Here, then, in the anomaly as in the
propriety
of the
Iliad, the destiny of Achilles, or rather this peculiar crisis of
it, forms the pervading bond of connexion to the whole poem.
Iliad, the destiny of Achilles, or rather this peculiar crisis of
it, forms the pervading bond of connexion to the whole poem.
Iliad - Pope
See Virg. ? n. viii. 181. Thus Benjamin was honoured with a "double
portion. " Gen. xliii. 34.
186 --_Embattled walls. _ "Another essential basis of mechanical unity in
the poem is the construction of the rampart. This takes place in the
seventh book. The reason ascribed for the glaring improbability that
the Greeks should have left their camp and fleet unfortified during
nine years, in the midst of a hostile country, is a purely poetical
one: 'So long as Achilles fought, the terror of his name sufficed to
keep every foe at a distance. ' The disasters consequent on his
secession first led to the necessity of other means of protection.
Accordingly, in the battles previous to the eighth book, no allusion
occurs to a rampart; in all those which follow it forms a prominent
feature.
Here, then, in the anomaly as in the propriety of the
Iliad, the destiny of Achilles, or rather this peculiar crisis of
it, forms the pervading bond of connexion to the whole poem. "--Mure,
vol. i. , p. 257.
187 --_What cause of fear,_ &c.
"Seest thou not this? Or do we fear in vain
Thy boasted thunders, and thy thoughtless reign? "
Dryden's Virgil, iv. 304.
188 --_In exchange. _ These lines are referred to by Theophilus, the Roman
lawyer, iii. tit. xxiii. Section 1, as exhibiting the most ancient
mention of barter.
189 "A similar bond of connexion, in the military details of the
narrative, is the decree issued by Jupiter, at the commencement of
the eighth book, against any further interference of the gods in the
battles.
