ANCIENT CLASSICS
FOR
ENGLISH READERS
EDITED BY THE
REV. W. LUCAS COLLINS, M.A.
HOMER
———
THE ILIAD—THE ODYSSEY
By REV. W. LUCAS COLLINS, M.A.
WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS
EDINBURGH AND LONDON
The subjects in this Series may be had separately, in cloth, price 2s.6d.; or two volumes bound in one, in leather back and marbled sides andedges, arranged as follows:—
| THE ILIAD AND ODYSSEY. HERODOTUS. XENOPHON. EURIPIDES. ARISTOPHANES. PLATO. LUCIAN. ÆSCHYLUS. SOPHOCLES. | HESIOD AND THEOGNIS. ANTHOLOGY. VIRGIL. HORACE. JUVENAL. PLAUTUS AND TERENCE. CÆSAR. TACITUS. CICERO. PLINY. |
| THE ILIAD CONTENTS THE ODDYSEY CONTENTS |
HOMER
———
T H E I L I A D
BY THE
REV. W. LUCAS COLLINS, M.A.
AUTHOR OF
‘ETONIANA,’ ‘THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS,’ ETC.
WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS
EDINBURGH AND LONDON
MDCCCLXXI
ADVERTISEMENT.
It is proposed to give, in these little volumes, some such introductionto the great writers of Greece and Rome as may open to those who havenot received a classical education—or in whose case it has beenincomplete and fragmentary—a fair acquaintance with the contents oftheir writings, and the leading features of their style.
The constant allusions in our own literature, and even in our dailypress, to the works of the ancient classical authors, and thefamiliarity with the whole dramatis personæ of ancient history andfable which modern writers on all subjects assume on the part of theirreaders, make such an acquaintance almost necessary for those who carenot only to read but to understand.
Even in the case of readers who have gone through the regular classicalcourse in their day, this acquaintance, if honest confession were made,would be found very imperfect. It is said, of{v.i-vi} course, that “everyEnglish gentleman reads Horace;” but this is one of those generalassertions which rest upon very loose ground. An ordinary observer ofthe habits of the class might find himself somewhat at a loss forinstances.
In the case of ladies, and of the large body of general readers who havereceived either no classical education, or a very imperfect one,probably less is now known of Homer, Virgil, or Horace, than in the dayswhen Pope’s, Dryden’s, and Fra