By the GREEKS. 51 



THIS laft may be divided into two parts. Thefirft part contains 

 an account of the Trojan war, quite oppofite, in moft particu- 

 lars, to that of HOMER j and this, CHRYSOSTOM fays, he made 

 up, partly from information, which he too pretends to have ob- 

 tained from an Egyptian prieft, and partly from what appeared 

 to him to be moft probable. The other, and by, far the moft 

 valuable part, is an argument to prove, that HOMER'S account 

 muft appear, when examined with attention, to be falfe, abfurd, 

 and contradictory to itfelf. As the detail which CHRYSOSTOM 

 gives is not vouched or authenticated in any fhape, I fhall ftate 

 no more of it than is necefTary for underftanding the argu- 

 mentative part of his difcourfe, which merits the greateft atten- 

 tion. CASAUBON, who writes fome notes on this author, fays 

 of this diflertation ; " Dignus plane liber hie, quern legant 

 " philologi, et quicunque in veterum fcriptis cum judicio capiunt 

 " verfari ; quamvis et pro HOMERO multa dici pofTunt." 



IT is not, however, my intention to tranflate this part of the 

 difcourfe, nor even to abridge it, but only to felec"l from it the 

 arguments that appeared to me the moft conclufive and ftriking, 

 to enforce them by fome additional confiderations, and to add 

 fome obfervations that have occurred to myfelf in reading and 

 reflecting on this very important and interefting article of an- 

 cient hiftory. 



ACCORDING to this author, HELEN, the daughter of TYN- 

 DARUS, king of Sparta, was, by far, the moft beautiful woman 

 of her time, and had a great number of fuitors, amongft whom 

 were MENELAUS and PARIS. The latter was preferred by. the 

 lady to all the reft, on account of the graces of his perfon and 

 addrefs ; and his magnificent prefents obtained the confent of 

 TYNDARUS, her father, who befides was defirous of connecting 

 himfelf with Afia. Upon this MENELAUS, and the other Greeks, 

 partly from refentment of the affront which they thought they 

 had received, and partly from the hope of plunder, invaded 



g 2 Troas. 



