1 7 9 V- ON <fHI^ ^fij^%;f ¥ Of THE TROJAi^, yiTAf.' J I 



inailers of the )^orM, confidering themCelve? as defcend- 

 ed from the Trojans, had an averiion to Jiis accpunt, fo 

 far as it gave aiiy fugef iprity to the Greeks. Virgil 

 wrote to pleafe Augiiltus, and to be poj)ular. — The 

 Romitli clergy, among whom any remains of learning 

 were prefer ved, ufed the Roman language; and as it 

 was that in which Virgil had written, he was their fa- 

 VQJirite.— This happened to both, that the Latin tongue 

 being familiar, and the language in which Homer 

 wrote, a foreign one, very few could bring them to a 

 comparative trial. The Englifli, imagining themfelves 

 defcended of Brutus a Trojan, probably m imitation of 

 the Romans, had a partiality to their fuppofed ancef- 

 tors : — The Scots, believing themfelve? ol Greek de- 

 fc«nt, would probably have .adnoired. Homer : But ^ 

 tranfiation of the ^^Eueid having early appeared in Scpt;- 

 land, gave that fide confiderable advaqtage, This pre- 

 judice got ground, and long maintained it ; jevery per- 

 formance which favoured the Trojans, was greedily 

 fought after. Hence, that wretched play, Locrine, 

 and the abufe thrown agajnft the Greeks, particularly 

 Achilles, even by Shakefpeare in his Troilus and Cref- 

 fida, which, thoiigh it may give a difplay of character, 

 muft hurt a clafiical reader, but was no doubt calculat- 

 ed for the tafte of the times in which it was written.— 

 Thus flood matters, till Pope, to his immortal .honour, 

 by his tranflation, brought Homer's merits to ^ fair 

 trial. 



Tliat Homer wa-ot^ iinpart4ally, \yithout flattering 

 any pcrfon, is : obvious, from this, among other i;ea- 

 fons, he mentions actions in his heroes he could not 

 poflibly approve of : — And though he has given He- 

 len, his country-woman, every good quality he coulj, 

 confident with her character, he has given Andromache 

 one as much bettor as their ditFcrent fituations allow- 

 ed : It alfo appears, from his having lived and died fo 

 poor, that no country ac;knowledged him : He was 

 therefore, the only proper perfon for an impartial hif- 



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