20 
Virgil and Horace. It is a matter of 
astonishment, as Heyne remarks,* that 
Homer and Pindar, and even Hero- 
dotus, the three most ancient of heathen 
writers, should have been preserved with 
fewer chasms and defects, than so many 
others who have written in, or since, the 
Augustan age. From the high repu- 
tation he enjoyed in his own and in 
succeeding times, his name and his works 
were familiar to all. There are few of 
the ancient writers, who do not mention 
him; and the collections of the gram- 
Marians abound in quotations from him. 
Hicw fortunate for the admirers of this 
lofty and dignified poet, that while the 
names and writings of so many poets, 
philosophers, and historians, are now 
here only by the collections of Athe- 
naus, Aulus Gellius, A‘liav, Suidas, 
and others, during so many ages of ab- 
solute darkness; when every vestige of 
human science, and: ingenuity, seemed 
utterly lost, Pindar should have escaped 
such universal destruction, and reached 
us, as he now appears, unbroken by ac-" 
cident, unimpaired by time !+ 
The characteristic beauties of Pindar 
are, an imagination in the highest de- 
gree poetical, a warm and enthusiastic 
genius, a bold and figurative expression, 
a concise and sententious style. No 
poet ever equalled him for harmony of 
numbers, and grandeur of diction. That 
he is sometimes unequal, cannot be de- 
nied; but this inequality arises, not so 
much from a defect of genius, as from 
the sudden inflections of style in which 
he indulges, and the rapid succession of 
Images, some less noble than others. 
Nor should this inequality always be 
censured as aiault. Boileau has noticed 
it as a principal feature in the Ode: 
Son stile impétueux souvent marche au 
hazard ; 
Chez elle, un beau désordre est un effet de 
Dart. Aart. Poet. 
Pindar himself was perfectly aware of 
this irregularity, and in his 10th Pyth.f 
he cautions his Muse against it; and com- 
paring her to a vessel at sea, he advises 
her to cast anchor, and stop before she. 
strikes against the rocks. -It is evident, 
however, from the style of this apology, 
* Pref. to Pind. p, 25. he 
_ + The Pyth. and Nem, Odes, are con- 
sidered perfect. Some of the Olym. and the 
Batter part of the Isthm. Odes are legs so. 
1 vamay ydooy 4x5 3 ainupay 
Egetcoy- Bort 
Pewearde, xoreddes ahuae wereag, &c. 
‘ 
Lyceum of Ancient Literature—No. XXIII. [Aug.1, 
that he is rather complimenting his own 
genius, than acknowledging a fault. 
Those who have been too ready to cen- 
sure him, for the supposed wildness of 
his thoughts, extravagant digressions, and 
sudden transitions, have not sutiiciently 
considered the manners and custoins of 
the age in which the odes were written, 
the occasions which gave them birth, or 
the places in which they were recited. 
Tt is a most erroneous idea, to suppose 
the victories and praises of the. con- 
querors are the proper and only subjects 
of the odes inscribed to them. The 
poet had more enlarged views. We have 
already said, that the Olympic festivals 
were a religious institution, which com- 
prehended all the traditions, on which 
the history, the worship, and the policy 
of the Greeks, were founded. Every 
thing connected with those important 
subjects, was received by them with the 
utmost veneration and delight. How 
then could Pindar gratify the peuple 
more, than by thus mingling with the 
gods, who had, as they believed, esta- 
lished the games, the names of the per- 
sons who succeeded in bearing away the’ 
prize? He enhanced their glory, by 
uniting it with that of the gods; while at 
the same time he raised the enthusiasm 
of his countrymen, and displayed all the 
riches of his poetry. Besides, it fre- 
quently happened, that thé fortunate 
candidate was conspicuous for nothing 
more than the particular exploit which 
secured him tie honour of an ode, 
Pindar, in order to give the poem its due 
extent, had recourse to other circum- 
stances, arising either from the family 
or country of the conqueror, from the 
games in which he had been victorious ; 
from the particular deities who had 
founded them, or in whose temple the 
ode was iiended to be sung. He, there- 
fore, contented himself with dedicating 
it tu the successful combatant, whose 
name he introduces with some compli- 
ments on his victory, at the opening or 
conclusion of the piece. When all this 
is considered, the frequent digressions, 
and quick transitions of Pindar, are by 
no means so extravagant and unaccounte 
able, as at the first view they appear 
to be. However he may apparently 
wander from his supposed object, it will- 
in general be found, that he maintains a 
sutheient connection of thought; and 
that his frequent deviations may he re- 
solved into allusions to the character, 
the country, or the exploits, of the per- 
son whom he celebrates. 
. : A pleasing 
