From fome principles of this kind have arifen a fecond fort of ftories, which glance at Homer with malignant fuppofitions, and endeavour to throw a diminishing air over his life, as a kind of anfwer to those who fought to aggrandize him injudiciously. Under this head we may reckon thofe ungrounded conjectures with which his adverfaries afperfe the very defign and profecution of his traveis, when they infinuate, that they were one continued fearch atter authors who had written before him, and particularly upon the fame fubject, in order to deftroy them, or to rob them of their inventions. Thus we read in f Diodorus Siculus, "That there "was one Daphne, the daughter of Tirefias, who "from her infpirations obtain'd the title of a Sibyl. "She had a very extraordinary genius, and being "made priestefs at Delphos, wrote oracles with won"derful elegance, which Homer fought for, and a"dorn'd his poems with feveral of her verfes." But fhe is plac'd fo far in the fabulous age of the world, that nothing can be averr'd of her: And as for the verfes now afcrib'd to the Sibyls, they are more modern than to be able to confirm the ftory; which, as it is univerfally affented to, discovers that whatever there is in them in common with Homer, the compilers have rather taken from him; perhaps to ftrengthen the authority of their work by the protection of this tradition. The next infinuation we hear is from Suidas, that Palamedes, who fought at Troy, was famous for poetry, and wrote concerning that war in the Dorick letter which he invented, probably much against Agamemnon and Ulyffes, his mortal enemies. Upon this account fome have fanfy'd his works were fupprefs'd Diod. Sie. 1. 4. by by Agamemnon's pofterity, or that their entire deftruction was contriv'd and effected by Homer when he undertook the fame fubject. But furely the works of fo confiderable a man, when they had been able to bear up fo long a time as that which pafs'd between the fiege of Troy, and the flourishing of Homer, muft have been too much difpers'd, for one of fo mean a condition as he is reprefented, to have deftroy'd in every place, tho' he had been never fo much affifted by the vigilant temper of envy. And we may fay too, that what might have been capable of raising this principle in him, must be capable of being in fome meafure efteem'd, and of having at least one line of it preferv'd to us. After him, in the order of time, we meet with a whole fet of names, to whom the maligners of Homer would have him oblig'd, without being able to prove their affertion. Suidas mentions Corinnus Ilienfis, the fecretary of Palamedes, who writ a poem upon the fame fubject, but no one is produc'd as having feen it. 8 Tzetzes mentions (and from Johannes Melala only) Sifyphus the Coan, fecretary of Teucer, but it is not fo much as known if he writ verfe or profe. Befides thefe, are Dictys the Cretan, fecretary to Idomeneus, and Dares the Phrygian an attendant of Hector, who have spurious treatifes paffing under their names. From each of thefe is Homer faid to have borrow'd his whole argument; fo inconfiftent are thefe ftories with one another. The next names we find, are Demodocus, whom Homer might have met at Corcyra, and Phemius, whom he might have met at Ithaca: the one (ash Plutarch fays) having according to tradition written the war at Troy, the other the return of the Grecian captains. But 8 Tzetzes Chil. s. Hift. 29. b Plutarch on Mufick. thefe thefe are only two names of friends, which he is pleas'd to honour with eternity in his poem, or two different pictures of himself as author of the Iliad and Odyffes, or entirely the children of his imagination, without any particular allufion. So that his ufage here, puts me in mind of his own Vulcan in the i Iliad: The God had caft two ftatues, which he endued with the power of motion; and it is faid presently after, that he is scarce able to go unless they support him. 66 It is reported by fome, faysk Ptolemaus Epheftio, "That there was before Homer, a woman of Memphis, "call'd Phantafia, who writ of the wars of Troy, and "the wandrings of Ulyffes. Now Homer arriving at Memphis where he had laid up her works, and getting acquainted with Phanitas, whofe bufinefs "it was to copy the facred writings, he obtain'd a "fight of these, and follow'd entirely the fcheme she "had drawn." But this is a wild ftory, which speaks of an Egyptian woman with a Greek name, and who never was heard of but upon this account. It appears indeed from his knowledge of the Egyptian learning, that he was initiated into their mysteries, and for ought we know by one Phanitas. But if we confider what the name of the woman fignifies, it feems only as if from being us'd in a figurative expreffion, it had been mistaken afterwards for a proper name. And then the meaning will be, that having gather'd as much information concerning the Grecian and Trojan ftory, as he could be furnish'd with from the accounts of Egypt, which were generally mix'd with fancy and fable, he wrought out his plans of the Iliad and the Odyssey. We pass all thefe ftories, together with the little Iliad of Siagrus, mention'd by Ælian. But one can not leave this fubject without reflecting on the depreciating humour, and odd induftry of man, which fhews itfelf in raifing such a number of infinuations that clash with each other, and in fpiriting up fuch a crowd of unwarranted names to fupport them. Nor can we but admire at the contradictory nature of this proceeding; that names of works, which either never were in being, or never worthy to live, fhould be produc'd only to perfuade us that the moft lafting and beautiful poem of the ancients was taken out of them. A beggar might be content to patch up a gar'ment with fuch fhreds as the world throws away, but it is never to be imagin'd an Emperor would make his robes of them. After Homer had spent a confiderable time in travel, we find him towards his age introduc'd to fuch an action as tends to his difparagement. It is not enough to accufe him for fpoiling the dead, they raise a living author, by whom he must be baffled in that qualification on which his fame is founded. There is in m Hefiod an account of an ancient poetical contention at the funeral of Amphidamas, in which, he fays, he obtain'd the prize, but does not mention from whom he carry'd it. There is also among the n Hymns afcrib'd to Homer, a prayer to Venus for fuccefs in a poetical difpute, but it neither mentions where, nor against whom. But though they have neglected to name their antagonists, others have fince taken car to fill up the ftories by putting them together. The making two fuch confiderable names in poetry engage, carries an amufing pomp in it, like making two heroes of the first rank enter the lifts of combat. And if Homer and Hefiod had their Hefiod Op. & dierum, 1. 2. ✯, 272, &c, Hymn. 2. ad Venerem. Hom. parties parties among the Grammarians, here was an excellent opportunity for Hefiod's favourers to make a facriface of Homer. Hence a bare conjecture might spread into a tradition, then the tradition give occafion to an epigram, which is yet extant, and again the epigram (for want of knowing the time it was writ in) be alledg'd as a proof of that conjecture from whence it fprung. After this, a whole treatise was written upon it, which appears not very ancient, because it mentions Adrian: The ftory agrees in the main with the short account we find in P Plutarch, " That Ga nitor, the son of Amphidamas, King of Euboea, be66 ing us'd to celebrate his father's funeral games, in"vited from all parts men famous for ftrength and "wifdom. Among these Homer and Hefiod arriv'd "at Chalcis. The King Panidas prefided over the "conteft, which being finifh'd, he decreed the Tripos "to Hefiod, with this fentence, That the Poet of peace and husbandry better deferv'd to be crown'd, "than the Poet of war and contention. Whereupon Hefied dedicated the prize to the mufes, with this "infcription, σε Ησίοδο. Μέσαις Ελικωνίτι τόνδ' ἀνέθηκεν, Ὕμνῳ νικήσας εν Χαλκίδι θεῖον Ομηρον.” Which are two lines taken from that place in Hefiod where he mentions no antagonist, and alter'd, that the two names might be brought in, as is evident by comparing them with these, Ὕμνος νικήσαντα φέρειν τρίποδ' ἀτωέντα, Ο Αγών Ὁμήρια και Ἡσιόδα. Plut. Banquet of the seven wife men. C Το |