Fair Venus' neck, her eyes that sparkled fire, 490 And breast, reveal'd the Queen of foft defire. Struck with her prefence, ftrait the lively red Forfook her cheek; and, trembling, thus fhe said. Then is it ftill thy pleasure to deceive? And woman's frailty always to believe? 495 Say, to new nations muft I cross the main Or carry wars to fome foft Afian plain? For whom muft Helen break her fecond vow? Left to Atrides, (victor in the ftrife) foo An odious conqueft and a captive wife, Hence let me fail: And if thy Paris bear His spouse, or flave; and mount the skies no more. is more fine than this; the first thought of Paris's beauty over comes (unawares to herfelf) the contempt fhe had that moment conceiv'd of him upon his overthrow. This motion is but natural, and before the perceives the Deity. When the affections of a woman have been throughly gained, tho' they may be alienated for a while, they foon return upon her. Homer knew (fays Madam Dacier) what a woman is capable of who had once lov'd, For For me, to lawless love no longer led, › And keen reproach, from ev'ry Phrygian dame: Then thus incens'd, the Paphian Queen replies; Obey thy pow'r from whom thy glories rife : 15 Shou'd Venus leave thee, ev'ry charm must fly, Fade from thy cheek, and languish in thy eye. Cease to provoke me, left I make thee more The world's averfion, than their love before; Now the bright prize for which mankind engage, 20Then, the fad victim of the publick rage. .507. For me, to lawless love no longer led, I fcorn the coward.] We have here another branch of the female character, which is, to be ruled in their attaches by fuccefs. Helen finding the victory belong'd to Menelaus, accufes herself secretly of having forfaken him for the other, and immediately entertains a high opinion of the man fhe had once defpifed. One may add, that the fair fex are generally admirers of courage, and natu rally friends to great foldiers. Paris was no ftranger to this difpofition in them, and had formerly endeavour'd to give his mistress that opinion of him; as appears from her reproach to him afterwards. This .515. Should Venus leave thee, ev'ry charm must fly. was the moft dreadful of all threats, lofs of beauty and of reputation. Helen who had been proof to the perfonal appearance of the Goddefs, and durft even reproach her with bitterness just before, yields to this, and obeys all the di&tates of love. At At this, the fairest of her sex obey'd, And veil'd her blushes in a filken fhade; Unfeen, and filent, from the train fhe moves, Led by the Goddess of the Smiles and Loves. $25 Arriv'd, and enter'd at the Palace-gate, The maids officious round their mistress wait; Then all difperfing, various tasks attend; The Queen and Goddess to the Prince afcend. Full in her Paris' fight, the Queen of Love 530 Had plac'd the beauteous progeny of Jove; Where, as he view'd her charms, fhe turn'd away Her glowing eyes, and thus began to fay. Is this the Chief, who loft to fenfe of fhame Late fled the field, and yet furvives his fame? $35 Oh hadft thou dy'd beneath the righteous fword Of that brave man whom once I call'd my Lord! . 531. She turn’d away her glowing eyes.] This interview of the two lovers, plac'd oppofite to each other, and overlook'd by Venus, Paris gazing on Helena, the turning away her eyes, fhining at once with anger and love, are particulars finely drawn, and painted up to all the life of nature. Eufta. this imagines the look'd afide in the consciousness of her own weakness, as apprehending that the beauty of Paris might caufe her to relent. Her burting out into paffion and reproaches while she is in this ftate of mind, is no ill picture of frailty: Venus (as Madam Dacier obferves) does not leave her, and fondnefs will immediately fucceed to thefe reproaches. The The boafter Paris oft' defir'd the day The Prince replies, Ah ceafe, divinely fair, When $43. Ah ceafe, divinely fair.] This anfwer of Paris is the only one he could poffibly have made with any fuccefs in his circumftance. There was no other method to reconcile her to him, but that which is generally most powerful with the fex, and which Homer (who was learned every way) here makes use of. 551. Not thus I lov'd thee.] However Homer may be admired for his conduct in this paffage, I find a general outcry against Paris on this occafion. Plutar h has led the way in his treatife of reading Poets, by remarking it as a most heinous act of incontinence in him, to go to bed to his Lady in the day-time. Among the commentators the most vio lent When first entranc'd in Cranaë's ifle I lay, Thus lent is the moral expofitor Spondanus, who will not fo much as allow him to fay a civil thing to Helen. Mollis, ffœminatus, &fpurcus ille adulter, nihil de libidine fuâ imminutum dicit, fed nunc magis ea corripi quàm ungnam alias, ne quidem cùm primùm ea ipfi dedit (Latini ita rectè exprimut to μioleads in re venerea) in infula Cranaë. Cùm alioqui homines primi concubitus foleant effe ardentiores. I could not deny the reader the diverfion of this remark, nor Spondanus the glory of his zeal, who was but two and twenty when it was written. Madam Dacier is alfo very fevere upon Paris, but for a reafon more natural to a Lady: She is of opinion that the paffion of the lover would fcarce have been fo exceffive as he here describes it, but for fear of lofing his miftrefs immediately, as forefeeing the Greeks would demand her. One may answer to this lively remark, that Paris having nothing to fay for himself was obliged to teftify an uncommon ardour for his Lady, at a time when complements were to pass inftead of reafons. I hope to be excus'd, if (in revenge for her remark upon our fex) I obferve upon the behaviour of Helen throughout this book, which gives a pretty natural picture of the manners of theirs. We fee her firft in tears, repentant, cover'd with confufion at the fight of Priam, and fecretly inclin'd to return to her for mer spouse. The difgrace of Paris increafes her dislike of him, The rails, he reproaches, the wishes his death; and after all, is prevail'd upon by one kind complement, and yields to his embraces. Methinks when this Lady's obfervation and mine are laid together, the beft that can be made of them is to conclude, that fince both the fexes have their frailties, it would be well for each to forgive the other. It is worth looking backward, to obferve the allegory here carry'd on with refpect to Helen, who lives thro' this whole book in a whirl of paffions, and is agitated by turns with fentiments of honour and love. The Goddeffes made ufe of to caft the appearance of fable over the ftory, are his and Venus. When Helen is call'd to the tow'r to behold her former friends, Iris the meffenger of Juno (the Goddess of Honour) is fent for her; and when invited to the bed-chamber of |