THE ILIAD IN ENGLISH PROSE.*

Tax translation of the great Classical poets into prose that has a distinct literary character is one of the achievements of recent scholarship. Some, perhaps most, are scarcely suscep- tible of this treatment, but Homer lends himself readily to it. The Odyssey has already been rendered into prose which is more attractive than anything that has yet been accomplished in verse, Pope and, perhaps, Worsley being excepted ; while it is far more representative of the original than the heroics of the one and the Spenserian stanza of the other ; and we have now to welcome a companion translation of the Iliad. It comes strongly recommended by the three names borne on the title-page. Messrs. Lang and Myers have already achieved success in this field of labour, while Mr. Leaf has done good work as an editor of a portion of the text.

The three qualities which we look to find in a work of this kind are exactness of rendering, purity of style, and rhythmical

* The „Iliad of Homer. Done into English Press. By Andrew Lang, M.A., -Walter Leaf, M.A., and Ernest Myers, M.A. London: Macmillan and Co. 1893. flow. Scholars so competent as the three gentlemen who have shared the twenty-four books between them (Mr. Leaf has taken i.-ix., Mr. Lang x.-xvi., and Mr. Myers xvii.-xxiv.) are not to be attacked single-banded with a light heart. Still,. we cannot but think that there are passages where, like their original, if Horace he right, they have " nodded." In Iliad i., 234, seq., Achilles says of his sceptre that " it shall no more put forth leaf or twig," " i vtl b>i zoeiroe Topeir is Opetrert AgAomer." This Mr. Leaf renders by " seeing it bath for ever left its trunk among the hills." It would surely be better to take " last ha) as temporal, modified as it manifestly is by " arpLra." The word " ever" seems to have been strangely transposed in the render- ing. Ever since it hath left," or " from the hour it left," would be better, if we do not feel bound to stick to the perfect form. In xii., 301-2, we find it said of a lion that " his brave spirit urgeth him to make assail on the sheep, and come even against a well-builded homestead." This reads as if the two acts were distinct, and so does not well represent the original, "iccix.cor morpiicorra rai i; 7:MiY07 ;04011 Wall • " "he will go after the sheep, even when they are protected by a well-builded homestead." We should question " he in turn arose with the bronze," for " d "6' Oareso; l'oprtpro xaatup" (xvi., 479), and "a night assault," for " irpi;x10; 7rooc‘oteor " (xxi., 371), where the words refer rather to the setting-forth of the hero, than to his attack on the orchard. " A night foray " might be better. " To thee am I in the bonds of sup- pliantship " is too strong for "cirri rot sips' ittireco ecnoiote" (xxi., 75). Lycaon advances the plea more tentatively. He does not venture to assert actual suppliantahip, only something like it, seeing that he had shared his foe's hospitality. In lines 103-5 of the same book, a too literal rendering of the Greek has spoilt the English. In old days, Achilles says, he had sold his captives beyond the sea, "but now there is none that shall escape death, whomsoever before llios, God shall deliver into my bands,—yea. even among all Trojans, but chiefest among Priam's sons." Grammatically, we have to supply, " there is none that shall escape death " before " chiefest among Priam's sons." " Least. of all among Priam's sons," would certainly be better.

We should like to have a statement of the translators' views on the proper representation of the particles. A complete re- presentation of them would be fatal to any compactness or beauty of form. Here, most of all, the subtleties of Greek expression defy the clumsy machinery of a language which is, in some respects, a not unworthy rival. Something may be done by emphatic position, by collocation, or by antithesis. We may take as an instance, i., 298-9, " Know that not by violence will I strive for the damsel's sake, neither with thee, nor with any other; ye gave, and ye have taken away." The last clause

in the Greek is "bra elpixeuBi ye Uere;." From a literary point of view, this is unexceptionable; and a teacher would be glad to get such good style from a pupil, only he would hardly be satisfied with such a free dealing with the particles. But then it is not the business of a translator to make a pupil satisfy his teacher, though he may help towards that result. The translation that a lad can carry into an examination-room in his head and write down without change is a very doubtful boon.

The difficulty of the conventional epithets has been met with adequate success. It would be difficult, anyhow, to suggest better equivalents. "Lady mother," for instance, may hardly satisfy us for " sours Ornp," but what are we to substitute for it? We object, however, to the use of " goodly " in a single speech (that of Andromaehe to Hector) for " li'o;," applied to Achilles, and " gaitep4," an epithet of " wtoptotootrnc."

In the matter of style, we have very little fault to find. We should have been disposed, perhaps, to a more rigid purism than has approved itself to the three associates. Now and then we find a phrase which jars somewhat on the ear, as, e.g., iu xxi., 90,—" Thou wilt butcher both." This is not in the " grand style," though elsewhere we should find in "to butcher" a good equivalent of " betperopele." But, on the whole, the style is all that could be wished, distinctive without affectation of archaism.. Vigorous and expressive renderings are frequent. " Some small thing, yet mine own," for "Alyoe Ye, Oa, re," has, perhaps, too much of humorous suggestion about it to suit the context; but "the more men, the better work," for "7rAcortcr bi Tot gprar CgthElY0Y," "the Erinnys that walketh in darkness," for " ilepoOoirts 'Epteitc," "garments that wax not old," for " eliolgpora ettootTa,". to give a few specimens out of many, are unquestionably

felicitous. • In the matter of rhythmical flow, we do not find the whole translation as uniformly excellent as we could have wished. After much careful examination, we are inclined to give the preference to the work of Messrs. Lang and Myers, who seem to have found a help in the gift of poetical expression which they have both proved themselves to possess. Book ix., how- ever, which is part of Mr. Leaf's work, has been particularly well done throughout. Here is a passage from the speech of Phcenix

" Nay, even the very gods can bend, and theirs, withal, is loftier ‘majesty, and honour, and might. Their hearts by incense, and reverent vows, and drink offering, and meat offering, men tarn with prayer, as oft as any transgresseth and doeth sin. Moreover, prayers of penitence are daughters of great Zeus, halting, and wrinkled, and of eyes askance, that have their task, withal, to go in the steps of Sin. For Sin is strong and fleet of foot, wherefore she far outrunneth all prayers, and goeth before over all the earth, making men fall, and -Prayer follows behind, to heal the harm. Now, whosoever reverenceth Zeus' daughters when they draw near, him they greatly bless and bear his petitions ; but when one denieth them and stiffly refuseth, then -depart they, and make prayer unto Zeus, the son of 'Crones, that sin may come upon such an one, that he may fall and pay the price."

We do not like " bend " used intransitively, and why not -" daughters of Zeus," instead of the awkward sibi]ation of "Zeus' daughters "?

Here is Mr. Lang's presentment of a famous passage (xvi., .617-636), where the crowded similes offer a task of no small -difficulty to the translator :—

"Yet not even so might he break them, for all his eagerness. Nay, they stood firm and embattled, like a steep rock and a great, hard by the hoary sea, a rock that abides the swift paths of the shrill winds, and the swelling waves that roar against it. Even so the Danaians steadfastly abode the Trojans, and fled not away. But Hector, shining with fire on all sides, leaped on the throng, and fell upon them, as when, beneath the storm-clouds a fleet wave, reared of the winds, falls on a swift ship, and she is all hidden with foam, and the dread blast of the wind roars against the sail, and the sailors fear and -tremble in their hearts, for by but a little way are they borne forth from death, even so the spirit was torn in the breasts of the Achaians. But be came on like a ravening lion, making against the kine, that are feeding innumerable in the low-lying land of a great marsh ; -and among them is a herdsman that as yet knoweth not well how to fight with a wild beast concerning the slaughter of the kine of crooked horn, and ever he paces abreast with the rear or the van of the cattle, but the lion leaps into the midst, and devours a cow, and -they all tremble for fear."

'Our last extract shall be from the " Shield," a passage allotted to Mr. Myers :— " Furthermore, be set in the shield a soft, fresh-ploughed field, rich tilth and wide, the third time ploughed ; and many ploughers therein drove their yokes to and fro as they wheeled about. When- -soever they came to the boundary of the field and turned, then would -a man come to each, and give into his hand a goblet of sweet wine, while others would be turning back along the furrows, fain to reach the boundary of the deep tilth. And the field grew black behind, and seemed as it were a ploughing, albeit of gold, for this was the great marvel of the work. Furthermore, he set therein a demesne-land deep in corn, where hinds were reaping with sharp sickles in their bands. Some armfuls along the swathe were falling in rows to the earth, while -others, the sheaf-binders, were binding in twisted bands of straw. Three sheaf-binders stood over them, while behind, boys gathering corn and bearing it in their arms, gave it constantly to the binders ; and among them the lord in silence was standing at the swathe with -bis staff, rejoicing in his heart. And henchmen apart beneath an -oak were making ready a feast, and preparing a great or they had sacrificed ; while the women were strewing much barley, to be a supper for the hinds."

.On the next page, we find a not very happy rendering, in "the -herdsmen in vain tarred on their fleet dogs to set on." The repetition of " on " is awkward, and to " tar on " is a very un- -usual phrase.

A few pages, every one will wish that they had been more, of excellent notes have been appended to the translation. One, on vi., 169 (the story of Bellerophon), from the pen of Mr. Lang, states very forcibly the case for Homer's knowledge of writing.

We must not forget to mention the two fine sonnets which Messrs. Lang and Myers have given us by way of prelude. The .second of these we take leave to quote :—

" Athwart the sunrise of our western day

The form of great Achilles, high and clear, Stands forth in arms, wielding the Pelian spear. The sanguine tides of that immortal fray, Swept on by gods, around him surge and sway, Where through the helms of many a warrior fair, Strong men and swift, their tossing plumes uprear.

But stronger, swifter, goodlier he than they, More awful, more divine. Yet mark anigh ;

Some fiery pang bath rent his soul within, Some hovering shade his brow encompasseth. What gifts bath Fate for all his chivalry ? Even such as hearts heroic oftenest win ;

Honour, a friend, anguish, untimely death."