POETRY. 
of Hefiod muft be founded from a review of the above- 
named compofitions. In both, we (hall find him a 
pleafing and original poet, a mild and fenfible philofopher, 
perfeffly acquainted with the manners and culloms of his 
age, and pofleffing a purity of diftion, and a gravity of 
numbers, more uniformly preferved perhaps than in any 
other Greek. It has been too much the cuftom to com¬ 
pare him with Homer, without confidering that mod: of 
the objefts which Hefiod has celebrated, did not require 
that dignity of ftyle, and elevation of fentiment, which 
the fubjefts of Homer demanded and obtained. The 
venerable (implicity of his ftyle may fufficiently gratify 
thofe who do not always feek in poetry for luxuriance of 
imagery, or boldnefs of metaphor. The elegant variety, 
the grand yet harmonious expreffion, the frequent profo- 
popoeias, of Homer, are nor to be found in the poems of 
the Afcraean Bard ; but the facility of his manner, and 
the foftnefs of his colouring, have always rendered him a 
favourite among the admirers of (implicity and nature. 
Of all the Greek poets, he is the moft familiar to be read, 
and he is, in feme degree, neceftary to the underftanding 
of the reft. The names of their deities, the ceremonies 
of their worfliip, and the peculiar attributes of each ; in a 
word, all the wonders of that mythological fyftem which 
has fo much a (Tilted the imagination, and enriched the 
productions of fubfequent poets, are derived from this 
fource. The precepts interfperfed throughout his poems, 
are always ftriftly moral and virtuous. The following 
are fublime : “Men know not the true value of fociety. 
They know not that half is worth more than the whole.” 
“ Juftice alone gives profperity to a Hate.” “The road of 
crime is ftiort and pleafant; that of virtue is long and 
difficult, but near the goal it is delicious.” “God has 
placed labour as a fentinel to virtue.” 
The early lyric poets of Greece have left but partial 
fragments of their labours j but hiftorians uniformly fup- 
port the opinion, that the Greek odes had a great in¬ 
fluence on the political grandeur of their country. 
Some odes were fung in the temple ; and fome of the Tub* 
limed thoughts of creation and the Deity, formed the bads 
of thefe facred poems. The odes ferved alfo as a hiftory of 
the more memorable heroes and aClions; and, continually 
recited to their armies, infpired martial courage and con¬ 
tempt of death. They graced moreover the tables of 
kings and chieftains, and thus civilized and refined 
the brutal tendernefs of defpotic power. Laftly, they 
lent a facred and confoling majeftv to the tomb. Fu¬ 
neral odes were common. How much is it to be re¬ 
gretted that fo little ftores remain to us of their divine 
productions ; and that that little is not of the loftieft 
kind ! 
We pafs rapidly through a view of the lyric poets of 
Greece. Linus has the honour to be reckoned the firft 
man in poetic (lory j but none of his pieces ever de¬ 
fended to pofterity. Next follows the celebrated name 
of Orpheus, wliofe ftory is fo remarkably interefting ; but 
of this name, grammarians reckon no fewer than five epic 
poets. Orpheus Chrotoniates, who was contemporary 
with Pififtratus, and lived in great favour and familiarity 
at the Athenian court, is faid to have written the Argo- 
nautics, the Hymns and the Poems de Lapidibus, which 
are extant. All the poets have joined in celebrating the 
wonderful eft’eCts of his lyre. Ovid gives us a lift of 
foreft-trees that danced to his mufic. Seneca gives him 
power over woods, rivers, rocks, wild beads, and infernal 
fpirits. Manilius enumerates all the fupernatural pro¬ 
perties of his lyre. And even Horace thus (peaks of him: 
Sylveftres homines facer interprefque deorum 
Casdibus & viftu faedo deterruit Orpheus, 
DiCfus ab hoc lenire tigres rabidolque leones. 
Mu feus, like his two predeceffors, has reached our 
times with no pofitive teftimonies, but his name and the 
general praife once aferibed to his verfe; Paufanius fays, 
Vol, XX. No. 1407. 
757 
that there are no certain remains of Mufeus, except his 
Hymn to Ceres. The beautiful ftory of Hero and Leander 
pafles under bis name ; but it has been generally fuppofed 
that it was written, not by the old Mufeus, but by fome 
learned grammarian of the fame name, who lived in all 
probability about the fifth century. In its uncommon 
fweetnefs and beautiful fimplicity, it is not unworthy of 
the ancient bards. The (lory is well known, but the 
manner in which Mufeus treats it is exquifite. He fets 
out with profeffing to celebrate only the torch that guided 
Leander on his perilous way, of which he beautifully 
obferves, that Jupiter (hould afterwards have affigned it a 
place among the conftellations, in confideration of its 
fervices in the caufe of love. He then introduces the 
mention of the lover collaterally with much fpirit and 
elegance ; and, after deferibing the fituation of the cities 
in which the lovers refpeftively refided, the poet addrelfes 
his reader in the following drains : 
- ■ ■ —Ev, unols yei 9 t Tracers:?, 
Ai^so ptoi rivet, mv^yov, oirn non E^ria? ‘Hg&» 
Iralo Xv^pot typvtja. yai Ziyepopevs Aeupl'ga. 
Ai^io 1^’ ufyptiYiS a,XiY)%zee TrogSpov ’A SvDov, 
’El? eh nov yXetiovlcc yto^ov yot 1 Egwlai Ae ctp^ou- 
Thou, if by chance thy footfteps (hould explore 
The paths of that love-confecrated fliore, 
Go, feek the tow’r where Seftian Hero (food 
To guide her lover o’er the dwelling flood ; 
Go, feek Abydos’ (traits, Leander’s tomb, 
Whofe weeping furges yet deplore his doom. 
He then goes on to fpeak of the feftival of Venus at 
Seftos, aud the crowd of congregated youths who flocked 
to it from all parts of Greece and Alia Minor, for the 
purpofe of feeing the numerous females collefted at the 
folemnity. Hero makes her appearance in the temple, 
and we have the following exquifite defeription of her 
beauty : 
But now the virgin prieftefs with her train, 
Majeftic moves through Venus’ facred fane. 
Her lovely cheek difplays the pureft white, 
Like riling Dian’s filvery beams of light; 
While in the midft a ruby circle glows, 
So mingling colours deck the varied rofe. 
He who furvey’d her motion might have faid, 
Her limbs of rofes were one beauteous bed, 
Which her white robe but ill conceal’d from view, 
As, from beneath, blufti’d deep their rofeate hue : 
Falfe were the fables of antiquity, 
That made the number of the Graces three, 
For he that gaz’d on Hero’s face could fpy 
A hundred graces laugh in either eye. 
The effeft produced upon the youths of the aflembly 
by the fight of fuch fuperior attradfions, and their various 
exclamations of furprileand admiration are well narrated. 
The impreffion, however, made upon the mind of 
Leander is very different from that experienced by the 
others; and, while they are content to admire, he 
inftantly loves. At the firft view of the beauteous 
prieftefs, 
"Zvv (sXetpapap a.yritnv ote^ero nv^cros egulav, 
K mi ypet^ivi ira.tpXa^ev ixviytirov wvgo? oppri- 
The light of love-beams fparkles from his eyes, 
And in his bofom quenchlefs flames arife. 
Paffion infpires him with confidence ; he approaches 
Hero, finds means to fix her attention, and has the grati¬ 
fication of perceiving that her looks and geftures indicate 
both a knowledge of his vvi(hes, and her approbation of 
them. Emboldened by thefe fymptoms, fo favourable 
to his hopes, when the day begins to decline, and the af- 
fembly to difperfe, he comes behind her, and, uttering a 
figh, takes hold of her hand. This freedom (lie affefts to 
refent, and, with a (fumed indignation, rebukes his pre- 
9 G fumption 
