And feize fecure; No more Achilles draws 395 His conqu'ring fword in any woman's cause. The Gods command me to forgive the past; But let this firft invafion be the laft: For know, thy blood, when next thou dar'ft invade, Where near his tents his hollow veffels lay. . 943 No more Achilles draws His conqu'ring fword in any woman's caufe.] When Achilles promifes, not to conteft for Brifers, he expreffes it in a fharp defpifing air, I will not fight for the fake of a woman: by which he glances at Helena, and cafts an oblique reflexion upon thofe commanders whom he is about to leave at the fiege for her caufe. One may obferve how well it is fancy'd of the Poet, to make one woman the ground of a quarrel which breaks an alliance that was only form'd upon account of another: and how much the circumftance thus confider'd contributes to keep up the anger of Achtiles, for carrying on the Poem beyond this diffolution of the council. For (as he himself argues with Ulysses in the 9th Iliad) it is as rea fonable for him to retain his anger upon the account of Brifeïs, as for the brothers with all Greece to carry on a war upon the fcore of Helena. I do not know that any commentator has taken notice of this farcafm of Achilles, which I think a very obvious one. Safe in her fides the hecatomb they stow'd, Then swiftly failing, cut the liquid road. Are cleans'd, and cast th' ablutions in the main. And waft their grateful odours to the skies. Hafte to the fierce Achilles' tent (he cries) .413. Th' oblutions.] All our former English trasfations feem to have err'd in the fenfe of this line; the word aúμala being differently render'd by them, offals, or entrails, or purgaments, or ordures, a grofs fett of ideas, of which Homer is not guilty. The word comes from asw, eluo, the fame verb from whence vaivarlo, which precedes in the line, is deriv'd. So that the fense appears to be as it is render'd here [They wafh'd, and threw away their wafhings.] Perhaps this luftra tion might be used as a phyfical remedy in cleansing them from the infection of the plague: as Paufanias tells us it was by the Arcadians, from whence he fays the plague was called xúμm by the Greeks. Submit he muft; or if they will not part, 425 Our felf in arms fhall tear her from his heart. Th' unwilling heralds act their lord's commands; Penfive thy walk along the barren fands: Arriv'd, the Heroe in his ten: they find, 435 Ye facred minifters of men and Gods! I know your meffage; by constraint you came; .430. At awful distance filent.] There was requir'd a very remarkable management to preferve all the characters which are concern'd in this nice conjun&ture, wherein the heralds were to obey at their peril; Agamemnon was to be gratify'd by an infult on Achilles; and Achilles was to fuffer fo as might become his pride, and not have his violent temper provok'd. From all this the Poet has found the fecret to extricate him!elf, by only taking care to make his heralds ftand in fight, and filent. Thus they neither make Agamemnon's majesty tuffer by uttering their meffage fubmiffively, nor occafion a rough treatment from Achilles by demanding Brifer's in the peremptory air he order'd; and at the fame time Achilles is gratify'd with the opportunity of giving her up, as if he rather fent her than was forc'd to relinquish her. The art of this has been taken notice of by Euftathius. Patroclus hafte, the fair Brifeïs bring; Conduct my captive to the haughty King. 440 But witnefs, heralds, and proclaim my vow, Witness to Gods above, and men below! But firft, and loudest, to your Prince declare, 445 Tho' proftrate Greece fhould bleed at ev'ry vein: 450 . 451. She in foft forrows.] The behaviour of Brifeïs in her departure is no lefs beautifully imagin'd than the former. A French or Italian Poet had lavish'd all his wit and paffion in two long speeches on this occafion, which the heralds muft have wept to hear; instead of which Homer gives us a fine picture of nature. We fee Brifeis paffing unwillingly along, with a dejected air, melted in tenderness, and not able to utter a word: And in the lines immediately following, we have a contrafte to this in the gloomy refentment of Achilles, who fuddenly retires to the fhore and vents his rage aloud to the feas. The variation of the numbers juft in this place adds a great beauty to it, which has been endeavour'd at in the tranflation. Not Not fo his lofs the fierce Achilles bore; 455 But fad retiring to the founding fhore, 460 O'er the wild margin of the deep he hung, That kindred deep, from whence his mother fprung Thus loud lamented to the ftormy main. O parent Goddess! fince in early bloom . 458. There, bath'd in tears.] Euftathius obferves on this place that it is no weakness in Heroes to weep, but the very effect of humanity and proof of a generous temper; for which he offers feveral inftances, and takes notice that if Sophocles would not let Ajax weep, it is because he is drawn rather as a madman than a heroe. But this general obfervation is not all we can offer in excufe for the tears of Achilles : His are tears of anger and difdain (as I have ventur'd to call them in the Tranflation) of which a great and fiery temper is more fufceptible than any other; and even in this cafe Homer has taken care to preserve the high character, by making him retire to vent his tears out of fight. And we may add to thefe an obfervation of which Madam Dacier is fond, the reason why Agamemnon parts not in tears from Chryfets, and Achilles does from Brifeis: The one parts willingly from his miftrefs; and because he does it for his people's fafety it becomes an honour to him: the other is parted unwillingly, and because his General takes her by force, the action reflects a dishonour upon him. #. 464. The Thund'rer ow'd.] This alludes to a story which G 3 |