Homer
The Iliad
Translated by John Stuart Blackie
Edinburgh 1866

[Sample from the Opening of the Poem]

Book I.

The baneful wrath, O goddess, sing, of Peleus’ son, the source
Of sorrows dire, and countless woes to all the Grecian force;
That wrath which many a stout heroic soul from joyful day
To gloomy Hades hurled, and left their mangled limbs a prey
To dogs and vultures: thus the will of mightiest Jove was done;
Since first contention keen arose, and sundering strife begun
Between Atrides, king of men, and Peleus’ godlike son.
Which of the gods between them twain the rancorous feud inspired?
Latona’s son; for he against the king, with anger fired,
Shot through the camp a sore disease; the people drooped and died;     10
For that Atrides to his priest the righteous suit denied,
When to the swift sea-ploughing ships came Chryses with a prayer,
And for his daughter’s freedom brought the precious ransom rare.
He on a gold sacred staff, with outstretched arm, displayed
The wreath of the far-darting god, and thus to all he prayed,
But chiefly to the kingly pair, whose word the host obeyed:
Ye sons of Atreus, and ye Greeks with burnished greaves, give ear:
You may the gods with conquest crown, and grant with mastering spear
To sack old Troy, and sail with joy to friends and country dear;
But me—my daughter dear restore, and let rich ransom follow,       20
Fearing the dread, far-darting god, the son of Jove, Apollo.
Whereto the Achæan host replied with loud-consenting cheer,
And bade him grant the old man’s prayer, and his wreathèd staff revere;
But ill was Agamemnon pleased, and forth his anger brake;
Away he sent the priest, and thus with fell reproof he spake:
Old man, if near the hollow ships I find thee here again,
Or lingering now with laggard foot if thou shalt dare remain,
Thy hand shall show the sacred wreath, and bear the staff in vain.
The main I’ll not restore; no, not till hoary age shall come
To her at Argos in my house far from her father’s home:           30
There shall she tend the loom, and share my royal bed; but thou
Begone! fret me no more! thy speed shall be thy safety now!
He spake; the old man feared; no word of sharp reply gave he,
But silent went to the billowy beach of the vast and voiceful sea.
There from the ships apart he stood, and poured the pleading prayer
To the son of Jove whom Leto bore of the lovely-flowing hair:
Hear me, O god of the silver bow, who rightly claim’st for thine
Tenedos’ isle, and Chrysè’s walls, and Cilla’s towers divine:
Smintheus, if ere the well-roofed pile to worship thee I raised,
If with fat thighs of bulls and goats they sacred altar blazed   40
From me, fulfil, O archer strong, the hope that now I cherish,
And may the Greeks who worked my wrong by thy sharp arrows perish!
He spake, and Phœbus heard the priest, who called upon his name,
And from Olympus’ summit down with wrath-stirred heart he came;
His lidded quiver and his bow he on his shoulder bare,
And fearfully his rattling shafts sounded, as through the air
With rapid swoop he travelled; and he came like glooming night.
Then, planted close behind the fleet, he shot the arrowy might,
And terribly through the tainted air far twanged his silver bow.
First fell the mules, eftsoons the nimble dogs lie gasping low            50
And then the men with the bitter barb of his immortal ire
He smote; and baleful blazed around the frequent funeral pyre.

REVIEW COMMENT

Blackie, a well known and admired scholar and translator, set himself an important and difficult task, which he announced in the first lines of his Preface (in Volume I):

The present work endeavours to supply what has long appeared to me a want in the literature of this country, viz., such an exhibition of the great national poem of the Greeks, and of the spirit of Greek life contained in it, as might place the English gentleman of culture and intelligence—in regard at least to the great distinctive point of Homeric poetry—on an equal platform with the professional scholar. That this platform is possible even for those who do not read Greek, the analogy of our Christian religion and of the English Scriptures shows clearly enough. What is wanted is a translation executed with the special purpose of bringing out what is characteristic in the original, accompanied by such aids from general discussion and special comment, as the lapse of time and the distance between old Hellenic and modern English points of view may render necessary.

Blackie’s voluminous comments and “Homeric Dissertations” attracted a great deal of scholarly attention at the time, especially concerning his views on the origin and composition of Homer’s epics, and his scholarly apparatus is still of great interest to those who wish to explore the history of Homeric criticism and commentary.

His translation of the Iliad is notable for his use of the fourteen-syllable line (Chapman’s basic line, as well) combined with fairly strong rhymes throughout.  The result, however, is not particularly remarkable.  The lines, though for the most part clear and accurate enough, are heavy and the rhymes predictable—there’s nothing of Chapman’s Elizabethan rhetorical flair to inject some imaginative energy into the verse.  And the occasional lapse into Medieval idiom doesn’t really help matters (“eftsoons,” “twain,” and so on).

Readers who would like a longer preview of Blackie’s translation should consult the following link: Blackie Iliad.

[List of Published Translations of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey]