TEN BOOKS
of Homers Iliades,
translated out of
French, By A. H.

[Arthur Hall]

London 1581

[Sample from the Opening Lines]

I Thée beseech, 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 burial voide, by them erst gaily borne,
By rauening curres, and carreine foules, in péeces to be torne.

Gainst Agememn of Ioue his wrath, so kindled was the fire,

That he Achil to déere, and crosse so déeply did conspire.

O Lady shew what God begannee 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 thunderclaps: the God in choller grows

That Agamemn roughly a suite his Chryses Priest refused,

In Gréekish cap his plages he flings, their state which gretly brusd.

At that time Chryses did repayre vunto the shippes, that lay
At ancker before Troy besiegde, in the Portte of Sigay,
With verdant crown, wherewith Apoll his séemely head had clad,
With scepter eke, with things of price, which he for ransome had,
His daughter captiue helde by Gréekes by worth hir home to buy,

To both Atrides and other kings, he breakes thus humbly:

O Princes greate, the loftie Gods adorde in earth belowe
Doe sende you lucke, this Priams towne to sacke and ouerthrowe,

And loden with the Troian wealth, yée safe to Greece retire:

If pitie in your heartes haue place, if willing yée desire

To reuerence the God I serue, if féeble aged dayes,

A worthy foe, Nobilitie may temper any wayes,

Let my mishap obtaine, I pray Chryses so deare to me,

O Kings accept these goodly giftes for raunsome here that be.

His sute was taken in that sorte, that al the Gréekes did cry
To take his gifts, to yéelde Chryses and vuse him reuerently.

Agamemn was so far in loue with this so gentle maide,

Suche sutes he coulde not he abide, to Chryses grimme hée saide,

Shaking alofte his sterne head: O hatefull dotard thou,

Henceforth in these quarters againe take héede I sée not you.

For no scepter, not Apolloes, shal hold my hand from thee,

Thinke not eftsoone Chryses to haue, she shall remaine with mée

In Country fur thy Country fro, my wooll to spinne and dight,

And bed to make, till beautie faile, when hoarie age shalt light.

Hence out away, moue me no more, I reade thou take good héede,

If safe and sounde unto your house you homward meane to spéede.

The good olde man thus threat’ned here, giues place, doth not abide,

He hides his griefe, while stil he coastes hard by the marine side.
But now his galley far ... , he shewes his dolefulnesse,
With prayers to Apoll, and vowes, the Gods of gallaunt tresse.
Apollo thou heare my complaints, who rules the Illes diuine,
Cilla, Chrisa, Sminthe, Tenedos, with siluer bowe of thine,
O Phœbus heare thou my complaints, if so with Laurell gréene

Thy Temple I haue crowned oft, if I the man haue béene
They holy aultar who hath fraught, with hollies digne to thée,
Of fatted Bulles and scortched Goates: reuenge thys iniurie
On these gay Gréekes, who thy seruant ... haue layed so low,
To plague ý wrong, Lord make the feel the wounding of thy bow.

[Note that the above text was copied from a photocopied printed text. In places the words are difficult to read, and I have had to make some educated guesses. The ellipsis dots indicate places where the words are indecipherable]

REVIEW COMMENT

Hall does not really belong in a catalogue of complete translations of Homer, but, as the first English translator of a substantial part of the Iliad, he does deserve a mention. As the title page indicates, Hall’s translation of the first ten books of the Iliad is based upon the French translation of Hugues Salel (first published in 1545). Salel based his Homer on a Latin translation.

To access the Salel translation (in French) use the following link: Salel Iliad

To access Hall’s translation, use the following link: Hall Iliad.

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