CURRENT LITERATURE.

The Iliad of Homer (I.-VI.) Done into English Verse. By Arthur S. Way, M.A. (Sampson Low and Co.)—We must own that, greatly admiring as we do Mr. Way's translation of the Odyssey (published, we may remind our readers, under the pseudonym of "Avis"), we have felt some disappointment with this first instalment of a translation of the Iliad. It is less easy, more full of inversions, archaisms, and hard and, we feel constrained to say, sometimes impossible expres- sions. We miss, certainly, the easy flow, doubtless the result of much labour, but producing the happiest impression of spontaneity, which characterised the translation of the Odyssey. Whether the author has now undertaken a more difficult task, or whether it does not happen to be so congenial to his taste, or whether he is failing in the laborious patience which, quite as much as ingenuity and felicity of expression, is needed by the translator, we cannot say ; but the effect as a whole is inferior. Still, there are great merits in the work, and we are inclined to think that Mr. Way, even here, still holds his place very near the head of Homeric translators. Here is a fine bit, and this not specially chosen for its excellence :— " Answered and Take unto him Alexander the godlike wight :

' Hector, true be thy words, and thy chiding is meet and right. But thine heart never failed thee : 'tin keen evermore as the hard-edged bill That cleaveth a beam in the hands of the man that with craftsman-skill Shapeth him planks for a galley ; the sharp edge doubleth his might ; Even so in thy breast is a dauntless soul ever keen for the fight. Yet taunt not me with the bounty of Aphrodite the Golden ; We may scorn not the glorious gifts in the hands of the Deathless enfolden For whomso they will, but for none to attain where the Gods have withholden. But now if thou wilt that I fight for the mead of war-renown, Bid the rest of the eons of Troy and Achaia sit them down ;

And set in the midst Menelaus the Ares-beloved and me,

To do battle for Helen's sake, and the treasure that came oversee.

And it shall be, that whose prevaileth, and proveth him stronger in strife, He shall take her, and all that treasure, and homeward shall lead her, his wife.

Andthe nations shall plight them with oaths, and shalllearn loving kindness again, And in Troyland in pease shall ye dwell, and they shall return full fain To Achaia the land of the lovely, to Argos the horse-fed plain.'

So Rake he, and Hector rejoiced at the word with exceeding joy: Forth to the midst bath he strode, and he stayeth the ranks of Troy, Outstretching his spear, and they all sat down with one consent.

Bet the long-hair.d men of Achaia their bows against him bent,

Drawing the shafts to the head, and the stones 'gan whirl in the sling. Then afar down the lines did the voice of king Agamemnon ring : Argives. refrain you I—Achaians, cast nor stone nor spear !

For that Hector Lightning-helm hath a word for the kings to hear.' " But we are not always so well pleased. First, there are Mr. Way'a carious phrases,—" A battle-blencher," " Battle fain captains," " Word-weft," "Sheen of battle-weeds," " Aphroditil the laughter- winsome," are specimens which might easily be multiplied. Then, again, we sometimes have inversions that seemly accord with

Homeric simplicity. Here are some lines that are not quite as simple as they should be

For the nymphs that nursed Dionysus, the frenzy.glorious child, He hunted adowu Myseion the holy, and terror-wild Cast they their wands to the earth, by Lyourgus the murderer chased With his goad fierce.smiting, the while Dionysus in panic-struck haste Plunged in the sea-wave, and Thetis upreaehed her arms from below, And her breast was his refuge as sorely he quaked at the threats of his foe."

—The Iliad of Homer (I.-IV). Translated into English Hexameter Verse. By Henry Smith Wright, B.A. (Deighton, Bell and Co., Cambridge; Bell and Sons, London.)—Mr. Wright has certainly good authority for considering that the hexameter is the ideal verse for Homer translations. On the other hand, he has to contend against the fact that no one has yet managed the hexameter with success. The cause of failure he finds very rightly in the straining to which the writers of English hexameters subject the accent of the words which they employ. That he has attained a certain success we may see from a specimen of his work :— .

" Then unto him made answer the god-like chief Alexandros • Hear my defence, 0 Hector, for thou heat justly rebuked me ; Ever a heart unflinching is thine, yea, like to a hatchet Cleaving its way through timber, by skilful hands of the workman Wielded, as he some beam for a ship doth fashion,—its keenness Aiding the workman's strsngth,—e en so thy spirit is ever Dauntless within thy breast. The gifts Aphrodite the golden

Hath upon me bestowed, with these thou shonld'st not reproach me :

Not to be cast aside are the glorious gifts the immortals Grant of their own free will; else none could ever attain them Strive as they might ; but now, if thou dent will that in battle

I should contend, make thou the rest sit down in their places,

Trojans and Argives both. Menelaiis, beloved of Ares, Then shall ye net in the midst with me, for single encounter, Helen and all her wealth the prize; and he that prevaileth- Proving himself the better in fight—let him her possessions All, with herself bear off to his home, as rightly beseemeth So shall the hosts make peace with solemn oaths, and tie Trojans Dwell in their deep-soiled Troy—our foes returning to Argos Pasturing land of steeds, and Aehaia the borne of the lovely.'

Spake be, and Hector greatly rejoiced at hearing his purpose : Seeking the Trojan centre he marshalled back their battalions,

Ranging the line with his spear grasped half-way down ; and the Trojans

All a ere seated ; but now the long-haired men of Achaia Aimed at h m with their arrows, and stones they showered upon him. Shouted aloud forthwith the king of men Agamemnon : ' Hold, ye Argives, hold ! Cease throwing, sons of Achaia Ho of the glancing helm, great Hector, seeks to harangue us.' "

The true accent is here commonly, though not always, attended to ; but the effect on the whole is scarcely successful. The version wants spirit and force.