THE FIRST BOOK OF HOMER'S ILIAS. THE ARGUMENT. Chryfes, priest of Apollo, brings prefents to the Grecian princes, to ranfom his daughter Chryfeis, who was prifoner in the fleet. Agamemnon, the general, whofe captive and mistress the young lady was, refufes to deliver her, threatens the venerable old man, and difmiffes him with contumely.-The priest craves vengeance of his god; who fends a plague among the Greeks: which occafions Achilles, their great champion, to fummon a council of the chief officers: he encourages Calchas, the high priest and prophet, to tell the reafon, why the gods were fo much incenfed against them.Calchas is fearful of provoking Agamemnon, till Achilles engages to protect him: then, emboldened by the hero, he accufes the general as the caufe of all, by detaining the fair captive, and refufing the prefents offered for her ransom. By this pro ceeding, Agamemnon is obliged, against his will, to reftore Chryfeis, with gifts, that he might appeafe the wrath of Phœbus; but, at the fame time, to revenge himself on Achilles, fends to feize his flave Brifeis. Achilles, thus affronted, complains to his mother Thetis; and begs her to revenge his injury, not only on the general, but on all the army, by giving victory to the Trojans, till the ungrateful king became fenfible of his injuftice. At the fame time, he retires from the camp into his Ships, and withdraws his aid from his countrymen. Thetis prefers her fon's petition to Jupiter, who grants her fuit. Juno fufpects her errand, and quarrels with her husband, for his grant; till Vulcan reconciles his parents with a bowl of nectar, and fends them peaceably to bed. THE wrath of Peleus' fon, O Muse, refound * ; Whofe dire effects the Grecian army found, Pope made a ridiculous blunder, mifled by an old Latin tranflation of Diodorus Siculus, where Homer was called Medicus by an error of the prefs for Mendicus; whence Pope affirmed that Homer was a phyfician. This is not the place to enter into a long differtation on the admirable difpofition and economy of the Iliad. We may however juft obferve one or two circumftances. It is an effential beauty in a well-conftituted epic poem, that there should be an apparent neceffity for every incident that arifes. It was abfolutely neceffary that each of the Grecian chiefs fhould be brought forward, in order to heighten the effects of the abfence aud anger of Achilles. It was abfolutely neceffary for Vulcan to make a fhield for Achilles, because the Trojans had feized and carried away his armour. It was abfolutely neceffary that funeral |