Homer

“ He, unto Ilion's shores, had guided the ships of Achaia.
Now, much moved for the weal of the people, he spake to Achilleus.
"Thou, O beloved of Zeus, O Achilleus, bidst me discover
Whence is the wrath of the King, of the far-darting archer Apollo.
At thy command, then, I speak:—but do thou, by the faith of a monarch,
Swear with the word of thy mouth and the might of thine arm to protect me.
Little, perchance, will the tale I must tell please a notable leader;
Mightily ruling in Argos;—renown'd among all the Achaians.
Monarch to private man is in sooth an unequal opponent. ”

“ Then did they weigh, and depart, to the host of the sons of Achaia.
Right in the wake of the bark was a fresh breeze sent by Apollo:
Up went the mast high aloft, and the white sail flutter'd afore it:
Fill'd out the sail in the breeze;—and loud 'neath the stem of the galley
Rippled the blue sea-wave; as the bark got her way full upon her,⁠480
Springing from surge to surge, and cleaving a path thro' the waters. ”

“ Full of the work are my hands in the toil and heat of the battle:
Mine is the weight of the war: but when men share in the plunder
Thine are the great rewards; while I, worn down by the conflict,
Blest with a niggard gift, must march content to my vessels.
But to the shores of Phthia the black-beak'd prows of my galleys
Home shall return:—better far it were so!—What then will Atrides
Gain of plunder or spoil, by himself left sole and deserted?" ⁠170
Then to the chief in reply spake the King of men—Agamemnon. ”

“ Bulls, and the blood of goats, have nourish'd the flame of thine altars;
Tear for tear that I shed, let a Danaan [6] die by thine arrows!"
Earnestly pray'd his priest; and the prayer rose to Phœbus Apollo!
Down from the peaks of Olympus, in all of the pride of his anger,
Down the avenger came:—and the silver bow on his shoulder,
Clang'd as he rush'd along; and the shafts rattled loud in the quiver,
E'en as alive with the wrath of the God:—as like night he descended. ”

“ Rising above their ranks, thus spake the swift-footed Achilleus!—
"Sure, it were better, Atrides, that we, the remains of the people,
Wandering back as we came, should fly, if we can, from destruction! ⁠60
War and pest combined are thinning the ranks of Achaia.
Let us at least consult some prophet or skilful diviner,
E'en an expounder of dreams— (for Zeus sends dreams to the dreamer,) —
He may reveal what cause thus enrages Phœbus Apollo. ”

“ Then at Atrides' word did the host perform a lustration:
Washing from all that defiles; and casting to sea the defilement.
Goats then and broadneck'd bulls, on the shore of the desolate Ocean,
Unto Apollo died:—whole hecatombs meet for his altars.
Curling roll'd to the skies the acceptable smoke of the victims. ”

“ Strong if thou art, it is God who has given thee strength to presume on.
Hence then!—Fly, with thy ships, and thyself, and thy doughty companions!—
Rule as thou pleasest thy Myrmidon vassals!—As nought I regard thee,
Thee and thine anger alike:—and here it is mine to threaten. ⁠180
True is it Chryses' daughter is claimed by Phœbus Apollo:
Home shall the maiden return, in my ship, with my chosen companions.
But, in the self-same day, Brisèis, daintily featured,
Thine own prize, [10] do I seize; within thy tent do I seize her. ”

“ The case is necessarily one for compromises. Few, however, who have themselves tried to translate the Iliad, or who are intimately familiar with the poem, can doubt that a close adherence to the peculiar structure, is all but essential to a due rendering of the spirit of the original. The antithetical arrangement of that original, and the continual embodiment of separate images, in separate lines, or couplets—or even portions—of lines, can never be adequately represented by a translation which admits systematically of a breaking up and fusion of the ideas of the great poet. ”

“ Thus was the host employ'd.—But the monarch, the King Agamemnon,
Put not away his wrath, nor forgot his threat to Achilleus.
He to Talthybius, and to Eurybates, call'd and address'd them.
Heralds they of the King, and tried and trusty attendants.
"Go to Achilleus' tent—to the tent of haughty Pelides—
Seize and bring from thence Brisèis, daintily featured.
If he refuse to yield, ourself in person will seize her:—
Seize her by force of numbers:—perchance it would gall him the deeper!"—
Thus did the monarch speak, and he straitly enjoined, and dismissed them. ”

“ Unto his well-built altar, and ranged them in order before it.
Washing their hands, they waved salt cake o'er the heads of the victims.
Then pray'd Chryses aloud, with hands raised high to the heavens. ”

“ Were they not such, Atrides, thy pride had ere this been abated! ⁠230
List but a moment longer, and mark the great oath I am swearing!—
Even by this very sceptre—which, stripped of its leaves and its branches,
Never to know them again, left its parent stem on the mountains,
Never again to bud forth [11] —for the cold keen steel has dissever'd
Leaves, and shoots, and bark; and thus do the sons of Achaia,
They who defend Heaven's right, and enforce the will of the Highest,
Bear it, as sign of sway:—ay! ”

“ In writing thus, the Translator must not be supposed to be viewing with self-complacency his own efforts as compared with those of others; but merely to express his continued adherence to the metre which he originally selected; and which he believes has the sanction of a sufficient number of educated readers, to prevent the publication of an Hexameter translation of the Iliad, of even average merit, being treated as a literary intrusion. ”

“ Lest, if thou move me to wrath, not the whole of the Gods of Olympus,
All combined, may avail to release this grasp, if I clutch thee."
Thus spake the God : — and afraid was the broad-eyed beautiful Here ;
Silent she sat ; with her breast scarce restraining the swell of her passion.
Sore in the dome of Zeus, were the Gods distress'd at the contest.
Then to appease such strife did Hephaestus, notable artist, 57 °
Speak to them, soothing the mind of his mother, the white-arm'd Goddess. ”

“ Whether a broken vow, or gift withheld from his altar,
Angers the God:—and whether the blood of lambs and of sucklings,
Spotless, slain at his shrine, may appease and stay the destroyer."
Thus did he speak ”

“ In it, and in it alone, is it possible, he believes, to combine adequate fidelity to the original, with that vigor and rapidity of movement, without which a translation may reproduce the ideas of the poet, and may be an exceedingly elaborate, elegant, and artistic production, but is not Homer; any more than the obelisk of Luxor is the Matterhorn. The want of rapidity of movement may be considered to be the one great drawback from the merits of the recent translation by Lord Derby, as also from those of the far less known, yet more vigorous, translation now in course of publication by Mr. ”

“ A few foot-notes, and a list of Greek proper names with their Latin synonyms, are inserted, for the benefit of the general reader.
In conclusion, he has only to thank those friends who have favoured him with advice and assistance during the progress of the work. ”

“ In Greek In Latin, or English, Agelaia Representing A name of Minerva. Aïdòneus Representing„ Pluto. Aphrodìte Representing„ Venus. Apollo Representing„ Apollo. Àres [1] Representing„ Mars. Athène [1] Representing„ Minerva. ”