1847.] Homer's Delineations of Character. 333 lineation becomes at each successive view more striking, more pregnant with life and beauty. Odysseus in his many wanderings, whether in the palace of Circe or the island of Calypso, in the cave of the Cyclops or at the court of Alcinoüs, scarcely found more to please or astonish, than the diligent student will find in the two great Epics of antiquity. How distinct, among that multitude of heroes, is the portraiture of each! Achilles, sullen and wrathful, apart from his companions "where the sea-waves roared on the sand-beach," or rising from the curiously wrought lyre to welcome the ambassadors of the Achaeans;-in the fierce conflict with the godlike Hector, or receiving at dead of night with pity and kindness the aged and trembling Priam;-in all of these scenes, how vivid is our conception of that fierce and impetuous, yet generous character! The brave Diomed, the inventive Odysseus, the dauntless Ajax, the old man Nestor, the kingly Agamemnon, would each of them serve as a hero for an epic poem. And on the side of the Trojans, distinguished among many brave men, appears the intrepid, the selfsacrificing, the gallant, but unfortunate Hector. What an intense and mournful interest is imparted to that noble character, as warrior, and patriot, and husband, and father! But not in the delineation of heroes alone did Homer excel. How charming is the loveliness and grace of Helen! How touching the conjugal love and how pathetic the lament of the orphan Andromache! Besides all these, to the susceptible and superstitious Greeks, those divine personages who engaged in this memorable war must have added no little interest to the story. If we mistake not, this great variety of character, so nicely portrayed and so exquisitely interwoven, is one chief source of interest in the Iliad; and in this respect it surpasses all poems of its kind. The hero of the Aeneid would maintain no very honorable rank among the heroes of the Iliad; and his goddess-mother sheds no very brilliant lustre over his virtues. "The heroes and heroines of the Jerusalem Delivered are noble and attractive. It is impossible to study them without admiration; but they resemble real life as much as the Enchanted Forest and spacious battle-fields, which Tasso has described in the environs of Jerusalem, do the arid ridges, waterless ravines, and stone-covered hills in the real scene, which have been paint The verse of Horace : Impiger, iracundus, inexorabilis, acer, presents only one phase in the character of Achilles, ed by the matchless pens of Chateaubriand and Lamartine." The arch-apostate, the true hero of the Paradise Lost, possesses too little that may be considered human to be compared with Achilles or Agamemnon or Hector. He is to be classed rather with Homer's delineations of Mars or Jupiter, although he is far more colossal and more divine. The great dramatist of modern times has alone rivalled Homer in the variety and distinctness of his characters. Few poets have conceived with such clearness or presented with such picturesque and vivid effect the scenes they attempt to describe. Perhaps the most graphic of them all is the meeting of Hector and Andromache, and their last sad adieu. The departure of our first parents from their blissful abode in Paradise, though a much loftier theme, must yield to this in dramatic effect. Kindred to this scene is that in which Andromache first descries the corse of her husband on the plain, dragged behind the chariot of Achilles; and her passionate lament on the recovery of consciousness. As a specimen of Professor Felton's manner, we quote the notes on this passage. It occurs in the twenty-second book, and extends from the four hundred and seventyseventh to the five hundred and fourteenth line inclusive. "Andromache was recovering from her fainting fit; her breath. ing came back by degrees only; she now gasped out a few broken tones of woe. Finally, when she has wholly come to herself, she breaks out in the following words.' Cr. Dionysius of Halicarnassus cites this verse (476) as a specimen of imitative harmony. Upon which Montbel remarks: 'I doubt much whether our ears, but little trained to the sounds of the Greek language, can well appreciate these delicacies, which depend on the cadence of the phrase, and the measure of syllables.... But what may be felt in all times and in all countries is the delineation of this pathetic scene, in which the poet has represented the sorrow of Andromache.... Retired within her palace, Andromache is the only one who has not heard of the terrible calamity of the Trojans. She only knows that Hector has remained outside of the gates, and she orders her women to prepare the bath, that her husband may find it ready on his return from battle. All these details are true and touching; and how much does Homer add to the pity with which this unfortunate wife inspires us by this so natural reflection: Unhappy one, she knew not that, far from the bath, Athene had subdued her husband under the hand of Achilles.' Meantime, alarmed by the cries which strike her ear, she wishes 1847.] The Personifications of Homer. 335 to know what new misfortunes threaten her, and mournful presentiments arise in her soul. Soon she arrives at the summit of the tower, and can no longer doubt her misfortune. She sees him dragged before the city; swift horses drag him mercilessly towards the ships of the Greeks.' If I am not mistaken, there is here great delicacy, a profound knowledge of grief, in not having named Hector on this occasion; she sees him, ròv d' évóŋoev ; horses drag him, innoι μèv thxov. . . . The end of the narrative is of equal beauty, and the calling to mind the veil which she had received from Aprodite on the day of her marriage, is one of those fine touches of feeling which Homer could not allow to escape him.'" How great and versatile was that genius which sketched with equal truth and power and distinctness, the battle-field, and the domestic circle; the angry debate, and the hospitable entertainment; the storm gathering over the sea, and the firmament in a starry night. The artist dipped his pencil in the colors which nature herself had provided, and with no model to guide his hand but her own perfect symmetry, he delineated in the fairest forms and the most just proportions whatever be attempted. The personifications in Homer are many and striking. Instead of tame, absurd and impalpable creations, they are generally instinct with life; furnishing a clear idea to the painter or sculptor; and are the standard representation of all subsequent poets. To say nothing of that great system of mythology which is more fully and beautifully sketched in Homer than in any other writer, and which furnished such ample materials to Phidias and Polycletus, to Zeuxis and Parrhasius, those minor personifications which did not form a part of the ancient mythology are scarcely less distinct and life-like than the delineations of the fierce-eyed Minerva, the white-armed Juno and the aegis-bearing Jupiter. Every one will recollect the sketch of Discord ("Egis): “dire sister of the slaughtering power, While scarce the skies her horrid head can bound, the outline of which picture Virgil has borrowed in his fine description of Fama. The terrible scourgings of a guilty conscience are made doubly fearful in the form of the dread Erinyes; who walk in darkness, and whose power extends to the regions of the dead. Somewhat singular, is that personification of prayers, in the speech of Phoenix to Achilles, which Cowper translates as follows: "Prayers are Jove's daughters, wrinkled, lame, slant-eyed, May cleave to us for vengeance of the wrong." The famous Scylla, with her dragon throats and sharp claws, surrounded with half-projecting dogs, furnished to Milton his ideal of "the snaky sorceress, that sat Fast by Hell-gate." It were needless to multiply instances; such as the beautiful pictures of the Hours, the Graces, the rosy-fingered Aurora, and many others. It is more agreeable to the student to discover them for himself; just as the traveller, who views the magnificent ruins of an ancient city, is more elated if he comes upon them unexpectedly. What we would say is this: the personifications of Homer are generally more fresh and vivid than those of the later poets. This may be owing partly to the imagination of the poet himself; and partly to the age in which he lived. The morning had just dawned upon him. He wandered abroad when every. thing was green, and sparkling with dew-drops. Many a delicate flower, in sweetness and beauty, opened before him, and many a leaf was set with diamonds which a fiercer sun would dry up at He had, then, only to stretch forth his hand and gather what lay in his path. noon. These remarks upon the Iliad, to which we have been almost unconsciously led, might be extended indefinitely. We are aware, that they will convey the most imperfect idea of those brilliant scenes, which rise up to the view in rapid succession and endless 1 [1. 19. 259. Εριννύες, αίθ' ὑπὸ γαῖαν Ανθρώπους τίνυνται. merely hinted at in this passage. The doctrine of a future retribution, is not 1847.] Spirit of Prophecy in Relation to the Jews. 337 variety. Even the most elaborate and the most successful description of them, like a graphic account of Athens or of Memphis, could accomplish little more than to incite a desire in the reader to view them for himself. And this, in the case of Homer at least, would be precisely what we could wish. It is a book which deserves to be read, and to be studied, far beyond the attention which it receives; and we are glad that the facilities for understanding it are now so greatly multiplied.1 ARTICLE VI. THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY IN RELATION TO THE FUTURE CONDITION OF THE JEWS. By Rev. Luther F. Dimmick, Newburyport, Mass. THE future condition of the Jews, is a subject which has received, from various sources, no small attention. The subject is worthy of attention. It is worthy of attention, for its own sake. Every branch of truth, and every department of the divine operations, has in it something to repay investigation. The connection of this subject with other themes, imparts to it a still higher interest. The right understanding of it will lead to some views of essential importance, in regard to the general character of the religion of the Bible; besides which, some lessons of practical duty will grow out of it. The Jews have been a people greatly distinguished.2 Their origin was remarkable,-Abraham, the fa We should not omit to mention, in this place, Mr. Owen's excellent edition of the Odyssey. With the flattering notices of it which have already appeared, we fully concur. The editor understands the wants of the student, and possesses much skill in meeting them. His work deserves and will receive the thanks of many who read the story of the much-wandering Odysseus. * The early designation of the people was, “Israel,” “children of Israel," derived from Jacob their father, who obtained the surname of Israel, at the remarkable scene of Penuel, when he obtained a signal answer to prayer, (Gen. 32:24-30). Subsequently, after the division of the tribes, the two branches of the nation were Judah and Israel, Judah being the principal tribe of the division to which it belonged. At length, Israel being removed, and Judah, or the branch passing under that name, being the part that remained, and with which the Christian world has had the most connection, we use this term, Jews, sometimes, though rather improperly, as including the whole people. |