THE ODYSSEY O F HOME R. Tranflated from the GREEK. VOL. I. "LONDON: Printed for HENRY LINTOT, M.DCC.LVIII. A GENERAL VIEW.. OF THE EPIC POEM, AND OF THE ILIAD and ODYSSEY. Extracted from BOSSU. T SECT. I. HE Fables of Poets were originally employ'd ing to the notion then conceived of it. This fublime Subject occafioned the first Poets to be called Divines, and Poetry the Language of the Gods. They divided the divine Attributes into fo many Perfons; because the infirmity of a human Mind cannot fufficiently conceive, or explain, fo much Power and Action in a Simplicity fo great and indivisible as that of God. And perhaps they were also jealous of the advantages they reap'd from fuch excellent and exalted learning, and of which they thought the vulgar part of mankind was not worthy. *Of the Nature of Epic Poetry. A 2 They They could not defcribe the Operations of t Almighty Caufe, without speaking at the fame tin of its Effects: fo that to Divinity they added Phy. ology, and treated of both, without quitting the um brages of their Allegorical Expreffions. But Man being the chief and the moft noble o. all that God produced, and nothing being fo proper or more useful to Poets than this Subject; they adde it to the former, and treated of the doctrine of Mo rality after the fame manner as they did that of Di vinity and Philofophy: And from Morality_thu treated, is formed that kind of Poem and Fabl which we call Epic. The Poets did the fame in Morality, that th Divines had done in Divinity. But that infinite variety of the actions and operations of the Divine Nature, (to which our understanding bears fo fmalla proportion) did as it were force them upon dividing the fingle Idea of the Only One God into feveral Perfons, under the different names of Jupiter, Juno, Neptune and the rest. And on the other hand, the nature of Mora1 Philofophy being fuch, as never to treat of things in particular, but in general; the Epic Poets were obliged to unite in one fingle Idea, in one and the fame Perfon, and in an Action which appeared fingular, all that looked like it in different perfons, and in various actions; which might be thus contained as fo many Species under their Genus. The Prefence of the Deity, and the Care fuch an auguft Cause is to be fuppofed to take about any action, obliges the Poet to reprefent this action as great, important, and managed by * Kings and Princes. * Res geftæ regumque ducumque. Hor. Art. Poet. |