[73] Plat., _De Leg._, l. vi.; Jambl., _De Vitâ Pythag._ [74] _Acad. des Insc._, t. v., p. 117. [75] Procl., _In Tim._, l. v., p. 330; Cicero, _Somm. Scip._, c. 2, 3, 4, 6. [76] Montesquieu and Buffon have been the greatest adversaries of poetry, they were very eloquent in prose; but that does not prevent one from applying to them, as did Voltaire, the words of Montaigne: “We cannot attain it, let us avenge ourselves by slandering it.” [77] Horat., _De Arte poét._; Strab., l. x. [78] Origen, _Contr. Cels._, l. i., p. 12; Dacier, _Vie de Pythagore_. [79] Ἱερὸς λόγος. [80] Θρονισμοὶ μητρῶοι. [81] Fabric., _Bibl. græc._, p. 120, 129. [82] Apollon, _Argon._, l. i., v. 496. [83] Plutar., _De Placit. philos._, c. 13; Euseb., _Præp. Evang._, l. xv., c. 30; Stobeus, _Eclog. phys._, 54. Proclus quotes the verses of Orpheus on this subject, _In Tim._, l. iv., p. 283. Voyez _La Biblioth. græc._ de Fabricius, p. 132. [84] Fabric., _Bibliot. græc._, p. 4, 22, 26, 30, etc.; _Voyag. d’Anach._, ch. 80. [85] From the Greek word κύκλος: as one would say _circuit_, the circular envelopment of a thing. [86] Court de Gébelin, _Gén. allég._, p. 119. [87] Casaubon, _In Athen._, p. 301; Fabric., _Bibl. græc._ l. i., c. 17; _Voyag. d’Anach._, ch. 80; Proclus, cité par Court de Gébelin, _ibid._ [88] Arist., _De Poët._, c. 8, 16, 25, etc. [89] It is needless for me to observe that the birthplace of Homer has been the object of a host of discussions as much among the ancients as among the moderns. My plan here is not to put down again _en problème_, nor to examine anew the things which have been a hundred times discussed and that I have sufficiently examined. I have chosen, from the midst of all the divergent opinions born of these discussions, that which has appeared to me the most probable, which agrees best with known facts, and which is connected better with the analytical thread of my ideas. I advise my readers to do the same. It is neither the birthplace of Homer nor the name of his parents that is the important matter: it is his genius that must be fathomed. Those who would, however, satisfy their curiosity regarding these subjects foreign to my researches, will find in _La Bibliothèque grecque de Fabricius_, and in the book by Léon Allatius entitled _De Patriâ Homeri_, enough material for all the systems they may wish to build. They will find there twenty-six different locations wherein they can, at their pleasure, place the cradle of the poet. The seven most famous places indicated in a Greek verse by Aulus Gellius are, Smyrna, Rhodes, Colophon, Salamis, Chios, Argos, and Athens. The nineteen indicated by divers authors, are Pylos, Chios, Cyprus,