The Preface.
him how much I was acquainted with the secret History of Homer; that no one better knows his own Horse, than I do the Camel of Bactria, in which his Soul resided at the Time of the Trojan Wars; that my Acquaintance continued with him, as he appear'd in the Person of the Grecian Poet; that I knew him in his next Transmigration into a Peacock; was pleas'd with his Return to Manhood, under the Name of Ennius at Rome; and more pleas'd to hear he wou'd soon revive under another Name, with all his full Lustre, in England. This particular Knowledge, added I, which sprung from the Love I bear him, has made me fond of a Conversation with you, in Order to the Success of your Translation.
The civil Manner in which he receiv'd my Proposal encouraging me to proceed, I told him, there were Arts of Success, as well as Merits to obtain it; and that he, who now dealt in Greek, should not only satisfy himself with being a good Grecian, but also contrive to hasten into the Repute of it. He might therefore write in the Title-Page, Translated from the Original Greek, and select a Motto for his Purpose out of the same Language. He might obtain a Copy of Verses written in it to prefix to the Work; and not call the Titles of each Book, The First, and Second, but Iliad Alpha, and Beta. He might retain some Names which the World is least acquainted with, as his old Translator Chapman uses Ephaistus instead of Vulcan, Baratrum for Hell; andif
