25 Canft thou, with all a Monarch's cares oppreft,

Oh Atreus' fon; canft thou indulge thy reft?
Ill fits a Chief who mighty nations guides,
Directs in council, and in war prefides,

To whom its fafety a whole people owes, 30 To wafte long nights in indolent repose.

Monarch awake! 'tis Jove's command I bear,
Thou, and thy glory, claim his heav'nly care.
In juft array draw forth th' embattel'd train,
Lead all thy Grecians to the dusty plain;

Ev'n

. 33. Draw forth th' embattel'd train, &c] The dream here repeats the meffage of Jupiter in the fame terms that he receiv'd it. It is no less than the Father of Gods and Men who gives the order, and to alter a word were prefumption. Homer conftantly makes his envoys obferve this practice as a mark of decency and refpect. Madam Dacier and others have applauded this in general, and ask'd by what authority an embaffador could alter the terms of his commiffion, fince he is not greater or wifer than the person who gave the charge? But this is not always the cafe in our author, who not only makes use of this conduct with respect to the orders of a higher power, but in regard to equals alfo; as when one Goddels defires another to reprefent fuch an affair, and she immediately takes the words from her mouth and repeats them, of which we have an inftance in this book. Some objection roo may be rais'd to this manner, when commiffions are given in the utmost haste (in a battel or the like) upon fudden emergencies, where ir feems not very natural to fuppofe a man has time to get fo many words by heart as he is made to repeat exactly. In the prefent inftance, the repetition is certainly graceful, tho' Zenodotus thought it not fo the third time, when Agamemnon tells his dream to the council. I do not pretend to decide upon the point: For tho' the reverence

of

35 Ev'n now, O King! 'tis giv'n thee to destroy
The lofty tow'rs of wide-extended Tray.

For now no more the Gods with fate contend,
At Juno's fuit the heav'nly factions end.
Destruction hangs o'er yon' devoted wall,
40 And nodding Ilion waits th' impending fall.
Awake, but waking this advice approve,

And trust the vision that descends from Jove.

The Phantome faid; then vanifh'd from his fight,
Refolves to air, and mixes with the night.

45 A thousand schemes the Monarch's mind employ;
Elate in thought, he facks untaken Troy:
Vain as he was, and to the future blind;
Nor faw what Jove and fecret fate design'd,
What mighty toils to either hoft remain,
Jo What scenes of grief, and numbers of the flain!
Eager he rifes, and in fancy hears

The voice celeftial murm'ring in his ears.
First on his limbs a flender veft he drew,
Around him next the regal mantle threw,

of the repetition feem'd lefs needful in that place, than when it was deliver'd immediately from Jupiter; yet (as Euftathins obferves) it was neceflary for the affembly to know the circumftances of this dream, that the truth of the relation might be unfufpected.

55 Th' embroider'd fandals on his feet were ty'd:
The starry faulchion glitter'd at his fide ;;
And laft his arm the maffy fceptre loads,.
Unftain'd, immortal, and the gift of Gods..

Now rofie morn afcends the court of Jove,
60 Lifts up her light, and opens day above.
The King difpatch'd his heralds with commands.
To range the camp, and fummon all the bands;
The gathering hosts the monarch's word obey!:
While to the fleet Atrides bends his way..

65 In his black ship the Pylian Prince he found;

There calls a Senate of the Peers around:

Th' affembly plac'd, the King, of men expreft.
The counfels lab'ring in his artful breaft.

Friends and Confed'rates! with attentive ear:
Receive my words, and credit what you hear..
Late as I flumber'd in the fhades of night,
A dream divine appear'd before my fight;
Whofe vifionary form like Neftor came,

The fame in habit, and in mein the fame..
75 The heav'nly Phantome hover'd o'er my bead,
And, doft thou sleep, Oh Atreus' fon? (he faid)
Ill fits a Chief who mighty nations guides,

Directs in council, and in war prefides,

To whom its fafety a whole people owes;
o To wafte long nights in indolent repofe.
Monarch awake! 'tis Jove's command I bear,
Thou and thy glory claim his heav'nly care;
In just array draw forth th' embattled train,
And lead the Grecians to the dufty plain;
85 Ev'n now, O King! 'tis giv'n thee to deftroy
The lofty tow'rs of wide-extended Troy.

For now no more the Gods with fate contend,
At Juno's fuit the heav'nly factions end.
Destruction hangs o'er yon' devoted wall,
90 And nodding Ilion waits th' impending fall..
This hear obfervant, and the Gods obey!"
The Vifion fpoke, and past in air away.
Now, valiant chiefs! fince heav'n itself alarms,
Unite, and rouze the fons of Greece to arms.

But

. 93. Now, valiant chiefs, &c.] The best commentary ex tant upon the first part of this book is in Dionyfius of Halicarnaffus, who has given us an admirable explication of this whole conduct of Agamemnon in his fecond treatise П Malov. He fays, "This Prince had nothing fo much at "heart as to draw the Greeks to a battel, yet knew not how to proceed without Achilles, who had juft retir'd from the army; and was apprehenfive that the Greeks who were dif "pleas'd at the departure of Achilles, might refuse obedience to his orders, fhould he abfolutely command it. In this circumftance he propofes to the Princes in council to make

"a tryal.

95 But first, with caution, try what yet they dare,
Worn with nine years of unfuccessful war?
To move the troops to measure back the main,
Be mine; and yours the province to detain.

He fpoke, and fate; when Neftor rifing faid,
100 (Neftor, whom Pylos' fandy realms obey'd)
Princes of Greece, your faithful ears incline,
Nor doubt the vifion of the pow'rs divine,

..

a tryal of arming the Grecians, and offers an expedient himfelf; which was that he should found their difpofitions by "exhorting them to fet fail for Greece, but that then the other "Princes fhould be ready to diffuade and detain them. If "any object to this ftratagem, that Agamemnon's whole fcheme "would be ruin'd if the army should take him at his word "(which was very probable) it is to be anfwer'd, that his "defign lay deeper than they imagine, nor did he depend "upon his fpeech only for detaining them. He had fome "caufe to fear the Greeks had a pique against him which they "had conceal'd, and whatever it was, he judg'd it abfolutely neceffary to know it before he proceeded to a battel. He "therefore furnishes them with an occafion to manifeft it, "and at the fame time provides against any ill effects it might have, by his fecret orders to the Princes. It fucceeds accordingly, and when the troops are running to embark, they are ftopp'd by Ulyffes and Neftor. -One may farther obferve that this whole ftratagem is concerted in Neftor's fhip, as one whofe wifdom and fecrecy was moft confided in. The ftory of the vifion's appearing in his fhape, could not but en gage him in fome degree: It look'd as if Jupiter himself added weight to his counfels by making ufe of that venerable appearance, and knew this to be the most powerful method of recommending them to Agamemnon. It was therefore but natural for Neftor to fecond the motion of the King, and by the help of his authority it prevail'd on the other Princes.

Sent