Arms and the Man I sing, the first who driv'n
From _Trojan_ Shores, the Fugitive of Heav'n,
Came to th' _Italian_ and _Lavinian_ Coast;
Much o'er the Earth was He, and Ocean tost,
By Heavenly Powers, and _Juno_'s lasting Rage;
Much too He bore, long Wars compell'd to wage;
E'er He the Town could raise, and of his Gods,
In _Latium_ settle the secure Abodes;
Whence in a long Descent the _Latins_ come,
The _Albine_ Fathers, and the Tow'rs of _Rome_.
Sept. 6. 1736.
_I am_, SIR, _&c._
* * * * *
_P.S._
I Should not part with the Passage in _Homer_ above-mentioned without
observing that the Speech of _Apollo_'s Priest is wonderfully
Peinturesque, and in Character. We plainly see the Priest holding up
his Hands, and pointing with his Crown and Sceptre to Heaven.
"Princes! and _Grecian_ Warriors! may the Gods
(The Pow'rs that dwell in Heav'ns sublime Abodes)
It is a Priest that speaks, and his Audience is composed of Soldiers
who had liv'd ten Years in a Camp. He does not only put them in mind
of the _Gods_, but likewise of the _Place_ where they dwelt, and at
the same time points up to it. Neither is the Conclusion of the Speech
less remarkable than the Beginning of it: The Priest of _Apollo_ does
not end in an humble supplicant manner like a common Suitor; but he
frankly offers his Presents, and threatens the Generals and Princes he
addresses himself to, with the Vengeance of his God if they refuse his
Request: And he very artfully lets them know that his God is not a
Deity of inferior Rank, but the Son of _Jove_; and that his Arrows
reach from a great Distance. The next Line to those last mentioned I
cannot omit taking notice of, because it contains, in my Opinion, one
of the most beautiful Expressions in all the poetical Language. _To
give to do a thing._
"Princes! and _Grecian_ Warriors! may the Gods
(The Pow'rs that dwell in Heav'ns sublime Abodes)
_Give you to level Priam_'s haughty Tow'rs,
And safely to regain your native Shores.
_Virgil_ was so sensible of this charming Expression, that he has used
it in the three following Passages, and I believe in one or two others
in the very first _Æneid_.
"--_Tibi Divum paler atque hominum rex
Et mulcere_ dedit _fluctus & tollere vento_.--
"--_Tu_ das _epulis accumbere Divûm_.--
"_O regina, novam cui condere Jupiter urbem
Justitiaque_ dedit _gentes frænare superbas_:--
_Salvini_ in his _Italian_ Translation in 1723, dedicated to his late
Majesty, is attentive to all the Beauties of the Passage in _Homer_
last mentioned.
"--_A voi gl' Iddii,
Che l'Olimpie magioni abitan_, dieno
_Espugnar ilio e a casa far ritorno_."