look with that difpofition she discovers towards me, even on her own excellent writings, one might find fome mistakes which no context can redress; as where she makes Euftathius call Cratifthenes the Phliafian, Callifthenes the Phyfician *.. What a triumph might fome flips of this fort have afforded to Homer's, hers, and my enemies, from which she was only screened by their happy ignorance! How unlucky had it been, when the infulted Mr. de la Motte for omitting a material paffage in the + fpeech of Helen to Hector, Iliad vi. if fome champion for the moderns had by chance understood fo much Greek, as to whisper him, that there was no fuch paffage in Homer?

Our concern, zeal, and even jealoufy, for our great author's honour were mutual, our endeavours to ad vance it were equal, and I have as often trembled for it in her hands, as fhe could in mine. It was one of the many reafons I had to wifh the longer life of this lady, that I muft certainly have regained her good opinion, in spite of all misrepresenting tranflators whatever. I could not have expected it on any other terms than being approved as great, if not as passionate, an admirer of Homer as herself. For that was the firft condition of her favour and friendship; otherwife not one's tafte alone, but one's morality had been corrupted, nor would any man's religion have been fufpected, who did not implicitly believe in an author whofe doctrine is fo conformable to Holy Scripture. However, as different people have different ways of expreffing their belief, fome purely by public and general acts

Dacier Remarques fur le 4me livre de l' Odyff, p. 476.

De la Corruption du Gout.

of

of worship, others by a reverend fort of reasoning and enquiry about the grounds of it; it is the fame in admiration, fome prove it by exclamations, others by respect. I have obferved that the loudeft huzzas given to a great man in triumph, proceed not from his friends but the rabble; and as I have fancied it the fame with the rabble of critics, a defire to be distinguished from them has turned me to the more moderate, and, I hope, more rational method. Though I am a poet, I would not be an enthusiast; and though I am an Englishman, I would not be furiously of a party. I am far from thinking myself that genius, upon whom, at the end of these remarks, Madam Dacier congratulates my country one capable of," correcting Homer, and "confequently of reforming mankind, and amending "this conftitution," It was not to Great-Britain this ought to have been applied, fince our nation has one happiness for which she might have preferred it to her own, that, as much as we abound in other miferable mifguided fects, we have at leaft none of the blafphemers of Homer. We ftedfastly and unanimously believe, both his poem, and our conftitution, to be the best that ever human wit invented: that the one is not more incapable of amendment than the other; (old as they both are) we defpife any French or Eng→ lishman whatever, who fhall prefume to retrench, to innovate, or to make the least alteration in either. Far therefore from the genius for which Madam Dacier miftook me, my whole defire is but to preserve the humble character of a faithful tranflator, and a quiet fubject.

and