"She said, and to the steeds approaching near _Drew_ from his seat the martial charioteer; The vigorous Power[E] the trembling car _ascends_, Fierce for revenge, and Diomed _attends_: The groaning axle _bent_ beneath the load," &c. POPE'S _Iliad_, Book v. "Pierced through the shoulder first Decopis _fell_, Next Eunomus and Thoon _sunk_ to Hell. Chersidamas, beneath the navel thrust, _Falls_ prone to earth, and _grasps_ the bloody dust; Cherops, the son of Hipposus, _was_ near; Ulysses reach'd him with the fatal spear; But to his aid his brother Socus _flies_, Socus the brave, the generous, and the wise; Near as he _drew_ the warrior thus _began_," &c.--_Ibid._ "Behind, unnumber'd multitudes _attend_ To flank the navy and the shores defend. Full on the front the pressing Trojans bear, And Hector first _came_ towering to the war. Phoebus himself the rushing battle _led_, A veil of clouds involves his radiant head-- The Greeks _expect_ the shock; the clamours rise From different parts and _mingle_ in the skies Dire _was_ the hiss of darts by heaven flung, And arrows, leaping from the bowstring, _sung_: These _drink_ the life of generous warrior slain-- Those guiltless _fall_ and _thirst_ for blood in vain." POPE'S _Odyssey_. In the last quotation, brief as it is, the tense changes six times. [E] In the corrupt and thoughtless mode of printing now in vogue, Power is of course printed with a small p, and the sense of the clearest of all English poets instantly becomes obscure. "The vigorous power the trembling car ascends." It is not till one has read the line twice over that one perceives "the power" means "the God," which, when printed "the Power," is obvious at a glance. I ask indulgence of the reader if I take this occasion to add a very short comment upon three objections to this poem which have been brought under my notice:-- 1--that it contains too much learning; 2--that it abounds too much with classical allusions; 3--that it indulges in rare words or archaisms.