Ancient accounts of Homer too various dwelt upon. in the Iliad,* and it is much easier to fuppofe these introduced from Egypt to embellifh a Grecian ftory, than to believe that they are the only pure original parts of fo complicated a structure. Many writers quoted by Tatian and Clemens Alexandrinus and uncertain to be were of opinion that Homer was an Egyptian. Ptolomy Hephestion, an author quoted by Photius, tells us that a woman of Memphis named Phantafia, compofed an account of the Trojan war before Homer, and an Odyffea; that these books were deposited at Memphis, and that Homer obtained a copy of these histories from Phanites, a Scribe, and hence compofed his poems. The ancient accounts concerning Homer are fo uncertain and contradictory that no fatisfactory answer can be made to those who admit the obfcure opinions quoted by Tatian and Clemens. For a more detailed account of thefe inconfiftent fables I would wish to refer the reader to the perufal of an ingenious Effay quoted by Mr. Bryant, and prefixed to Pope's Version of Homer. Ptolomy's story, and several others of the fame nature are there treated with contempt, and the author makes a reflection which may be fomewhat to the purpose here, that "it is an odd and contradictory industry in man which raises up the names of obfcure works to perfuade us that the most beautiful poem of the ancients was taken out of them. A beggar may be content to patch up his garment with what the world throws away, but it is never to be imagined an Emperor would make his robes of them." NOTES. *I do not at all fee the neceffity of this fuppofition, but I make it in order to put the argument used in what may be deemed the fairest light, and to fhew that no inference follows, even if we allow the premises affumed. + Farther account of Homer and his connections with Egypt. BRYANT, P. 57. Such, Such, however, Mr. Bryant contends are the robes of Homer. Since Ptolomy appears to have been intimately acquainted with all the circumstances of this Plagiary, we must admit his authority without reserve, or reject it entirely as a mistaken notion; according to his account the writings of the Memphian Priestess treated of a war of Ilium, and an Odyssea. What hitherto undiscovered power of etymology can transfer Ilium or Odyfeus into Egypt? We cannot but conclude that if the Egyptian Phantasia wrote at all, she wrote upon a Grecian story. The improbability of this circumstance is fingly fufficient to invalidate the account of Ptolomy. Every Lexicon will inform us that Phantasia pavracia is a Greek word derived from " pava, appareo;" but Mr. Bryant diving into all the depths of Coptic lore, finds the word Hant, or Hont, a Priest; then, by a national prefix, forms it into P'Hant, and he suppofes that of the generic name of a Priestess, the Greeks made the individual one of Phantafia, or probably of P'Hant-Ifis, the Priestess of Ifis, and on the faith of fuch an etymology does he build his conjectures. If the reader has enough of this etymological enthusiasm to see the immediate connection between Phantafia and P'Hant-Ifis, argument will be useless, I can only remind him, that there is no language upon earth which will not furnish etymologies equally clofe to fupport any abfurdity* that the mind of man can invent. Daphne of Thebes is next brought forward, an Authorefs mentioned in Diodorus Siculus, and we are told that Homer borrowed Accounts of Phantaimprobable. fia of Memphis highly Daphne of Thebes in Baotia. NOTE. • See Swift on the Antiquity of the English language.—“Si parva lieeat componere magnis.” much of his story from her; that "by Thebes was not meant Thebes in Boeotia, but Θηβαι Αιγύπτιοι εκατομπολοι * Egyptian Thebes with its hundred gates." The paffage alluded to in Diodorus however, exprefsly contradicts the whole of this affertion; it is as follows, "The †Epigoni after plundering the city of Thebes, confecrated Daphne, the daughter of Tirefias, to the Priesthood of Delphos."-" The genius of the girl was wonderful, and she affifted in verfifying many of the oracles with extraordinary fuccefs. From her the Poet Homer borrowed many verfes to adorn his works." It is indeed very probable, that beautiful paffages, and poetical expreffions might be tranfpofed by Homer into his book, but it is not equally easy to imagine, that the versified responses of the Pythian Apollo were the originals of the Iliad and Odyssey, or even of the battle of the frogs and mice. But at all events, where is the connexion between Daphne and Egypt? The name of Thebes is found there, but it will be a wonderful effort of etymology that can displace Tirefias, the Epigoni, and Delphos, and at one sweep establish them all on the banks of the Nile. We may therefore justly doubt the apparently candid indifference which Mr. Bryant avows on this subject, fince he could not be ignorant of the context and tendency of the paffage he has thus brought forward. Instead of claiming the rights of neutrality, he ought therefore to have owned himself the ingenuous and determined fupporter of a favorite hypothefis, and boldly to have avowed his intention in the words. of the poet : Flectere fi nequeo fuperos, Acheronta movebo." NOTES. I cannot perceive the reafon for inferting here this fhort Greek passage, unless to infinuate that it formed a part of Diodorus's text.; at least, such is the impreffion it is calculated to produce on an unguarded reader. + Diodorus Siculus, 1. iv. p. 269. Mr. The next authority quoted is an epitaph from the Greek Anthologia, afferting that Homer was a native of Thebes in Egypt, but our information concerning his birth is contradicted by fo many different hiftories, that they only tend to prove the complete ignorance of the ancients refpecting him. "Strabo and Demetrius of Scepfis, both fearched he says, and found no traces of a City of Troy in Phrygia." *Strabo, it is true, related what he heard from Demetrius of Scepfis, but there are very good grounds for believing that he did not fearch himself, and indeed that he never was in the Troad. Notwithstanding however the ill fuccefs of his fuppofed fearch, Strabo was fo firmly perfuaded of the veracity of Homer that he every where quotes his authority, and a great part of his book is little more than a commentary on the Poet. "Yet" fays Mr. Bryant "he found a Troy† in Egypt, a few miles below Memphis, and gives us a very accurate defcription of its fituation." We fhall foon examine the juftness of the conclufion which he endeavours to draw from this circumstance; in the mean time I would wish to fix the attention of the reader the manner in which he has amplified this interesting difcovery. quotes the paffage from Strabo,‡ and fets out in his tranflation of it, by making Troy a town, which in the original is lage. In the next page he calls it a City in Arabia, then proves it upon He xwμn, a vil κωμης NOTES. * If the Reader wishes to know my reasons for fuppofing Strabo never to have been in the Troad, he will find them detailed in the second part of this work. + The bare name of Troy being found in Egypt, is no more a proof of its not exifting in Phrygia, than the names of the Egyptian Thebes, and Babylon are of the non-existence of the Boeotian, or Affyrian metropolis: But Ilium, Ida, Dardania, Gargara, &c. have unfortunately no duplicates on the Banks of the Nile. Strabo 1. xvii. p. 1162. Strabo, however, found neither Ilium nor Ida in Egypt. § Bryant, page 60. fuch fuch by a quotation from Stephanus. It may be observed that here we have no tranflation, but in fact the quotation will not bear this conftruction; the words of it are: "There is alfo a Troy in Egypt; "* and furely this does not prove either the fize or nature of the place. In the next page he flightly mentions a paffage of Diodorus concerning it, and then amplifies the power of this imaginary City, by making it the key to Egypt, Eastward; and laftly, afferts it to have been the fame as the fortrefs Babylon, though Strabo, by a mistake, makes them different; for which contradiction of Strabo he brings no contrary authority, or any one femblance of an argument.† It must be observed that the object of Mr. Bryant, in this part of his work, was to prove that this Egyptian Troy was too confiderable to have been founded, as Strabo tells us, by the Trojan captives, who were carried thither by Menelaus, for fays he, "who can poffibly believe that a City in Arabia was built, or a colony founded there by Trojan captives?" but if this Troy was only a village, and if there were alfo other inftances of towns being founded by captives, the objection will be answered. Let us turn once more to Diodorus:‡ In the very fentence before that which Mr. Bryant quotes, we shall find the following account of the Egyptian Babylon.§ "Of the Egyptian captives, fome taken in Babylonia revolted against the Government, not being able to bear the hardfhips of the public works. These feizing on a fortified castle near NOTE S. * Esi » Tns AiYunTe Teoia. See BRYANT, p. 61-2. + Bryant, page 62-3. Diodorus Seculus, 1. i. page 52. Babylon was found in Egypt, the Afiatic Babylon is now as much obliterated as the Afiatic Troy; was it therefore equally a fiction? if Mr. Bryant is confiftent he must think it so. the |