TEN BOOKS of Homers Iliades, translated out of French,
By Arthur Hall Esquire.
AT LONDON Imprinted by Ralph Nevvberie. 1581.
Cum Priuilegio.
[Sample from the first book]
I Thée beséech, O Goddesse
milde, the hatefull hate to plaine, *
Whereby Achilles was so wroong, and grewe in suche
disdaine,
That thousandes of the Gréekish Dukes, in hard and
heauie plight,
To Plutoes Courte did yéelde their soules, and gaping
lay vpright,
Those sencelesse trunckes of buriall voide, by them
erst gaily borne,
By rauening •…rres, and •…rreine soules, in •…ces to
be torne.
Gainst Agamemn of Ioue his •…rnth, s•…kindled was the
fire,
That he Achil•…o déere, and crosse s•… déeply did
conspire.
O Lady shew what God beganne this hateful quarrell
thus,
It was the heire of Latona, the gallant gay Phoebus,
Who had to sire that mighty God, who down his
lightning throws, *
With stormes of haile, and th•…ercl aps: the God
incholler grows,
That Agamemn roughly a suite h•…Chryses Priest res•….
In Gréekish •…p his plages he flings, their state
which •…retly bruso.
At that time Chryses did repayre vnto the shippes,
that lay
At ancker before Troy besiegde, in the Porte of
Sig•…,*
With verdant crown, wherewith Apoll his séemely head
had clad,
With scepter eke, with things of price, which he for
ransome had,
His da•…ghter captiue helde by Gréekes by worth hir
home to buy,
COMMENT
As Young points out (99), the first extensive (but not
complete) translation of Homer into English was carried out by Arthur Hall in
1581, who translated ten books of the Iliad into Alexandrines
(twelve-syllable couplets). Hall did not use the Greek text, however. His
translation was based upon the French of Hugues Salel (1555).
For the text of Hall's Iliad, please use the
following link:
Hall Iliad.