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770Vulcan with aukward grace his office plies, And unextinguifh'd laughter shakes the skies.

Thus the bleft Gods the genial day prolong,
In feafts ambrofial, and celeftial fong.

Apollo tun'd the lyre; the Mufes round 775 With voice alternate aid the filver found.

Meantime the radiant Sun, to mortal fight
Defcending fwift, roll'd down the rapid light.
Then to their starry domes the Gods depart,
The fhining monuments of Vulcan's art:

.771. Laughter flakes the skies.] Vulcan defign'd to move laughter by taking upon him the office of Hebe and Ganymede, with his aukward limping carriage. But tho' he prevail'd, and Homer tells you the Gods did laugh, yet he takes care not to mention a word of his lameness. It would have been cruel in him, and wit out of season, to have enlarg'd with derifion upon an imperfection which is out of one's power to remedy. According to this good-natur'd opinion of Euftathius, Mr. Dryden has treated Vulcan a little barbaroudly. He makes his character perfectly comical; he is the jeft of the board, and the Gods are very merry upon the imperfections of his figure. Chapman led him into this error in general, as well as into fome indecencies of expreffion in particular, which will be feen upon comparing them.

For what concerns the laughter attributed here to the Gods, fee the Notes on lib. 5. . 517.

. 778. Then to their ftarry Domes.] The Aftrologers affign twelve houses to the Planets, wherein they are faid to have dominion. Now because Homer tells us Vulcan built a manhion for every God, the ancients write that he first gave occa fion for this doctrine.

780 Jove on his couch reclin'd his awful head,

And Juno flumber'd on the golden bed.

.780. Jove on his couch reclin'd his awful head.] Euftathius makes a diftinction between xaúde and v; the words which are used at the end of this book and the beginning of the next, with regard to Jupiter's fleeping. He fays nabude only means lying down in a difpofition to fleep; which falves the contradiction that elfe would follow in the next book, where it is faid Jupiter did not fleep. I only mention this to vindicate the tranflation which differs from Mr. Dryden's.

It has been remark'd by the fcholiafts, that this is the only book of the twenty four without any fimile, a figure in which Homer abounds every where elfe. The like remark is made by Madam Dacier upon the first of the Odysey; and because the Poet has obferv'd the fame conduct in both works, it is concluded he thought a fimplicity of ftyle, without the great figures, was proper during the firft information of the reader. This obfervation may be true, and admits of refin'd reafonings; but for my part I cannot think the book had been the worfe, tho' he had thrown in as many fimiles as Virgil has in the first Æneid.

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The ARGUMENT.

and catalogue

The tryal of the army and

J

of the forces.

UPITER in pursuance of the request of Thetis, fends a deceitful vifion to Agamemnon, perfuading him to Lead the army to battel; in order to make the Greeks fenfible of their want of Achilles. The General, who is deluded with the hopes of taking Troy without his affiftance, but fears the army was difcourag'd by his abfence and the late plague, as well as by length of time, contrives to make trial of their difpofition by a stratagem. He first communicates his defign to the Princes in council, that he would propofe a return to the foldiers, and that they should put a stop to them if the propofal was embrac'd. Then he affembles the whole hoft, and upon moving for a return to Greece, they unanimously agree to it, and run to prepare the ships. They are detain'd by the management of Ulyffes, who chaftifes the infolence of Therfites. The Affembly is recall'd, feveral speeches made on the occafion, and at length the advice of Neftor follow'd, which was to make a general muster of the troops, and to divide them into their feveral nations, before they proceeded to battel. This gives occafion to the Poet to enumerate all the forces of the Greeks and Trojans, in a large catalogue.

The time employ'd in this book confifts not entirely of one day. The fcene lies in the Grecian camp and upon the fea-fhore; toward the end it removes to Troy.

THE

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