(Fair Caflianira, nymph of form divine, This offspring added to King Priam's line.) As full blown poppies overcharg'd with rain 370 wafts the arrow afide from him: The poet does not tell us that this was done by the hand of a God, 'till the arrow of Teucer came Lo near Hector as to kill his charioteer, which made fome fuch contrivance neceffary. V. 371. As full-blown poppies.] This fimile is very beautiful, and exactly reprefents the manner of Gorgythion's death: There is fuch a sweetness in the comparison, that it makes us pity the youth's fall, and almost feel his wound. Virgil has applied it to the death of Euryalus. -Inque humeros cervix collapsa recumbit : This is finely improv'd by the Roman author, with the particulars of fuccifus aratro, and laffo collo. But it may on the other hand be obferv'd in the favour of Homer, that the circumftance of the head being opprefs'd and weigh'd down by the helmet, is fo remarkably juft, that it is a wonder Virgil omitted it; and the rather because he had particularly taken notice before, that it was the helmet of Euryalus which occafioned the difcovery and unfortunate death of this young hero and his friend.. One may take a general obfervation, that Homer in thofe comparifons that breath an air of tenderness, is very exact, and adapts them in every point to the fubject which he is to illuftrate: But in other comparifons, where he is to inspire the foul with fublime fentiments, he gives a loofe to his fancy, and does not regard whether the images exactly correfpond. I take the reafon of it to be this: In the first, the copy must be like the original to cause it to affect us; the glafs needs only to return the real image to make it beautiful whereas in the other, a fucceffion of noble ideas will caufe the like fentiments in the foul; and tho' the glass should inlarge the image, it only frikes us with fuch thoughts as the Poet intended to raile, fublime and great. So So finks the youth: His beauteous head, depreft Another shaft the raging archer drew; That other fhaft with erring fury flew, (From Hector Phœbus turn'd the flying wound) Yet fell not dry or guiltless to the ground: 375 Thy breast, brave Archeptolemus! it tore, And dipp'd its feathers in no vulgar gore. -380 Headlong he falls: his fudden fall alarms Then bids Cebriones direct the rein, 385 Quits his bright car, and ifïues on the plain. Dreadful he fhouts: From earth a ftone he took, The youth already ftrain'd the forceful yew; The shaft already to his fhoulder drew; 390 395 'Till great Alaftor, and Meciftheus, bore The batter'd archer groaning to the shore. 4:00 Troy yet found grace before th' Olympian Sire, He arm'd their hands, and fill'd their breafts with fire. Or in the trench on heaps confus'dly fall. First of the foe great Hector march'd along, 405 With terror cloath'd, and more than mortal firong. As the bold hound, that gives the lion chace, With beating bofom, and with eager pace, 410 Thus oft' the Grecians turn'd, but ftill they flew ; Thus following Hector ftill the hindmost flew. V. 407. As the bold bound that gives the lion chace.] This fimile is the jufteft imaginable; and gives the most lively picture of the manner in which the Grecians fled, and Hector purfued them. ftill flaughtering the hindmoft. Gratius and Oppian have given us particular defcriptions of thofe fort of dogs, of prodigious ftrength and fize, which were emplowed to hunt and tear down wild beafts. To one of these fierce animals he compares Hector, and one cannot but obferve his care not to difgrace his Grecian countrymen by an unworthy comparison: Though he is obliged to reprefent them flying, he makes them fly like lions; and as they fly, turn frequently back upon their pursuer: fo that it is hard to fay, if they, or he, be in the greater danger. On the contrary, when any of the Grecian heroes pursue the Trojans, it is he that is the lion, and the flyers are but sheep or trembling deer. Before Before the ships a defp'rate ftand they made, Still fwells the flaughter, and ftill grows the rage! So fpake th' imperial regent of the skies; To whom the Goddess with the azure eyes: 415 420 425 430 Long fince had Hector ftain'd these fields with gore, 435 But He above, the Sire of heav'n withstands, 440 a Hercules: The stubborn God, inflexible and hard, 445 Nor Styx been crofs'd, nor hell explor'd in vain. 450 To grace her gloomy, fierce, refenting fon, My hopes are fruftrate, and my Greeks undone. To call his blue ey'd maid his best belov'd. Hafte, launch thy chariot, thro' yon' ranks to ride; 455 Myfelf will arm, and thunder at thy fide. V. 439. The ftubborn God, inflexible, and hard] It must be owned that this fpeech of Minerva against Jupiter fhocks the Allegory more than perhaps any in the poem. Unless the Deities may fometimes be thought to men no more than Beings that prefided over thofe parts of nature, or thofe paffions and faculties of the mind. Thus as Venus fuggefts unlawful as well as lawful defires, fo Minerva may be defcribed as the Goddefs not only of Wisdom but of Craft: that is, both of true and falfe Wisdom. So the moral of Minerva's Speaking rafhly of Jupiter, may be, that the wifest of finite Beings is liable to paffion and indifcretion, as the commentators have already obferved. Then |