refreshment take

Such as thou may'st; God gives, and God denies,
At his own will; for He is lord of all.*

In a note, at the bottom of the page, Cowper inserts the word in Greek without a relative, and consequently signifying God in the abstract. · This (he says) is not unfrequently found in Homer; though, fearing to give offence to serious minds unacquainted with the original, I have not always given it that force in the translation. But here the sentiment is such, as fixes the sense intended by the author with a precision that leaves me no option.'

In truth it is manifest, not only from the writings of Homer, but from all other ancient authors, that pure, religious, and social affections have been cherished from the earliest period, and have had ever a deep and controlling influence; for the law was written on their hearts.' Let it not be deemed an objection that they were often gross, superstitious, and cruel; when we advert to the corruptions, which have sprung up under a brighter revelation, and find persecution and bigotry still prevail, in opposition to all its most holy

sanctions.

In the vivid delineation of the social affections, Homer is, in our estimation, unrivalled. • To speak of Homer as a romantic poet of love (says Mr Campbell) would no doubt be very idle; but still on the subject of that passion he has a negative merit and primitive modesty, which discriminate his works from the entire mass of classical poetry.

* Cowper's Odyssey, b. xiv. p. 47.

In him the simplicity of nature preceded her earliest corruptions; and, little as he says of love in the abstract, his females are very lovely. The innocent Nausicaa carries us back to the golden age. His Penelope acts as his muse indites. The one exemplifying womanly virtue to be older than systems of morality; the other showing inspiration to have gone before critical laws.'

The character and conduct of Areté the queen, and of the princess Nausicaa, give us a beautiful portrai ture of the manners and sentiments, which were cherished in domestic life. Who can read the reception, given to Ulysses by Nausicaa, and her reply to his complaints, without being sensible of her superiority to most young females, whatever advantages they may have possessed?

The mixture of simplicity and elegance, which formed a peculiar feature in ancient manners and modes of life, were doubtless truly exhibited by Homer. Thus the noble Nausicaa requests her royal sire to have a car in readiness to convey her and her damsels to the fountain, where Phæacian virgins lave their garShe remarks, that their costly robes require the cleansing stream; adding, that when the king appeared in council with his peers, his vestments should be unsullied and bright; and that her brothers, who were now of age to wed, go not to the dance unless adorned and attired in spotless garments: all which it was her province to attend.

ments.

The king, in granting the request of the princess, expresses the strongest solicitude and affection; and

tells her, that she can ask nothing which he will not give; nevertheless, his respect for his daughter prevented him from appearing conscious that Nausicaa had likewise her own nuptials in view. The king immediately ordered his grooms to prepare the sumpter carriage; while the queen commanded her train to get ready a sumptuous repast, and gave for unction a golden cruise of fragrant oil. On the return of the princess, her brothers released the mules, and bore in the raiment; while she retired to her elegant apartment, attended by her ancient nurse, who from infancy had been devoted to her, and felt for the princess the tenderest love. Other attendants waited without, and

guarded the portal.

In the same style, Ulysses found the king seated with his peers in one of the beautiful apartments of his superb palace, where the queen, in the midst of her maids, sat twisting wool tinged with sea purple. The Phæacian females were said to surpass all others in skill and fancy in tissue-work; the thrones, or seats of state within the palace, were covered with their transparent embroidery. The employment of the females cannot be construed as derogatory, or as confirming the old and trite opinion that they were held in less estimation than at present,-when we find the queen so highly respected, and sharing the royal authority with her husband.

Neither should their occupation be deemed servile, when reference is had to the practice of kings and chiefs, who slew and dressed the animal intended for their repast, in the same manner as is done by the natives of our land, and in the Polynesian Islands. This

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