29.03.2013 Views

The Iliad of Homer - Get a Free Blog

The Iliad of Homer - Get a Free Blog

The Iliad of Homer - Get a Free Blog

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

an individual? 17 or were the <strong>Iliad</strong> and<br />

Odyssey the result <strong>of</strong> an ingenious arrangement<br />

<strong>of</strong> fragments by earlier poets?<br />

Well has Landor remarked: "Some tell us<br />

there were twenty <strong>Homer</strong>s; some deny<br />

that there was ever one. It were idle and<br />

foolish to shake the contents <strong>of</strong> a vase,<br />

in order to let them settle at last. We are<br />

perpetually labouring to destroy our delights,<br />

our composure, our devotion to<br />

superior power. Of all the animals on<br />

earth we least know what is good for us.<br />

My opinion is, that what is best for us is<br />

our admiration <strong>of</strong> good. No man living<br />

venerates <strong>Homer</strong> more than I do." 18<br />

But, greatly as we admire the generous<br />

enthusiasm which rests contented with<br />

the poetry on which its best impulses had<br />

been nurtured and fostered, without seeking<br />

to destroy the vividness <strong>of</strong> first impressions<br />

by minute analysis—our edit-

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!