him: if the writer of the Iliad were to

clafs his fucceffors, he would affign a very high place to his tranflator, without requiring any other evidence of Genius..

THE

THE following Letter, of which the original is in the hands of Lord Hardwicke, was communicated to me by the kindness of Mr. Jodrell.

"To Mr. BRIDGES, at the Bishop of "London's at Fulham.

"SIR,

The favour of your Letter, with your Remarks, can never be enough acknowledged; and the fpeed, with which you discharged fo troublefome a task, doubles the obligation.

"I must own you have pleafed me very much by the commendations fo ill bestowed

bestowed upon me; but, I affure you, much more by the franknefs of your cenfure, which I ought to take the more kindly of the two, as it is more advantageous to a feribler to be improved in his judgement than to be foothed in his vanity. The greater part of thofe deviations from the Greek, which you have obferved, I was led into by Chapman and Hobbes; who are (it feems) as much celebrated for their knowledge of the original, as they are decryed for the badnefs of their tranflations. Chapman pretends to have reftored the genuine fenfe of the author, from the mistakes of all former explainers, in feveral hundred places and the Cambridge editors of the large Homer, in Greek and Latin,

attributed fo much to Hobbes, that they confefs they have corrected the old Latin interpretation very often by his verfion. For my part, I generally took the author's meaning to be as you have explained it; yet their authority, joined to the knowledge of my own imperfectnefs in the language, over-ruled me. However, Sir, you may be confident I think you in the right, because you happen to be of my opinion: (for men (let them fay what they will) never approve any other's fenfe, but as it fquares with their own). But you have made me much more proud of, and pofitive in my judgement, fince it is ftrengthened by yours. I think your criticisms, which regard the expreffion, very just,

and

and fhall make my profit of them: to give you fome proof that I am in earneft, I will alter three verfes on your bare objection, though I have Mr. Dryden's example for each of them. And this, I hope, you will account no fmall piece of obedience, from one, who values the authority of one true poet above that of twenty critics or commentators. But though I speak thus of commentators, I will continue to read carefully all I can procure, to make up, that way, for my own want of critical understanding in the original beauties of Homer. Though the greateft of them are certainly thofe of the Invention and Defign, which are not at all confined to the language for the diftinguishing ex

cellencies