121) "is
taken from the passage of Homer, II ix, in translating which, Pope,
with that squeamish, artificial taste, which distinguished the age
of Anne, omits the natural (and, let me add, affecting)
circumstance.
taken from the passage of Homer, II ix, in translating which, Pope,
with that squeamish, artificial taste, which distinguished the age
of Anne, omits the natural (and, let me add, affecting)
circumstance.
Iliad - Pope
_ The topography of Orchomenus, in Boeotia,
"situated," as it was, "on the northern bank of the lake ? pais,
which receives not only the river Cephisus from the valleys of
Phocis, but also other rivers from Parnassus and Helicon" (Grote,
vol. p. 181), was a sufficient reason for its prosperity and decay.
"As long as the channels of these waters were diligently watched and
kept clear, a large portion of the lake was in the condition of
alluvial land, pre-eminently rich and fertile. But when the channels
came to be either neglected, or designedly choked up by an enemy,
the water accumulated in such a degree as to occupy the soil of more
than one ancient islet, and to occasion the change of the site of
Orchomenus itself from the plain to the declivity of Mount
Hyphanteion. " (Ibid. )
210 The phrase "hundred gates," &c. , seems to be merely expressive of a
great number. See notes to my prose translation, p. 162.
211 Compare the following pretty lines of Quintus Calaber (Dyce's Select
Translations, p 88). --
"Many gifts he gave, and o'er
Dolopia bade me rule; thee in his arms
He brought an infant, on my bosom laid
The precious charge, and anxiously enjoin'd
That I should rear thee as my own with all
A parent's love. I fail'd not in my trust
And oft, while round my neck thy hands were lock'd,
From thy sweet lips the half articulate sound
Of Father came; and oft, as children use,
Mewling and puking didst thou drench my tunic. "
"This description," observes my learned friend (notes, p.
121) "is
taken from the passage of Homer, II ix, in translating which, Pope,
with that squeamish, artificial taste, which distinguished the age
of Anne, omits the natural (and, let me add, affecting)
circumstance. "
"And the wine
Held to thy lips, and many a time in fits
Of infant frowardness the purple juice
Rejecting thou hast deluged all my vest,
And fill'd my bosom. "
--Cowper.
212 --_Where Calydon. _ For a good sketch of the story of Meleager, too
long to be inserted here, see Grote, vol. i. p. 195, sqq. ; and for
the authorities, see my notes to the prose translation, p. 166.
213 "_Gifts can conquer_"--It is well observed by Bishop Thirlwall,
"Greece," vol. i. p, 180, that the law of honour among the Greeks
did not compel them to treasure up in their memory the offensive
language which might be addressed to them by a passionate adversary,
nor to conceive that it left a stain which could only be washed away
by blood. Even for real and deep injuries they were commonly willing
to accept a pecuniary compensation. "
214 "The boon of sleep. "--Milton
215 "All else of nature's common gift partake:
Unhappy Dido was alone awake.
"situated," as it was, "on the northern bank of the lake ? pais,
which receives not only the river Cephisus from the valleys of
Phocis, but also other rivers from Parnassus and Helicon" (Grote,
vol. p. 181), was a sufficient reason for its prosperity and decay.
"As long as the channels of these waters were diligently watched and
kept clear, a large portion of the lake was in the condition of
alluvial land, pre-eminently rich and fertile. But when the channels
came to be either neglected, or designedly choked up by an enemy,
the water accumulated in such a degree as to occupy the soil of more
than one ancient islet, and to occasion the change of the site of
Orchomenus itself from the plain to the declivity of Mount
Hyphanteion. " (Ibid. )
210 The phrase "hundred gates," &c. , seems to be merely expressive of a
great number. See notes to my prose translation, p. 162.
211 Compare the following pretty lines of Quintus Calaber (Dyce's Select
Translations, p 88). --
"Many gifts he gave, and o'er
Dolopia bade me rule; thee in his arms
He brought an infant, on my bosom laid
The precious charge, and anxiously enjoin'd
That I should rear thee as my own with all
A parent's love. I fail'd not in my trust
And oft, while round my neck thy hands were lock'd,
From thy sweet lips the half articulate sound
Of Father came; and oft, as children use,
Mewling and puking didst thou drench my tunic. "
"This description," observes my learned friend (notes, p.
121) "is
taken from the passage of Homer, II ix, in translating which, Pope,
with that squeamish, artificial taste, which distinguished the age
of Anne, omits the natural (and, let me add, affecting)
circumstance. "
"And the wine
Held to thy lips, and many a time in fits
Of infant frowardness the purple juice
Rejecting thou hast deluged all my vest,
And fill'd my bosom. "
--Cowper.
212 --_Where Calydon. _ For a good sketch of the story of Meleager, too
long to be inserted here, see Grote, vol. i. p. 195, sqq. ; and for
the authorities, see my notes to the prose translation, p. 166.
213 "_Gifts can conquer_"--It is well observed by Bishop Thirlwall,
"Greece," vol. i. p, 180, that the law of honour among the Greeks
did not compel them to treasure up in their memory the offensive
language which might be addressed to them by a passionate adversary,
nor to conceive that it left a stain which could only be washed away
by blood. Even for real and deep injuries they were commonly willing
to accept a pecuniary compensation. "
214 "The boon of sleep. "--Milton
215 "All else of nature's common gift partake:
Unhappy Dido was alone awake.
